//------------------------------// // Chapter Three // Story: Empress Rarity's 251st Birthday // by Lord-Commander //------------------------------// She’s missing. “Lady Sapphire?” Rarity is gone. The phrase kept cycling through Sapphire’s head like some sort of mantra. It didn’t bring peace, or comfort. It barely kept her tied into the world around her. The only thing that really helped was the ball of fuzz gently tucked between her forehooves, Severus, her pet fennec fox. She looked out the window. At any other time, she would have enjoyed the view. White sands and surf. Foals at play on the beach. Birds combing the beaches. It would have conjured feelings of peace. Relaxation. But now? Now she felt… Empty? No, not quite, more like a numbness, but angry, even wrathful in a bitter aftertaste. Almost as if she had been betrayed or lost something important. No, she berated herself. It was worse. She had lost somepony dear to her. “Merry?” Is this how she felt when I left? She paused at the sudden question. It perilously rocked her on the cliff of her sanity. Sapphire felt her eyes begin to water. She took another tissue to blow her nose while fighting the urge to scream and bawl her eyes out. A light tap on the shoulder jerked Sapphire out of her one-mare pity party. She blinked her bloodshot eyes and looked up, into the worried faces of the two ponies across the kitchen table from her; Diamond Edge and Beryl Knight. “I-I’m sorry what was that?” Beryl Knight gave her a friendly smile and a comforting pat on the hoof. “We understand, Lady Sapphire. We’re all worried about her.” He looked over at the Guard sitting to his right. “Diamond Edge?” The Guard Decurion nodded. “Ma’am, I am sorry, but we need to finish the debriefing. You were the last to see the Empress this morning, correct?” “Well, yes, but I left to go upstairs for a moment,” said Sapphire. “I was getting my book when I heard her yell.” “You heard her yell. What did she say?” “It wasn’t that sort of yell. Like, it wasn’t directed at somepony. More of a startled sort of yelp. As if she’d seen a ghost or plaid with polka dots. I ran back down here as fast as I could...” said Sapphire, zoning out slightly. She could see the events unfolding clearly, if in slow motion. Rarity’s startled cry... The dropped book…. The frantic flight down the stairs. “When I got here, the kitchen was empty, the plates and pan on the floor.” Diamond Edge nodded and made a few notes on a pad of paper. “Was there anything else?” Of course there was, thought Sapphire, as she remembered the sudden discharge of a powerful spell that blew off Rarity’s defensive magic like dust off a shelf. But it wasn’t the sort of thing that she could just go telling another pony. Not when crystal ponies like her would be unable to detect such a thing, so… “No.” The Decurion nodded, a bit slower than Sapphire would have liked. She could tell that the guard knew she wasn’t being one hundred percent truthful. She frowned. Finding where Rarity had been whisked off to was suddenly promising to be much harder if she was a suspect. “Did you immediately notify the guards?” “I… No, I-I didn’t.” “Why?” “I…” Sapphire looked down at her hooves. Why? It was easy to have gotten them. But the truth of the matter was... A polite cough brought Sapphire back into the real world. “I’m sorry, when I couldn’t find her, I… I…” Diamond Edge nodded, his tone of voice taking a sudden warmth that was uncommon from Crystal Guards. “It’s okay. The other guards said you were in rough shape when they found you.” “Yeah.” That was a understatement, thought Sapphire, feeling her cheeks turn a shade of red. The Crystal Guards had been alerted by Sapphire’s shouts for Rarity, and by the time they reached the kitchen, they had found the mare an incoherent, sobbing mess on the kitchen floor. It took a good ten minutes for Sapphire to calm down long enough to tell them Rarity was missing. “And Councilor Knight, when did you show up again?” asked Diamond Edge, taking some of the pressure off of Sapphire. “In the interest of full disclosure, I must tell you that I had already visited with the Empress in the kitchen before she disappeared.” Diamond Edge flipped through a small spiralled notebook. “You did, yes… According to the butler, it was an argument?” “Er… Yes, of a sorts.” “Can you tell me more about that.” Beryl Knight rubbed a hoof through his mane and laughed nervously. “I’m afraid I cannot. Not here, and not without Commander Onyx present. It’s information sensitive to the security of the Empire.” Diamond Edge looked up from the notebook and cocked an eyebrow. “Is it of more importance than our Empress disappearing into thin air?” “I’m not at liberty to decide that, Decurion. I was not but a mile down the road from here, on my way to return home when your runner caught up to me,” explained Beryl Knight, running a light green hoof through his mane again. “I came back to see what assistance I could provide.” “Appreciated, Councilor.” Diamond Edge nodded to a lone unicorn guard stood at attention in the kitchen doorway. “I’ll be right back. Lord Knight, Lady Sapphire.” Sapphire watched him trot away before turning back and looking at Beryl Knight. “Have any of the other Guards found anything?” Not that there’s anything here to find. Beryl shook his head. “No, but they’re diligent. Starburst is the only unicorn in the detachment, and she’s doing her best to interpret the magical side of things. But the Crystal Guards are trained in defense, not investigation. A special team will be sent from the Capital to evaluate the Villa.” Sapphire nodded. She bitterly regretted her inadvertently alerting the Guards in the first place. Luna would have been more than capable to find Rarity, hopefully. Had she become Luna immediately upon Rarity’s disappearance, and sought to pursue the Empress… Well, even with a simple phase-detection spell to trace magic and its movement, she may have found something. A frown creased her face. No, that wasn’t quite right. There was something there, a whole lot of something that had blanketed the Villa and much of the surrounding property. But she couldn’t make heads or tails of what exactly it was. Losing track of Rarity like this was just… She shook her head to clear her mind. She couldn’t think like this, not now. Rarity was stars knows where, and potentially in danger. She needed to act, needed to do something. “What do we do now?” asked Sapphire. “Wait,” said Beryl. “Decurion Edge is compiling an initial report, and will leave a small unit here to secure the Villa while a more specialized investigation team arrives. Meanwhile, we will leave for the Cap—” “We’re leaving? We just can’t leave, we have to find Rar—” “I know,” said Beryl, by way of apology. “Lady Sapphire, please, I am concerned for the well being of my Empress too. But we have to look at the bigger picture here.” Sapphire snorted. “The bigger picture? Councilor, the only thing that matters is finding Rarity!” “The Crystal Empire has just lost its Empress, the single governing ruler of the nation,” replied Beryl, his tone firm. “We were fragile and vulnerable with her before, but now? Merry, if we don’t make sure the right ponies do the right things, there might not be an Empire for Rarity to return to. The Council is not stable, and needs firm hooves to guide it.” “Then you go back! I will not give up, I will not abandon Rarity, not…” Sapphire snapped her mouth shut, and looked away from Beryl Knight. Not again. She heard him sigh. "Lady Sapphire, I’m not giving up, but simply playing the part I am meant to. I am no investigator, I am a politician, and you are the Empress’ senechal. Should a successor not be found in due order, you would be the next in line for the throne, as needs must. We need to notify the Council, assist in the ways we're best suited, and let the investigators do their work. Please, think of the greater good here." "But, I—" He rested a hoof on her shoulder. "Please, Merry, I can't do this alone. I need your help." Sapphire glared at him with every ounce of scrunch she could possibly hope to muster. She hated it, but he was right. She was Rarity’s senechal, the administrative officer of the Imperial Throne. Not only did she have legal authority over the Throne while the Empress was ill or temporarily unavailable to perform her duties, but she was also privileged to most of Rarity’s secret, plans, and desires for the Empire. If anyone could hope to direct the Empire in Rarity's absence... “What about Cadance?” “Cadance? Princess Mi Amore Cadenza of Equestria, Royal Sister to Princess Twilight ‘I hate Rarity and the Crystal Empire’ Sparkle? That Cadance?” balked Beryl. “She ruled over the Crystal Empire before the Empress,” protested Sapphire. “She’d be sympathetic to our situation, and to the crystal ponies.” Beryl shook his head. “It’s too close to giving up all our progress. The Empress is adamant about being independent, and to call on Equestria like that... We can’t just toss her legacy out the window and get an Equestrian Diarach on the Throne. The crystal ponies must stand up on their own now” She rolled her eyes, forgetting the ignorance of mortality. "Fine. Let me get my bags." "There we go, first sensible thing you’ve said all day,” said Beryl as he stood up and stretched his legs. “Lady Sapphire, we are truly doing the right thing here. I believe it, and soon you will share that belief too as the fine ponies here diligently work to find the Empress.” Sapphire said nothing, causing the crystal lord to sigh. “I'll grab the carriage then. Thank you, Lady Sapphire." Sapphire waited until he had trotted out of the room before closing her eyes again, this time tapping into the mystical leylines beyond the veil and seeking the one pony that could help her. “Tia? Tia, we have a problem. I lost Rarity.” * * * Rarity staggered behind the alicorn and glanced around the grove, her frozen coat cracking softly in the warmth of the sun. The trees of the forest they had entered after leaving the island’s gateway, temple... thing, had opened up now and gave a spacious view of the blue sky. Judging from the sun’s current position, Rarity would have guessed that they were somewhere in the late afternoon. But time wasn’t exactly at the front of her mind. “Lost!? What do you mean we’re lost?” she snapped back at Twilight. “Lost, as in not knowing where you are or how to get where you want to go,” replied Twilight through her teeth, as she pulled a map from her saddlebags. “Unable to find your way.” “Well, great, just terrific!” Rarity stomped over to a tree, and sat down under a low hanging branch. “I told you we should have gone left at the rock shaped like a cat.” “That clearly would have taken us the long way around,” said Twilight, shaking her head. “The best route was, and still is, over the hill.” Rarity ignored the ice in Twilight's words and simply rolled her eyes. Lazily she inspected the state of her own saddlebags, instead of giving in to the urge to up the stakes in their verbal sparring match. Her nearly two century long political war as the Empress of the Crystal Empire against other nations and her own nobles had taught her one very important lesson. Choose your battles, carefully. And this was not a battle she cared to win. A ruffling of wings broke Rarity’s train of thought, and she looked over to see Twilight stretching. “I’m going to go look around, see which way we need to go for that mountain,” stated Twilight as she dropped her saddlebags. “You stay here and catalog our inventory. I’ll let you know if I see anything interesting.” “Ohh, you did not just give me an ord—” Rarity’s complaint sat unfinished as Twilight rocketed into the air, leaving Rarity sputtering and coughing on the dirt and debri stirred up by her sudden take off. She glared up into the blue sky where Twilight had disappeared and angrily grumbled between coughs. “Didn’t have the strength to fly, my frozen flanks!” She felt the flame of anger suddenly die out in her heart, and all she felt was… exhaustion. It had been a tiring trek to... where they were. Twilight had previously estimated that the journey to the mountain from the island center would only take a few hours at most. But those hopes died the moment they had entered into the forests separating the mountain and the valley. It had been a maze. Winding in and out of gorges, towering shards of rock, and utterly disorienting forest path. Teleportation, or even flying, would have been the best thing to do. But Twilight had ruled those out almost immediately. Her reasoning being that they had to conserve whatever strength they could to be ready for these “trials”. And Rarity couldn’t have agreed more, but for a different reason. The island had changed. Not physically, but maybe in the underlying magics of the island. Something powerful had been triggered. Like a flip being switched or a gate being unlocked. It was a different feeling in the air, a sort of tension. Anticipation. Nothing had pursued the two during their trek, and they had seen no other signs of life. Not even animals that should have been native to the island. Rarity shivered and pushed the thoughts from her mind to focus at the task at hoof. As much as she would hate to admit it, Twilight was right. They needed to take stock. She used her magic to bring Twilight’s bag over to her, and then neatly began to remove things from it. The things Discord had given them were, strangely, not as random as she feared. Each of them carried their own sleeping bags, but each pack held different things. Twilight held onto the map. An ancient, worn thing written in some sort of language that neither she nor Twilight could understand. Aside from a few basic items like soap and a wooden bowl, Twilight’s bags also held onto a worthless compass that wouldn’t point north, matches, a few odd tupperware containers, some random pieces of silverware, Twilight’s writing equipment, a few choice daisies. She frowned as she placed the items back into the saddle bag and put it aside, but her frown only deepened as she placed her saddle bags before her, adding them to her growing list of vengeance against Discord. They were her saddlebags. Her custom made, one of a kind, century old saddlebags. There was a reason she had kept it within a glass case. It had been the last hoof-made creation of Adeline Pendi Pockets, using a stunning display of white pleather, her name and cutie mark emblazoned on the side with a rich blue spider silk thread, and a deep violet mulberry silk lined interior. And it would be a miracle if the stains they acquired in the last few hours ever came out. She magically cleaned the outside as best she could before finally dragging Twilight’s bags back so she could set her own on top and avoid getting them even more dirty. “At least I’ll die on an island in style,” she muttered as she began pulling her own things out of her designer bags; a sleeping bag, first aid kit, small compact mirror, broken pair of reading glasses, small clothing repair kit, a poncho, and six boiled chicken eggs. She carefully repacked the bag and placed her head down into her hooves. “This is a disaster.” Could be worse, said the Crystal Heart. “Don’t tempt the fates, darling,” replied Rarity as she stood up and trotted into the center of the grove. She plucked a few of the tastier smelling flowers nearby and nibbled on them as she examined her surroundings. Should we try another pulse? Rarity nodded, her horn glowing until all the magic pushed forward, swelling like a drop of water on the end of her horn. She watched it, pushed a little bit more magic into until it fell off. The drop of magic, glowing bright blue with power, hit the ground. The moment it did, prismatic light pooled out from the center of the grove, pushing far out, past the trees and continued beyond. Rarity closed her eyes and tapped into the magic of her cores, watching and feeling the light rush over trees and bushes, hillsides and streams, until finally fading out. “A few things out there,” said Rarity. “Likely left behind by Discord, but no sign of other ponies. Or Sombra.” Do you think Discord was planning on finding him? “No, from Discord’s actions, it’s clear that Sombra wasn’t suppose to be here,” said Rarity, walking back to the saddlebags. “Discord didn’t plan for him, but he seemed… I don’t know. Familiar with him? He called him ‘Blacksmith’. At any rate, I doubt we’d get him back this early into our ‘game.’” The Crystal Heart allowed Rarity to trail off, leaving her with her own thoughts for the moment as she settled under the tree. “Did you feel any animal life?” Not with the pulse. There have been obvious signs of life, the trails are well used for example. But I have not seen nor felt any animals since arrival. I could look on a wider spectrum range. “No. That’s quite alright, darling.” Rarity brought a crystal hoof up and looked at it in the sunlight, lost again in thought, until the air pressure took a sudden turn. “Something is wrong,” she said with her ears pinned back, looking from side to side. "Something's very wr—” The flash of light and deafening boom of thunder made her jump, and she clung desperately to the low hanging branch before dropping to her hooves. Rarity scrambled out from underneath the tree and looked up into the sky, and could just barely make out the tops of the dark storm clouds over the tree line. They looked almost exactly like the rogue storms from the Everfree. In the distance, she heard a scream. “Twilight!” Rarity’s eyes shrunk to the size of pinpricks as she threw on the saddlebags and galloped into the forest. Immediately, her magic came to her aid. Her body flowed like liquid crystal, allowing her to weave through the trees and brush. She focused her magic again, this time into the air, and reached out, feeling anywhere for the alicorn. Rarity was so focused on finding Twilight that she nearly ran over the edge of another cliff, skidding right to a stop at the last minute. She glanced around, looked for any path, or section of the slope she could navigate down, when she caught sight of the purple flash. She could see Twilight, struggling against the wind, trying vainly to descend but the wind would not have it. Behind her, the storm looked like a sort of monster, a billowing mouth made of clashing thunderheads roared, eager to consume the struggling goddess. Lightening like fangs flashed within. She could also see the rain, like a literal sheet, pounding the other half of the island and quickly approaching. Rarity lit her horn, casting a location spell on herself and amplifying it as she shouted to Twilight, frantically waving her forehooves in an attempt to get her attention. Twilight saw it, Rarity felt the relief from Twilight, but also the fear. Flying in inclement weather was never her strong suit. Empress, please consider our own saf— “She’s not going to make it.” Rarity looked around, for any other option as her armor built itself around her once more, and then leaped off of the cliff edge, disappearing in a flash of light before ever making contact with the ground. She reappeared hundreds of feet away from the cliff, galloping has hard as she could, bothering only to move for the larger trees or rocks and crashing through or over everything else. She was tracking Twilight, having her just above and behind her, and Twilight was struggling to make a controlled descent. Another flash of her horn and the trees in front of her uprooted and threw themselves to the side. Rarity risked a glance up as the wind began to pick up and spotted Twilight. But just then, a jagged bolt of lightning lanced out of the clouds and struck her in the side. Rarity stifled a cry as wind began to whip up, and the first drops of rain fell on her face. She galloped hard as the alicorn plummeted. Magic lanced out of her horn, and spellwork wove wonders to catch the alicorn, but every shot missed, as the Princess was batted just out of reach by the wicked winds. The alicorn hit the tree line with a crack that reverberated through Rarity’s chest.. The armored pony rushed into the tree line, following the sounds of branches and tree limbs breaking until it was only the wind and pelting rain to keep her company. “Twilight! Twilight!” her helmet retracted around her head as she looked around. “Twi—” “Over here!” Rarity trotted through the bush, pushing it out of the way until she found the alicorn, upside down against a tree. She rushed over, helping Twilight get back onto her hooves. “Thank Luna. Darling, are you okay?” “I think I pulled something,” muttered Twilight as she blinked several times. “And there's these big white splotches all over.” “You smell of burnt feathers , darling, where did the lightning hit you?” asked Rarity, poking and prodding all over Twilight. . “Pegasus magic blocked most of it,” replied Twilight. “Thou- Oww!” Rarity gentle placed the wing back down, and noticed that it hung much lower than it should have. “Darling, your wing is dislocated, I—” A blinding flash of lightning and the roar of thunder caused Rarity to jump and knock the wing again, causing Twilight to go cross eyed and nearly fall to the ground. “Could you just not!” Rarity looked upwards as the wind began to pick up and howl. The dark storm clouds had moved in, blocking the last rays of the sun, lightning danced freely across the sky, and larger, fatter raindrops began to fall. “We need to get to out of this!” yelled Rarity, her voice barely reaching her own ears, yet Twilight nodded in understanding. “There’s a cave, over there!” Twilight’s hoof pointed out through another thicket of trees. “I think there is, anyways, should give us shelter for a while!” Rarity nodded in understanding, her helmet reformed around her head and her height grew a little bit so Twilight could lean against her. She grimaced as the rain began to get thicker. The rain would normally freeze on contact with her icy coat, and too much of a build up would literally leave her as a block of ice. The armor would help reduce those issues, but she’d rather not push it to the limit. She shook her head to clear her thoughts. Now was not the time to dwell on such things. The going was slow and difficult, made worse by the howling wind and the pounding rain. Eventually, Rarity spotted the small opening of a cave, perched several yards up the side of some sort of ravine face. The two squeezed inside just as the lightning flashed again outside and the rain became torrential . Rarity gently eased the soaked alicorn to the cave floor, and trotted back to the entrance. Outside had somehow grown even darker and more depressing as the wind howled and there was no end in site of the rain. Rarity gave a tsk as she turned back into the cave, and found Twilight already dry, with a fire going. “Are you okay,” Rarity asked, her armor folding back as she sat on the other side of the fire. Twilight nodded, but didn’t say anything. Rarity sighed and dropped the saddlebags, and pulled her first aid kit out. “Very well then, I need to set your wing then, Twilight. If you could ju—” “What? No, it’s fine,” said Twilight with a forced smile. “There’s no n-need for that.” “Twilight, come here. Let me see the wing,” said Rarity as she took a few steps closer. “You know very well what will happen if we don’t treat it.” “It’s nothing!” “Twilight,” deadpanned Rarity. “No, no, no, no,” said Twilight as she tried to shuffle away from Rarity. “That’s totally fine, it’s good, justdon’ttouchme!” “Twilight Sparkle, stop acting like a foal and give me your wing!” Rarity reached up to grab the dislocated wing, but Twilight snapped out of existence and Rarity wobbled over, landing face first into the dirt. “Nope!” By the thought of a simple command, the crystal armor once again reformed around Rarity and she faced her recalcitrant friend. “Twilight Sparkle, give me your wing this instant!” “Never!” Rarity lunged towards the alicorn, but instead of simply disappearing again, Twilight turned around and reared up her hooves. The impact felt like getting hit by a train, and for a few seconds, all Rarity could see was white. As her sense returned, she found herself stuck in the rock wall on the other side of the cave. With groan and a bit of wiggling, she popped herself out of the wall and landed on her hooves. “Rarity, I am so sor—” She didn't give Twilight time to finish as she launched herself at the alicorn and tackled her to the ground. “Ouch, Rarity!” “Hold still, Twilight, you're making this worse!” “No, I— Ouch!” “Then stop struggling!” Rarity finally managed to get herself on the top of the thrashing Twilight, just long enough to get a good hold of the dislocated wing, and snap it back into place with some force and guiding magic. The alicorn under her instantly went limp and Rarity climbed off, her armor folding back and disappearing once again. Twilight’s eyes were wide and she her jaw slack, slowly she was able to utter “Oww.” “Oh, hush,” said Rarity, as she levitated the first aid kit over to her, and pulling out some bandages. “The worst of it is over, although it looks like flying won’t be an option for a while.” “When did you learn how to set a dislocated wing?” Rarity smiled as she wrapped the bandage around Twilight's barrel and wing to pin it in place. “Darling, when you have the local chapter of the Cutie Mark Crusaders at your palace nearly every weekend, you learn a few things about first aid. Besides,” she paused as she tied the bandage. “A lady must always be prepared.” Twilight grunted. “I was gonna do it myself, you know. What with the magic.” Rarity blinked. “Oh. Yes. I, well. Anyway,” she said as she examined her work, “I think that should hold until it’s healed. Best to leave it be for a few days.” “Thank you, Rarity,” said Twilight, her horn flowing with magic as she brought her saddlebag over and pulled the map out. “Good news though, I found out where we are.” “Are we close?” “Ehh…” Twilight unfolded the map and scanned it, finally pointing at a small clump of hills on the map. “We’re about here.” Rarity frowned. “We went too far west.” “But we are almost exactly south of the mountain,” said Twilight as she rolled up her map. Rarity trotted over to the other side of the fire and sat down with a weary sigh, but Twilight had started to speak again before she could start. “Optimistically, we could leave here once the rains settle down, hopefully get to the foothills by morning, and to the top by the afternoon.” Rarity snorted. “Darling, no offense, but in this weather and in your condition, it might be best to wait until the storm passes completely.” “I know, but the sooner we get this done, the sooner we can go home,” said Twilight as she dug around in her pack. “Well, darling,” said Rarity, her ears turning a bit as she listened to the steady pouring of rain outside. “We may be here for a while, anyways. We should get some… rest. Do you hear that?” Twilight lifted her head, her ears turning about as she struggled to listen. “That scratching sound?” “Is.. is that you, by chance?” Twilight shook her head. “No, but I think it’s coming from deeper in the cave.” Both mares stood up, and put on their saddlebags. Twilight’s horn glowed for a split second before launching a ball of light down the tunnel. At first there was nothing, then a single unmistakable squeak. A squeak down in the deep. They are coming. Rarity looked over at Twilight, panic swelling up in her chest. “Run!” “What is i—” “It’s a squeaky toy! Diamond Dogs!” Before her cry of warning had finished, the first dog leaped at Twilight from beyond their ring of light. But a band of magic caught him around the rear leg, and tossed him back where he came. A dozen or so followed him into the light, but by the time they were at the fire, the two mares were already back out in the storm. * * * It was evening now, in Canterlot. And it had been a good day. Keyword, ‘had’. "Now, slowly extend your forehoof and your opposite leg. Take a deep breath, hold it for the count of three, then slowly let it out. Repeat five times." Shining Star, Captain of the Equestrian Arcane Guard, did as the gramophone instructed. Calm, peaceful music began to play throughout her office as she raised her legs and let out her breath. She loved yoga, the relaxing feeling it generated in her as the stress simply burned away was not easily replicated. In a job where you had to protect the Princesses of Equestria, and sometimes from each other's prank wars, there was no end in sight to the stress. Some ponies had suggested meditation, especially her sister, but Shining Star had rejected that notion outright. Meditation was, frankly, boring, and she found herself asleep more times then in her ‘centered place’, or whatever it was. Plus, there was that one time where she attained total cosmic enlightenment, and well, look where that got her. Over. Rated. Painting had never been a strong suit for her either. She didn’t really have an interest in any of the arts, with this lense of Shining Star. Oddly enough, Shining Star enjoyed running, and she hated running. When she’s Shining Star, it’s really like she’s a different mare. It was sort of surreal. But hay, they both liked yoga. So there’s that. "Good. Now, place your legs back down, and repeat with the other legs. Again, take a deep breath, hold it for the count of three, then slowly let it out. Repeat five times. " Shining Star carefully put her legs back down onto the ball she was balancing herself on, and raised her other legs. The ball was perfectly centered on the lip of her desk, and floating all around her were training weights, wrapped within the soft, warm yellow glow of her magic. In a heartbeat, she turned all the weights into ducks, sorted alphabetically by middle name. To most unicorns, it would have been an exemplary feat of the perfect balance between mind and body. But behind the lenses and magical bindings that helped her keep her job without everypony panicking, she was not most unicorns, nor even a unicorn. She was an alicorn, she was Celestia. Goddess of the Sun, former regent of Equestria, and for the last two centuries, one of its quiet Guardians. Guardian. A smile crossed her face as she thought of the self-appointed title. This was how life was suppose to be. She could be a baker, or a firemare. Or a stay-at-home stallion! And when the moment called for it, help out from a distance. Never the figurehead. Never the bird in the gilded cage. She could have countless lifetimes and experience everything fresh and new, as if for the first time. This was the life. The life she and her sister should have pursued from the beginning. The door to her office slammed open and an awkward bundle of scales, knees, and elbows flung his way in. “WE NEED LOST, WE HELP THE PRINCESS!” shouted Spike. “Wait, I mean, Sun Star, I mean Solerstia, I mean whatever your name is, we need your help!” The ducks flew out the window in reverse chronological order by birthday. Shining Star hopped off the desk and smiled nervously at the dragon. “Spike. My name is Shining Star, you know this,” she said slowly enunciating the syllables in her name. To her knowledge, he didn’t know who she really was, but he had a way of raising her hackles with his awkward blunders. Spike nodded, wringing his claws, “Yeah yeah, sorry. But we’re kinda in a pickle, we—” “You can’t just shove your way in there, she’s doing her weird yoga thi—” “Ma’am!” The two Arcane Guards who burst in after the fidgety dragon and snapped a quick salute. “We apologize for the intrusion, Ma’am! He wasn’t willing to wait until the top of the hour.” Shining Star took a deep breath, focusing on composure, before offering the two a warm smile. Cornelius and Aurora served as her left and right hooves within the Arcane Guard, her unofficial executive officers. “What’s this about a missing Princess?” Cornelius stepped forward. “Ma’am, it’s Princess Cadance, she requests you to come to the Throne Room, th—” “Princess Twilight is missing,” interrupted Lieutenant Aurora. “I totally said so!” insisted Spike. Shining Star looked at the three and blinked. A long silence passed between them, she barely registered Cornelius coughing ‘broke her’ before Aurora’s pink hoof met the back of his helmet. “Again?” “It’s a little different this time, Captain,” replied Cornelius. “We’re not sure how long, but she failed to show up for many of her appointments.” “She didn’t show up for any of them! And we were gonna get comics!” Aurora nodded, her rose colored eyes showing concern. “Spike is right. None of the on-duty Arcane Guard have seen her, and all denied that she reported to any of them before leaving.” “Damn that mare! She promised to stop running off!” Shining Star marched to the other side of the room, and used her magic to throw open the armoire. Inside was the purple with gold-trim armor and deep violet robes of the Captain of the Arcane Guard. She picked it up with her magic and began putting the robes on and buckling the armor. “Any idea where she went?” “She’s not at the comic book shop, I can tell you that much.” Cornelius flashed an uneasy look at the disturbed little dragon. The disturbed little dragon that could become a hundred foot tall fire-breathing monster at the drop of a hat. “Captain, we weren’t alerted to this until just a few minutes ago,” he replied. “A few— what the buck is wrong with this!” hissed Shining Star as she struggled to get her croupiere on. “What were you chuckleheads doing all day?” “Well, there was this Cutiemark Crusader Bake Sal—” Aurora’s pink hoof smacked the back of Cornelius helmet. “Princess Twilight ordered us to ‘spend more time with the public’,” clarified Aurora. “We were engaged with that.” Shining Star stopped struggling with her greaves and looked up. “Did they have those little snickerdoodles at the bake sale?” Cornelius nodded “They had shredded coconut on top, this time.” “MISSING. TWILIGHT. HELP.” boomed Spike, in a roar that rattled the needle off the record on her gramophone. Shining Star stomped into the last of her shoes and turned to Spike with a big warm smile. “Hay, okay. Easy there fella. Let’s go see Princess Cadence. Lead the way?” Spike nodded, emphatically and ran out the door, squeezing his way between the two Arcane Guards. Shining Star followed suit, and her two lackeys fell in line behind her. She noticed the hall outside her office was otherwise empty. “Where are the other Arcane Guards?” “We’re... not sure,” said Cornelius, apologetically. “But Heartstrings said that we shouldn’t worry about it. They would find her soon enough." “Captain Heartstrings? Of the Regulars?” groaned Shining Star as the fading light from the setting sun made the marble hallway look more like gold, or fire depending on your mood. “Fantastic. I’m never going to hear the end of this from him at the next Captain’s Meeting.” Shining Star shoved her annoyance away. She’d have to work it off if the next meeting would have any shred of civility within its walls. “You said Princess Cadence is in the Throne Room?” “Affirmative,” said Aurora. “Mi Amore Cadenza’s Amarea are with her.” “The Heartbreakers are here too!?” she hissed under her breath. “Who's next, the Wonderbolts?” “That’s unlikely. Captain Prism Bolt is at the Blue-Ribbon Charity Fair in the Silverwoods,” said Aurora. “No, I was being… Never mind. The Silverwoods?” Shining Star shook her head and picked up the pace. “Okay, so intel. Princess Twilight. What do we know? Did she go off on a Seeker lead again?” “We’re not sure. She failed to show up to all of her appointments,” gasped Cornelius. “Princess Cadance went looking for her, nearly tore the library and the Hall of Minor Miracles and Foibled Fallacies apart before she took a cake break. Then she ordered everypony out and sent for, and I quote, ‘everypony competent’.” Shining Star frowned, and pulled her helmet up high enough so she could rub her head. It wasn’t terribly uncommon for Princess Twilight to go missing, but enough so that it caused some concern. Typically, it was her going off and trying to find another lead on herself or Luna, or getting too engrossed in a book and accidentally left somewhere. But whenever Twilight left, she made sure at least one pony... Sometimes a hoofmaiden, or lady in waiting, or that one time it was an empty suit of armor standing guard in an enchanted hallway… Anyway, it usually only took a few hours to figured out where she was. But this was different. Twilight was gone, and according to Luna, Rarity was missing as well. For the two to vanish at the same time was a far, far cry from a coincidence. She doubted very much that the two had planned it, such an action would have been discussed nearly a dozen times with herself and Twilight, and nearly twice as much with Luna and Rarity. So if it wasn’t a coincidence, then did that mean somepony, or something, ruler-napped them? Shining Star shook her head. She needed more info, she needed more pieces to this puzzle in order to figure out what is going on and soon.