II

by adcoon

II.9 - Blood From a Stone

Twilight pushed the door open and stepped out onto the balcony in the light of the sun. Dash watched her as she rolled up the scroll and held it up against the wind. She had never really given Twilight's magic much thought before, but now she found herself watching how the horn glowed as a smokeless flame of indigo burned from its base and licked up the length of the sharp point. The fire leaped from the tip of the horn and engulfed the letter without passing the distance between. In an instant the flame had incinerated the paper, leaving nothing but a cloud of smoke swiftly blown away on the wind. In a few brief moments it would reach Spike back in Ponyville.

It seemed so effortless the way she simply directed the flame at whatever she wished, and things just happened the way she intended it. Dash had no idea how it happened, it just did. It was magic, but the way Twilight always talked about it she sounded like there was a real explanation. It probably just wasn't any explanation Dash could ever understand.

Twilight turned around and noticed her looking. “Is something on your mind?” she asked as she trotted back inside and picked up a brush from the bed. Twilight had been using it earlier to tame Dash's mane and tail, while Dash wrote the letter to their friends to let them know she was alright. Dash didn't normally bother much with her hair, but the braids Twilight had woven looked alright, maybe even kinda cool. At least it wasn't like what Rarity would do once she got one of her ideas.

Dash watched Twilight as she trotted across the room while brushing her own mane. It didn't look too bad when it was a bit wild like it was right now, maybe even sort of cute. “Just … kinda thinking,” she said as Twilight disappeared into the bathroom. She waited briefly, then shook off the thoughts and turned to look out at the open sky. “It's nothing. I'm going out for a bit. I need to stretch my wings,” she said and got up.

“Oh … okay. Just remember to take it easy—” Twilight poked her head out of the bathroom “—and don't fly too far off. Remember I promised you breakfast.”

“Yeah yeah.” Dash grinned through the window and spread her wings, eager to feel the air between her feathers. It had only been one night, but she felt like she had been earthbound for ages, holed up in the old castle. It was a nice castle, sure, but Dash was born to move. “I'll meet you down there.”

“Alright, have fun,” Twilight called.

Her voice was already half gone as Dash set off from the balcony. The wind blew through her mane and under her wings while the sun warmed her back. Dash laughed as she went into a dive and raced over the roof tops of the village, turning abruptly to fly straight up and back towards the castle. She spiraled the tower a few times, watching the forest stretch out towards the horizon. This was bliss.

***

Dash landed heavily in the town square, stumbling slightly. She had never felt this exhausted from such a short flight, but all of a sudden her wings felt like they were made of lead. For a second she had almost crashed before she managed to right herself. She came to a stop and took a while to catch her breath and give her wings a worried look, before looking around for Twilight. Her lavender friend was standing nearby, looking at a large stone planted in the middle of the town square.

Twilight looked up as Dash approached. Her expression turned to a look of concern as she saw Dash. “Are you alright? You look a little pale.”

Her reflex told her to deny anything was wrong, that she was strong and could handle anything. Dash opened her mouth but stopped and scraped the ground. “I-I don't know. I feel really tired all of a sudden.” She turned her head and rubbed her wing with her nose. “My wings hurt like I've just done a marathon, but I only just flew around the castle a few times.”

Dash sat down and let Twilight examine her eyes and wings. Twilight's brow furrowed as she stared into Dash's left eye, then the right one. She lifted one of the wings with her magic and stretched it carefully to have a look. The magic left a pleasant warmth where it touched her feathers and sore muscles. “How is your head feeling?”

Dash shrugged. “I feel alright, just really drained and sore all of a sudden. Maybe I just gotta have something to eat. I haven't really had much since yesterday at lunch, if you don't count the apples you bought.” Her stomach gave a low, persistent growl as if in answer.

Twilight didn't look entirely convinced. She held a hoof to Dash's forehead, while Dash glanced at the stone Twilight had been looking at before she arrived. It was placed in the very center of town but didn't look anything special. She narrowed her eyes a little as she noticed an inscription.

Blood and Steel
Twain halves of our heart
Sword and Art
I carry our zeal

Light and Dark
United, triune
Sun and Moon
I am your bulwark

~ C ~

Dash took a moment to make out the words from where she sat. “What's the stone?”

Twilight paused and glanced around at the stone. “I … think this is where Celestia and Luna fought long ago, actually. I never knew it happened here. I think Celestia carved those words on the stone after defeating her sister.” Twilight seemed to forget for a moment about Dash's condition. She looked at the stone as if lost. “She must have been so strong to carry on for a thousand years.”

“It's very …” Dash looked at the words. “It's kinda hard to imagine Celestia like that.”

“Is it?” Twilight smiled at her. “She can be pretty tough when she has to. Imagine what she lived through.” She looked back at the stone and sat down, just looking at it in reverence. “It's beautiful, don't you think?”

Dash watched Twilight and the stone. It was beautiful. She wondered how many ponies wandered by this stone every day and how many stopped to look at it. Did anypony know its history? It was just an unremarkable stone—it had probably been sitting in the middle of the forest for ages, forgotten under a thicket until this village was built around it—but knowing what it meant left a tightness in her chest.

Twilight gave her a pat on the back and a soft smile. “Come on, let's get something to eat then. You could use it, and I did promise.”

She was pretty hungry. She nodded and got back up to follow Twilight. “Yeah, alright.” They crossed the square together and sat down at a small street café with a view of the stone and the rising sun. The village was almost deserted at this time, except for a few ponies about to start the day. Another pair of ponies were enjoying a quiet breakfast at another table, but otherwise the café was empty.

A young earth pony with a creamy coat and coffee-colored mane came up to them, wearing a bright smile and a pair of glasses. She was holding a small notebook for taking orders. “Good morning, Miss Sparkle, and a beautiful day to your friend too. Is this your first visit to Gloaming?” She looked cheerfully at Dash.

“Yeah, I came in last night,” Dash said.

“Good morning, Café au Lait,” Twilight greeted the pony and gestured at Dash with a nod. “This is my friend Rainbow Dash from Ponyville.” Twilight smiled at Dash. “Rainbow, this is Café au Lait. She runs the entire café during the day.”

“That's right.” The pony smiled and reached out to shake Dash's hoof. “Nice to meet you, miss Dash. So! What can I get you two? The usual for you, miss Sparkle?”

Twilight nodded. “Yes, please. Make it three, please.”

Café au Lait made a small note in her book while Dash briefly considered the menu. Her eyes quickly settled on an item of choice. She pointed a hoof at the tempting picture. “I'll have the pancakes with wild berries!” She grinned, feeling her mouth water at the thought. “And whatever Twilight is having to drink,” she added.

“Excellent!” Café au Lait chirped and noted it down. She picked up the menu from the table and left the two alone again.

Twilight put an elbow on the table and rested her cheek on her hoof as she watched Dash across the table. “Are you sure you can handle what I'm having?” she said with a teasing smile.

Dash rolled her eyes at the unicorn. “Let me guess, Twilight … you're having tea, right?”

“I usually do, yes.”

“I know you, Twilight,” Dash said and looked through the window of the kitchen at where Café au Lait was preparing her pancakes. The earth pony was deftly flipping them into the air and catching them again. Meanwhile quiet music poured from a record playing in the background. “I'm the loyalest of ponies, I know my friends well.”

Twilight merely chuckled, and Dash turned to watch the stone in silence while she waited. “You know, there's so much I never knew about the princesses. Luna is a lot different than I thought,” Dash said after a while.

Twilight looked tired but smiled and took her hoof off the table as she looked at where Dash was staring. “Because she had friends? Or lovers? I hear she had her fair share of both.”

“Yeah,” Dash muttered. Even Luna could find love. Or perhaps she really shouldn't have been so surprised. Both princesses were very attractive mares.

Twilight nodded. “She's a mother too.”

If Dash had had her drink yet, she probably would have spat it out. “No way, you're kidding?”

“Not at all,” Twilight said. “I had a look at the royal family records in the Canterlot archives some years ago. I wasn't meant to see them, but I was doing some research and … I couldn't help but take a peek.” Twilight blushed a little. “Luna had at least two daughters before her imprisonment in the moon. Cadance is descended from the youngest of them. I noticed that Luna seemed more open about her past, perhaps we could ask her later. Celestia always skirted the topic when I asked about it.”

Dash stared at the stone, lost in this new information.

“They were both different mares back then,” Twilight continued. “Before all went wrong,” she added a little quietly. “I think they were both happier back then, more carefree.”

“Like us, until today?” Dash said and looked at Twilight. The unicorn looked down.

The silence was broken as Café au Lait arrived back at their table, smiling like the sun. Dash blinked as two large cups of steaming dark coffee were placed in front of them, followed by fresh pancakes for her and scones for Twilight. Café au Lait bowered slightly. “Bon appetit,” she said and left again to see to her other two customers.

“I thought you said you had tea,” Dash said and gave the cup a sniff.

Twilight grinned. “You said that. I said usually, yes, when I'm with you girls, but in the morning I drink espresso, and when I've been studying all night I make it a triple.” She gestured a hoof at the larger-than-standard cups in front of them. “What did you think kept me going all day?”

Dash hoofed the cup and took another uncertain sniff.

“You don't have to drink it,” Twilight said sympathetically.

“No no, I ordered it,” Dash said, feeling that it would be disloyal somehow to not drink it now that she had wanted to have the same thing as Twilight. Besides, maybe it would give her the boost she felt like she could really use today. “I'm just not much for coffee, normally.” She took a tiny sip and hid a grimace. “It ain't bad,” she lied and decided that maybe loyalty could sit this one out.

Twilight watched her, before giving a little nod as she picked up a scone and broke it in half. “Alright, just don't drink it for my sake.”

Dash turned to her pancakes, putting the coffee off to the side. Pancakes she could handle. They ate in silence, watching the stone and the few ponies walking around the small square. She got halfway through her pancakes before her appetite seemed to fade a little. She poked the berries and glanced at the untouched espresso.

Twilight put down the scone she had been eating and looked at her. “Is something wrong? You're usually not this silent, or this introspective, Rainbow.”

She wanted to say 'everything'. Everything was wrong. Her eyes settled on Twilight's hoof. “Have you ever loved somepony, Twilight?”

Her friend looked down a little. “Other than my family and the princess? Both have been very dear to me.” She nodded when she saw Dash's look. “Yes, I once loved a pony.”

“What was his name? Anypony I know?”

“Moondancer,” Twilight said and turned her cup between her hooves. She looked like it was a little hard to speak of. “Her name was Moondancer. We had several classes together in Canterlot, but I think she lives in Fillydelphia now. I got a book she wrote about a year ago.”

Dash looked at Twilight as if seeing her friend for the first time. It looked like there was so much she never knew about Twilight, too. “A mare? I always had you pegged as, you know … into guys.” Dash waved her hoof in search of the word and gave up. “This is way cool.”

Twilight blushed a little and smiled. “You really think so? I never told any of you. I know it's silly, but I worried a little what you might think.” She shook her head. “I never really had any interest in the stallions at school, but Moondancer captured my heart. We both loved magic, Moondancer in a sort of poetic sense, and … we both loved to experiment, too.” Her blush deepened.

Dash listened with interest, watching her friend talk. “What happened?”

Twilight sighed. “Moondancer was the brightest pony I ever knew. She was beautiful, smart, and simply magical with words. She wanted to be a poet, that was her special talent. But she needed attention constantly. She just couldn't be alone for half an hour. She always wanted to go somewhere together to see a play or try a new café, while I always put my studies first and never took time for her. We tried, but it just didn't … really work.”

Dash looked down. “I'm sorry.”

“It's past now. I moved on and found you girls, my best friends.” Twilight smiled and sipped the last of her espresso.

Dash took a small bite of her pancakes and watched the stone again. She couldn't help but see the connection every time she looked at it and thought of its words. What was going to happen to them? What were they going to do now? Was it all destined to end in misery as it had for Luna and Celestia?

Twilight must have read her mind. “Our destiny is not written in stone, Dash. We'll figure something out.” She reached across the table to take Dash's hoof. “There has to be some way to resolve this, I refuse to believe otherwise, and I'm not going to give up or let you down. I don't know why, but the stone gives me hope.”

“What are you going to do?” Dash turned and looked into Twilight's eyes.

“I'm going to find out everything I can,” she said. “I was thinking I need to head to Canterlot today. I need to see the other set of Elements with my own eyes, and talk to Celestia.”

Dash looked a little confused. “You don't trust the princesses?”

“Of course I do,” Twilight said, looking a little horrified at the suggestion that she didn't. “But they don't wield the Elements anymore, so perhaps they have been deceived somehow.”

“I'm coming with you,” Dash said, expecting a protest from Twilight.

Twilight looked about to object but then relaxed a little. “Are you sure you won't get bored? I'm going to spend some time in the library while I'm there.”

Dash groaned a little, but her mind was set. “Might as well be bored there as here, so yeah … I'm coming with you, Twilight.” And that was that.

***

It felt like the world was turned inside out and then back on itself with a snap. If Dash ever had a choice of transportation, teleportation would not be her first choice. As they came out into the courtyard of the castle, Dash stopped to check all her limbs, before looking to find Twilight by her side.

The unicorn looked tired as she gave Dash a quick glance to make sure she was with her and alright, then continued in silence towards the gates of the castle. Dash paused briefly before catching up. “Are you alright, Twilight?”

Twilight nodded. “I just need a rest later, when we get back. It's been a long night.”

The guards at the gate stood to attention as they approached. One of them held his wing in front of the door. “Identify yourself.”

“I am Twilight Sparkle, and … what was it …” Twilight concentrated a bit before continuing. “ 'Three golden eggs in the morning sun',” she recited and gestured vaguely at Dash. Her hoof was shaking slightly. “This is Rainbow Dash, I can vouch for her. We are here to see Princess Celestia.”

The guard brightened and removed his wing. “Good to see you, Twilight. Her Highness is currently in a meeting, but I shall inform her of your arrival. You may wait in the lobby.”

“Thank you,” Twilight said quietly and followed the guard inside as the door was opened. Dash followed behind, watching Twilight.

The guard disappeared through another door, leaving them to wait. Twilight sat down and closed her eyes. Dash sat down next to her. “Are you sure you're alright?” she asked and placed a hoof on Twilight's shoulder. Dash's eyes widened as she touched Twilight. “Whoa, you're cold!”

Twilight sank a bit. “I-I do feel a bit … off,” she admitted.

Dash wrapped a wing around her friend, who was looking really sick now. “Is … is there anything you need? Should I call for somepony?”

“I …” Twilight coughed and lowered her head, breathing heavily. Dash caught her as she fell forward in a fit of violent coughs. A trickle of dark blood dripped from her open mouth as she struggled to breathe.

“Twilight!” Dash screamed.

Comments

[RetroGamer1224]

Dammit Deadly why are you so good. Enjoying the slow burn in romance between Dash and Twi. It is fitting. I do want to know more about Eden and I want that Dash to be with her. Man this is going to be wild. I now have things to think about. A lot of things.

[adcoon]

1450276

Yup, I'm just that good

[RetroGamer1224]

Indeed you are. *bows*

[Rainbow87dash]

Haha Twilights coughing up blood

[MellowMabari]

Well crap. The shenanigans never ceases, does it? Hope Twilight gets better, and I'm interested to see what's up with these duplicate Elements of Harmony. And now Dash knows Twilight's available Another great chapter, can't wait for more

[PaxMano33]

love the symbolism incorporated here. and i think that there was magic at play in rainbow dash's feeling exhausted at the end of her flight...