"What? How do you know!?" I asked.
"Y-yesterday, in the afternoon," she gulped, "I went over to ask if I could borrow a Daring Do book, but you weren't there, Spike told me you were at Fluttershy's. So I went back this morning, and... Spike was gone. I looked everywhere I couldn't find him. I went around town, he was just... gone!"
"No, no, he can't be gone." I said, not only talking to her but myself as well. "He's probably just out somewhere-"
"Spike does not wake up this early, Twilight! The only reason I'm up already is because I had weather duty today!"
"He can't be gone, I'll just go back to the library and he'll come back soon enough."
"I'm sorry Fluttershy, I can't stay." I turned to her, and she looked frightened. She nodded silently, and I left with Rainbow Dash.
Rainbow dragged me back to my home. "This better not be another prank!" I growled.
"I wouldn't joke about this." she said, "see for yourself."
She opened the door with her hoof, and I gasped.
My home was torn apart. Furniture knocked over, things thrown about. I stepped in, gulping.
Slowly I walked through my house, walking up to where Spike and I slept.
I walked up the staircase, and Rainbow followed behind flying beside me.
I made it to the staircase, and saw that Spike's bed had been overturned. I stepped closer, and into something wet.
Something that felt sticky, warm, and fresh. I slowly looked down, and saw my hoof stained with blood.
Small drops of blood set on the wooden floor leading to Spike's bed. Carefully I flipped it over. Inspecting it closer, I saw signs of struggle, more blood, claw and teeth marks.
I put my hoof to my mouth, and felt tears running down my face.
"No..." I said, "no."
Rainbow said nothing, she only stared. But then she cleared her throat and quietly asked, "do you went me to send out ponies to find him? I can gather up the girls."
I nodded. "Please, yes, please. But," I said making sure she heard every word I said, "when you send out the ponies... only in the day time."
She nodded without questioning my odd request, and flew out of my house to leave me alone.
I sat, taking it all in. If he was gone he was kidnapped, if he was kidnapped he might still be alive, right? If he was kidnapped, the kidnapper had to have had a reason, right?
Maybe they had something against Spike, or me. Maybe me being a princess made the kidnapper jealous, that has become a bit of a problem. It would be expected.
But he couldn't be... gone, gone. I couldn't believe that, I didn't want to believe that.
Spike was a son to me, heck, I had pretty much raised him since he hatched. We truly had a mother-son connection.
And everypony knows what happens when you take a child from their mother.
I opened my saddlebag, and took out a nice sharp blade. I stared at the shiny silver dagger and saw an image of a very angry alicorn ready to kick some flank.
My black saddlebag was full and packed, I paced back and forth in front of the girls all lined up.
"I assume Rainbow already told you, but if not, Spike is missing." I said seriously, ready to just hurry up and find him already.
"We have no idea where he is, but guards and groups of ponies are out looking for him. I've sent a letter to Cadence and Shining to inform them, none of the crystal ponies must know. We don't want them to worry, none of us should be worried."
I looked at them, Rainbow and Applejack had their heads raised, for the first time in her life Pinkie said nothing and didn't move, Fluttershy looked worried, and Rarity wore something... strange.
I stopped and stared at Rarity. "What are you wearing?" I asked, my jaw dropping to the floor.
Rarity wore something, simply put, scandalous. A black dress with a v-neck and a collar. It had a lacy trim, and didn't cover her flank well. It was covered in bright blue gems that sparkled in the sun. She wore bright red lipstick and she wore dark tights that made her legs look more gray than white.
"What, you think Spike won't notice his favorite mare covered in his favorite food? Trust me darling, he'll come running when he sees me."
"Well," Applejack said, "it ain't the worst idea, but it does make me a bit uncomfortable when y'all are lookin' like that."
Fluttershy hid her red face with her wings, and Rainbow's mouth seemed to be watering a bit.
Applejack nudged Rainbow, and then basically hit her to get her eyes off Rarity.
"Focus, Rainbow." Applejack said.
Pinkie giggled and hopped forward, "Oh, Spike will love that Rares!" Pinkie laughed, then turned her attention to me.
"What's in the new mystery bag Twilight?"
I looked at my black saddlebag, there were multiple bulges in it with how full of equipment it was.
"Things I might need, you know... for adventures." I grinned nervously.
"Oooh!" Pinkie exclaimed, "What's this?" she asked cheerfully.
"Hey, don't-!" I said, reaching forward and tried to take the leather pocket sheath from her.
She separated the blade from the leather and in her hoof held a sharp dagger.
Pinkie's bright blue eyes went from happy and curious, to concerned and horrified. Her pupils shrank and her ears fell back.
"Haha..." she grinned nervously, slowly putting the knife back and into my bag and stepping back. Her eyes darting back and forth.
"Awesome!" Rainbow said, clearly unfazed, "what else you got in there?" she flew forward and opened my bag, I already felt another pair of hooves rustling inside it, this time, Rarity's.
Rarity pulled out a length of rope, and looked at me, her eyebrows furrowing. "D-darling, might I ask what sort of adventures you've been going on?" she held up the rope, "I mean, it's not my place to judge but if you have a certain stallion you-"
"No!" I yelled in frustration, using my magic to push them all back and put my things back in my bag.
"Just, stop asking questions! We have more important things to do right now! like, finding Spike?"
"I think the first place to look is the forest!" Rainbow said.
Fluttershy stared at her, "umm..." she asked scared, "why?"
"Well, everypony else is searching in Ponyville." she rolled her eyes, "and we're the only ones brave enough to go into the Everfree Forest! Well, except for Fluttershy."
Fluttershy squeaked and hid behind her mane.
"But you're comin' along too!" Rainbow laughed, putting her hoof around Fluttershy.
"Alright, well, the forest it is. If what y'all described is true, then I think some kinda monster might've taken Spike."
But not a monster from the forest. I thought.
We soon found ourselves wandering through the forest. All of us calling out Spike's name with no reply but the growls of beasts in the darkness.
"Girls, I think we should head back..." Fluttershy whispered.
"Not until we find something." I said.
"But we haven't found anything. We're not going to!" said Rainbow, kicking the dirt.
"This was your idea, Rainbow." Applejack said. "And not a very good one."
"Just a minute ago you said it was all a great idea!"
"That was half an hour ago, dear." Rarity said, who walked beside Rainbow.
Rainbow looked away from her with a slight blush. "Could you not talk to me... you're kinda, distracting."
"I apologize for being gorgeous, Rainbow. Honestly I don't mind the attention, stare all you want."
Rainbow groaned and looked forward.
"Seriously I don't see what the big deal is," Applejack snickered, "we don't normally wear clothes."
"Well, you know, when you're wearing something like that-" Rainbow said, pointing a hoof at Rarity, "-it's a lot more," she coughed, "Intriguing, than what we ponies normally see."
"Intriguing," I said, "didn't know you knew a long word like that." I chuckled.
"Oh no!" Pinkie said dramatically, "Rainbow really is an egghead!" Pinkie burst out laughing.
"Hey!" Rainbow said angrily. But as she took another step forward her hoof landed on something that sounded like metal.
"What the-?" Rainbow stepped back, and started pushing leaves and dirt away to reveal a metal trapdoor in the ground.
"What is this?" she asked.
We stopped and looked at it. "Looks like a door to an apple cellar." Applejacks said, tilting her head.
"Hmm." Fluttershy said, looking up and to the right. She gasped, "girls, my cottage is right there! How have I never seen this?"
"Looks like it's been here for decades." I said. I tried to open it with my magic, but it appeared locked.
"I can't open it." I said.
"Well, we'll bust it open!" Applejack said proudly, turning herself around and kicking her back hoof hard against the metal. She found herself groaning and holding her leg, with the door still shut.
"Is there a key of some sort?" Rarity asked, searching around.
"I don't see a keyhole." I said. "It might have a protection spell cast on it."
"Can you break it?" Rarity looked at me.
I shook my head, "breaking protection spells cast by another pony is extremely difficult, even for me." I placed my hoof on the door, and no glow or electric spark appeared, meaning there was no spell on it. But that didn't make sense of why we couldn't open it.
"There's actually no spell here." I said, shaking my head.
"Maybe it just takes some strength." Applejack said proudly, moving forward again and grabbing the handle with her hoof.
She pulled it as hard as she could, and I assisted by using my magic to do the same.
No luck. It seemed opening this door was just as likely as winning the lottery.
"Maybe we can find something on it in my books." I said, "but I didn't bring any with, we'll have to go back and try later."
Everypony nodded and started walking away with Rainbow flying above. I saw Fluttershy stare at it, lingering behind.
"Fluttershy, are you coming?" I asked.
She turned her head, "O-oh! Yes, I-I'm sorry. It just- maybe I have seen it before."
The guards reported back and said they followed the tracks of hooves out of my house, but the tracks suddenly disappeared, meaning the kidnapper was most likely a pegasus. The hoof tracks looked feminine, much smaller in size than their own, and they were beginning an investigation.
On our side, searching through every book in the library, we found nothing. I set out to go back to the door late at night, but not without somepony who knew something of mysterious magic.
I walked through the darkness of the forest, walking alongside me was Zecora. I continued to explain to her what we had found, the light of my horn guiding or way through. Every once in a while I would have to push away foliage.
I stopped, seeing Fluttershy's cottage nearby. I had left a marking somewhere around, ha!
I walked up to the large stick sticking up from the ground. I showed Zecora the door.
"So, do you know how to open it? I sense something strange around it, but no amount of strength or magic worked."
"Hmm," Zecora put a hoof to her chin, examining it, "the strange door I see at last, haven't you opened a similar one in the past?"
"Huh?" I asked.
A similar door in the past, one that seemed impossible to open, until...
"You mean, the doorway of fear in Sombra's castle?" I gasped.
Zecora nodded.
"Wait, how did you know about that?"
She chuckled, "Spike has told me the tale again and again, what an adventure it must have been." she smiled.
I snorted, "anyway, does that mean this door will lead to my worst nightmare?"
"It very well may, but I can't see the future, so I can't truly say."
"Well, at least I'm ready this time." I said, readying my magic. I focused hard and saw the dark black and white swirl around the doorknob. I heard a click, and the door opened ever so slightly.
I beamed, "ha! I assume you'll stay back." I said to Zecora.
She nodded.
I took a deep breath in, opening the door with my magic slowly for it to suddenly slam open. Showing me a black void and a barely visible staircase.
The sudden slam made me jump, I instinctively covered my face with my wings. When no threat came, I let out that breath I had been holding.
"Okay..." I said, my ears going back, "Definitely looks like something terrifying will happen soon... but, no worries!"
I took out a silver blade from my bag and held it up with my magic.
"I'm prepared." I said, trying to sound brave.
"Good luck my friend," she said, "I hope this comes to a good end."
I bit my lip, "please, please don't say end. End is not a good word right now, couldn't you think of a better rhyming word, uh, like, mend? Or tend? Or-"
"Twilight Sparkle, this is no time to stall! Spike is waiting for you to call!"
"Alright, okay..." I said, gulping.
I stepped down onto the first step, and instantly felt a chill down my spine. I froze for a moment, then continued forward.
No matter how brightly I lit my horn, I couldn't see any farther than four steps in front of me. Eventually I had walked so far down that I couldn't see the exit anymore, only the empty and eerie darkness.
But at some point it seemed I was nearing the bottom, I started to hear some strange sound I couldn't place, and as my slow, scared walking, turned into trotting, then running, I heard the sound clearer and clearer.
Ripping, tearing, and chewing.
I found myself suddenly not walking down steps, but on a cold, hard, stone floor.
I raised my head to light up the scene before me.
To see the face of a dear friend with red vampiric glowing eyes, and a young dragon with his body torn apart.
I could not hold back my screaming any longer.