That Which was Lost

by LadyRFC

Purge

Twilight felt a bit sick, as if the world around her, the endless sand, the clear blue sky and scorching sun, had tilted. But it wasn’t from the heat.
“Killed them?” Her voice sounded odd in the silence of the moment, her friends all around her. Rarity had been measuring Pinkie’s waist and now stood near the cart with wide eyes, her magic hovering the measuring tape inches from Pinkie.
Silverline closed his eyes in shame. “Yes… It was a… massacre. The darklings didn’t expect an attack and we… we gave them no warning. Only a small group survived and fled into the desert.” He opened his eyes and they were remorseful. “Our own have never seen the darklings since.”
There was silence for a few moments before Rainbow Dash hopped uncomfortably in her new outfit and gave Silverline a frustrated look. “Um, not to be rude or anything, but… are you sure the ‘darklings’ were good? You sure they didn’t, like, attack first or something? I mean, they feed off love.”
Silverline tilted his head, causing Twilight’s shoulders to slump. “Quite sure. Why would they have hurt those that freely gave them food? And why would we deny them what we had so much of?”
At Rainbow’s temporary inability to answer, Rarity stepped forward. “Oh, well, it’s quite… generous of you to give them what they need…” She batted her eyelashes, searching for the right words. “It’s just…”
“Don’t they drain ya of all ya have and such? That’s the impression we got of the whole thang,” Applejack supplied, much to the unicorn’s relief.
A spark of understanding lit Silverline’s eyes. “Not to my knowledge. So far as I was told, their feeding didn’t affect ponies at all. Not when it was freely given, anyway.” He pondered for a second before adding, “I suppose a forced love might hurt… It is hard to say. In any case, I cannot give you facts. My apologies.” He inclined his head into a dip.
Twilight held up one hoof, her face still troubled. “Please don’t worry about it. It seems as if this whole thing was a whole lot more complicated than we originally thought.”
Rainbow flew up to Twilight’s face, her eyes flashing. “They imprisoned Cadence, almost tricked your brother into marrying their queen and nearly destroyed Canterlot! What’s so complicated about that?”
“Rainbow,” Applejack warned, “keep your high hat on. We know next to nothin’ about this whole thang.”
“Indeed,” Rarity added, her voice slow as she began to measure Pinkie again. “If this old emperor was really that bad… Well, that might explain a few things.”
“Explain?” Rainbow nearly yelled. “What’s to explain?!”
“Rainbow, please,” Twilight begged. As Rainbow’s wings slowed, Twilight sighed. “Yes, what they did to Canterlot, let alone to my brother,” a flash of anger crossed her face, but was soon hidden again, “will never be okay. It was horrible. It was wrong. Nothing will change that.” She looked over at Silverline, calmly watching her, his form sticking out against the course grains of sand surrounding them. “But we came out here to investigate… To try to understand.” She turned her eyes around to look at her friends. She gave them a small smile. “And sometimes understanding isn’t easy… or simple.”
“But we have to try!” Pinkie finished, making everypony jump slightly in surprise. The earth pony was no longer holding the umbrella and was instead standing, perfectly balanced, on the cart’s edge next to Twilight, Rarity’s measuring tape draped across her shoulders.
“I want to try to understand, too,” Fluttershy murmured, her eyes downcast. “I think… maybe… they had reasons for what they did…” At Rainbow’s snarl, she crouched down. “Maybe?”
“Ah don’t like this…” Applejack muttered. “But Ah can’t see why we can’t at least try.” She cast a glance at the blue pegasus above her. “Rainbow?”
Sighing, she glided down to the sand. “Fine,” she shot Silverline a look. “But don’t expect me to like them or anything.”
“Rarity?” Twilight asked, looking to the side.
The unicorn’s eyes were squinted as she worked to finish the stitching on Pinkie’s garment.
Twilight turned a grin towards Silverline. “I’m sure she agrees. Now, you said you could give us an escort?”
Silverline straightened again. “Yes, lady.” Eying her cart he added, “Although it might be faster if we leave this… transport behind. I can have some soldiers come back and take it back to the city later.”
Twilight tensed up again at the suggestion, but Spike spoke before she could. “But Twilight can’t fly right now. She’s too tired.”
Silverline tilted his head. “She may walk… There is no need for running. It is still a good day or two until we reach the city gates.”
“She can’t walk either,” Rainbow snapped.
“It’s 'cause of the sand, sugarcube,” Applejack explained.
“I guess it doesn’t affect you because you’re a pegasus,” Fluttershy whispered.
“The sand?” Silverline didn’t bother tilting his head, his eyebrows told all.
Pinkie Pie jumped down from the cart’s side, her flank now covered by light pink cloth with light blue accents. “The sand’s been sucking up everypony’s power!” She glanced at Silverline’s wings. “Except for pegasususes.”
“Sucking up power?” Silverline’s eyes lit up in remembrance. “Maybe the tower…”
“Tower?” Twilight shadowed. “Do you know what’s causing the desert to do this?”
Silverline blinked, looking back at her. He blushed slightly. “The real reason I am out here, your highness, was to check on one of our towers. They are placed in various places throughout the desert to keep track of those that cross into our country. We thought one of our furthest towers came down. The power levels were fluctuating rapidly. We assumed it must be dying… I was sent to check.”
“Are these towers powered by magic?” Twilight ventured.
Silverline nodded. “Yes, lady.” He paused. “Although, I’m not sure about the spell going wrong and causing the desert to… affect other ponies. I’ve never heard of such a reaction before and we’ve been using this system for many years. However,” he turned slightly west, “it is not outside the realm of possibility.”
Twilight stood, a bit shakily at first, as Rarity began measuring her. “Could we come with you to check on this tower?” She gave the pegasus a disarming smile. “Magic is a specialty of mine…”
For a moment Silverline looked as if he would refuse them, torn between his duties as a soldier and those of an escort for visiting royalty. In the end, diplomacy won out.
“Very well, my lady. As soon as your entourage is ready, follow me.”

Comments

[Starcat5]

So Changelings can function in a 100% safe symbiotic relationship with Ponies. Nice to know. Also, we now know what is poisoning the desert. ...maybe.

[Razzy]

It's the tower of Darm!

[Zepher]

You REALLY need to space your sentences. As much as I enjoy reading your story I can't read every chapter from start to finish with my schedule. I can't bookmark because it's not spaced, while it's not "needed" it would be appreciated.