finding usefulness

Belle trotted happily through the door. "Oh wow." she sighed in awe, unable to say anything else.

" Of course she was betrayed here too.....what an unforgivable crime." he said sadly.

Belle tilted her head at this remark, Nightmare Moon was evil, why did he feel sorry for her? Belle knew how it felt to be betrayed, but this mare had been evil.

"Um, Heartspan? She wasn't really betrayed, she was, erm, evil." she asked, confused.

heartspan tilted his head as he thought of what Belle said. Then he smiled a very very sad smile.

" I think Celestia is a lot more evil than nightmare moon. In fact i don't feel Nightmare moon was evil at all. Wanting to bring eternal night is for sure wrong, so don't mistake my thought, but she was hurt. Hurt by all of us normal ponies. If you recall the story she was bitter because we shunned her gift in favor of celestia's. Wouldn't you feel hurt if you made such a thing like the stars as a gift for somepony and they thought it was crap, especially considering she was young and young ponies are not so wise. I mean, haven't you ever been jealous of somepony, or been hurt and wanted to take a revenge? " he looked up at the few faint stars glimmering in the ever darkening sky." When she was at her lowest all the story says is that celestia tried to talk her down and when it failed she banished her to the moon. celestia banished somepony who loved her to a waste land for a thousand years. She banished her with the same magic that turned her 'good'. why not just turn her good in the first place? then to add insult to injury she took over luna's job. But we are the ones really at fault for nightmare moon. We should have done something to make our princess feel special. The night is a beautitful gift for anypony to receive. I don't know it all seems like a little thing that went horribly wrong."

Belle stepped back, nearly tripping over her own hooves.

"Wow, I, guess I never thought of it like that. I've always loved the night though, but, I always thought Nightmare Moon just, went, well, evil." she said, eyes wide with curiosity. She blinked and pulled her pack off.

"Well, might as well unpack for the night." she said, doing just that. She levitated her things out of the bag, mumbling as she went along.

"Let's see, sleeping bag, water, food, parchment, quills." she murmered.

heartspan smiled as he turned to belle.

" yeah i suppose im just a strange pony."' he said with a laugh.

then he headed for the door.

" i'll get us some fire wood ok." he offered and trotted out the door.


Once outside he quickly gathered some wood from the few trees around the ruins. he was ecstatic to be in this place and as he picked up sticks he had a sudden inspiration. Once he had gathered enough wood he found a cozy spot out of the way. Taking a small piece of the castles discarded stone work he cast a small transmutation, hoping the light of his horn would not be noticed. He fashioned an image of belle replete with knives and adventurers costume, then he quickly hurried inside as the last rays of the sun vanished over the horizon. he tossed the wood down and handed the statuette to Belle.

" Here, i made this for you, to commemorate our adventure." he said

Belle stopped what she was doing, nearly dropping the parchment in her hooves, as Heartspan handed her a mini Belle made of stone.

"Oh wow! That's beautiful!" she said, setting down the paper and taking the statuette and turning it over and over in her hooves.

It was wonderful, the mini her, complete with knives and an awesome little costume! She stared in amazement at the little figure.

"Thanks." she said brightly, placing the figurine in her bag, "that's really good craftsmanship, by the way." she added before turning to the wood he had tossed. She glanced around her and found a few stones. She placed the rocks in a circle and put the firewood inside of it. She took to of the stones and clacked them together, creating a spark that ignited the wood to flame.

"There." she said as she warmed her hooves.

Heartspan smiled as he dug out his nighttime supplies.

" I am glad you like it. My family have been jewelry makers for generations so we all have an eye for detail." he replied. " I think i am lucky my talent allows me to craft such things."

Seeing the fire blazing he looked at belle

" Thanks for starting the fire i was just going to do it." he smiled. " oh, if you are hungry i got plenty of things just help yourself."

Then almost as an after thought he got up and shut the front doors. Hefting the old locking bar in place. He nodded to himself seeing that it still looked sturdy enough. memories of their earlier encounter came to mind and he took a careful look out of each window as well as barring the other door that lead into the castle proper.

" If you aren't too tired he said maybe we can make some torches and go explore a little after dinner." he commented as he took out an apple and began to eat it.

Belle smiled and said "It was no problem, my family used to take camping trips and I was the only one who could start the fires."

She grinned again, "That's alright, I brought some food of my own though."

She rummaged around in her bag and pulled out a pack of crackers. Munching on one, she saw Heartspan checking all the windows and barricading the door.

"Sure, exploring sounds like fun." she said, eating another cracker.

heartspan ate his apple and when he finally spoke he laughed a little

" You know, the closest i got to camping before i moved were these awful dinner parties. you know the ones. where everypony is dressed in formal wear, eating tiny sandwiches, and complaining about taxes." he said " Nothing has felt more like a punishment for wrong doing than having to sit through one of those."

he dug out another apple and began to build some torches out of the lamp oil and cloth he had brought for precisely that purpose.

Belle giggled a bit, popping another cracker in her mouth. Once she finished chewing, she took a sip of water from her bottle.

"Trust me, I'm sure I've been through worse dinner parties." she said with a light laugh, "okay, I'm ready to go, if you are." She stood up and brushed herself off, waiting for Heartspan.

heartspan passed belle a torch before dipping his own into the flames.

" there is worse than complaining about taxes while eating tiny sandwiches?" he asked mystified as he headed toward the interior door. " you must have lived a sad life."

he carefully unbarred the door before proceeding into the courtyard beyond. Across from him were the stairs leading up to the tower where Nightmare moon finally fell and to the right of it a single wooden door.

" Shall we go into that door or up to the top of the tower." he asked

Belle accepted the torch, looking around at the room in new light.

" there is worse than complaining about taxes while eating tiny sandwiches?" he asked mystified as he headed toward the interior door. " you must have lived a sad life."

She fell silent at his statement, only nodding and trying to hide her solemn expression among her mane.

" Shall we go into that door or up to the top of the tower."

Belle barely managed to say "You choose, I honestly don't care," her voice cracking towards the end.

She wiped away a small tear that had formed in the corner of her eye before Heart could see it. It helped that it was dark.

The crack in her voice was unmistakable. Heartspan swallowed hard, knowing he had 't turn touched on something that had actually been true and sad.

" belle, i know you won't talk about it. I can tell it isn't your nature, but I am here for you if you need it." he said before trotting of into the darkness

he tried to rush so that she wouldn't scold him for bringing up things that weren't his business. he headed for the small door having no idea what would lay beyond it.

Belle shook her head, clearing her mind, and ran quickly after him.

"Right, thanks." she said quietly, opening the door and rushing through it to the other side.

She was grateful that he understood talking about it was hard. She blinked and put a smile upon her face, something she was good at. Acting. Put a smile on, and they leave you alone, mostly.

Heartspan followed after her. She had rushed passed so quickly that Heartspan was extra careful in his approach to the door to ensure she didn't slam it into his face. Whatever was bothering her was pretty serious as far as he could tell. he entered the hallway beyond the door.

The walls were covered in intricate carvings and a thin layer of dust lay over everything. No one had been in that hall in a thousand years and despite this heartspan just could enjoy it. his mind was focused on belle. replaying their few conversations. Looking for an indication of her suffering. he didn't dare bring it up but her smile as she stood there only made him feel the more sad for her though he was careful not to let it show. he passed her making his way to another door.

A sudden thought occurred to him. maybe if they found something really awesome then it would make up for whatever was bothering her and so he went into the next room with determined gate.

Belle grinned, gazing around the room.

"Wow, this is, brilliant." she stated blatantly, "I wish I had come here sooner."

Heartspan seemed lost in thought, so she left him to it. Honestly, she didn't blame him (or anypony) for being curious, or inadvertently bringing up bad memories. It's not as if they knew. She spun around, taking in everything in the room. From the dusty layer to the vines seeping in through the cracks and creeping up the walls.

She walked up to one of the plants and studied it.

"Wow, I've never seen this type of vine."

Heartspan studied the room on his quest to find the perfect object to cheer belle, when he suddenly realized that he had no idea what would cheer her. He had no idea what the issue was or anything. he was just some dumb pony wandering around doing dumb pony things.

"Wow, I've never seen this type of vine."

He looked up at belle beneath her torch light. he couldn't see the vine and was no expert in plants anyhoof but it still peaked his curiosity. Then suddenly his honest got the better of him.

" belle, I want to know the real you. I want to know what made you so sad and what makes you act so strange. all day you act partly one way and partly another as if you are two ponies in the same body. So which pony is belle?" he stated " i can understand that you are not comfortable talking about yourself with a stranger but you know we risked our lives to get to this place and we will risk our lives in this place and when we leave too. to me you are no longer just somepony i met , you are belle...a strange strange pony i am willing to risk my life for. "

" belle, I want to know the real you. I want to know what made you so sad and what makes you act so strange. all day you act partly one way and partly another as if you are two ponies in the same body. So which pony is belle?" he stated " i can understand that you are not comfortable talking about yourself with a stranger but you know we risked our lives to get to this place and we will risk our lives in this place and when we leave too. to me you are no longer just somepony i met , you are belle...a strange strange pony i am willing to risk my life for. "

Belle stepped back again, her eyes widening at the spillage of information.

"Um, well, I, I," was all she managed to say before tears brimmed at her eyes. She wiped them away with her hoof quickly, "I am Belle. I have two sides. One is the happy one, the other, is a bad memory that keeps returning at the slightest mention of my past." she blurted out, holding her hoof up to her mouth to keep the sob in.

"I just, I-I had a bad childhood, growing up with harsh words and physical attacks." she exclaimed, words bursting at the seams as she told her story. "I, I try to hide my past." she stopped herself quickly, "but, thanks. Thanks for asking. No pony ever asks. And, I will say the same to you. I am willing to risk my life for you, even though I just met you. We have been through a lot, and, I guess I'm trying to say that I trust you." she finished.

Belle's trust was a hard thing to come by, sure, she seems happy and trusting. But gaining her actual trust was nearly impossible.

heartspan walked over and cautiously placed a hoof on her shoulder.

" I promise i will do my best not to let you down, and I'm glad we met. " he said softly as he let his hoof back to the ground.

he looked at her under the torch light and he thought that even though she had such a sad childhood, and though it scarred her in such a horrible fashion, she was pretty amazing. He smiled to himself.

" i think the roll of adventurer suits you well." he said sweetly as he looked up at the vine " wow, that really is weird looking."

Heartspan hoped that this not so subtle change of subjects would allow her to feel more at ease after having shared so much.

" you are a great pony belle and i wouldn't want to be here with anypony else." he said this last very quietly and without thinking.

Belle sniffed and blinked away the tears, trying desperately to stop the racking sobs.

"Thanks." she replied confidently, her voice returning, "I guess adventuring does suit me." she half-smiled, laughing the rest of the salty tears away.

" you are a great pony belle and i wouldn't want to be here with anypony else." he said this last very quietly and without thinking."

She blinked blankly, wondering why he had said that.

"Thanks." she repeated, "this is a very strange vine." she added, taking his unspoken advice and turned away from the subject. She ran her hoof along the side of the vine, it was rough, tough and most of all, it felt really frail.

"Wow, you'd think a vine invading Nightmare Moon's home would be stronger." she said, still holding onto it. She felt a small prick and pulled her hoof back reflexively. A small bead of blood had formed and she looked at where she had been touching the plant. Nothing.
"Well that's odd" she whispered quietly to herself.

he watched her inspecting the vine, waiting to see what she made of it. to him it just looked like a weird vine and everfree was full of weird vines. Though admittedly this one was a lot more strange.
"Wow, you'd think a vine invading Nightmare Moon's home would be stronger."

He was about to make a comment about sneakiness being better than strength when she suddenly yanked her hoof back in surprise. He looked over at her hoof but didn't really notice anything.

" Something wrong?" he asked in confusion.

Belle shook her hoof to get rid of the stinging. "No, everything's fine. The vine just pricked me is all, though, I don't see any thorns." she said, scrutinizing the vine again. She placed a hoof to her head, a banging pain bounced around her head and she felt dizzy. "Ow." she whispered quietly, squinting.

She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to get the fuzzy spots out of her vision. "I-I think I need to sit down for a bit" she said before falling to the floor.

" what the..." heartspan shot out as Belle fell to the floor.

The vine had pricked her she had said. he quickly checked to see if she was conscious. He was now scared on a level much higher than when they faced that freaky pony. he didn't know anything about medicine or plants or anything.

Belle blinked furiously, trying to see again. What she did see was a grey figure standing above her, and lots of colors swirling around. She reached out with her hoof to catch the color, but touched only air. She grinned a funny grin and laughed a funny laugh.

"Color...." she said subconsciously, falling back to the floor, twitching as her body tried to get rid of the poison.

She laughed airily, unaware of the danger, or anything for that matter. Her eyes fluttered closed and she breathed in deeply.

"Heart...span." she muttered through tight lips, "Help....me"

The display he saw before him was like a nightmare until he realized there was something he could do. his magic yanked free a chunk of vines. Moving a small distance from Belle he calmly transmuted the vine into sand. In this way his magic allowed him to analyse the various structures present in the vine. isolating the substance that was causing her state had been easy through this means.

he swallowed hard as he walked back over to Belle, here he would find something dangerous. He would transmute the plants toxin into oxygenated blood. He closed his eyes as he began to create the formula in his mind. Then he allowed the magic to sleep into her slowly. His horn glowing brightly as his magic sought out each toxic molecule and converted it something useful for the unicorn body. he had to be careful not to create a sudden rush of blood pressure. each small change made a tiny popping noise as he worked.

Belle's eyes jerked open and she sat up quickly, blood rushing to her head.

"What, what happened?" she asked softly, rubbing her hoof. She stood up slowly, looking around as her vision cleared.

"Did you save me? I, I don't remember anything." she said, barely audible, her head pounding.