It had taken the better part of three days, but the repairs to Canterlot had finally been finished. However, that was the physical impact that had been mended. The mental scarring that not only Midnight had endured, but Celestia as well, would take far more time in order to even be remotely healed. Those three days had been very long for the princess, but painstakingly more for the human, Charles.

Over the period of twenty-four hours, Charles had not returned to his Alicorn state, even with the aid of magical assistance. During this time, he had remained in a spare room within the castle, alone to mourn over the loss of his daughter. As time passed slowly by for him, his brides had come to check on him to see if he was able to make it out of his room and come to eat at least once. However, when one of them knocked at the door, calling for him, they would only hear sobs as an answer.

When day four had finally approached, the medical staff had managed to locate an ancient spell that would aid them in possibly returning the recently absorbed lives that the Twilight Princess had captured and turned into energy to aid her in attempting to take over the world. It had not been looked into until recently, but once a life had been absorbed into the cursed bracelets. They would remain alive in the form of energy until they would be consumed or used by the bearer.

There was one slight problem however, pulling the energy out of the bracelets would cause the host being or object to come under great stress. The physical part of the host object would be strained to unknown limits. The worst of it all? The object could break, or in this case, perish.

When the time came to advise Charles of what had to be done, he didn’t hesitate. Although it was obvious that he had not slept in those past four days, and was physically and mentally exhausted beyond his limits, he knew that what needed to be done, must be done at that very moment.

Charles, along with Celestia, and several members of the medical staff within the castle were now in the guest room that the human had been occupying for the good portion of the week. He was sitting in a chair and staring silently out the balcony window. Celestia sitting quietly on her haunches behind him. Her forelegs and wings wrapped lovingly around him as she nuzzled the side of his head and neck, trying her best to alleviate at least some of the stress that he was feeling.

“Princess.” One of the members of the medical staff began, causing her to turn her sights to him. “We’re ready to begin.” The stallion stated quietly as he noticed her give a worried expression.

“Charles...” She trailed off for a moment as he turned his vision slowly to her, a tear stained face with dark bags under his eyes looking to her in utter sorrow.

“I’m ready...” He sighed softly.

A few members of the medical staff trotted quietly over to him as they began to push magic into their horns. Magical runes began to slowly materialize all over the human’s body in various shades of red. Celestia pulled away from the human reluctantly as she had been told that the process would cause magic from any nearby objects to be pulled into the being in order to replace the lost energy from the souls.

As the medical staff came to a stop, the runes on the human’s body continued to glow a faint red, signifying that he indeed had more than a single soul within his body.

“We are about to begin Celestia, but we need to advise you of something.” The stallion doctor began as he nodded to one of the unicorn assistants. The young mare moving forward and starting to strap the human to the chair with reinforced magical barriers.

“I would recommend that you leave the room for a short time. Our king is aware of what is about to happen, but you...” He trailed off for a moment giving a slightly pained and worried expression.

“I fear that once things start coming to a close, and the last of the souls begin to be removed from his body, you may interfere with the spell in order to alleviate his suffering. I must ask you to remain outside of the room, and under no circumstance, enter the room until you have been summoned.”

Celestia stood there with the strongest expression of worry and fear that the doctor had ever seen as she quickly glanced to the human and back to the doctor.

“Your majesty.” The doctor stated a little louder than he should have, causing her to snap her attention back to him. “We must hurry. The longer we wait the less of a chance we have to save those ponies that were absorbed.”

Celestia gave a hesitant nod and quickly made her way out of the room. Once she had made it to just outside the door, she turned just in time for it to close and lock in her face.

Giving a worried sigh as a tear streamed down her face, she quickly galloped down the hall, away from the scene that she was so dreading to listen to. Worry pitting her stomach and causing her to feel very ill.

Once the door had closed, the doctor turned, quickly making his way over to the human with his horn already glowing brightly. Two of the aids stepped up to his side, placing several gemstone batteries onto his frame before tying them tightly to him.

“Alright Sire, I must warn you one final time. This spell that I am about to use... It may kill you. Do you still wish to proceed?” He asked nervously as Charles slowly nodded in confirmation.

“My life for over a hundred... Do you think I would choose to live the rest of my life, knowing that I was slowly eating away countless souls that I had absorbed into my body?” He asked quietly before he felt a hoof on his shoulder, he slowly raising his vision to see the doctor giving a saddened smile.

“You really do care more about everypony far more than yourself that much, don’t you?” He smiled seeing his King give a soft smile in return.

“More than you know.”

“I’ll try my best to keep you and the souls safe from harm Sire, don’t worry.” The doctor stated as his horn continued to illuminate.

“Don’t worry about me... I’m willing to sacrifices myself in order to return everypony back into their living forms. Those foals need their parents far more than I need to live. So don’t worry about hurting me. It should only be for a short time anyway, before...” He trailed off as worry filled his gut. He didn’t want to die, but he didn’t want the foals to have to live their lives without their parents either.

One decision surpassed the other though in need. The foals needed their parents far more than the human needed to live. How could one live though, knowing they house souls that would slowly fade over time? He wasn’t about to find out though. He knew what had to be done and he was about to experience it at that very moment.

Charles’ body tensed up as magic from the unicorn doctor hit him squarely in the chest. He let out a pained grunt as a burning sensation began to build in the rune on his stomach.

“This... is a little more painful... than I thought it... would be.” He groaned out seeing the worried expressions of the aids.

“I’m preparing the second phase of the spell, Sire. This will be far more painful I am afraid.” The doctor stated softly as his horn glowed brightly before a bright ball of magic bolted out through the already streaming magic, hitting Charles directly in the stomach, causing him to lurch forward slightly against the restraints as he attempted to pull his hands down and cover himself.

After a few moments of a pained expression, he finally relented and let out an agonizingly pained howl before a small orb of light slowly pulled out from his back and floated up before being caught in one of the aids magical grasp. The aid quickly floated the glowing orb down to a small box, placing it inside before the next aid stepped forward as another light began to pull itself from Charles’ back.

With each of the orbs that were pulled from the King’s body, another groan of pain would escape him, each gaining in volume until he was screaming out in agony.

As time went on, the King began to shake from the severe pain that rocked his body as each of the souls was removed. After an hour, around two hundred souls had been removed. The glowing runes that etched his body began to fade from red to a soft blue, signaling that there was now, only a hoof full of souls left, and these would be the toughest of the bunch, as they had already began to be absorbed into Charles’ body as energy.

The doctor nodded to one of the aids as she came over and tapped two of the gem batteries that were attached to his body, causing a flow of magic to be released and forced into him. He let out a grunt of pain as his magical reserves were filled instantly, his horn gaining in illumination as the magical flow caused him to scream out.

“Only five more your majesty. Please hold out.” the doctor stated as his magic quickly scanned the human’s body to try and account for what souls were left.

After a minute of waiting the first orb escaped the body, quickly being grabbed up by one of the aids. Another two minutes passed as the second was pulled. Four minutes, the third, ten minutes, the fourth. As the last soul was being pulled from the human’s body. The doctor watched in horror as the human was no longer crying out in pain, but snarling. His vision boring into the doctor with an untold fury as every muscle in his body strained against the magical restraints holding him to the chair.

As the last orb began to slowly pull from the human’s body. His expression of pain and fury faded as a vacant expression took their place. The orb flickered slightly as it floated over to the box, joining the others that had already been removed from the human’s body.

“Oh God!” Charles panted as his body went slack against the restraints. “That has got to be... the worst physical pain... I have ever been in.” He groaned out.

“Your body experienced what we call, magically enhanced muscle strain.” The doctor began as he began to pull the restraints from the human before lifting him over to the bed on the other side of the room.

“Your body is going to need time to heal. As of this moment, you are ordered to remain in bed and avoid any movement that isn’t needed. I will have several aids to assist you and remain at your side if needed.” The doctor stated with a wink only to cause the human to roll his eyes.

“To be honest doc, I would rather remain alone. I’m still... I.... I still need time... for...” He sighed sadly as his vision fell to the floor.

“I understand Sire, but with your body in its current condition, and the fact that you haven’t eaten in days. If I were to allow you to remain alone, that would mean that I would be going against the oath that I swore to uphold.” He chuckled softly causing Charles to raise his vision back to him.

“That oath would be to keep everypony, happy and healthy to the best of my ability.” He smiled.

“And if I ordered you to leave?” Charles asked giving a slight smirk.

“Then I have the authority to temporarily relieve you of your royal duties, and have the guard place you under temporary house arrest. So don’t think I wouldn’t do just that in order to keep you alive and healthy mister.” He scolded causing Charles to laugh.

“Sometimes I wonder about you ponies.” He smirked. “But I’ll submit to your request. I need some relaxation anyway. I have gone through utter hell over the past week, and besides that...” He trailed off as his stomach let loose a furious growl. “I think I had better eat something before my stomach decides to consume itself.”

The doctor and aids all gave a soft laugh at that before the doctor left the room, leaving the nurse aids to keep watch over their King.

A short time passed before the doctor had arrived at Celestia’s quarters, making a quiet entry as he could hear some soft sobbing coming from within the room.

“Your majesty?” He spoke up only to hear the sobbing come to a quick halt. After a few seconds the regal Alicorn came in from the balcony of her room, giving the doctor a soft smile.

“Is he alright? Were the souls removed from him successfully?” She asked with a glint of hope in her eyes.

“Yes your majesty. But I am afraid to say that only a small number of the souls of those that were absorbed earlier had already been consumed. We were only able to get around ninety-seven percent of those absorbed within Horseshoe Bay out successfully. The rest...” He trailed off as his ears lay back, a pained expression forming across his face.

“I understand, I will see to it if the ones that were lost had foals, and if so, I will see to it that they are cared for.” She stated softly as her vision lowered to the floor.

“You will be happy to know that the King will make a full recover physically. Mentally however, he seems to be taking the... passing... of the young princess, rather hard. To be honest, I am surprised that he survived the soul removal spell at all in his weakened state. But rest assured my Queen, he will make a full recovery.”

Celestia smiled warmly toward the doctor as she followed him out of her quarters and into the corridor.

“I look forward to seeing him happy and full of life once again, would it be alright if I paid him a visit?” She asked giving a hopeful expression.

“I am sorry to say, he needs his rest, and a good hot meal. Give him a couple of days to regain his strength and then you may visit him. Please notify his other brides as well about this. He will need all the strength he can muster soon enough.” The doctor stated in a more stern tone, his expression hardening slightly.

“Why will he need his strength? Is there something you aren’t telling me doctor?” She asked as she came up to in front of him, halting his advance down the long hallway.

“Well, you see...” He paused as he rubbed the bridge of his nose, giving a sigh. “The King will be the only pony that can return the souls into living bodies once again. Their souls have harmonized with his and his magic. No other pony will be capable of doing such a thing without the risk of destroying the souls. It will take several days in the least, to have those bodies reformed, and the souls placed within. He will be busy for at least the next week I am sorry to say. The longer we keep the souls detached from a body, the more they will begin to fade and traverse into the afterlife.”

Celestia stood there in surprise upon hearing about the souls. In all of her lifetime, she had never heard of such a thing having to be done.

“I... understand, I think.” She hesitated for a moment, a thoughtful expression suddenly appearing across her face before she picked up once again. “I’ll go and wait until tonight. I’ll have something special made for his dinner.” She smiled warmly as she found a warm sensation fill her heart. “Good day doctor.” She said softly as she turned and seemingly pranced a little as she made her way down the corridor.

“I’m glad to see her happy once again. I don’t think the kingdom could stand to see her sad for any longer.” He sighed as he made his way down the corridor.

“Is everything ready?” One of the nurse aids asked the other as she brought in a platter of food on a small cart.

“Everything is set, all we need to do is get him to eat and then the Queen can do her thing. Are you ready to play your part?” The other asked seeing her nod.

“I’ve been studying that changeling for some time now. Once the food takes effect, and the Queen does her thing, I won’t even have to try that hard to get him to shift sides.” The other aid giggled softly before she began to push the cart up to the brooding human.

“Sire? I’ve brought your meal.” She stated with a smile as she pressed the cart up to the side of his bed. Charles was slowly trying to push himself up but having some trouble.

“Here, let me help, Sire.” The other nurse stated softly as she used her magic to gently lift the human up just enough to slide him back in his bed so that he was now sitting upright in his bed.

“Thank you my dear.” He smiled warmly toward the nurse, her eyes going a little wide before her cheeks puffed out a little. She placed a hoof over her mouth, turning to the side and giving a fake cough to cover the burp that was getting ready to be let loose.

“It’s no problem Sire, please, enjoy your meal. You will need to regain your strength to be healthy once again.” She smiled warmly before turning and making her way toward the balcony and opening the doors to let in a cool breeze and air out the stuffy room.

Charles pulled the first covered plate from the food tray, eyeing it before finally removing the metal cover that was housing it and keeping it warm. He was greeted with the most wonderful smell he had ever had the pleasure of taking in. His mouth watered as he looked down to see biscuits and gravy, scrambled eggs, and some tofu sausage links. After thanking the powers that be, he dug in voraciously without hesitation.

The other aid giving a sly smirk at seeing him eat the meal without hesitation. The aid that had made her way out and onto the balcony was quietly standing out of view as she spoke through a mental link to the other being that was already sitting quietly on the edge of the balcony, looking out and over the large city of Canterlot.

‘Is everything set?’ The changeling Queen stated through the hive mind.

‘Yes your majesty. He has already finished his meal, and it should only be a matter of moments before the enchanted food begins to take affect.’

‘Excellent, I must say though. Finding out that he had fallen into such disarray because of the loss of his so called adopted daughter, was quite startling. To think that a mere human could be responsible for such intense emotions.’ The changeling Queen gave a slight squeal of giddiness as her entire body gave an involuntary shudder of delight. ‘I do believe that he will become a fine addition to the hive, and a fine father to the next generation of changelings.’ She grinned evilly as she peeked around the balconys door frame to catch a glimpse of the human still laying quietly in bed, eating his second helping of the enchanted food that they had so graciously made for him.

‘Oh yes... a fine king indeed.’ She giggled softly.

Author's Notes:

Edited by ReFro