That Which was Lost

by LadyRFC

Deeper Suspicions

Twilight’s wings were still sore by the time they reached this mysterious “tower” of Silverline’s. Even so, she managed to keep herself airborne long enough to join the pegasus as soon as the small stone contraption was visible.
It was small for a tower, only about as tall as Celestia and once she hovered closer she realized that the slight sparkle of light she had seen glint off it came not from the stones, but from between them. In every crevice shone the glimmer of crystal.
“Are they magic?” Spike whispered in her ear, shifting on her back slightly.
Twilight gave a slightly stronger flap of her wings to keep herself stabilized. “I’m not sure,” she answered him. Rising her voice she called out to Silverline, “Do you know what’s wrong with it?”
The pegasus was examining the left side of the tower, his mouth set in a line. “I’m not sure. But… it doesn’t seem to be damaged.”
“What exactly are we looking for again?” Rarity asked from the cart, still neck deep in making Twilight’s covering, which she insisted had to be far more intricate than their own. Twilight wondered if she was honestly listening for an answer, or if she just wanted to make everypony else think she was paying attention when she clearly wasn't.
“Well… damage. Any damage. Of which I currently see none…” Silverline answered, his voice distracted as he walked slowly around the contraption. But it was whole. No cracks or dents or cave ins.
“Then maybe it’s working just fine,” Rainbow concluded flippantly.
Silverline shook his head, his eyes still focused on the object before him. “If it was working, it would be giving off a slight glow of magic.” He looked up at her, “It also would have detected your presence nearby.”
“Sooo…” Twilight flew closer, slowly circling the tower herself, “it’s just… not working?”
Silverline sighed and sat down. “I was afraid this might happen. It seems as if I’ll have to report this as I can’t fix it myself. Magic has always been a mystery to me. Most of it, anyway.”
“Oh, me too!” Pinkie jumped in, hopping around the tower gleefully. “Twilight is always doing cool things with her magic that I could never ever ever ever do! She’s all like bam and things are all like sawamer and it’s really cool!”
Silverline gave Pinkie and overwhelmed look.
“I suppose you couldn’t tell me what spell they use on it, could you?” Twilight asked.
Silverline shook his head.
“That there is a shame,” Applejack commented. “Twilight here probably could have fixed it right up for you herself.”
“Yeah,” Spike added, “Twilight is the best magic user in all of Equestria!”
Twilight blushed. “I’m sure I’m not the best in the whole kingdom or anything…” she said, eying the tower and reaching out a hoof towards it absentmindedly.
It was hard for Twilight to process what happened next. Sound seemed to become silence and everything turned white. A sting of pain was what started it, but it grew in intensity so fast that feeling became just as meaningless as sound. It felt like her body was free falling, then floating.
Then the white turned to black and distant murmured were heard as the silence began to pull back, like the drapes that would cover Rarity’s latest creations in her boutique.... The boutique in Ponyville. That seemed far away. Almost as if it was some other life. Time seemed stretched. The boutique must have been deserted now, she thought. Or maybe it was gone… Like everything else…

“Twilight?”
Feeling was gradually returning. She felt Spike’s small claws gently poking her coat as he shook her. Although it was more of a rocking motion than a shake. She also felt the coarseness of sand beneath her.
Sand.
Twilight’s eyes shot open in panic and she tried to force herself up.
“Twilight!” The chorus of voices broke over her, but Spike’s hands, though small, kept her from rising too far.
“Take it easy, Twilight,” the small dragon warned.
It was then that she realized that no power was being taken from her. That the sand didn’t hurt.
“What… what happened?” she asked, her voice sounding strained.
Silverline stepped forward, though she could have sworn he limped slightly doing so. “I’m afraid the tower injured you. Or tried to.” He bowed his head to her. “I take full responsibility.”
Twilight’s eyes glanced past him towards the tower. Or what used to be a tower. All that was left was smashed rubble.
“Rainbow did that one,” Applejack explained.
“When you touched the tower,” Fluttershy nearly whispered, causing a jolt to run through Twilight as being made aware that the mare was so close to her, “it lit up and… you fell." She gave a tiny smile. "I caught Spike”
“Oh, oh, OH!” Pinkie Pie jumped in again, pushing her face forward next to Fluttershy. “And then Silverline went all woooooosh! And he caught you! Well, sort of. He kinda crashed with you on top of him. But then he cried, ‘It’s the tower!’ and then Rainbow Dash was all like woooooosh! And she was all like kabooom! And she crashed right into the tower and then,” she took a breath and sat down with a grin, “you woke up.”
Twilight looked around for Rainbow and saw her on the edge of the gathering, giving her a shaky grin. “Oh my gosh, Rainbow, are you okay?”
“Yeah,” the pegasus replied, “I’ve crashed through a pile of rocks before…”
“And it was awesome!” Spike exclaimed with wide eyes and a large grin, not noticing Rainbow’s flinch.
“Thank you,” Twilight said, sincerity dripping off every syllable. She looked back at Silverline. “And... I’m so sorry about your tower.”
Silverline stiffened, as if this was the last reply he had expected. His eyes gazed at her in confusion, back and legs straight. “It was our tower that hurt you. It is thus my responsibility…” he glanced wearily over at the rumble and then back at her. “You are an ambassador. It is my duty to ensure your safe arrival to my country.”
“Calm down, sugarcube,” Applejack soothed in the silence that Twilight couldn’t fill. “It’s not like ya knew it was gonna happen." She paused and then squinted one eye. “Ya didn’t, did ya?”
Silverline looked uncomfortable and shifted his footing, causing a flinch as he moved on his now bad left forehoof. “I did not expect any harm to come to anypony. However…” he looked at the rubble. “No mistaken spell could have pulled magic from another pony like that.” He blushed slightly and looked away. “Not that I know much about magic in the first place…”
Twilight frowned. “You think that thing was doing all of this… intentionally…” It wasn’t a question and Silverline’s eyes confirmed that he was indeed thinking along those lines.
Then his eyes hardened. “Rest assured, Princess. If any foul play is involved, there will be an investigation.” Relaxing slightly, he continued. “But we can do nothing more out here. I suggest we rest and continue our travels tomorrow. All that needs doing must be done in Sheon.”

Comments

[Starcat5]

...crystals...

Oh snap, Sombra managed to pull himself back together again, didn't he.

[khatre]

2785196
That or Chrissy learned how to use crystals to turn magic into love and is slowly draining the planet dry ...

[Starcat5]

2785263
Except that this is a sequel to "Wouldn't It be Wonderful?", and as such, ol` Cheese Legs is simply desperate, not evil.

[khatre]

2786543
So far I am willing to give Chrissy the benefit of the doubt that she does not know the full ... fallout? results? of her actions.
Until we actually see her in the story I prefer to think that she is simply unaware of what is happening and would have chosen a different path if she had known ...
unless she shows up singing a song about how Evil she is ... at that point the benefit of the doubt kinda goes away ...

[Razzy]

Well, if its a sequel to that story mentioned above... I'd say she's just desperate. I mean, things were horribly bad before the Canterlot attack and they could've only gotten worse since then.