The Spark of Something Newby Pip232Chapters1: Say What Now?2: What Happened?3: Flashback4: Only In Equestria5: Epilogue1: Say What Now?As the sun was beginning to set in Ponyville, Twilight’s friends were heading to her old castle. “Y’all got the same letter, too?” Applejack asked, glancing at her friends. “Yup! Whatever it is must be super duper ultra super important if it can’t wait until our next meeting!” Pinkie said as she bounced along beside her friends. “What do you think it could be?” Rainbow Dash couldn’t help but grin as she flew beside Applejack. “Who knows? Maybe we’ll need to save Equestria again! It’s been so long since we’ve been able to do that!” She paused for a moment. “You said super twice, you know.” “That’s how important it probably is!” Pinkie stopped bouncing, walking slow enough to let her catch up. “But I think our days of saving Equestria are over, Dashie. We haven’t had to face anything in a really long time, but I’m not complaining.” “Really? Don’t you miss our adventures at all?” Rarity asked, raising an eyebrow. “The heroics, the danger, the drama, the lavish parties to celebrate our victories?” “Nah!” Pinkie told her. “Don’t get me wrong, I liked the adventure and all, but I’m glad Equestria doesn’t need us to save it every few months anymore!” As they began going up the castle steps, Rainbow Dash couldn’t help but agree. “Well, I guess you’re right about that, but wouldn’t it still be cool to do it just one more time? It’s been years since those three tried to conquer Equestria.” “Ah think we’re a bit long in the tooth to be doing that again, hun.” Applejack told her, giving her a playful push. “But Pinkie’s right, Ah’m sure whatever she’s calling us for is pretty darn urgent.” “What could be so important that Twilight called us for an emergency meeting?” Fluttershy asked. “Only way we’ll find out is to ask her.” Applejack answered as she pushed open the door, making sure the others were inside before shutting it behind her. When they neared the throne room, Rainbow Dash pushed the doors open, and five jaws dropped at once at what they saw. Twilight was sitting on her throne. Her eyes were red and baggy, and her waving mane seemed duller than normal while a pile of paperwork sat in front of her. She offered a weak smile when the door opened, lighting her horn and making the paperwork disappear. “Hi, girls. Thanks for coming so quickly. Sorry it was on such short notice.” Rainbow Dash zoomed in, her eyes wide as she landed on the Cutie Map. “What happened?! Who did this to you?” “Are you okay, Twi?” Applejack asked, her expression filled with concern. “I’m fine, really, but there is something very important we need to discuss.” Everyone went to take their seats, but she held her hoof up and they stopped. “Don’t bother sitting down, we won’t be in here for long.” “Why not?” Rarity asked, slightly confused. “And will Spike be joining us tonight?” “No, Spike was gracious enough to cover my duties in Canterlot until I can get this all straightened out,” Twilight answered, glancing at the empty throne by her side. With how big Spike had grown she doubted he could still fit in his old seat. “So what needs straightening out?” Pinkie asked, her curiosity piqued. She absentmindedly pulled a sucker off her tail and stuck it in her mouth, resisting the urge to just bite down and break the candy off the stick. “Yeah, what Pinkie said, does Equestria need saving again?” Rainbow Dash sounded just a little too excited at the prospect of needing to save Equestria from an imminent threat. “No, thankfully, Equestria is fine.” Twilight felt the tiniest bit of annoyance at the disappointment on Dash’s face before continuing. “As for my injuries, they’re incredibly minor, all things considered.” Twilight took a deep breath, sighing as she leaned forward and rested her forelegs on the Cutie Map. “Two days ago, there was an attempt on my life.” A series of gasps and other surprised noises responded to her statement. Looking at her friends’ reactions, Twilight saw what she expected to see. They were all stunned to hear this, and she didn’t blame them. “Why would anypony do that?!” Fluttershy asked. “And how could they do that?” Everypony looked at Rainbow Dash. “No, I mean how was it even possible? Don’t you have guards to stop exactly that?” Applejack spoke up now. “She’s right, and on that note, who would do that?” Twilight looked to each of her friends, her expression starting to fall. “The answer to all those questions is in another room. It’ll be easier just to show you.” She stood up from her throne and began to walk towards one of the doors at the edge of the throne room, using her magic to open it. She looked back to see her friends following her, sighing as she began to head down the hallway. She needed to show them, but it’d be hard to explain what they saw. “Twilight, darling,” Rarity spoke up, hurrying a little to get beside her. “If you’re going to be in Ponyville for a while, why didn’t you bring any guards with you?” “I don’t want anypony else to know what’s going on. I promise I’ll answer any questions you have, but this is a very delicate situation and it needs to be handled with the utmost care.” She answered, her eyes landing on a door towards the end of the hall. “Hey, if whatever happened, happened two days ago, why are we just hearing about it now?” Applejack asked, catching her eye at the door they were approaching. Her imagination began to run away from her as she wondered what might be in that room. “Sorry, I’ve been very busy dealing with the aftermath. I wish I could’ve told you sooner, but this is the earliest chance I’ve had.” They reached the door and Twilight grasped the handle, manually opening it. The six ponies stepped into a dark room, but as their eyes began to adjust, five of the six present were surprised to see the furniture in it. “This is a nursery.” Fluttershy noted, looking at what was set up. There was a nightstand, toy box, a rocking chair, but her gaze stopped and her eyes widened when she saw the crib. “Oh my!” Inside the crib was a small colt dressed in a navy-blue hoofed sleeper. His coat was a pristine snow-white, save for a stripe of gray fur that ran along his muzzle from his snout up to his messy jet-black mane. “Aw.” Pinkie couldn’t help but quietly coo at him. She pulled the teddy bear from her tail and gently put it up against him, her smile only widening as he held it close. “Twilight, why is there a nursery and a foal in your castle?” Rainbow Dash stage-whispered. Applejack tapped Twilight’s side, getting her attention. She sounded frustrated, but kept her voice down. “We got more important things to worry about. Who’s the one who tried to do you in?” Twilight looked from her to the colt, seeing Pinkie and Fluttershy fawning over him. It seemed almost cruel what she was about to do. She lifted a foreleg, pointing right at the crib. “He did.” She said with a regretful tone. 2: What Happened?“So he attacked you and you turned him into a foal?” Rainbow Dash asked incredulously. “No! I mean yes, but not on purpose!” Twilight sounded flustered. “It was an accident that caused this and I don’t think I can turn him back.” Twilight’s voice and expression held no small amount of distress. Her previously calm demeanor evaporated with this revelation. “He attacked me, but Spike protected me. Spike won, and I was getting through to him, but just as I did, his magic became unstable and, and-” Twilight was silenced by an orange hoof on her lips. “This problem’s gotta be bigger than all outdoors. Ah haven’t seen you that worked up in years.” Applejack took her hoof away. “Now how about we back up a little bit? Who’s this little feller?” Twilight groaned and rubbed her eyes. She tried to think of how best to explain it, but after several seconds she was drawing blanks. “That’s not an easy question for me to answer.” “Why not? Do you know him?” Rainbow Dash asked. “I did,” Twilight answered, remorse building up. “Until two days ago he was the captain of the Royal Guard. Now, I don’t know anymore.” “Because he attacked you?” Rarity asked, shocked. Even after all the adventures they’d shared together, life kept finding new ways to surprise her. Twilight’s voice was breaking. “It’s more serious than that. For ten years I trusted him with Equestria’s safety, and I’d considered him a friend for even longer. When he was reduced to a foal, his memories were lost. He might be physically alive, but the pony he was is gone. It’s no different than if he’d perished.” “No wonder you’re so worked up.” Applejack looked at Pinkie and Fluttershy who were both still mostly focused on him. “How was he turned into a foal?” She kept her gaze on said foal. “The reasons for that are… complicated.” “So uncomplicate them.” Dash retorted. Twilight took a deep breath and thought about how best to describe it. “He wasn’t as powerful as he was through natural talent alone. His body was modified with magic.” “Modified?” Dash asked, looking slightly confused. Twilight glanced at Applejack and Rarity, seeing they were just as confused. She lit her horn and a purple grid appeared in the air, a silhouette of an earth pony, a pegasus, and a unicorn appearing across it. “It’s called an enhancement spell, and it’s used on a foal to enhance desired traits in them, as the name might suggest.” The intensity of her magic increased ever so slightly. “It could be physical strength, wing power, even a unicorn’s magic. Whatever it’s meant to enhance and how rapidly is tailored to the recipient on a per-case basis, and if the spell is done correctly it tends to produce exceptional results.” As she spoke the earth pony silhouette grew bigger, the pegasus’ wings expanded, and the unicorn’s horn brightened. “And if it’s not done right, Twilight?” Applejack had a feeling she wouldn’t like the answer. The question made Twilight look uncomfortable. The specifics were around a field of magic not commonly practiced or even understood. “Bad things, very bad things. If the spell isn’t done exactly right it could cause cancers, bone growths, horn problems, and other things that can lead to mental and physical harm.” Everypony was stunned silent for a moment before Rarity’s face morphed into one of anger. “Why, that’s just deplorable!” She declared. “What parents would knowingly put their own foal at such a risk?!” “Suppose your child was an earth pony and you wanted them to grow up to be incredibly strong, a pegasus to be a shoo-in for the Wonderbolts, or maybe your child is a unicorn you hope could become a powerful magic-user. This spell could theoretically make it happen, but the more likely results are the horrible side effects. That’s why it’s so eschewed, but apparently there are still some ponies who think it’s worth the risk.” The topic left Twilight with a bad taste in her mouth. “Rarity’s right, that’s awful!” Fluttershy stepped away from the crib to join her friends. “Look at what it did to him!” “So what exactly did happen?” Applejack glanced at him before going back to Twilight. “You said this happened when you fought, right?” “It happened afterwards. Spike won, and I started to get through to him, but just as I did, his spell failed. Magic arced off of him before he burst into green flames.” She cringed, remembering his cries of pain. “I tried to cast a disabling spell to help him, but I didn’t know what was going on at the time. It put out the fire, but a few seconds later he was reduced to a foal.” “Green fire? That sounds like changeling magic.” Pinkie Pie chimed in, glancing at her friends. Twilight looked uneasy, remembering when Queen Chrysalis had banished her to the caves beneath Canterlot. She’d been surrounded by a ring of it and felt a wave of heat radiating off it. He must’ve been in agony before Twilight acted. “You don’t know how right you are, Pinkie. Enhancement spells are made possible by changeling magic.” Dash raised an eyebrow. “How does that work?” Twilight remembered what she’d read about it recently, “You need a very skilled enchanter and a certain amount of changeling magic to infuse into the recipient, depending on the degree of the alterations you want to see.” She shuddered at the thought of a spell like that being used on her, but she didn’t have long to dwell on it before Dash’s voice interrupted her thoughts, looking slightly green. “Sorry I asked.” “Twilight,” Rarity asked, “why did his spell fail? Why only then?” Twilight thought of feeling from the hug they’d shared. It was warm and she’d thought she’d really made a connection, only for him to be gripped in agony moments later. “His magic had been spliced with changeling magic when he was young, from before they metamorphosed. My theory is that the changeling part of his magic went through the same sort of change that theirs did, but since it was integrated with a pony it couldn’t do it properly, causing him a great deal of pain and leaving it unstable.” Applejack’s mind quickly made the connection. “That disabling spell you were talking about earlier, you mean it-” “-Caused his current condition, yes.” Twilight finished. “What I don’t know is why. I didn’t even know such a spell existed until this happened, and there’s no information about what happens when it’s removed.” Dash cocked her head slightly to the side and glanced at where Fluttershy had been earlier. She couldn’t help but look at the foal just a little bit differently now. “Is there any way to get him back to how he was?” Squeezing her eyes shut, Twilight grimaced. She’d been dreading that question the most but knew it would inevitably arise. “I don’t think so. I’ve been looking into solutions since this happened, but none of them were promising. I can’t restore his memories unless I first return him to how he was physically, but I can’t do that. It’s meant to work gradually, and it must be given at some point during their foalhood. If I tried to use an age spell on him and then give him the enhancement spell it wouldn’t take effect, and if I gave it to him as a foal and then used an age spell I’d end up burning out his body.” “That’s like having to choose between nettles and cockleburrs.” Applejack didn’t know a lot about magic, but she was smart enough to understand a no-win situation when she heard one. “There’s no other way?” All she received at first was a head shake from Twilight. “With everything I’ve learned and no evidence to the contrary, that’s what it looks like.” “You mean he’ll never get any older?” Rarity realized it sounded like a silly question, but with all the surprises their adventures had given her she’d learned to never assume anything. “What’s going to happen to him, then? Will you be sending him back to his parents?” Twilight’s eyes narrowed, her teeth clenching at that question. “Not a chance in Tartarus. Jet Set and Upper Crust didn’t choose him because they wanted a foal to love, they chose him because he was a promising unicorn! They had their chance, and they wasted it!” She only became aware that she'd slipped into the Royal Canterlot voice when she heard soft whining coming from her charge. “Sorry, sweetie,” she murmured, using her magic to wrap the blanket around him and pull him into her foreleg. “I didn’t mean to wake you up.” Silence hung heavy in the air as the implications of her words set in. They’d found out more about the former captain in a few seconds from Twilight than they had in years of knowing him. “We can come back to that, Twilight.” Applejack couldn’t help but notice just how small he looked compared to the princess who already towered over most grown ponies. “Why’d he attack you?” Author's Note And here we go! The story's been all written out, and I'll be posting one chapter a day until we reach the end. I'm very excited about this and hope you enjoy! 3: FlashbackAuthor's Note Another day, another chapter! So originally this chapter had a long fight scene that was ultimately cut, which is why I removed the violence tag, but I put it back just in case because I realized what I still left in happening right away. Everyone makes mistakes, right? But my mistake aside, enjoy the chapter! 3: Flashback Two days ago Iron Aegis’ bloodcurdling cry echoed throughout the throne room as Spike sank his teeth into his horn, all the magic he’d overloaded it with unleashed in an instant, throwing both of them away from each other. Spike’s back slammed into the ground as he continued to slide across the smooth marble floor. Aegis was not as lucky, his left side colliding with a pillar on the far end of the throne room. The force of the impact drove the air from his lungs. He would’ve cried out as his ribs and foreleg broke. Every breath he took in a desperate bid to get his wind back sent a shooting pain through his side as a burning ache radiated through his broken foreleg. He reached up and felt where his horn should’ve been, but his hoof only met empty air. Across the room, the chains binding Twilight went slack across her body. Her mane began to wave again as magic flooded into her horn. With a simple nullification spell, the chains disappeared. She focused and teleported over to where Spike was, gently helping him sit back up. “Spike, are you okay?” He groaned and rubbed his head, spitting horn fragments out of his mouth, but he smiled when he saw she was free. “Yeah, yeah I think so. You?” Twilight nodded, beginning to use her magic to heal Spike’s injuries. The cut on his chest and the bruising on his scales began to fade, and Spike looked at her appreciatively, pushing himself to his feet. “Thanks, Twilight. What do we do with him?” Both turned to the crumpled form of Iron Aegis, seeing him trying to push himself back to his hooves and the obvious pain it was causing him. “Come with me, Spike.” Aegis looked up to see Twilight and Spike approaching him, a feeling of panic beginning to make itself known but he used his anger to force it down. He propped himself up on his elbow and looked Twilight right in the eye. “So, what’re you going to do now?” “I want to know why you attacked us, Aegis.” His eyes flashed dangerously as he pushed himself to his hooves, holding most of his weight on his right side. Twilight winced at the state of his foreleg, but Spike didn’t let his guard down, ready to finish what Aegis started. “Stop calling me that! I hate that name! I’ve hated it since the day it was forced on me!” The fury in his voice suddenly evaporated, but the cold tone that was left behind disturbed Twilight even more. “As for why I attacked you, you don’t really think nopony was hurt the day you fought Tirek, do you?” Twilight thought back to that day. Overall the fight had been largely away from Ponyville, save for when the Golden Oaks Library was destroyed. It wasn’t until later that she learned that more than her books had been lost in the blast. “No, two ponies died that day. A couple. I found out they had a foal, but I couldn’t find him anywhere. I don’t know what became of him, but I always hoped he was alri-” Her words died in her mouth as her mind quickly put the pieces together. “It was you. You’re their foal, aren’t you?” His foreleg trembled under his weight as he carefully lowered himself back into a sitting position. He took in a deep, shuddering breath, a feeling of weakness spreading through his body. His side was beginning to hurt more and more but he concentrated on it and used it to keep himself alert. “I was their foal, but that was another life. A life you took from me!” Spike gave a low growl, taking a step closer. “In case you never noticed, Tirek was the one who destroyed the library. If it weren’t for Twilight, who knows how many other lives he would’ve taken.” This didn’t dissuade Aegis. “If it weren’t for her, no ponies would’ve died at all! Tirek was after her! She could’ve led him anywhere in Equestria, and he would’ve followed her like an imprinted duckling, but she brought him right down on us! It’s a miracle more lives weren’t lost.” His words had a sting of truth to them, but Twilight tried to reason with him. “Maybe, but if I’d tried to lead Tirek somewhere more secluded, other lives could’ve been lost. We can debate this but it won’t change what happened. What matters now is that you’re alive and how we move forward.” Aegis’ eyes burned into Twilight. “Forward, forward?! I have no forward. Look at me! My family was ripped away from me, I was taken from my home, stripped of my real name, used as a pawn, and for all that, destiny said I was to serve you, the mare who ruined my life! I lost everything, including myself!” His anger finally broke, leaving only sorrow in his tone. “Do you have any idea what it’s like to live your life feeling like you’re trapped with no way out?” Twilight snorted derisively, a tone of resignation in her voice. "Of course I do. Do you think I wanted this life? Spending every waking moment having to worry about everypony in Equestria? All the stress, the responsibility, the... Everything? No. I never asked for it. Celestia simply told me that it's my destiny, and like a fool, I believed her. It took me a few years, you know. To realize that I was her retirement plan. By the time I did, it was too late. I'm trapped here. My friends will die, my family will disappear, and I will remain, carrying the burden of the day, night, and Equestria itself on my shoulders. I thought about retiring or leaving many times. But I can't. There's no one who can carry this burden but me. So I'm damned to stay as everyone I care about dies around me until I'm so detached from everypony that I can do to somepony what Celestia did to me!” She only noticed the tears running down her cheeks at the end of her speech, brushing them away with her hoof. “I do know what it’s like to feel trapped. It’s a terrible, terrible thing, but you don’t have to be.” Aegis’ hatred was replaced by utter confusion, “I don’t understand. I betrayed you, tried to destroy you, why would you help me?” Twilight’s expression softened. “Compared to other ponies I’ve met over the years, that’s not that bad. After all, Starlight nearly destroyed the fabric of time itself and I made her my student. Fizzlepop led an invasion against Equestria and now she’s in charge of protecting Ponyville. I helped both of them, and I can help you, too.” Taking a chance, she slowly approached him. “I’m sorry for what happened to you, and I’m sorry that after it happened, no one was there for you like your parents had been. We can’t go back, and I know you think there’s no way forward, that you’re trapped, but that’s not true. I couldn’t help you then, so let me help you now. You can move forward, and the first step is for you to trust me.” A wave of empathy rushed over him. For so long he thought he was just collateral damage in her rise to power, that she’d gained the throne without having to sacrifice anything. But for the first time since he was a colt, he was willing to admit that he’d been wrong about her. They were more alike than he’d realized. Neither of them had asked for their lot in life, others had chosen it for them, and while to outsiders they may seem like successes, they knew the paths their lives had taken weren’t of their own volition. But she was willing to help him, and the fact she understood how he felt made him confident he could accept it. “Alright, Twilight. I trust you.” A gentle smile crossed her face, and her horn began to glow once again. “Wonderful. Just hold still.” Magic enveloped him, a comfortable warmth and a gentle pressure accompanying it. He could feel his ribs and foreleg recovering, the bones being knitted back together by her magic. It felt like his whole body had been wrapped in a warm hug. A thought occurred to Twilight while she worked, “You said you didn’t like the name they gave you. Do you still remember your old name?” He answered with a small nod. “Of course, it’s something I’ll never forget. It’s Star Spark.” He flexed his foreleg and felt that the pain was gone. He was good as new. Well, almost. “Thanks for healing me. I could’ve done it myself if I still had my horn.” “Star Spark, what a wonderful name. I like it.” When he mentioned his horn Twilight gave him a sympathetic look. “I know, but I can fix that, too.” Spike frowned. “Are you really sure that’s a good idea, Twilight?” “Absolutely.” she turned to where the fragments of Star Spark’s horn had been left, levitating the pieces over. “It works both ways. I can’t ask him to trust me if I won’t do the same.” He huffed in disapproval, but supposed the risk was manageable. Without any more weapons or the ability to effectively nullify Twilight’s magic, they could handle him if he pulled anything, horn or no horn. Star Spark could hardly believe it. She was willing to not only heal him, but restore the horn of the same pony who’d tried to assassinate her not ten minutes ago? Either she was delusional, or she really was willing to trust him. Through Twilight’s magic he could see the pieces of his horn meticulously rearranging themselves and coming together. “Hold still.” Twilight repeated, although it wasn’t as if he could move even if he wanted to. As she brought it towards him he felt a tingle in his head that only grew in intensity until it made contact with the base of his horn. Star Spark felt a tingle run through his horn that he felt from his skull to the tip, the fact he could feel it proving Twilight had done as she’d promised. Before he could thank her he was pulled forward by her magic. It dissipated as she embraced him, but the feeling that he was being wrapped in a warm hug never left him. After the initial surprise wore off, he allowed himself to enjoy it. He had tried to destroy her, and not only wouldn’t she punish him, but help him to move forward in his life, and she would be able to do so because she understood him. For the first time in a long time things looked bright for him, and he truly believed there was a way to not be trapped anymore. He took a deep breath, and when he exhaled, it felt like a weight had been lifted. A small smile crossed his face as he returned the gesture. The pleasantness lasted only seconds more before a feeling of nausea and pain gripped him, lines of magic arcing across his body. He released Twilight and stumbled back, his limbs feeling less obedient now. He felt something changing within himself and not for the better, like one half of a two-piece jigsaw puzzle was being flipped around and forced back in place. “What’s ha-happening to me?” Before he or anyone else could take a moment to guess, the tingling became agony, green fire erupting all over his body. Star Spark tried to use his magic to do anything, but he couldn’t focus enough, and a sense of panic quickly set in. “Agh, help me!” Twilight recognized the fire instantly, she’d seen it when Chrysalis had banished her to the caves beneath Canterlot. She used a spell to drench him with water, but the fire wasn’t the least bit abated by her efforts. Switching tactics she used a disabling spell, trying to neutralize any magic in the conflagration. The fire vanished, but Star Spark felt a sense of hollowness. He felt something deep inside of him break and shift, his panic being replaced by sheer terror. There was a bright flash, and all that was left of him was a pile of armor that clattered to the floor. “What did you do, vaporize him?!” Spike asked with disbelief, looking at where Star Spark had been just moments ago. Twilight’s eyes widened, staring at the empty armor. “NO! No, this isn’t how it was supposed to be! It was just supposed to-” Twilight was cut off by the sounds of infantile crying coming from beneath the armor. She and Spike shared a look, completely befuddled, before he went and dug through it. When he lifted up the body plating his eyes widened in surprise to see a tiny foal beneath it. His cutie mark was gone, but otherwise he seemed unharmed. Spike carefully picked him up under the forelegs and cradled him. He was surprised to see Star Spark’s eyes had changed from green to a vivid yellow. Regardless of the aesthetics, he still didn’t know what to think of this discovery. “I can’t tell if this is better or worse.” Twilight approached and got a good look at Star Spark, casting a weak sleep spell on the foal. She felt a twinge of jealousy seeing him fall asleep, knowing she now had a very long night ahead of her. “It’s... different. Let’s go with that for now.” 4: Only In Equestria“There you have it,” Twilight gently stroked Star Spark’s mane, the little foal teetering between being awake and asleep in her hold, “just when he decided to do the right thing, this happened.” Silence reigned for a minute as the other ponies present took it all in, but Applejack was the first to break it. “You did what you had to do, Twilight. You had no way of knowing this would happen, and you had no way of knowing what would happen when you fought Tirek. This ain’t your fault.” “I know,” Twilight didn’t sound like she believed herself, “but that doesn’t make me feel any less responsible.” “So what’s going to happen to him, Twilight?” Rainbow Dash asked. “You already said you’re not giving him back to his old parents. You planning on dropping him off at the orphanage?” A conflicted look crossed her face. “No. To be honest, I don’t think I could bring myself to just discard him like that, and given how this happened, I couldn’t do that with a clean conscience.” Fluttershy walked around her friends to get a better view. “That spell he had? I thought it was gone?” “It is, and that’s another problem.” Twilight rubbed her head with her wing, not risking using her hoof while her other leg still held the cause of all the fuss. “There’s never been a documented case of an enhancement spell being removed before now. I’m worried it could cause complications in his body if he’s not under the constant care of a skilled magic-user.” Her answer made Fluttershy realize all the issues that would cause. “You’d have to explain that to whoever might adopt him-” “making him being adopted by pegasi or earth ponies a bad fit and probably dissuade any other potential parents.” Twilight finished. Pinkie grinned, her bright, pearly teeth showing. “Then maybe you should adopt him yourself! You’re more skilled with magic than anyone else in Equestria, and you’re already experienced from raising Spike.” Rarity had a look of distaste when Pinkie made her suggestion. “You’re heart’s in the right place, darling, but I can hardly think of a worse idea.” Applejack remembered having to look after Apple Bloom while trying to work the farm until her little sister got old enough to care for herself. That had been an ordeal, she couldn’t imagine running an entire kingdom while doing it. “Yeah, Rarity’s right, you’re busy enough handling Equestria without having to look after a foal on top of everything else. What about other ponies we know, like Starlight, Sunburst, or heck, even Trixie?” Before any more points could be made, Twilight spoke up. “Starlight and Sunburst are busy with the School of Friendship, and when she’s not counseling Trixie doesn’t even have a fixed address. Besides, I’m not going to ask another pony to clean up after my mess.” She held Star Spark a little closer, glad that he was fast asleep again. Applejack had a mild look of skepticism. “Twi, Ah need to to be real honest with me right now. You said you were Celestia’s retirement plan; is he yours?” “No.” Twilight answered firmly, feeling an accusation in Applejack’s question. She felt Star Spark settle down in her grip and glanced at him. “I wanted to give him the kind of family he should’ve had the first time. I won’t make him do anything he doesn’t want to do.” “And you think you can find the time for him along with everything else?” Applejack asked. Twilight nodded. “I’d have Spike to help me, and it’s the same basic principle as when we helped Pinkie with her foal.” “Yeah! I gotcha covered, it’s just like with the Cake Twins or Little Cheese when I was helping with the bakery and planning parties and throwing parties and bringinggreatbigsmilestoEquestria!” Pinkie cheered, sucking in air her excitement had deprived her of. Rarity sighed and rubbed her forehead. “Only in Equesrtria could a pony attempt regicide against the reigning monarch and wind up their adopted child for it.” While Fluttershy enjoyed Pinkie’s enthusiasm, a worry continued to nag at her. “And Spike is okay with this? Especially given what happened.” “Spike was on the fence about it, but I explained why sending him away wouldn’t be a good idea, and how the foal he found under that armor wasn't the same pony who attacked us. He wasn't thrilled, but I’m hoping he’ll warm up to him over time." Rarity thought for a moment, before finally speaking up. “Have you considered how you’re going to tell the public? The captain of the royal guard disappears and suddenly the princess is adopting a foal who’s nearly identical to him, it’s going to be pretty obvious what happened.” “I have, and they’re not going to know.” The princess looked like she’d eaten something bitter. “Besides myself, you five and Spike are the only ones who know the truth, and it’s going to stay that way. The official story will be that the intruder managed to get past his barrier and attack, undoing his enhancement spell and resulting in his tragically irreversible condition and that adopting him is my way of saying thanks for saving my life.” “You’ve certainly put a lot of thought into this.” Rarity saw her distress while she was talking. “Twilight, what’s wrong?” “Nothing,” Twilight pursed her lips in contemplation, “by doing this I’m lying to all of Equestria, including creatures I consider my friends. Celestia did the same thing and that’s not something I’m comfortable with, but at the same time telling what actually happened isn’t any better.” She took in a deep breath before letting it out. “I didn’t just call you all here to tell you I was going to be adopting, but to ask you if I’m doing the right thing by withholding the truth from everyone.” Silence again blanketed the room as those present considered what she’d said, and debated the pros and cons of both options. Twilight wasn’t at all surprised when Applejack broke it. “Ah dunno, Twi. If you lie, the worst thing that can happen is that the truth comes out, then you’ll be in more trouble than a grass snake found in a chicken coop." “I think it’s the only sensible option.” Rarity pulled her shawl closer to herself as she glanced at the farm mare. “If the truth comes out it will only damage Twilight, the royal guard, and quite possibly make the poor foal’s life harder if every creature knows his past incarnation attempted regicide against her. Besides, Twilight only shared this secret with us and Spike, her most trusted confidantes. Unless one of us shares it then there’s no risk of her secret being revealed, right, Applejack?” An indignant look crossed her face as she rolled her eyes. “Hey, Ah ain’t gonna go blabbing it around town. Ah know how to keep a secret.” After a moment of pause, Applejack huffed in defeat. “But you’re right, Rares, Ah don’t really see an upside to telling the truth here.” Rarity’s satisfied smile only seemed to irk her, but before they could say anything more, Pinkie’s excitement finally burst. “Ooh, I’m gonna hafta throw you two a Happy Re-Birthday and a Happy Adoption party!” Pinkie quietly exclaimed, her whispers barely containing her enthusiasm. “It’ll be just like when we had Li’l Cheese!" Her excitement seemed to dispel any tension in the air, and Twilight felt a renewed sense of optimism that she hadn’t felt before this happened. “I know it’ll be hard work, but I’ll take it one step at a time, and I know that all of you would be good role models for him.” She felt the bundle she was cradling shift around and looked to see Star Spark sleepily looking at her. “Hi there, sweetie. I guess I should’ve known better than to think you’d be asleep for long.” Applejack chuckled. “Just you wait. Give the little rascal a few months and he’ll have you and Spike running around more than us during cider-making season.” Twilight used her magic to pull the blanket a bit tighter around him. “Compared to raising a dragon or foalsitting an alicorn, he shouldn’t be too bad. For now, I need to get this stuff moved to Canterlot, choose a new captain, prepare an announcement for the rest of Equestria, and introduce him to the rest of my family,” her voice held a sense of nervous anticipation at the last item on that list. “But that can all wait until tomorrow. Right now I need to lower the sun and get some sleep of my own.” Twilight focused and the light in the room began to fade, evening turning to dusk as she gently set Star Spark in his crib and gave him a kiss on the head. “Sleep well, Star Spark, we have a busy few days ahead of us.” Author's Note Only one chapter remains! After having a particularly rough week at work I'm glad to be doing something I enjoy, even if it's just publishing chapters. Hope you enjoy and I'll see you lovely lot tomorrow! 5: Epilogue“Mommy, why don’t I have wings?” It was a simple question, but it caught Twilight completely off guard. One moment Star Spark looked like he was trying to decide whether to play with a toy, work on his coloring books, or maybe play with one of the plushies Pinkie and Cheese kept sending him, the next moment that question hung in the air. She mulled over what she was going to tell him. There wasn’t any way to do it without getting into something she wanted to wait several more years to explain, but she also wasn’t going to lie to him. A small smile crossed her face as she thought of how to answer him. “Well, sweetie, do you know where foals come from?” His face lit up, his answer bursting out, “They come from mommy’s tummy!” Twilight had to suppress a giggle at how innocent his response was. There was so much more to it than that, but it was enough for her to explain her point. “That’s right, very good, but you didn’t come from mine.” Seeing his yellow eyes looking at her in confusion, she continued. “You are my son, never doubt that, but you didn’t come from me. I adopted you when you were just a baby.” “What’s that?” It took her a moment to think of how to tactfully explain the concept to such a young pony. “Adoption is when a family looks after another family’s foal if they can’t. They bring them into their homes, their lives, and they love them just like their own. It’s how you came to be my child, and I’m happy you are.” “Mom, I’m fine!” “I know, I’m just making sure it stays that way,” Twilight said as a purple light cast over Star Spark. “This would go a lot faster if you’d just hold still.” He frowned in discontentment as he felt a strong tingle running through him like his whole body had fallen asleep. The urge to shift around from hoof to hoof and wiggle to relieve some of it was too strong to ignore, but it only made these sessions last longer. Finally, mercifully, the light projected from his mother’s horn faded and the tingling stopped. “There, see? All done, and we don’t have to do another health scan for six months.” The prospect of having to go through another of these uncomfortable scans at any point in the future made him huff, “How long do I have to keep having these done?” “Until you reach physical maturity,” Twilight told him matter of factly. “They’re to make sure you’re healthy. You know, as a foal, these used to make you just laugh and laugh and laugh.” He rolled his eyes at the notion of laughing at the intense tingling her spell caused. “Can you just show me how to do them myself?” “I could, but we both know you wouldn’t do them, or you wouldn’t probe deep enough because you think it’s uncomfortable.” She reached out and patted his head. “I know you don’t like them, but I promise they’re for a good reason.” A smirk crossed his face, “To keep you from twilighting? Her expression soured at that accusation. “I haven’t done that since you nearly set yourself on fire practicing your immolation spells,” She chided, “If you knew why I was insisting, you wouldn’t think I was being paranoid.” “Then tell me what it is, mom. I asked my friends and none of their parents do this.” A hint of worry began to creep into his voice, “Is there something wrong with me?” Twilight shook her head. “No, I promise, you’re perfectly healthy.” She inhaled deeply before letting it out as a sigh. “I suppose you’re old enough to know.” With a flash of magic a picture appeared in her hooves. She looked at it for a moment before holding it out to him. “Do you recognize the pony in this photo?” Star Spark was frozen by what he saw. There was a stallion, one that looked nearly identical to him, decked in armor, and standing in what looked like the castle’s throne room. Almost all the Royal Guard ponies had white coats, but this one had the same mane and tail as him, even the same gray muzzle stripe! A million thoughts raced through his mind as he took the photo in his hooves. “He looks just like me, is that my dad?” His imagination began to run away with him as he stared at the photo. Was that his father? The armor he was wearing had the accents and coloring that denoted the rank of captain. Was he not adopted and really the illegitimate child of Twilight and this unknown captain? But then why wouldn’t he have seen him anywhere around the castle? Did he have to step down to protect Twilight’s reputation? Did they- “Star Spark,” hearing his name jolted him from his runaway train of thoughts and brought his focus back to her, “What I’m about to say won’t be easy to understand, but I promise it’s the truth. That pony isn’t your father, it’s you.” There was a disconnect between hearing those words and processing what they all meant together. “Mom, that’s impossible. He’s a grown pony, a captain, I’m barely into my teens!” She shook her head, her eyes betraying a sadness in them. “Through magic, all things are possible. One night in the throne room I was attacked, and you were there, but what no one but you knew was that when you were a colt you’d had an enhancement spell cast on you. During the fight it came undone and then everything went bad.” The weight in Twilight’s eyes grew heavier as she looked at the photo in her son’s hoof. “You were in so much pain and I tried to help you, but it had mixed results. You survived, physically, but the side effects reduced you to a newborn foal without your memories. After two days of nothing but working to get you back, I didn’t make any progress, so I did the next best thing.” He blinked in surprise when Twilight made the photo vanish from his hooves. “I’ve always been afraid that the enhancement spell being removed would negatively impact your health, that’s why I insist on these checkups.” “Okay, I understand, but who attacked you, mom?” Twilight paused, mulling over her answer for a moment. “A misguided pony trapped in a bad situation who didn't see a way out. I don’t know what he was hoping to accomplish, but after the fight was over, he just... Disappeared. Nopony’s seen him since.” “Was he a bad pony?” A strong urge to cringe came over her, and Twilight had a hard time fighting it as the awkwardness of his questions pressed on her. “No, I truly believe he wasn’t a bad pony, but he was hurting deeply. I wish he’d come to me sooner, I could’ve at least tried to help him.” The implications her words had weren’t lost on Star Spark. “Came to you? Did you know him before then?” While normally she applauded her son’s inquisitive nature, right now she felt herself getting pushed more and more into a corner by it, and she needed to get out. “Yes, but that’s a story for when you’re older. Right now it’s time for your magic lessons so you don’t almost spontaneously combust your fur again.” He opened his mouth to protest, but closed it without saying anything when he realized it wouldn’t do any good. “I hope you enjoyed your party, Star Spark. Li’l Cheese really outdid himself this year.” The young stallion smiled, the taste of buttercream frosting still faintly noticeable on his tongue. “Yeah, he may even rival his parents at parties these days.” Twilight returned the amicable expression as they went onto the balcony overlooking Canterlot, and from there much of Equestria, the cool night air gently blowing through their manes. “I have two gifts left for you. Well, gift isn’t the right word. They’re rightfully yours, I’m just giving them back to you. One moment-” Before he could ask, her horn lit as the evening sun dipped below the horizon, the moon soon rising to replace it. As it lifted into the sky Star Spark wondered what she could possibly be talking about. He tried to think of possibilities but he was drawing blanks. He didn’t have long to wait as Twilight soon finished her task and returned her attention to him, the magic around her horn remaining as an envelope appeared in front of him. Star Spark took it in his hooves and opened it. As he pulled out the contents and examined them, he grew curious. A property deed and a statement? His gaze was immediately drawn to the figure at the bottom, his eyes widening at the amount. “What the- mom, what is this?” “They’re yours.” She moved a bit closer. “They’re your bits and finances from before.” Words failed him as he rubbed his eyes to make sure he was seeing the right number of zeroes. The amount of bits he’d just received were more than enough to set him for life, but Twilight didn’t let him focus on that for long. “The second gift is worth more than any amount of bits: it’s the entire truth. I’ve never lied to you, but I haven’t been completely honest, either,” she got down to his level looking him right in the eye. “Sweetheart, the pony who attacked me that night, that was you, or rather it was who you used to be.” He dropped the letter from his hooves, but Twilight caught it in her magic, teleporting it away for the time being. “Mom, why?” He struggled to make sense of what she’d just told him. He was the one who attacked her? But in hindsight, it all made perfect sense. She said he was there, not that he protected her, and that afterwards her attacker disappeared, just like he did when he lost his memories, but he wasn’t focused on that. “Why would you lie to me? What else have you lied to me about?” “I Pinkie Promise that while I have withheld the truth from you, I’ve never lied to you.” Twilight did the motions associated with the immutable promise, hoping it would convince him. Even with the assurance of a Pinkie Promise he was still unsettled. “Why would you keep this from me, mom? Is there anything else you’ve kept from me?” “No, I just didn’t want you to live your life dwelling on it and wondering why before everything was ready. Yes, I kept things from you, but I’m not going to hide anything anymore. But why tell you, when I can show you?” Once again magic enveloped her horn and a small sphere of light appeared between them. It lit the balcony with a warm glow, and on the front of it was a marking he didn’t recognize. It looked like a pony being protected by a shield. For the second time that night, Star Spark was at a loss as to what he was seeing. “What’s that?” “Your memories, the ones you lost.” Twilight looked proud and relieved all at once. “It’s taken me over twenty years to find a workaround, but I finally figured out a way to give them back to you. All your triumphs and tragedies, all your struggles and successes, all your knowledge and experiences, they’re all right there for you. All you need to do is reach out and touch it.” Star Spark studied the mark on the orb. Was that his cutie mark before? He could finally find out the truth about everything, but then again it was only when Twilight revealed she’d kept things from him that he cared. It was also clear that whoever he was before was markedly different from who he was now. He looked back at the orbiting stars on his flank, then back at what Twilight had presented him with, and the marks weren’t at all similar. His past self was a Royal Guard, and while he was many things, that wasn’t one of them. Would accepting change who he was? The weight of the decision pressed down on him, but deep inside he knew what he wanted to do. With a single magic shot, the orb shattered into fragments of light that soon faded away. He felt tears pricking the edges of his eyes as Twilight stood there dumbfounded. He launched himself forward and hugged her around the neck, feeling the tears roll down his cheeks. “I know it bothers you that after all this time of working so hard to give me back those memories to hear that I don't want them. But please, don't think of it as throwing away who I used to be and letting those memories die. Try to look at it as I do. That you gave me a whole new life instead. One I never want to give up or cheapen with the life of someone I don't care to be. I don’t know who that pony was, but he’s not me, and I don’t want to be him." He squeezed her tighter, burying his face in her shoulder. “I love you, mom…” Twilight hugged him back as he explained his reasoning, and she couldn’t find a single fault with it. She wrapped her wings around him, shutting out the outside world as she pressed a kiss to the top of his head. “I love you, too.” Author's Note That’s all, folks! I hope you had fun with this! Please let me know what you thought of it down below and have a wonderful night!
1: Say What Now?As the sun was beginning to set in Ponyville, Twilight’s friends were heading to her old castle. “Y’all got the same letter, too?” Applejack asked, glancing at her friends. “Yup! Whatever it is must be super duper ultra super important if it can’t wait until our next meeting!” Pinkie said as she bounced along beside her friends. “What do you think it could be?” Rainbow Dash couldn’t help but grin as she flew beside Applejack. “Who knows? Maybe we’ll need to save Equestria again! It’s been so long since we’ve been able to do that!” She paused for a moment. “You said super twice, you know.” “That’s how important it probably is!” Pinkie stopped bouncing, walking slow enough to let her catch up. “But I think our days of saving Equestria are over, Dashie. We haven’t had to face anything in a really long time, but I’m not complaining.” “Really? Don’t you miss our adventures at all?” Rarity asked, raising an eyebrow. “The heroics, the danger, the drama, the lavish parties to celebrate our victories?” “Nah!” Pinkie told her. “Don’t get me wrong, I liked the adventure and all, but I’m glad Equestria doesn’t need us to save it every few months anymore!” As they began going up the castle steps, Rainbow Dash couldn’t help but agree. “Well, I guess you’re right about that, but wouldn’t it still be cool to do it just one more time? It’s been years since those three tried to conquer Equestria.” “Ah think we’re a bit long in the tooth to be doing that again, hun.” Applejack told her, giving her a playful push. “But Pinkie’s right, Ah’m sure whatever she’s calling us for is pretty darn urgent.” “What could be so important that Twilight called us for an emergency meeting?” Fluttershy asked. “Only way we’ll find out is to ask her.” Applejack answered as she pushed open the door, making sure the others were inside before shutting it behind her. When they neared the throne room, Rainbow Dash pushed the doors open, and five jaws dropped at once at what they saw. Twilight was sitting on her throne. Her eyes were red and baggy, and her waving mane seemed duller than normal while a pile of paperwork sat in front of her. She offered a weak smile when the door opened, lighting her horn and making the paperwork disappear. “Hi, girls. Thanks for coming so quickly. Sorry it was on such short notice.” Rainbow Dash zoomed in, her eyes wide as she landed on the Cutie Map. “What happened?! Who did this to you?” “Are you okay, Twi?” Applejack asked, her expression filled with concern. “I’m fine, really, but there is something very important we need to discuss.” Everyone went to take their seats, but she held her hoof up and they stopped. “Don’t bother sitting down, we won’t be in here for long.” “Why not?” Rarity asked, slightly confused. “And will Spike be joining us tonight?” “No, Spike was gracious enough to cover my duties in Canterlot until I can get this all straightened out,” Twilight answered, glancing at the empty throne by her side. With how big Spike had grown she doubted he could still fit in his old seat. “So what needs straightening out?” Pinkie asked, her curiosity piqued. She absentmindedly pulled a sucker off her tail and stuck it in her mouth, resisting the urge to just bite down and break the candy off the stick. “Yeah, what Pinkie said, does Equestria need saving again?” Rainbow Dash sounded just a little too excited at the prospect of needing to save Equestria from an imminent threat. “No, thankfully, Equestria is fine.” Twilight felt the tiniest bit of annoyance at the disappointment on Dash’s face before continuing. “As for my injuries, they’re incredibly minor, all things considered.” Twilight took a deep breath, sighing as she leaned forward and rested her forelegs on the Cutie Map. “Two days ago, there was an attempt on my life.” A series of gasps and other surprised noises responded to her statement. Looking at her friends’ reactions, Twilight saw what she expected to see. They were all stunned to hear this, and she didn’t blame them. “Why would anypony do that?!” Fluttershy asked. “And how could they do that?” Everypony looked at Rainbow Dash. “No, I mean how was it even possible? Don’t you have guards to stop exactly that?” Applejack spoke up now. “She’s right, and on that note, who would do that?” Twilight looked to each of her friends, her expression starting to fall. “The answer to all those questions is in another room. It’ll be easier just to show you.” She stood up from her throne and began to walk towards one of the doors at the edge of the throne room, using her magic to open it. She looked back to see her friends following her, sighing as she began to head down the hallway. She needed to show them, but it’d be hard to explain what they saw. “Twilight, darling,” Rarity spoke up, hurrying a little to get beside her. “If you’re going to be in Ponyville for a while, why didn’t you bring any guards with you?” “I don’t want anypony else to know what’s going on. I promise I’ll answer any questions you have, but this is a very delicate situation and it needs to be handled with the utmost care.” She answered, her eyes landing on a door towards the end of the hall. “Hey, if whatever happened, happened two days ago, why are we just hearing about it now?” Applejack asked, catching her eye at the door they were approaching. Her imagination began to run away from her as she wondered what might be in that room. “Sorry, I’ve been very busy dealing with the aftermath. I wish I could’ve told you sooner, but this is the earliest chance I’ve had.” They reached the door and Twilight grasped the handle, manually opening it. The six ponies stepped into a dark room, but as their eyes began to adjust, five of the six present were surprised to see the furniture in it. “This is a nursery.” Fluttershy noted, looking at what was set up. There was a nightstand, toy box, a rocking chair, but her gaze stopped and her eyes widened when she saw the crib. “Oh my!” Inside the crib was a small colt dressed in a navy-blue hoofed sleeper. His coat was a pristine snow-white, save for a stripe of gray fur that ran along his muzzle from his snout up to his messy jet-black mane. “Aw.” Pinkie couldn’t help but quietly coo at him. She pulled the teddy bear from her tail and gently put it up against him, her smile only widening as he held it close. “Twilight, why is there a nursery and a foal in your castle?” Rainbow Dash stage-whispered. Applejack tapped Twilight’s side, getting her attention. She sounded frustrated, but kept her voice down. “We got more important things to worry about. Who’s the one who tried to do you in?” Twilight looked from her to the colt, seeing Pinkie and Fluttershy fawning over him. It seemed almost cruel what she was about to do. She lifted a foreleg, pointing right at the crib. “He did.” She said with a regretful tone.
2: What Happened?“So he attacked you and you turned him into a foal?” Rainbow Dash asked incredulously. “No! I mean yes, but not on purpose!” Twilight sounded flustered. “It was an accident that caused this and I don’t think I can turn him back.” Twilight’s voice and expression held no small amount of distress. Her previously calm demeanor evaporated with this revelation. “He attacked me, but Spike protected me. Spike won, and I was getting through to him, but just as I did, his magic became unstable and, and-” Twilight was silenced by an orange hoof on her lips. “This problem’s gotta be bigger than all outdoors. Ah haven’t seen you that worked up in years.” Applejack took her hoof away. “Now how about we back up a little bit? Who’s this little feller?” Twilight groaned and rubbed her eyes. She tried to think of how best to explain it, but after several seconds she was drawing blanks. “That’s not an easy question for me to answer.” “Why not? Do you know him?” Rainbow Dash asked. “I did,” Twilight answered, remorse building up. “Until two days ago he was the captain of the Royal Guard. Now, I don’t know anymore.” “Because he attacked you?” Rarity asked, shocked. Even after all the adventures they’d shared together, life kept finding new ways to surprise her. Twilight’s voice was breaking. “It’s more serious than that. For ten years I trusted him with Equestria’s safety, and I’d considered him a friend for even longer. When he was reduced to a foal, his memories were lost. He might be physically alive, but the pony he was is gone. It’s no different than if he’d perished.” “No wonder you’re so worked up.” Applejack looked at Pinkie and Fluttershy who were both still mostly focused on him. “How was he turned into a foal?” She kept her gaze on said foal. “The reasons for that are… complicated.” “So uncomplicate them.” Dash retorted. Twilight took a deep breath and thought about how best to describe it. “He wasn’t as powerful as he was through natural talent alone. His body was modified with magic.” “Modified?” Dash asked, looking slightly confused. Twilight glanced at Applejack and Rarity, seeing they were just as confused. She lit her horn and a purple grid appeared in the air, a silhouette of an earth pony, a pegasus, and a unicorn appearing across it. “It’s called an enhancement spell, and it’s used on a foal to enhance desired traits in them, as the name might suggest.” The intensity of her magic increased ever so slightly. “It could be physical strength, wing power, even a unicorn’s magic. Whatever it’s meant to enhance and how rapidly is tailored to the recipient on a per-case basis, and if the spell is done correctly it tends to produce exceptional results.” As she spoke the earth pony silhouette grew bigger, the pegasus’ wings expanded, and the unicorn’s horn brightened. “And if it’s not done right, Twilight?” Applejack had a feeling she wouldn’t like the answer. The question made Twilight look uncomfortable. The specifics were around a field of magic not commonly practiced or even understood. “Bad things, very bad things. If the spell isn’t done exactly right it could cause cancers, bone growths, horn problems, and other things that can lead to mental and physical harm.” Everypony was stunned silent for a moment before Rarity’s face morphed into one of anger. “Why, that’s just deplorable!” She declared. “What parents would knowingly put their own foal at such a risk?!” “Suppose your child was an earth pony and you wanted them to grow up to be incredibly strong, a pegasus to be a shoo-in for the Wonderbolts, or maybe your child is a unicorn you hope could become a powerful magic-user. This spell could theoretically make it happen, but the more likely results are the horrible side effects. That’s why it’s so eschewed, but apparently there are still some ponies who think it’s worth the risk.” The topic left Twilight with a bad taste in her mouth. “Rarity’s right, that’s awful!” Fluttershy stepped away from the crib to join her friends. “Look at what it did to him!” “So what exactly did happen?” Applejack glanced at him before going back to Twilight. “You said this happened when you fought, right?” “It happened afterwards. Spike won, and I started to get through to him, but just as I did, his spell failed. Magic arced off of him before he burst into green flames.” She cringed, remembering his cries of pain. “I tried to cast a disabling spell to help him, but I didn’t know what was going on at the time. It put out the fire, but a few seconds later he was reduced to a foal.” “Green fire? That sounds like changeling magic.” Pinkie Pie chimed in, glancing at her friends. Twilight looked uneasy, remembering when Queen Chrysalis had banished her to the caves beneath Canterlot. She’d been surrounded by a ring of it and felt a wave of heat radiating off it. He must’ve been in agony before Twilight acted. “You don’t know how right you are, Pinkie. Enhancement spells are made possible by changeling magic.” Dash raised an eyebrow. “How does that work?” Twilight remembered what she’d read about it recently, “You need a very skilled enchanter and a certain amount of changeling magic to infuse into the recipient, depending on the degree of the alterations you want to see.” She shuddered at the thought of a spell like that being used on her, but she didn’t have long to dwell on it before Dash’s voice interrupted her thoughts, looking slightly green. “Sorry I asked.” “Twilight,” Rarity asked, “why did his spell fail? Why only then?” Twilight thought of feeling from the hug they’d shared. It was warm and she’d thought she’d really made a connection, only for him to be gripped in agony moments later. “His magic had been spliced with changeling magic when he was young, from before they metamorphosed. My theory is that the changeling part of his magic went through the same sort of change that theirs did, but since it was integrated with a pony it couldn’t do it properly, causing him a great deal of pain and leaving it unstable.” Applejack’s mind quickly made the connection. “That disabling spell you were talking about earlier, you mean it-” “-Caused his current condition, yes.” Twilight finished. “What I don’t know is why. I didn’t even know such a spell existed until this happened, and there’s no information about what happens when it’s removed.” Dash cocked her head slightly to the side and glanced at where Fluttershy had been earlier. She couldn’t help but look at the foal just a little bit differently now. “Is there any way to get him back to how he was?” Squeezing her eyes shut, Twilight grimaced. She’d been dreading that question the most but knew it would inevitably arise. “I don’t think so. I’ve been looking into solutions since this happened, but none of them were promising. I can’t restore his memories unless I first return him to how he was physically, but I can’t do that. It’s meant to work gradually, and it must be given at some point during their foalhood. If I tried to use an age spell on him and then give him the enhancement spell it wouldn’t take effect, and if I gave it to him as a foal and then used an age spell I’d end up burning out his body.” “That’s like having to choose between nettles and cockleburrs.” Applejack didn’t know a lot about magic, but she was smart enough to understand a no-win situation when she heard one. “There’s no other way?” All she received at first was a head shake from Twilight. “With everything I’ve learned and no evidence to the contrary, that’s what it looks like.” “You mean he’ll never get any older?” Rarity realized it sounded like a silly question, but with all the surprises their adventures had given her she’d learned to never assume anything. “What’s going to happen to him, then? Will you be sending him back to his parents?” Twilight’s eyes narrowed, her teeth clenching at that question. “Not a chance in Tartarus. Jet Set and Upper Crust didn’t choose him because they wanted a foal to love, they chose him because he was a promising unicorn! They had their chance, and they wasted it!” She only became aware that she'd slipped into the Royal Canterlot voice when she heard soft whining coming from her charge. “Sorry, sweetie,” she murmured, using her magic to wrap the blanket around him and pull him into her foreleg. “I didn’t mean to wake you up.” Silence hung heavy in the air as the implications of her words set in. They’d found out more about the former captain in a few seconds from Twilight than they had in years of knowing him. “We can come back to that, Twilight.” Applejack couldn’t help but notice just how small he looked compared to the princess who already towered over most grown ponies. “Why’d he attack you?” Author's Note And here we go! The story's been all written out, and I'll be posting one chapter a day until we reach the end. I'm very excited about this and hope you enjoy!
3: FlashbackAuthor's Note Another day, another chapter! So originally this chapter had a long fight scene that was ultimately cut, which is why I removed the violence tag, but I put it back just in case because I realized what I still left in happening right away. Everyone makes mistakes, right? But my mistake aside, enjoy the chapter! 3: Flashback Two days ago Iron Aegis’ bloodcurdling cry echoed throughout the throne room as Spike sank his teeth into his horn, all the magic he’d overloaded it with unleashed in an instant, throwing both of them away from each other. Spike’s back slammed into the ground as he continued to slide across the smooth marble floor. Aegis was not as lucky, his left side colliding with a pillar on the far end of the throne room. The force of the impact drove the air from his lungs. He would’ve cried out as his ribs and foreleg broke. Every breath he took in a desperate bid to get his wind back sent a shooting pain through his side as a burning ache radiated through his broken foreleg. He reached up and felt where his horn should’ve been, but his hoof only met empty air. Across the room, the chains binding Twilight went slack across her body. Her mane began to wave again as magic flooded into her horn. With a simple nullification spell, the chains disappeared. She focused and teleported over to where Spike was, gently helping him sit back up. “Spike, are you okay?” He groaned and rubbed his head, spitting horn fragments out of his mouth, but he smiled when he saw she was free. “Yeah, yeah I think so. You?” Twilight nodded, beginning to use her magic to heal Spike’s injuries. The cut on his chest and the bruising on his scales began to fade, and Spike looked at her appreciatively, pushing himself to his feet. “Thanks, Twilight. What do we do with him?” Both turned to the crumpled form of Iron Aegis, seeing him trying to push himself back to his hooves and the obvious pain it was causing him. “Come with me, Spike.” Aegis looked up to see Twilight and Spike approaching him, a feeling of panic beginning to make itself known but he used his anger to force it down. He propped himself up on his elbow and looked Twilight right in the eye. “So, what’re you going to do now?” “I want to know why you attacked us, Aegis.” His eyes flashed dangerously as he pushed himself to his hooves, holding most of his weight on his right side. Twilight winced at the state of his foreleg, but Spike didn’t let his guard down, ready to finish what Aegis started. “Stop calling me that! I hate that name! I’ve hated it since the day it was forced on me!” The fury in his voice suddenly evaporated, but the cold tone that was left behind disturbed Twilight even more. “As for why I attacked you, you don’t really think nopony was hurt the day you fought Tirek, do you?” Twilight thought back to that day. Overall the fight had been largely away from Ponyville, save for when the Golden Oaks Library was destroyed. It wasn’t until later that she learned that more than her books had been lost in the blast. “No, two ponies died that day. A couple. I found out they had a foal, but I couldn’t find him anywhere. I don’t know what became of him, but I always hoped he was alri-” Her words died in her mouth as her mind quickly put the pieces together. “It was you. You’re their foal, aren’t you?” His foreleg trembled under his weight as he carefully lowered himself back into a sitting position. He took in a deep, shuddering breath, a feeling of weakness spreading through his body. His side was beginning to hurt more and more but he concentrated on it and used it to keep himself alert. “I was their foal, but that was another life. A life you took from me!” Spike gave a low growl, taking a step closer. “In case you never noticed, Tirek was the one who destroyed the library. If it weren’t for Twilight, who knows how many other lives he would’ve taken.” This didn’t dissuade Aegis. “If it weren’t for her, no ponies would’ve died at all! Tirek was after her! She could’ve led him anywhere in Equestria, and he would’ve followed her like an imprinted duckling, but she brought him right down on us! It’s a miracle more lives weren’t lost.” His words had a sting of truth to them, but Twilight tried to reason with him. “Maybe, but if I’d tried to lead Tirek somewhere more secluded, other lives could’ve been lost. We can debate this but it won’t change what happened. What matters now is that you’re alive and how we move forward.” Aegis’ eyes burned into Twilight. “Forward, forward?! I have no forward. Look at me! My family was ripped away from me, I was taken from my home, stripped of my real name, used as a pawn, and for all that, destiny said I was to serve you, the mare who ruined my life! I lost everything, including myself!” His anger finally broke, leaving only sorrow in his tone. “Do you have any idea what it’s like to live your life feeling like you’re trapped with no way out?” Twilight snorted derisively, a tone of resignation in her voice. "Of course I do. Do you think I wanted this life? Spending every waking moment having to worry about everypony in Equestria? All the stress, the responsibility, the... Everything? No. I never asked for it. Celestia simply told me that it's my destiny, and like a fool, I believed her. It took me a few years, you know. To realize that I was her retirement plan. By the time I did, it was too late. I'm trapped here. My friends will die, my family will disappear, and I will remain, carrying the burden of the day, night, and Equestria itself on my shoulders. I thought about retiring or leaving many times. But I can't. There's no one who can carry this burden but me. So I'm damned to stay as everyone I care about dies around me until I'm so detached from everypony that I can do to somepony what Celestia did to me!” She only noticed the tears running down her cheeks at the end of her speech, brushing them away with her hoof. “I do know what it’s like to feel trapped. It’s a terrible, terrible thing, but you don’t have to be.” Aegis’ hatred was replaced by utter confusion, “I don’t understand. I betrayed you, tried to destroy you, why would you help me?” Twilight’s expression softened. “Compared to other ponies I’ve met over the years, that’s not that bad. After all, Starlight nearly destroyed the fabric of time itself and I made her my student. Fizzlepop led an invasion against Equestria and now she’s in charge of protecting Ponyville. I helped both of them, and I can help you, too.” Taking a chance, she slowly approached him. “I’m sorry for what happened to you, and I’m sorry that after it happened, no one was there for you like your parents had been. We can’t go back, and I know you think there’s no way forward, that you’re trapped, but that’s not true. I couldn’t help you then, so let me help you now. You can move forward, and the first step is for you to trust me.” A wave of empathy rushed over him. For so long he thought he was just collateral damage in her rise to power, that she’d gained the throne without having to sacrifice anything. But for the first time since he was a colt, he was willing to admit that he’d been wrong about her. They were more alike than he’d realized. Neither of them had asked for their lot in life, others had chosen it for them, and while to outsiders they may seem like successes, they knew the paths their lives had taken weren’t of their own volition. But she was willing to help him, and the fact she understood how he felt made him confident he could accept it. “Alright, Twilight. I trust you.” A gentle smile crossed her face, and her horn began to glow once again. “Wonderful. Just hold still.” Magic enveloped him, a comfortable warmth and a gentle pressure accompanying it. He could feel his ribs and foreleg recovering, the bones being knitted back together by her magic. It felt like his whole body had been wrapped in a warm hug. A thought occurred to Twilight while she worked, “You said you didn’t like the name they gave you. Do you still remember your old name?” He answered with a small nod. “Of course, it’s something I’ll never forget. It’s Star Spark.” He flexed his foreleg and felt that the pain was gone. He was good as new. Well, almost. “Thanks for healing me. I could’ve done it myself if I still had my horn.” “Star Spark, what a wonderful name. I like it.” When he mentioned his horn Twilight gave him a sympathetic look. “I know, but I can fix that, too.” Spike frowned. “Are you really sure that’s a good idea, Twilight?” “Absolutely.” she turned to where the fragments of Star Spark’s horn had been left, levitating the pieces over. “It works both ways. I can’t ask him to trust me if I won’t do the same.” He huffed in disapproval, but supposed the risk was manageable. Without any more weapons or the ability to effectively nullify Twilight’s magic, they could handle him if he pulled anything, horn or no horn. Star Spark could hardly believe it. She was willing to not only heal him, but restore the horn of the same pony who’d tried to assassinate her not ten minutes ago? Either she was delusional, or she really was willing to trust him. Through Twilight’s magic he could see the pieces of his horn meticulously rearranging themselves and coming together. “Hold still.” Twilight repeated, although it wasn’t as if he could move even if he wanted to. As she brought it towards him he felt a tingle in his head that only grew in intensity until it made contact with the base of his horn. Star Spark felt a tingle run through his horn that he felt from his skull to the tip, the fact he could feel it proving Twilight had done as she’d promised. Before he could thank her he was pulled forward by her magic. It dissipated as she embraced him, but the feeling that he was being wrapped in a warm hug never left him. After the initial surprise wore off, he allowed himself to enjoy it. He had tried to destroy her, and not only wouldn’t she punish him, but help him to move forward in his life, and she would be able to do so because she understood him. For the first time in a long time things looked bright for him, and he truly believed there was a way to not be trapped anymore. He took a deep breath, and when he exhaled, it felt like a weight had been lifted. A small smile crossed his face as he returned the gesture. The pleasantness lasted only seconds more before a feeling of nausea and pain gripped him, lines of magic arcing across his body. He released Twilight and stumbled back, his limbs feeling less obedient now. He felt something changing within himself and not for the better, like one half of a two-piece jigsaw puzzle was being flipped around and forced back in place. “What’s ha-happening to me?” Before he or anyone else could take a moment to guess, the tingling became agony, green fire erupting all over his body. Star Spark tried to use his magic to do anything, but he couldn’t focus enough, and a sense of panic quickly set in. “Agh, help me!” Twilight recognized the fire instantly, she’d seen it when Chrysalis had banished her to the caves beneath Canterlot. She used a spell to drench him with water, but the fire wasn’t the least bit abated by her efforts. Switching tactics she used a disabling spell, trying to neutralize any magic in the conflagration. The fire vanished, but Star Spark felt a sense of hollowness. He felt something deep inside of him break and shift, his panic being replaced by sheer terror. There was a bright flash, and all that was left of him was a pile of armor that clattered to the floor. “What did you do, vaporize him?!” Spike asked with disbelief, looking at where Star Spark had been just moments ago. Twilight’s eyes widened, staring at the empty armor. “NO! No, this isn’t how it was supposed to be! It was just supposed to-” Twilight was cut off by the sounds of infantile crying coming from beneath the armor. She and Spike shared a look, completely befuddled, before he went and dug through it. When he lifted up the body plating his eyes widened in surprise to see a tiny foal beneath it. His cutie mark was gone, but otherwise he seemed unharmed. Spike carefully picked him up under the forelegs and cradled him. He was surprised to see Star Spark’s eyes had changed from green to a vivid yellow. Regardless of the aesthetics, he still didn’t know what to think of this discovery. “I can’t tell if this is better or worse.” Twilight approached and got a good look at Star Spark, casting a weak sleep spell on the foal. She felt a twinge of jealousy seeing him fall asleep, knowing she now had a very long night ahead of her. “It’s... different. Let’s go with that for now.”
4: Only In Equestria“There you have it,” Twilight gently stroked Star Spark’s mane, the little foal teetering between being awake and asleep in her hold, “just when he decided to do the right thing, this happened.” Silence reigned for a minute as the other ponies present took it all in, but Applejack was the first to break it. “You did what you had to do, Twilight. You had no way of knowing this would happen, and you had no way of knowing what would happen when you fought Tirek. This ain’t your fault.” “I know,” Twilight didn’t sound like she believed herself, “but that doesn’t make me feel any less responsible.” “So what’s going to happen to him, Twilight?” Rainbow Dash asked. “You already said you’re not giving him back to his old parents. You planning on dropping him off at the orphanage?” A conflicted look crossed her face. “No. To be honest, I don’t think I could bring myself to just discard him like that, and given how this happened, I couldn’t do that with a clean conscience.” Fluttershy walked around her friends to get a better view. “That spell he had? I thought it was gone?” “It is, and that’s another problem.” Twilight rubbed her head with her wing, not risking using her hoof while her other leg still held the cause of all the fuss. “There’s never been a documented case of an enhancement spell being removed before now. I’m worried it could cause complications in his body if he’s not under the constant care of a skilled magic-user.” Her answer made Fluttershy realize all the issues that would cause. “You’d have to explain that to whoever might adopt him-” “making him being adopted by pegasi or earth ponies a bad fit and probably dissuade any other potential parents.” Twilight finished. Pinkie grinned, her bright, pearly teeth showing. “Then maybe you should adopt him yourself! You’re more skilled with magic than anyone else in Equestria, and you’re already experienced from raising Spike.” Rarity had a look of distaste when Pinkie made her suggestion. “You’re heart’s in the right place, darling, but I can hardly think of a worse idea.” Applejack remembered having to look after Apple Bloom while trying to work the farm until her little sister got old enough to care for herself. That had been an ordeal, she couldn’t imagine running an entire kingdom while doing it. “Yeah, Rarity’s right, you’re busy enough handling Equestria without having to look after a foal on top of everything else. What about other ponies we know, like Starlight, Sunburst, or heck, even Trixie?” Before any more points could be made, Twilight spoke up. “Starlight and Sunburst are busy with the School of Friendship, and when she’s not counseling Trixie doesn’t even have a fixed address. Besides, I’m not going to ask another pony to clean up after my mess.” She held Star Spark a little closer, glad that he was fast asleep again. Applejack had a mild look of skepticism. “Twi, Ah need to to be real honest with me right now. You said you were Celestia’s retirement plan; is he yours?” “No.” Twilight answered firmly, feeling an accusation in Applejack’s question. She felt Star Spark settle down in her grip and glanced at him. “I wanted to give him the kind of family he should’ve had the first time. I won’t make him do anything he doesn’t want to do.” “And you think you can find the time for him along with everything else?” Applejack asked. Twilight nodded. “I’d have Spike to help me, and it’s the same basic principle as when we helped Pinkie with her foal.” “Yeah! I gotcha covered, it’s just like with the Cake Twins or Little Cheese when I was helping with the bakery and planning parties and throwing parties and bringinggreatbigsmilestoEquestria!” Pinkie cheered, sucking in air her excitement had deprived her of. Rarity sighed and rubbed her forehead. “Only in Equesrtria could a pony attempt regicide against the reigning monarch and wind up their adopted child for it.” While Fluttershy enjoyed Pinkie’s enthusiasm, a worry continued to nag at her. “And Spike is okay with this? Especially given what happened.” “Spike was on the fence about it, but I explained why sending him away wouldn’t be a good idea, and how the foal he found under that armor wasn't the same pony who attacked us. He wasn't thrilled, but I’m hoping he’ll warm up to him over time." Rarity thought for a moment, before finally speaking up. “Have you considered how you’re going to tell the public? The captain of the royal guard disappears and suddenly the princess is adopting a foal who’s nearly identical to him, it’s going to be pretty obvious what happened.” “I have, and they’re not going to know.” The princess looked like she’d eaten something bitter. “Besides myself, you five and Spike are the only ones who know the truth, and it’s going to stay that way. The official story will be that the intruder managed to get past his barrier and attack, undoing his enhancement spell and resulting in his tragically irreversible condition and that adopting him is my way of saying thanks for saving my life.” “You’ve certainly put a lot of thought into this.” Rarity saw her distress while she was talking. “Twilight, what’s wrong?” “Nothing,” Twilight pursed her lips in contemplation, “by doing this I’m lying to all of Equestria, including creatures I consider my friends. Celestia did the same thing and that’s not something I’m comfortable with, but at the same time telling what actually happened isn’t any better.” She took in a deep breath before letting it out. “I didn’t just call you all here to tell you I was going to be adopting, but to ask you if I’m doing the right thing by withholding the truth from everyone.” Silence again blanketed the room as those present considered what she’d said, and debated the pros and cons of both options. Twilight wasn’t at all surprised when Applejack broke it. “Ah dunno, Twi. If you lie, the worst thing that can happen is that the truth comes out, then you’ll be in more trouble than a grass snake found in a chicken coop." “I think it’s the only sensible option.” Rarity pulled her shawl closer to herself as she glanced at the farm mare. “If the truth comes out it will only damage Twilight, the royal guard, and quite possibly make the poor foal’s life harder if every creature knows his past incarnation attempted regicide against her. Besides, Twilight only shared this secret with us and Spike, her most trusted confidantes. Unless one of us shares it then there’s no risk of her secret being revealed, right, Applejack?” An indignant look crossed her face as she rolled her eyes. “Hey, Ah ain’t gonna go blabbing it around town. Ah know how to keep a secret.” After a moment of pause, Applejack huffed in defeat. “But you’re right, Rares, Ah don’t really see an upside to telling the truth here.” Rarity’s satisfied smile only seemed to irk her, but before they could say anything more, Pinkie’s excitement finally burst. “Ooh, I’m gonna hafta throw you two a Happy Re-Birthday and a Happy Adoption party!” Pinkie quietly exclaimed, her whispers barely containing her enthusiasm. “It’ll be just like when we had Li’l Cheese!" Her excitement seemed to dispel any tension in the air, and Twilight felt a renewed sense of optimism that she hadn’t felt before this happened. “I know it’ll be hard work, but I’ll take it one step at a time, and I know that all of you would be good role models for him.” She felt the bundle she was cradling shift around and looked to see Star Spark sleepily looking at her. “Hi there, sweetie. I guess I should’ve known better than to think you’d be asleep for long.” Applejack chuckled. “Just you wait. Give the little rascal a few months and he’ll have you and Spike running around more than us during cider-making season.” Twilight used her magic to pull the blanket a bit tighter around him. “Compared to raising a dragon or foalsitting an alicorn, he shouldn’t be too bad. For now, I need to get this stuff moved to Canterlot, choose a new captain, prepare an announcement for the rest of Equestria, and introduce him to the rest of my family,” her voice held a sense of nervous anticipation at the last item on that list. “But that can all wait until tomorrow. Right now I need to lower the sun and get some sleep of my own.” Twilight focused and the light in the room began to fade, evening turning to dusk as she gently set Star Spark in his crib and gave him a kiss on the head. “Sleep well, Star Spark, we have a busy few days ahead of us.” Author's Note Only one chapter remains! After having a particularly rough week at work I'm glad to be doing something I enjoy, even if it's just publishing chapters. Hope you enjoy and I'll see you lovely lot tomorrow!
5: Epilogue“Mommy, why don’t I have wings?” It was a simple question, but it caught Twilight completely off guard. One moment Star Spark looked like he was trying to decide whether to play with a toy, work on his coloring books, or maybe play with one of the plushies Pinkie and Cheese kept sending him, the next moment that question hung in the air. She mulled over what she was going to tell him. There wasn’t any way to do it without getting into something she wanted to wait several more years to explain, but she also wasn’t going to lie to him. A small smile crossed her face as she thought of how to answer him. “Well, sweetie, do you know where foals come from?” His face lit up, his answer bursting out, “They come from mommy’s tummy!” Twilight had to suppress a giggle at how innocent his response was. There was so much more to it than that, but it was enough for her to explain her point. “That’s right, very good, but you didn’t come from mine.” Seeing his yellow eyes looking at her in confusion, she continued. “You are my son, never doubt that, but you didn’t come from me. I adopted you when you were just a baby.” “What’s that?” It took her a moment to think of how to tactfully explain the concept to such a young pony. “Adoption is when a family looks after another family’s foal if they can’t. They bring them into their homes, their lives, and they love them just like their own. It’s how you came to be my child, and I’m happy you are.” “Mom, I’m fine!” “I know, I’m just making sure it stays that way,” Twilight said as a purple light cast over Star Spark. “This would go a lot faster if you’d just hold still.” He frowned in discontentment as he felt a strong tingle running through him like his whole body had fallen asleep. The urge to shift around from hoof to hoof and wiggle to relieve some of it was too strong to ignore, but it only made these sessions last longer. Finally, mercifully, the light projected from his mother’s horn faded and the tingling stopped. “There, see? All done, and we don’t have to do another health scan for six months.” The prospect of having to go through another of these uncomfortable scans at any point in the future made him huff, “How long do I have to keep having these done?” “Until you reach physical maturity,” Twilight told him matter of factly. “They’re to make sure you’re healthy. You know, as a foal, these used to make you just laugh and laugh and laugh.” He rolled his eyes at the notion of laughing at the intense tingling her spell caused. “Can you just show me how to do them myself?” “I could, but we both know you wouldn’t do them, or you wouldn’t probe deep enough because you think it’s uncomfortable.” She reached out and patted his head. “I know you don’t like them, but I promise they’re for a good reason.” A smirk crossed his face, “To keep you from twilighting? Her expression soured at that accusation. “I haven’t done that since you nearly set yourself on fire practicing your immolation spells,” She chided, “If you knew why I was insisting, you wouldn’t think I was being paranoid.” “Then tell me what it is, mom. I asked my friends and none of their parents do this.” A hint of worry began to creep into his voice, “Is there something wrong with me?” Twilight shook her head. “No, I promise, you’re perfectly healthy.” She inhaled deeply before letting it out as a sigh. “I suppose you’re old enough to know.” With a flash of magic a picture appeared in her hooves. She looked at it for a moment before holding it out to him. “Do you recognize the pony in this photo?” Star Spark was frozen by what he saw. There was a stallion, one that looked nearly identical to him, decked in armor, and standing in what looked like the castle’s throne room. Almost all the Royal Guard ponies had white coats, but this one had the same mane and tail as him, even the same gray muzzle stripe! A million thoughts raced through his mind as he took the photo in his hooves. “He looks just like me, is that my dad?” His imagination began to run away with him as he stared at the photo. Was that his father? The armor he was wearing had the accents and coloring that denoted the rank of captain. Was he not adopted and really the illegitimate child of Twilight and this unknown captain? But then why wouldn’t he have seen him anywhere around the castle? Did he have to step down to protect Twilight’s reputation? Did they- “Star Spark,” hearing his name jolted him from his runaway train of thoughts and brought his focus back to her, “What I’m about to say won’t be easy to understand, but I promise it’s the truth. That pony isn’t your father, it’s you.” There was a disconnect between hearing those words and processing what they all meant together. “Mom, that’s impossible. He’s a grown pony, a captain, I’m barely into my teens!” She shook her head, her eyes betraying a sadness in them. “Through magic, all things are possible. One night in the throne room I was attacked, and you were there, but what no one but you knew was that when you were a colt you’d had an enhancement spell cast on you. During the fight it came undone and then everything went bad.” The weight in Twilight’s eyes grew heavier as she looked at the photo in her son’s hoof. “You were in so much pain and I tried to help you, but it had mixed results. You survived, physically, but the side effects reduced you to a newborn foal without your memories. After two days of nothing but working to get you back, I didn’t make any progress, so I did the next best thing.” He blinked in surprise when Twilight made the photo vanish from his hooves. “I’ve always been afraid that the enhancement spell being removed would negatively impact your health, that’s why I insist on these checkups.” “Okay, I understand, but who attacked you, mom?” Twilight paused, mulling over her answer for a moment. “A misguided pony trapped in a bad situation who didn't see a way out. I don’t know what he was hoping to accomplish, but after the fight was over, he just... Disappeared. Nopony’s seen him since.” “Was he a bad pony?” A strong urge to cringe came over her, and Twilight had a hard time fighting it as the awkwardness of his questions pressed on her. “No, I truly believe he wasn’t a bad pony, but he was hurting deeply. I wish he’d come to me sooner, I could’ve at least tried to help him.” The implications her words had weren’t lost on Star Spark. “Came to you? Did you know him before then?” While normally she applauded her son’s inquisitive nature, right now she felt herself getting pushed more and more into a corner by it, and she needed to get out. “Yes, but that’s a story for when you’re older. Right now it’s time for your magic lessons so you don’t almost spontaneously combust your fur again.” He opened his mouth to protest, but closed it without saying anything when he realized it wouldn’t do any good. “I hope you enjoyed your party, Star Spark. Li’l Cheese really outdid himself this year.” The young stallion smiled, the taste of buttercream frosting still faintly noticeable on his tongue. “Yeah, he may even rival his parents at parties these days.” Twilight returned the amicable expression as they went onto the balcony overlooking Canterlot, and from there much of Equestria, the cool night air gently blowing through their manes. “I have two gifts left for you. Well, gift isn’t the right word. They’re rightfully yours, I’m just giving them back to you. One moment-” Before he could ask, her horn lit as the evening sun dipped below the horizon, the moon soon rising to replace it. As it lifted into the sky Star Spark wondered what she could possibly be talking about. He tried to think of possibilities but he was drawing blanks. He didn’t have long to wait as Twilight soon finished her task and returned her attention to him, the magic around her horn remaining as an envelope appeared in front of him. Star Spark took it in his hooves and opened it. As he pulled out the contents and examined them, he grew curious. A property deed and a statement? His gaze was immediately drawn to the figure at the bottom, his eyes widening at the amount. “What the- mom, what is this?” “They’re yours.” She moved a bit closer. “They’re your bits and finances from before.” Words failed him as he rubbed his eyes to make sure he was seeing the right number of zeroes. The amount of bits he’d just received were more than enough to set him for life, but Twilight didn’t let him focus on that for long. “The second gift is worth more than any amount of bits: it’s the entire truth. I’ve never lied to you, but I haven’t been completely honest, either,” she got down to his level looking him right in the eye. “Sweetheart, the pony who attacked me that night, that was you, or rather it was who you used to be.” He dropped the letter from his hooves, but Twilight caught it in her magic, teleporting it away for the time being. “Mom, why?” He struggled to make sense of what she’d just told him. He was the one who attacked her? But in hindsight, it all made perfect sense. She said he was there, not that he protected her, and that afterwards her attacker disappeared, just like he did when he lost his memories, but he wasn’t focused on that. “Why would you lie to me? What else have you lied to me about?” “I Pinkie Promise that while I have withheld the truth from you, I’ve never lied to you.” Twilight did the motions associated with the immutable promise, hoping it would convince him. Even with the assurance of a Pinkie Promise he was still unsettled. “Why would you keep this from me, mom? Is there anything else you’ve kept from me?” “No, I just didn’t want you to live your life dwelling on it and wondering why before everything was ready. Yes, I kept things from you, but I’m not going to hide anything anymore. But why tell you, when I can show you?” Once again magic enveloped her horn and a small sphere of light appeared between them. It lit the balcony with a warm glow, and on the front of it was a marking he didn’t recognize. It looked like a pony being protected by a shield. For the second time that night, Star Spark was at a loss as to what he was seeing. “What’s that?” “Your memories, the ones you lost.” Twilight looked proud and relieved all at once. “It’s taken me over twenty years to find a workaround, but I finally figured out a way to give them back to you. All your triumphs and tragedies, all your struggles and successes, all your knowledge and experiences, they’re all right there for you. All you need to do is reach out and touch it.” Star Spark studied the mark on the orb. Was that his cutie mark before? He could finally find out the truth about everything, but then again it was only when Twilight revealed she’d kept things from him that he cared. It was also clear that whoever he was before was markedly different from who he was now. He looked back at the orbiting stars on his flank, then back at what Twilight had presented him with, and the marks weren’t at all similar. His past self was a Royal Guard, and while he was many things, that wasn’t one of them. Would accepting change who he was? The weight of the decision pressed down on him, but deep inside he knew what he wanted to do. With a single magic shot, the orb shattered into fragments of light that soon faded away. He felt tears pricking the edges of his eyes as Twilight stood there dumbfounded. He launched himself forward and hugged her around the neck, feeling the tears roll down his cheeks. “I know it bothers you that after all this time of working so hard to give me back those memories to hear that I don't want them. But please, don't think of it as throwing away who I used to be and letting those memories die. Try to look at it as I do. That you gave me a whole new life instead. One I never want to give up or cheapen with the life of someone I don't care to be. I don’t know who that pony was, but he’s not me, and I don’t want to be him." He squeezed her tighter, burying his face in her shoulder. “I love you, mom…” Twilight hugged him back as he explained his reasoning, and she couldn’t find a single fault with it. She wrapped her wings around him, shutting out the outside world as she pressed a kiss to the top of his head. “I love you, too.” Author's Note That’s all, folks! I hope you had fun with this! Please let me know what you thought of it down below and have a wonderful night!
