A LIGHT THAT NEVER COMES

Chapter VI - HUMILITY

Sparkling Swirl wondered for a moment. If Star was just going to do the spell, then how were they going to get the princess in two days?

"What about the princess?" Moonstar asked, apparently thinking the same thing. "You'll have to call her over here, right?"

"Of course," Star said with a small smile. "It'll probably be their first and last meeting."

"That's horrible!" Ruby shouted, Star nodding.

"I know, but I cannot do anything about it."

"What'll we do?" Moonstar asked, Star seemingly confused by the question. "If we're running away from the kingdom, we'll have to take that emergency exit, right?"

"Of course," Star said, the door opening behind them. "We can't go through the main castle grounds."

"Star," Destiny called, curiously looking at all the other ponies. "We should cast the spell the morning before we leave."

"I'll arrange for your sister to arrive early then," Star said, summoning a parchment. "But why last minute?"

"I won't have any regrets that way," Destiny said quietly, peering around the room. "By the way, where's that cloak?"

"In my room," Star answered, as if it was obvious. He was writing on the parchment rather quickly. "We had to hide it so your mother wouldn't know."

"She never comes into my room," Destiny protested, finding a book and taking it from the shelf. It was a spell book for casting Arias, a form of magic only the Ayrian Rulers were capable of using. The spells were casted by song, rather than incantation. They were harder to cast, as well. Star watched him closely, Destiny's magic simply turning to sparkles and dropping the book. "That's embarrassing.."

"You should be resting, Young Master," Star said, picking the book off of the floor. When he remade eye contact with Destiny, he froze. Sparkling Swirl, and the others, noticed a small line of crimson blood working down the crevices of Destiny's horn and down his forehead. "Oh, dear, let's get you back to laying down."

His handkerchief appeared, dabbing Destiny's horn. His eyes were glossy, and he seemed totally disoriented. Star was slow in leading him towards the door, Twister coming over to help. The other three stayed silent, exchanging worried glances and looks.
Before they made it out the door, Destiny simply collapsed, convulsing for a moment. He stopped, Star seeming overly worried compared to frustrated.

"Gently rub that spot between his wings," Star instructed Twister, lifting Destiny's head slightly. His voice changed almost completely when he spoke to Destiny again. "I need you to wake up, Destiny. Come on, wake up."

Destiny's wings flapped, and he seemed like a fish out of water for a moment. He let out a panicked cry, slowly raising himself to his hooves. Star dabbed Destiny's horn a few more times, then continued leading him out. Twister stopped following, returning to the rest of the group.
Once the door closed, the three ponies piped up, wondering if Twister had anymore answers.

"What was that?" Ruby Blade asked, her ears dipped slightly back. "When I met him, he could easily levitate things!"

"For short periods of time," Twister answered. "His magic isn't so good. There's a crack in his horn, and while we could break his horn then wait for it to grow back, it can take almost three years to do so. Star's insistent on not breaking his horn, too."

"Did he think it'd repair itself?" Sparking Swirl asked, wondering about Star's judgement.

"Never once," Twister answered. "He's not stupid. He broke it when Destiny was younger, but it just cracked again as it grew back. A unicorn horn usually doesn't break again, so Star thinks it's something else. Not only that, it hurt Destiny badly."