Coltyn had made progress in gathering all the ingredients for the ritual to banish the lingering chaos affecting the Elements of Harmony. Coltyn was glad that Zecora had the plants he was missing now the only thing he needed was dragon’s blood. Coltyn gathered a bag of medical supplies and placed them into his saddlebag as he headed out.

***

Coltyn was greeted by Twilight as he arrived at the library.

“Hello Coltyn. Are you here to study some more?” Twilight asked, inviting him in.

“No, I actually need to speak with your assistant, Spike. Is he in?”

“Yes, he’s here. Why do you want to talk to him, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“I need to ask for some of his blood for the ritual,” Coltyn explained, sighing deeply.

“What?! Why would a ritual call for dragon’s blood?” Twilight gasped in disbelief.

“Dragons are very powerful creatures and their life energy is the most concentrated in their blood. Even a drop can fuel some of the most powerful magic.”

“How does that work. I haven’t seen or read any book involving augmenting spells like that.”

“Well a good mage can perform a lot of magic, but a great mage can augment spells to fit his or her needs. Something I have been working on for the past thousand years.”

“I see. That sounds interesting… I would like to read about how that works.”

“Well there have not really been books written about magic augmentation but rather cross referencing different sources that have the same effect and a bit of trial and error. But I can show you some of my notes on ones I have perfected, if Princess Celestia permits it.”

“I’ll send her a letter later; you’re here to talk with Spike. He’s upstairs working on a costume,” Twilight informed, pointing upstairs.

“Thank you, Twilight Sparkle,” Coltyn nodded, walking upstairs.

Coltyn wondered why the little dragon would be making a costume as he opened the door to the study. He saw Spike working on a purple outfit with green spikes.

“So you are making a costume of yourself,” Coltyn chuckled, walking in on Spike.

“Coltyn! What are you doing here? This was supposed to be a surprise,” Spike said, trying to hide the costume.

“I won’t tell anypony what I saw. Don’t worry. Actually, the reason I came today is to test a theory I have been working on.”

“Oh, really?” Spike responded, questioning him. “What theory is that?”

“I want to know if the way something is acquired changes the power of spells it is used with. In essence, I wish to determine whether something given with love is stronger than something taken by force.”

“So what do you want from me?” Spike queried.

“I need a bit of your blood to know the difference,” Coltyn explained.

“Well I have thick scales, how are you going to get it?” Spike queried.

“With this,” Coltyn said as he pulled out a syringe with a long narrow needle.

Spike stumbled back a few steps and exclaimed. “That’s huge! I don’t want to get stuck with that thing!”

“Please Spike, I need to take this sample. Do it for Twilight.”

“Well ok. Will it hurt?” Spike asked as he held out his arm.

“I don’t know. I have only taken blood from much older dragons and they don’t seem to notice,” Coltyn explained, cleaning the scales round the inside of Spike’s elbow.

“Let me know when you’re going to do it.”

“Ok. I just need to see the veins,” Coltyn said, lighting his horn as his eyes turned red. “There now let’s see… What’s that?” Coltyn shouted, pointing behind Spike.

Spike quickly turned his head to see what Coltyn pointed at but saw nothing but bookshelves. Coltyn, having turned Spike’s attention away, quickly drew the small sample and was done before Spike turned back to face him.

“There’s nothing… hey you tricked me,” Spike huffed, noticing the syringe a quarter full of a thick red liquid.

“That may be true but you didn’t even notice that I had taken it, and even put a bandage on,” Coltyn smiled, pointing to the cloth tied around Spike’s elbow.

“Holy guacamole,” Spike exclaimed, looking at the neatly wrapped bandage. “How did you do that so fast?”

“Well usually I have to find an adult dragon and, well, let’s say… speed counts,” Coltyn chuckled, emptying the syringe into a vial and sealing it.

“So how can you tell how strong my blood is?”

“There is a spell that uses dragon’s blood as a catalyst and the effect varies depending on age and strength of the dragon.”

“Do you mind if I tag along. I want to know how strong I am,” Spike boasted, flexing his arms.

“I don’t see why not,” Coltyn said, walking out of the study.

They headed downstairs. Twilight was busy browsing some books on teleportation.

“Hey, Twilight! Coltyn and I are going to see how powerful I am. Wanna come?” Spike exclaimed.

“I’d love to but I’m in the middle of something,” Twilight said, pointing at the collection of books sitting out.

“That’s fine. Come on, Spike, let’s leave her to study,” Coltyn said, opening the front door as he and Spike left.

***

Coltyn took Spike out to the open field outside of Ponyville.

“So how do you tell how powerful a dragon’s blood is?” Spike asked.

“The best indicator is their breath weapon and long ago we discovered how to mimic it,” Coltyn explained.

“So you’re gonna breathe fire? I don’t think you will get a long flame,” Spike sighed.

“You’re young and your breath weapon is still developing.”

Coltyn cleared a long path and set up a magic range 150 feet long with a barrier surrounding them so nopony could enter and get hurt.

“Now you first,” Coltyn said, motioning to the base line.

Spike took a deep breath and exhaled a line of green flame.

“Three feet, you seem to be right on track given your size and age,” Coltyn explained.

“Oh yeah, let’s see you do better,” Spike challenged.

Coltyn smiled as he took out the small vial and opened it. Using his magic drew a circle on his neck; Coltyn’s eyes turned green as he inhaled deeply. The circle flashed green as a line of green flames raced down the range hitting the back wall he set up. Coltyn pulled back on the spell so he wouldn’t break the barrier he set up which caused him to start coughing smoke. Spike stood there, mouth agape as he looked upon the scorched earth.

“How did that happen?” Spike asked in shock.

“Your true potential is still locked away because of your size but don’t worry,” Coltyn coughed, as smoke drifted from his nose and mouth. “You have the potential to be a mighty dragon someday.”

Spike swelled with pride knowing he would be strong someday. Coltyn was glad to see Spike’s enthusiasm but even more happy that he didn’t have to go and find a dragon on such short notice.

“So what was that costume you were making earlier?” Coltyn asked.

“Oh, it’s for Nightmare Night… that’s at the end of next month. So what will you dress up as?” Spike wondered.

“I won’t be. I don’t personally like what it stands for.”

“Awww, that’s too bad. Anyway I should be getting back to the library.”

“Very well. Oh, tell Twilight go gather the others in a week at her home and if you could, please send this to Princess Celestia,” Coltyn said, handing Spike a scroll.

“What does it say?”

“It tells her what I am doing and when, a basic list.”

Spike shrugged, blowing a flame on the parchment and then watching for a moment as the smoke ascended to Canterlot. They headed back to town and Coltyn stopped by his cart. Once there, Coltyn invited Spike in and asked for the blood he would need for the ritual. Spike offered his arm again and freely gave his life essence. Coltyn gave Spike a small ice cream to help him cope with the loss of blood.

“So has Twilight decided on a costume for Nightmare Night?” Coltyn wondered, cleaning up and putting away the vials.

“No. She keeps saying she wants to go as some famous magician from long ago but can’t find any description of his clothes,” Spike said, walking for the door.

“I see,” Coltyn said, opening the door to his cart. “Here give this to her. I think it’ll help.”

Coltyn gave Spike a book with a unicorn profiled on the cover and no other writing.

“What is this book about?” Spike asked, turning the book looking for a title.

“It’s a history book and I think the pony she is looking for is described in there,” Coltyn said, smiling.

“If you say so,” Spike replied dubiously. “I guess I’ll see you later.” Spike waved goodbye and closed the door.

***

The week quickly passed and Coltyn finished gathering all of the supplies he would need and set off towards the library. He knocked on the door as the sun just cleared the horizon and was greeted by Spike who welcomed him into the library. Coltyn saw the six Elements of Harmony and Princess Celestia holding an ornate jeweled case under her wing.

“Greetings, Princess Celestia,” Coltyn smiled, bowing.

“Hello, Coltyn. Are you ready?” Celestia asked.

“I’m ready. A better question is are they ready?” Coltyn asked, looking at the six.

They all nodded, even though fear and worry were obvious in their body language.

“Very well,” Coltyn said, putting down his saddlebag.

Coltyn cleared the lobby of the library and, pulling all the curtains, he placed several candles around the center of the library. First he took a small censer on a chain and placed some lavender and sage inside and lit it. He walked around the room swinging the censer filling the room with the smell of burnt lavender and sage. He pulled out a piece of white chalk and a piece of parchment. Coltyn took the chalk in his mouth and began drawing a large circle with six smaller circles inside. He moved out of the circle and took the chalk with his magic and started the intricate task of creating the runes and connectors for the magic to flow through. Finally, he put the representation of each of their cutie marks in each one of the circles and an urn in the center. Coltyn motioned for the others to take a seat in the circle. Each went to the circle with their mark in it and sat down.

“Princess, the Elements of Harmony, please,” Coltyn requested.

Princess Celestia presented the case and placed the necklaces on the necks of their appropriate pony, the crown on Twilight’s head. Coltyn lifted the vial of dragon’s blood out from his bag and inscribed runes on each of their heads for protection and to help purify their minds. Coltyn then placed angelica around the outside edge of the circle and lit it. The smoke rose, forming a translucent dome over the six ponies. They all began to squirm uncomfortably as they each swallowed lilac blossoms and the petals from a pink rose. Every minute felt like hours as the six each seemed to be arguing with some unseen pony. Black viscous liquid began to fall from the chests of the six ponies. Hitting the floor, the liquid puffed into smoke and collected over the urn. Celestia and Coltyn were both unnerved to see the smoke in the middle of the circle form into Discord – the monster bared its fangs roaring as he manifested.

“NO!!! Not again!!!” Discord bellowed, seeing the predicament he was in. “You may have beaten me but I’ll be back, you can’t destroy chaos. You can count on that,” Discord laughed.

The Elements of Harmony glowed brightly as bright colors flashed from the jewelry chaining down the ghostly form. A flash of white closed the circle, binding the ghostly form as smoke rose from the urn in the shape of huge jaws that clamped down. Discord struggled, but the combination of the Elements of Harmony and the binding circle were too strong; he was sucked into the urn. The six ponies collapsed and Celestia looked at Coltyn with narrowed eyes wanting an answer.

“They are resting. This has taken a great deal of strength from them. They should come to within a day or two,” Coltyn explained, carefully examining the six’s vital signs.

“I am impressed. I am still not sure how much I can trust you but this has proven that you deserve a second chance,” Celestia conceded. “Spike, please give my regard to Twilight for I must return to Canterlot. Coltyn I want you to stay here and wait for them to wake and let me know immediately if anything is wrong.”

Coltyn and Spike bowed. “Of course, Princess Celestia.”

Celestia walked out the door, and with a flash of brilliant light, she was gone. Coltyn heaved a deep sigh as he turned to Spike.

“We should get something for them to eat when they wake up. They will most likely be hungry,” Coltyn said.

“So this ritual made it so that they’ll no longer act crazy?” Spike asked.

“No, this ritual just removed the remaining influence Discord left in them. Only they can change their personal quirks.”

“That’s too bad. It would be nice if Twilight was less of a bookworm.”

“I’m sure,” Coltyn chuckled, walking into Twilight’s kitchen.

Spike and Coltyn made some floral sandwiches with apples, hay fries, and water. They took turns sitting with the six as they waited for them to wake up.

***

Twilight was the first to stir from her rest the next day. Spike ran up and hugged her, relieved to see her up.

“I was so worried,” Spike exclaimed, with tears in his eye.

“Thank you, Spike,” Twilight said softly, hugging Spike.

“Ah, you have awakened,” Coltyn said, wheeling a dining cart into the lobby. “How are you feeling?”

“Hungry, a bit of a headache. But it seems that my nightmares have left,” Twilight said, rubbing her stomach and head.

“Good. That means it worked. Discord’s final grip on you has been broken,” Coltyn sighed in relief. “I will take my leave before the others wake,” Coltyn said, gathering his things as the others began to stir.

“Thank you. I hope you can join us for Nightmare Night,” Twilight called to him just before he crossed the threshold.

“We’ll see,” Coltyn smiled and nodded, closing the door.

Coltyn was never thrilled with Nightmare Night. He always found the legend of Nightmare Moon offensive. Modern ponies had come to portray her as a monster and a foal eater, which was just obscene. In Coltyn’s mind, Nightmare Moon was a glorious and majestic mare who fought for the common pony and deserved to be honored and respected. He would take Twilight up on her invitation, but would first visit the old ruins deep in Everfree as he had done every year for the past thousand years.

***

Coltyn woke up the day of Nightmare Night to the sound of a hoof knocking. He opened the door to see Applejack standing there, smiling hopefully.

“Good morning, Applejack. How may I help you?” Coltyn asked.

“Hiya, Coltyn! I noticed you weren’t very busy, and ya didn’t seem to be in the spirit of the festival comin’ up, so… well I was hopin’ ya might find it in ya to help us out at the farm for a bit today. We’re behind with the applebuckin’, on account of the Mayor askin’ me to organize the games for tonight, and I’d be real grateful if ya could lend a hoof for a few hours.”

“I’m not busy so I think I could help out.”

“Thank ya kindly, Coltyn. Big Macintosh is out in the orchard already.”

Coltyn nodded as he and Applejack headed for Sweet Apple Acres. Climbing the hill, Coltyn saw a large red stallion pulling a huge cart full of empty buckets out to the field. Coltyn and Applejack made their way down to Big Mac.

“Heya, big brother! I got us an extra set of hooves to help,” Applejack called.

“Hello, Big Macintosh,” Coltyn called as they approached.

Big Mac nodded and continued his work. Applejack explained the basics of applebucking and that they would need to collect as many apples as they could from the east field before supper time. Coltyn nodded and the three of them started at the end of the first row. Coltyn had never done this kind of work before, and it quickly became obvious as he only managed to make a few apples shake loose with each kick. Coltyn, realizing he was doing something wrong, studied Big Mac and Applejack. With a little study and some trial and error, Coltyn was able to clear a tree in four to five kicks instead of over a dozen.

After a while, Applebloom came out to the orchard with a bucket of water and Coltyn and Applejack stopped to take a short break and get a drink. Big Mac stopped only long enough to take a drink of water then continued working.

“You know, I never thought I would find two ponies that are so completely different who have the same work ethic,” Coltyn observed contemplatively, taking a drink of the lightly salted water.

“What do ya mean? What ponies?” Applejack asked.

“Your brother and Twilight Sparkle, they both work very hard and are dedicated to the tasks and goals they set out to accomplish, to the point of total exclusion of anything else.”

Big Mac overheard their conversation but didn’t outwardly react. He did find Coltyn’s comparison interesting, but had more important things to think about at the moment. The three ponies worked steadily through the day, and were able to harvest the field completely, only moments before Granny Smith rang a triangle for dinner.

After dining with the Apples, Coltyn headed back to his cart. He had some personal business to attend before the evening’s festivities.

***

Coltyn headed out after a quick bath and took a small bunch of midnight blue roses with him in his saddle bag. Coltyn trotted down the path and made his way through the forest. The moon was rising as he stood in front of the ruins of the old fort he once called home. He stood and reminisced on all that had happened over the years. This year however he left earlier than usual, something inside told him to go back to Ponyville. Coltyn placed the roses on the step that led to the main hall and as he made his way back to Ponyville he noticed a strange disturbance in the sky with unexplained lightning. Passing his cart on the way back, he decided to at least try to fit in. Coltyn pulled out the trunk with his barding and stood in front of a mirror to don it. Putting on his helm he looked in the mirror and smiled as the memories of battles won came to his mind. With a sense of wistful nostalgia, he left out to find Twilight. Searching the town, he first noticed Applejack in her scarecrow costume and approached her.

“Hello Applejack, have you seen Twilight anywhere?” Coltyn asked plainly.

“Hey there Coltyn, nice costume,” Applejack replied. “I think I saw her over by the grove on the southern edge of the forest.”

“Thanks,” Coltyn said, heading off to the grove.

Coltyn made his way through town and was approaching the grove when he heard the crack of thunder and seconds later saw Rainbow Dash flying like mad. Coltyn curiously trotted over to where he heard the thunder. Once there, he saw Twilight and Spike, but froze in shock when he noticed Luna. His Princess was laying on a dark thunder cell, her legs folded neatly under her. Luna’s mane wafted gracefully down her neck and her tail lay relaxed over the back of the cloud. Coltyn was struck by seeing the beautiful mare he hadn’t seen in over a thousand years. His heart was racing; he was overjoyed to see his lovely Princess of the Night.

“Greetings, Princess Luna of the Night. My name is Coltyn Pendragon,” Coltyn introduced himself, bowing to the Princess.

“Greetings Coltyn Pendragon, I must say that thy greeting was not expected given the reception I have had from the citizens of Ponyville,” Luna replied, mildly confused.

“Do you not know who I am?” Coltyn asked, lifting his helm to show his whole face.

“How can I know thou when we have just met?” Luna asked.

Luna’s question felt like a knife cutting his heart, and his knees buckled slightly under the shock, though he tried not to allow them to give way. Twilight and Spike looked at each other with worried expressions. Coltyn’s eyes glazed as the truth of what happened when the Elements of Harmony purified Luna… wiped her memory of darkness. Luna didn’t know him, didn’t know that they had been allies long ago. She was no longer the mare he knew and loved, Coltyn was overcome with sorrow and grief but the stray tear that rolled down his cheek was the only outward sign he gave.

“Excuse me, Princess,” Coltyn choked, turning quickly and galloping back to his cart.

Luna was confused, turning to Twilight, “What happened? Did I say something wrong?”

“I don’t know what to tell you. I think it best to you talk with Princess Celestia about him,” Twilight said cautiously.

“I see, I will consult with my sister,” Luna said, standing up from her cloud. “His reaction and way of addressing me was rather interesting, almost like he knew me.”

Luna departed and left Twilight and Spike waving good-bye in the forest. Twilight sighed as she looked off in the direction Coltyn went.

“Do you think he’s ok?” Spike asked.

“I doubt it. He found out that the mare he cared so much for doesn’t even know him anymore,” Twilight said, feeling sorry for Coltyn. “He will need some time alone. Come on Spike, let’s go home.”

Spike nodded and jumped on Twilight’s back and they made their way back home.

***

Coltyn galloped as fast as his hooves would carry him back to his cart. He was able to close the door before his emotions let flow a river of tears. The mare he loved was no more and had been reborn without her memories. Coltyn caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror and his sorrow began turning to rage.

“Curse the Elements of Harmony! They took away the one pony I knew I could be with for eternity!” Coltyn screamed, tears flowing like rivers.

Lifting his helm with magic he threw it at the mirror shattering it into hundreds of shards.

“I just wanted her to remember me but no matter what I do it never works!” Coltyn bellowed.

He ripped the barding from his back, damaging some of the straps, and slammed it into his work table, destroying the work that was on it and shattering more glass tubes and vials.

“I am tired of failure,” Coltyn said, calming down a bit. “I guess this is my punishment for cheating death.”

Coltyn’s mind was lost and he needed to work out some frustration. He turned and charged through the door, bursting it off the hinges, and galloped into the Everfree Forest.

***

The next morning Twilight woke up later than usual and headed down to the study that Coltyn used. Seeing it dark and empty she went to the kitchen where Spike was making breakfast.

“Morning, Twilight,” Spike said, flipping a grass and oat flour pancake.

“Morning, Spike. Has Coltyn been in yet today?” Twilight asked.

“Nope. Nopony has been in the library today,” Spike replied, turning to Twilight. “Do you think he’s ok? I mean the way he took off last night, seems odd to me.”

“No, I don’t think he’s ok. I’ll go look for him after breakfast,” Twilight said with resolve. “Would you mind taking care of the library while I go and find him?”

“Well ok, just be careful.”

“I will, Spike,” Twilight said, taking the breakfast he prepared and setting off.

Twilight walked through town but as she got to Coltyn’s cart she stopped, looking at the cart door and odd scent coming from inside. She slowly poked her head through the door and was stunned to see the destroyed work desk and the shattered glass that covered the floor with Coltyn’s armor strewn about. She turned to see his hoof prints leading out to Everfree. Driven to find out what happened, Twilight set out into Everfree. Twilight followed his prints but didn’t like the fact that he galloped at full speed through the forest.

Twilight pushed aside some brush and stopped at the edge of a clearing. A manticore lay motionless with its head in a small puddle of blood; the sight turned Twilight’s stomach but the slight movement of its head and the snapping sound put her back on alert. Slowly walking around the beast she saw Coltyn, his mane was a mess and his coat was matted red with blood with claw marks covering his body. His eyes showed that he was lost deep in thought. He didn’t react to Twilight’s approach as he examined a tooth from the manticore. A branch snapped under her hooves, the sound bringing Coltyn’s head up suddenly, the haze of grief still tinting his eyes slightly red.

“Oh. It’s you,” Coltyn said as Twilight stepped back, startled.

“What happened here?” Twilight queried, pointing her hoof at the manticore.

“Oh, I ran into him last night and decided to work off a bit of my frustration, not to mention that manticore poison is very useful but only when mixed with adrenaline,” Coltyn explained.

“So is it dead?” Twilight wondered, looking over the manticore.

“No, sleeping. I was healing the damage I had done to the poor creature. I didn’t want to hurt it this much,” Coltyn continued, replacing the broken tooth.

“Hurt it?!” Twilight exclaimed. “I’m worried about you and all you’re worrying about is healing your attacker? That makes no sense.”
Coltyn sighed as he stood up to face Twilight. “I have enough potions to heal myself completely back at my cart. I can’t drag a manticore back to town though, so his wellbeing is my top priority.”

“Well, I guess I can understand but how can you heal a creature who did you harm?”

“I have already done enough harm in this world. There is no sense in killing a creature when you can leave it alive and I’m trying to make up for some of my past mistakes, lending a hoof when I can.”

“So is that why you helped us? Some sort of self-satisfaction?” Twilight questioned.

“No. I did what I swore to do a long time ago, defend Equestria.”

“That isn’t what I want to know. I want the whole story no more half-truths or dodging.”

“Very well,” Coltyn sighed. “Let’s go back and once we get to my cart I will tell you anything you want to know.”

“Promise? No more secrets?” Twilight inquired.

“No more secrets but I must ask that everything we talk about stays between us,” Coltyn informed her.

“Of course.”

“Come on let’s get going before he wakes up,” Coltyn advised, gathering a few glass vials before heading for home.