My Little Pony:

Friendship & Courage

Chapter 2 "Living Legend Part 2"

"I really do think your over exaggerating Luna" Princess Celestia stated as she sat upon the Equestrian throne arguing with her sister for the third time today, all the while signing partitions and other royal papers as per her duty.

"For the final time sister" Luna replied with an annoyed frown "there has been a lot of strange magical activity throughout Canterlot for over a month and I believe we are dealing with a dark sorceress" Celestia sighed a little as she used her magic to lower the parchment and quill she was using and looked at Luna with a calm expression, Celestia loved her sister as anyone would, but she could be very impulsive at times.

"Very well" she said finally " I'll assign a few of the kingdoms gaurds to investigate the matter, hopefully you'll be wrong and it'll something harmless" Luna frowned again and scoffed before turning on her hooves and walking out of the throne room.

"You are too lenient sister" she scolded looking back at Celestia "It will come back to bite you sooner or later" Celestia watched as Luna disappeared around the corner of the hall and shook her head a little before picking up the first in the stack if many letters beside her, she smiled as she opened one after another with magic and read thru them all, most where letters from dignitaries and a few where from friends, finally Celestia noticed a letter addressed to her from Twilight and smiled.

"Ah this must be Twilights latest update in her study's" she said as she opened the letter and read thru it, however as she read, Celestia's expression gradually changed from a smile to a look of concern and a confusion "…What in Equestria?"

"Where am I?" Soul asked himself, he appeared to be walking thru a pitch black room and couldn't even see his own hoof in front of his face, he had been walking for what seemed like hours with no change in sight, suddenly Soul noticed a small sparkle of light ahead of him, he narrowed his eyes a little trying to see what it was and noticed the ball of light seemed to be getting bigger and brighter, soon is was a blinding inferno in front of him "What's going on?!" he shouted aloud in confusion, suddenly the bright ball of light exploded in a brilliant flash engulfing Soul completely causing him to yell out, Soul then found himself sitting bolt upright in what appeared to be a hospital bed, after registering his surroundings, Soul felt a searing pain all over his body and winced falling back down onto the bed.

"Hey ya'll look!" said Applejacks voice "He's awake!" Soul opened his eyes again and saw Applejack, Twilight and the others all looking down at him from around the sides of the bed with mixed expressions of worry.

"Oh thank Celestia" Twilight said with a smile, the others all smiled also, Soul winced slightly as he sat up again and Applejack frowned helping him a little.

"Careful now Sugar cube" She said "Ya'll still need to rest a little after what you went thru"

"What happened?" Soul asked looking from each of his friends; they all didn't answer looking as curious as Soul was.

"We were hoping you could tell us" Twilight finally responded, Soul looked to her then looked to his lap as he tried to recall.

"I remember you and that Trixie girl fighting" he said looking to Twilight again "and then I felt this burning sensation" The others all exchanged looked at each other and to Soul as they listened "and then I saw this light suddenly explode all around me…then I woke up here" Soul concluded.

"Twilight said you used some kind of awesome magic to help her!" Dash said moving in front of Soul and giving him a searching gaze "But you're clearly an Earth pony, so how'd you do it?" Soul looked at her with pure confusion.

"But I can't use magic" he replied getting a little uneasy now, Dash frowned at this and took a step closer to Soul.

"Are you holding out on us?" she accused "Spill it! What did you really do?!"

"Dash leave him be!" Applejack cut in frowning at the blue Pegasus, the two started staring each other down until Soul made a wince holding a hoof to his side where he had been hurt by Trixie, a nurse had bandaged it for him but he was still feeling the effects, Applejack and Dash quickly went back to looking concerned at this point, Twilight however was now frowning at the floor.

"I just can't understand it" she said shaking her head a little "I know what I saw and it was clearly an explosion of magical energy, it's a common accident for young unicorns using magic for the first time to cause similar outbursts" she looked up at Soul who was listening intently "I myself remember when I was little and I was doing my magical exam, I lost control and let off a large explosion similar to the one you caused Soul, though not as big or as powerful"

"But that still doesn't explain how I did it" Soul replied looking more fearful then confused now.

"Maybe I could help shed some light on this situation" everyone in the room looked to the door and saw Celestia walking in.

"Princess Celestia!" Twilight cried with amazement, the group all then bowed their heads in respect, Soul watched Celestia with wonder, he had heard about the ruling Princesses from his godmother, however he has never seen Celestia before and bowed his head also, wincing in pain as a result, Celestia saw this and made a gentle smile as she walked over to the bedside.

"There is no need for formalities my friends" she said looking to the group who all smiled back at her.

"Princess" Twilight continued "I assume my letter reached you?" she asked, Celestia nodded and then looked to Soul who hastily tried to smarten himself up to the best of his ability, Celestia silently laughed a little seeing this and smiled to him.

"So your Soul" she said, Soul nodded a little not sure what to say at the present moment "Twilight told me a lot about you in her letter, she also told me you saved her from Trixie, I'm very grateful"

"Thank you Princess" Soul replied before looking down a little "though I think I did more harm than good" Celestia smiled again, Applejack then nudged dash in the side and pointed to the door.

"Come on ya'll, let's give the princess some room!" she stated before walking out of the room pushing an uncooperative Dash ahead of her, Rarity, Pinkie and Fluttershy soon followed leaving Soul alone with Twilight and Celestia, Celestia then glanced at Twilight then back to Soul with a more serious expression on her face.

"Soul" she began, speaking in a calm voice which somehow made Soul feel even more uneasy " Twilight told me that you used magic in order to save her, is that true?" she asked, Soul looked to Twilight who nodded a little before answering.

"Yes ma'am" he said nodding "I don't know how I did it myself, but when I saw Twilight hurt I just exploded…literally" Celestia nodded at his response.

"The use of magic by a non-unicorn breed pony is very rare, as far as I know; the Crystal ponies of the Crystal Empire are the only existing exception"

"But Soul isn't a crystal pony as far as I know" Twilight cut in "he doesn't have the same attributes and his magic didn't feel the same" while the two were talking, Soul managed to get himself up and climb out of bed standing at the bedside, when Twilight saw this she gasped and frowned "Soul! What are you doing?!" she said in a scolding tone.

"I just wanted to stretch my legs a little" Soul replied with a small pout, Celestia shook her head with a small smile admiring Souls determination, she then noticed his cutie mark which made her eyes go wide and she made a surprised gasp.

"That mark!" she exclaimed, making Soul and Twilight turn their attention to her.

"Huh?" Soul said confused, he looked to his cutie mark and then back to Celestia "it's just my cutie mark ma'am, nothing too special"

"No" Celestia replied shaking her head "your cutie mark is…but it can't be!" Twilight took a step towards Celestia now with a worried look for her.

"Princess?" she asked "your starting to scare me, what are you concerned about?" Celestia looked to Twilight then back to Soul before composing herself.

"Soul…Twilight…have you ever heard the story of the Aura's?" she asked, Soul and Twilight looked at each other than shook their heads in unison.

"No ma'am" they both said at the same time, Celestia nodded, her horn then shined a bright light and the story book she had been reading previously appeared, opening it with magic and began telling the story of the Aura's, both Soul and Twilight sat listening intently, Souls expression changed from confusion, to curiosity and finally to a solemn frown to the ground, Twilight glanced at him every so often with a concerned expression, finally when the story was over, Celestia closed the book and looked to them.

"Though it may only be a story, ever since I was young I believed there was a hint of truth to it" she said "The Aura's where powerful magic users who were vanguards of peace and knowledge, they were also known as great warriors, fighting for justice" she smiled looking to Twilight "it was this story that inspired me to be the best Princess I could be for my subjects"

Twilight smiled back with a nod "This is so exciting" she said looking to Soul "if you're really an Aura you could be one of the best magic users in the" Twilight stopped mid-sentence as she looked at Soul and was shocked to see he was gone, she and Celestia where so busy talking they hadn't noticed him slip out of the room.

"Oh my!" Celestia cried and looked to the now open door; Twilight barred her teeth a little and ran out looking around.

"Soul!?" she called "Soul come back!"

Soul meanwhile had made a break for it out the back door of the hospital, running as fast as his injured legs could carry him thru ponyville heading for the outskirts, pony's watched in amazement and shock as he ran past covered in bandages, Soul himself was panting hard from pain and from fear, having taken the news of being an Aura very badly, his mind was racing with thoughts of his magical accident and thoughts of hurting Twilight and the others as a result which made him start to cry, soon he was running past Sweet Apple Acres, heading for the village outskirts.

Meanwhile at the hospital, Twilight, Celestia and the rest of the group ran out of the main doors and looked around frantically for Soul.

"How did he get past the main desk looking like that?" Rarity asked looking to Twilight who was frowning as she looked around.

"He's got skill I'll give him that" Dash replied, now hovering in the air with a hoof on her forehead trying to see Soul in the distance.

"We need to find him at once!" Celestia called looking to the group drawing their attention "Soul is most likely gripped with feelings of misunderstanding and fear after hearing what I said"

"We need to split up ya'll!" Applejack concluded looking to the others "Fluttershy and I will search the farm! Rarity and Pinkie Pie, you two search in the main town area! Dash! Do your thing and look from the sky! Twilight and Princess Celestia! You two check the outskirts!" everyone nodded understanding their roles

"Right!" they all said at once before running off with their partner to search their given area, Applejack and Fluttershy ran as fast as they could back to the farm and with the help of Applebloom and Big Mac began to search the farm house, barn and apple fields, Rarity and Pinkie began walking thru the various streets of Ponyville, looking in shops and asking passing pony's if they had seen anything, Dash was flying around in the sky getting a bird's eye view of the entire area and Twilight and Celestia travelled to the village outskirts looking for any sign of their missing friend.

"I can't see him anywhere" Twilight said looking back to Celestia with a look of utter hopelessness on her face, Celestia frowned seeing this and walked to her looking to the village entrance and to the Everfree forest.

"Calm down" she said "Soul couldn't have gotten too far in his condition, we will find him" Twilight nodded a little at her teacher's words.

"I SEE HIM!" Dash swooped down and pointed off to the edge of the Everfree, Twilight whirled around to look in the direction and just as Dash had said she saw Soul running along the edge of the tree line as if trying to find the pathway, she frowned and began to run towards him, Dash made a move to follow but was held back by Celestia biting her tail.

"Princess!" Dash exclaimed in protest, Celestia frowned and shook her head letting Dash go.

"Let Twilight do this herself, she is just as worried for Soul as you are but this situation requires a gentler touch, we don't know if Soul will lose control of his magic again or not, have faith that Twilight can calm him down" Celestia said with a frown, Dash attempted to protest, however Celestia's expression made her think better of it and she bit back her retort.

"Alright" she finally said "I'll go get the others!" Dash then sped off back into the village; Celestia watched her go then looked back to the Everfree.

"Be careful Twilight" Celestia said to herself in a slight whisper, silently hoping Soul would be able to control his power, fearing for his safety above all else.

Twilight soon found herself in the deep undergrowth of the Everfree as she continued to chase after her scared friend, she had lost sight of Soul after he had darted into the tree's but she could still sense him ahead of her despite not being able to see him.

"Soul please be ok" she said to herself as she darted between trees and bushes, suddenly the tree line broke into a large circular clearing and Twilight saw Soul standing at the opposite side trying to find a way thru the thick vegetation " Soul!" she cried out as she ran to him, Soul looked at her in fear.

"Twilight stay back!" he shouted, his scared tone made Twilight skid to a stop, she saw that Soul was shaking almost uncontrollably and a small glint of the magical aura from before was beginning to glow around him, his cutie mark was glowing a bright blue light in response.

"Soul" Twilight continued in a soft tone taking a small step towards him " you don't have to be scared, I understand how you feel but I can help you…we can help you" Soul began to cry again, the sight of this made Twilights heart break a little, hating to see any of her friends in such despair.

"I-I don't want to hurt you" Soul stuttered between sobs "I-I don't want to be some weapon" Twilight took another step towards him keeping calm.

"You won't be I promise" she assured him "we can work thru this together, I can help you learn to control your magic, I don't care if you're an Aura, your my friend, and I will never let harm come to you no matter what" Soul looked at her with an expression of gratefulness, his aura slowly began to fade, however a look of worry passed over his face.

"But what if I lose control and hurt you or somepony else?" he asked, Twilight smiled taking another step closer, now a few feet from him.

"We'll make sure that won't happen, and we won't be alone, we have all our other friends to help us also, Applejack, Rarity, Dash, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie all wanna make sure your safe and happy as much as you want them safe, and they'll help you too, we will help each other to grow stronger" Twilight replied as she took another step, she was now directly in front of Soul and gently hugged him reassuringly, Soul tensed slightly but soon relaxed and hugged her back crying into her shoulder a little, Twilight smiled letting him before stepping back and looked at him, Soul wiped his eyes blushing a little embarrassed by his breakdown.

"I'm sorry Twilight" he finally said after composing himself " I don't know what came over me, all that talk of Aura's and magic just got to me I guess" Twilight nodded in understanding.

"I know" she replied "I don't blame you, I'd be hit pretty hard too after finding out something like that" she smiled nudging Soul a little with her head "ready to head back now? The others are waiting for us" Soul nodded smiling, he winced a little, his side still sore, Twilight gasped a little in worry.

"I'm ok! I'm ok!" Soul said quickly looking to her, Twilight sighed and shook her head a little before helping Soul back thru the forest and back towards Ponyville, Celestia and the rest of the group where waiting at Twilights home, Dash was acting as a lookout flying above and when she spotted Soul and Twilight she gave a cry.

"There they are!" she called pointing towards them; Celestia gave a sigh of relief.

"Thank goodness" she said as she walked outside to meet the two, the others all ran out also eager to see them safe as well, Dash flew down and helped Twilight help Soul into the home.

"Soul you're ok!" Fluttershy said in reprieve smiling to him.

"You had us all worried darling!" Rarity followed up with a smile.

"Ya'll just can't just run off like that sugar cube" Applejack scolded a little.

"I love your new hat!" Pinkie said bouncing on her hooves a little, Twilight and Dash gently helped Soul down into a chair, Celestia walked up to them and smiled to him, Soul looked to her with an apologetic look.

"I'm sorry for running off" he said, Celestia shook her head however.

"We understand Soul" Celestia told him with a warm smile "I understand your fear, but as I'm sure Twilight said, we'll all help you" the group all nodded in agreement, Soul smiled to each one of them with a thankful smile.

"Thanks you guys" he finally said, Applejack then walked up to him with a frown.

"But right now Mr" she said in a low tone "you better get your flank to bed before I hogtie you!" Soul jumped at her words.

"Yes ma'am!" he said quickly, Twilight laughed and helped Soul up to a spare room on the second floor of her home and into the bed, she sat with him for a little while until Soul finally drifted off the sleep, tired from the ordeal, Twilight smiled moving his fringe out of his face.

"Things are about to get a lot more lively around here I'm guessing" she said smiling to him before getting up " and we'll meet it together".

When Twilight made her way down to the others, she found they were all discussing the day's events; Celestia had taken her leave and returned to Canterlot after seeing things where in order.

"Aura pony huh? Can't say that I've ever heard of it" Dash murmured from her perch up ontop of a bookshelf, Applejack nodded in agreement.

"Sounds like one of Appleblooms bedtime stories to me" she said "But personally I couldn't give two hoots what Soul is, a friend is a friend no matter what the situation" the others nodded in agreement.

"It is rather marvellous though isn't it?" Rarity asked "being something so rare and literally mythical must be a wonderful feeling" Fluttershy rolled her eyes a little.

"But he looked so scared" she added looking worried "I wouldn't like to think what would've happened if Twilight hadn't found him" Twilight frowned a little walking up to them.

"Guys that's enough" she said in a scolding tone "Soul needs us to have faith in him, I agree this is unexpected but that's no excuse to treat him differently" the others all nodded in agreement, Dash flipped off the bookshelf and landed on her hooves next to Twilight.

"Well I don't know about that but what I do know is that it's awesome!" she said with a smirk "did you see the look on Trixie's face!? I don't think I've seen her that ruffled since Twilight showed her up with the Ursa Minor" the others all laughed and nodded in agreement, Twilight smiled, happy to see everyone happy again.

"I guess I have a student of my own to teach now…this will be a challenge but…Spike!" she called, Spike zoomed in out of nowhere holding a note pad and quill, instantly knowing what Twilight wanted.

"I got it!" he said, Twilight smiled and started pacing around the room with Spike following her.

"We're gunna need to asked Princess Celestia to supply us with all the information she has on Aura's and their magic" Spike nodded writing something down on the note pad as Twilight continued " we'll also need to set up some practise dummy's for Soul to aim his magic towards, we can't have him firing off shots randomly everywhere…oh and we're gunna need to set up the home a little for Soul, I think it would be easier if he stayed with us for a while" While Twilight continued to list of requirements, the others all laughed at her need for organisation before saying goodbye and heading home, before leaving Dash flew up to Souls bedroom window and hovered in front of it looking at him.

"Get well soon new guy" she said with a smirk "can't wait to see what you do next" with a small salute to her sleeping friend, Dash sped off into the sky, leaving a rainbow blur behind her.

That night in Canterlot, many pony's where indoors getting ready for bed, leaving the streets empty save for a few royal guards on patrol. A thin layer of mist covered the town thanks to the cool night air and the silence was deafening.

A dull wind then blew thru the main street and a figure soon appeared out of the fog walking down the road, their hooves clopping lightly against the stone as they walked, the figure was dressed in a black coat and hood that hid their features from head to hoof.

As they walked, the figure glanced to a group of guards who were walking in the opposite direction and quickly ducked into a side alley to avoid being seen, the guards passed without notice and the figure peered out at them before continuing down the road, soon they reached the town square which had a fountain in the centre, the hooded pony stopped next to it and looked up at the Canterlot palace which was dark against the night sky save for a few lit windows.

"Soon I'll take back what you took from me…Princess Celestia" the figure said, her voice was feminine yet had a dark and vengeful taint to it, the figure then smirked before softly laughing in a malicious manner, her eyes began to glow with a magical orange colour which shone with a bright light, the pony laughed a little louder and her unicorn horn began to glow the same orange colour before casting a spell which set of a bright flash, when the light faded the hooded pony had disappeared, but her laugh echoed thru the night a little until fading back to silence.

Up in the palace, Celestia woke with a start, having been woken by a bad feeling she couldn't explain, with a small frown she got up and walked to her window looking down at the Canterlot town square, however she didn't see anything out of the ordinary.

"…something tells me things are about to get a lot more lively around here" she muttered with a troubled expression " I just hope Twilight, Soul and the others are ready for it".