//------------------------------// // The Return // Story: Cardcaptor Twilight // by Yukito //------------------------------// “B8.” “Miss.” Twilight put a hoof to her chin, and examined the board in front of her. She ran a few calculations through her head, thought about Trixie’s play style, and then… “G5.” “… Miss,” Trixie said, shifting her eyes to the side as she tried to subtly use magic to move her piece. “Trixiiiie,” Twilight said in a warning tone. “Oh, fine! Hit, but Trixie’s still in this!” ‘Even if I am one hit away from losing…’ As the two continued to play their game, with Trixie purposefully dragging it out by taking extra long to think her next move through, Kero sat by the window not too far from them, staring out at the full moon outside. ‘Yue, your time is drawing near…’ Suddenly, a chill ran through Kero’s spine, and he bolted up on the windowsill. “A Clow Card!” Twilight and Trixie both turned to him with a start, and Trixie pushed the game between them onto its side, scattering its pieces all over the floor. “Really?!” Trixie asked, pretending not notice the mess that she caused. “Hey!” Twilight yelled in protest. “I was about to win!” “We’ll just have to call it a draw,” Trixie said. “This is serious business!” Twilight frowned as she picked up the game and the scattered pieces with her magic, and neatly began packing it away in an orderly fashion. “Why couldn’t this card have waited until morning to show up? Well, guess I’d better get Rarity and-” “No time,” Kero said, confusing the two mares. “This one’s a powerful one… I can’t tell which one it is, but I think we should hurry, before it can do anything bad.” “Well, where is it?” Trixie asked. Kero paused for a second, and then shrugged. With a sigh, Trixie got up, and moved over to where her saddlebag was sitting beside the guest bed. “You two are lucky that the Great and Powerful Trixie is here to save the day, again.” “Yeah, lucky us,” Kero said in a sarcastic tone. “Y’know, you don’t have ta come aong. We’ll just take the compass and go without ya.” “Kero,” Twilight said in a stern tone. Kero turned around and began whistling innocently. “Now, let’s see,” Trixie said as she pulled out her compass. “The Clow Card is located…” As Trixie focussed her magic into the compass, a bright blue light shot out of it, and passed through the window beside Keroberos. She and Twilight looked outside the window to follow the light. “… In the Everfree Forest.” “Wonderful,” Twilight said with a roll of her eyes. “Everfree Forest, at night, when the full moon is out. Oh, yeah. This is going to be great.” “Well, at least the full moon will provide us with some light,” Trixie pointed out. “Yeah, while strengthening all of the dangerous animals that live out there,” Twilight argued. “Are you forgetting? We have the Clow Cards. We can just, I don’t know, fly over the forest?” Twilight thought about that for a second. “Huh. I actually did forget that.” Trixie shook her head in disbelief. “Well, let’s go then. Whilst the cloud cover is relatively low.” Twilight nodded in agreement. “Yes, now would be the best time to head on out.” “Just be careful, you two,” Kero said as he landed on Twilight’s shoulder. “I’m sensing some seriously powerful magic from this card.” “It isn’t aggressive, is it?” Twilight asked. “I dunno. That’s why you’ve gotta be careful.” Trixie opened the library window, and took out her key. “The key that hides the power of dimensions, show your true form before me. I, Trixie, command you under our contract: Release!” As her key transformed into her wand, she pulled out a card from her cape. “Fly!” As the three flew over the Everfree Forest, the light from Trixie’s compass grew shorter and shorter, until they finally reached their destination. “Down there!” Kero shouted, pointing down at some ruins beneath them. “The card is down there somewhere!” “That’s… the Ancient Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters!” Twilight said. “That’s where we fought Nightmare Moon! Where the Elements of Harmony were held before we reactivated them!” “It’s where the Clow Card is right now, and that’s all that matters to Trixie!” Trixie told her as she pointed her wand down, causing them to descend slowly towards the ground. “It could be hiding. We should split up and look around.” “Okay, but let’s not wander too far apart,” Twilight cautioned, looking around nervously. She shivered as a cold wind passed down her spine. “This place gives me the creeps.” “I’ll check over there,” Kero said, pointing at the road outside of the castle. “There’s a chance it’s already outside. And if not, it might try to escape.” “Good thinking. Then, I’ll check down here, and Trixie, could you check upstairs, please?” “… Fine, but if you find anything, you’d better let Trixie know,” Trixie said, glaring at Kero, who stuck his tongue out at the showmare in response. “We will,” Twilight said in an exasperated tone. “Now come on. I want to get this over with so I can go to bed.” With a silent nod, Kero turned around and made his way outside of the castle. With a huff, Trixie turned the opposite way, and began to ascend the staircase behind her. With a sigh, Twilight brought a forehoof in between her eyes, and started rubbing. “Those two, honestly… And then there’s Rarity, too. I’m going to have to find some way to apologise for not bringing her here. But first, the Clow Card. Now, if I were a pesky little spirit of mischief, where would I be?” A familiar feeling passed through Twilight’s body, and she quickly turned around to find a huge rift opening up in the air in front of her. “… Oh, I-I guess I’d be there…” Twilight groaned as she opened her eyes, and rubbed her aching head as she tried to recall what had just happened. “W-Where am I?” she asked herself as she lowered her hoof to the ground. She felt grass beneath her hooves, and looked down to see that there were also white flowers planted all over the place. “A field? How’d I get here?” Twilight gasped as she suddenly remembered her most recent hunt for a Clow Card. How she began to search for it at the ruins in the Everfree Forest, and then, how she was absorbed by that strange rift that appeared out of nowhere. “Was that… the Clow Card? And, if so, what did it do to me? Did it… teleport me?” Twilight looked above her, and found a ceiling above her head. “An indoor garden?” “We are glad thou couldst make it,” a voice said somewhere nearby. Twilight recognised that voice. It belonged to… “Princess Celestia!” Twilight suddenly jumped to her hooves, and looked around for the Princess. “But, where-” “I know how lonely you’ve been since that time. I figured you could use a friend.” Twilight didn’t recognise this new voice… though, it sounded familiar. Or rather, it felt familiar. “Over there?” she asked herself as she looked over at some nearby bushes. “We thank thee, Clow.” Twilight gasped, and ran over towards the bushes. She peeked through them, and sure enough, Princess Celestia was there… but, not quite as Twilight remembered her. Her mane was solid pink, though it still flowed like before, and her coat, though it was still white, had dark-blue patched all over it. She also seemed shorter than she usually did, and she was wearing armour that looked at least five eras old. “Your coat… is it like that in memory of your sister?” the pony beside the Princess asked. This pony was just a little shorter than the Princess. He was a pale Unicorn, with a long black mane and tail, wearing blue robes with a familiar looking emblem on the front. Twilight recognised it as Clow Reed’s emblem. A sun and a moon emblem, symbolising two styles of magic brought together to create his own. “Please do not word it thusly. We have not given up hope yet,” Celestia said as she reached out a hoof and gently held some roses in front of her. “Forgive me. I meant it not in such a way, I was merely-” “‘Tis fine, Clow Reed. Pray tell, the rumours that we have heard, be they the truth, or else…” “… I’m afraid so, Your Highness. I am… not long for this world.” “… So thou would leave me too?” “If I could stay, I would. Unfortunately, I am unlike Yuko. My time is short, and I intend to make the most of it while I still can.” “Keroberos, and Yue. How fare they to this news?” “Keroberos is as dependable as ever, but Yue… I never should have created my guardians to have such emotions.” “We think it is that kind quality that is your finest feature.” Twilight couldn’t believe what she was seeing and hearing. She simply stared at the two ponies before her in complete shock. ‘I-If that pony is Clow Reed… and that one is Princess Celestia… w-what does this mean? Have I… Have I gone back in time?’ “Twilight!” Twilight gasped and turned around. She was sure that that was Trixie’s voice, but… “Twilight!” “Twilight!” There it was again, followed by Kero’s voice. “What’s going on?” “It is time for you to return.” Twilight jumped with a start, and turned to find Clow Reed standing beside her. Princess Celestia was no longer there. “I am not sure how you came to be here, but it is not where you belong. I sense great troubles ahead of you… but just remember, your friends will always be there to guide you, even in the deepest darkness.” “W-What do you-” Before Twilight could finish her question, an overwhelming light blinded her, and she was forced to close her eyes. When she opened the, she found herself just outside of the ruins in the Everfree Forest, with Trixie and Kero before her. Trixie was on her knees, panting heavily as she held her wand. “Y-You guys…” “Twilight, hurry!” Trixie shouted. “Seal the card, quick!” Kero pointed behind Twilight, who turned around to look. “That’s the Return card! It sent you back to the past!” Twilight took a step back as she saw the same rift from before in front of her, growing bigger and reaching out towards them. “W-What the?” “Hurry!” Kero shouted. “Trixie brought you back with Time, but that drained her too much, so now she can’t seal it herself!” Twilight gasped, and quickly pulled out her key. “The key that hides the power of the dark, show your true form before me. I, Twilight, command you under our contract: Release!” Twilight grabbed her wand, and swung it into the air. “Return to the guide you were meant to be in! Clow Card!” “Well well, it looks like I wasn’t needed after all.” Kero and Trixie turned around, and saw the same cloaked pony from Appleoosa approaching them. “The Return card is indeed a frightening thing. I thought for sure that you would need help with this one.” As Twilight collected the card, she turned around to face the cloaked pony. “Who are you?” she asked. “And, why do you feel so… familiar?” “I would love to tell you, but…” The cloaked pony turned around, and looked at something in the distance.”It’s time.” “‘Time’?” Trixie asked. “Time for what?” “That was the final Clow Card,” Kero said, surprising both Twilight and Trixie. “It’s not time for him to make his appearance.” “Indeed,” the cloaked pony said. A sudden movement in the distance caught the two mares’ attention, and they watched as a new pony entered the scene. They both gasped at who they saw walking towards them. “F-Fluttershy?!” Twilight asked, watching as a yellow Pegasus pony with a long, flowing pink mane and tail walked towards them. Something seemed different, though. “Wait, t-that looks like Fluttershy, but…” “A stallion?” Trixie asked as the pony got closer to them, and she was able to see them better. “And, what’s this intense feeling coming from him?” “It’s him,” Kero said. “Yue. The Moon Guardian, and the one who will administer the final judgement.” “It has been a long time,” the new pony said, looking over at the group before him, “Keroberos.”