//------------------------------// // S2EP11 - In which Spell Nexus gets his way // Story: Discovering Friendship // by Saro0fdemonz //------------------------------// Vinyl swore under her breath as she ended up at Fluttershy's cottage. "This...is bullshit," she mumbled under her breath. She pulled out her cell phone, dialing a very secret number as she stomped back and forth in front of the cottage. "Pick up the fucking phone or I swear to every God I know...!" Vinyl began "Hello?" Celestia answered from the other side "OKAY! SEVERAL THINGS! THING NUMBER ONE! FUCK YOU!" Vinyl yelled into the phone. "I'm sorry?" Celestia responded in confusion. "I get it now, ya know? Why Spike took off. Before you ask, I dunno where the fuck he is. If I did, your little 'Gift' woulda sent me after him already," she continued on. Celestia sighed in realization. "You must know WHY the Enchantment works as it does?" Celestia argued gently. "Yea, so your little lapdogs don't turn on you or bossman. Look, I get you gotta cover your ass, but a fucking warning woulda been nice. Do you know what its like to be literally mindfucked? BY YOURSELF?!" She continued to vent. The conversation was mostly to tell off a Princess, but in the back of her mind she was trying to think of more to say to keep Celestia distracted. A distracted Princess was not an efficient Princess. Which would give Spike more time to establish himself. "Vanessa, I am sorry. The Enchantment that was passed to you was directly from Twilight Velvet and before her the specific portion you are experiencing prevented an assassination attempt. It is also only a safety feature should a Knight betray their own," Celestia pointed out. "I didn't betray shit! I just wanted some damn answers and this FUCKING MARK of yours started using MY MAGIC!" Vinyl continued "Spike took off because of some shit you aren't telling us. I start wonderin' why and then this Mark just takes control of my body. Now I'm standing outside this damn cottage and losing my mind. So give me one good reason not to jump ship, cause I'm damn sure I can tear through this with a little time," Vinyl growled. She was bluffing...mostly. She hadn't really gone full power before, who was to say she couldn't break a few hundred year old Soul Binding, Mind Controlling, created by basically a God, Enchantment. "Vanessa, if you wish to discuss this, we can. You'll have to return to Celamont if I am to fix the Enchantment, something that I will be doing because I trust you and your judgement. But now is not the time for such things, there is..." "A mini Nightmare Moon? Yea, met her. Sweet kid, scared of everything," Vinyl listed off nonchalantly. Celestia was silent for a moment, most likely trying not to unleash her anger. "Do you know where she is?" "To be honest, no fuckin' idea, why? She's just a damn kid, what the hell do you think she is gonna do?" Vinyl demanded. "Was Rarity not 'just a damn kid' when she killed several innocents and almost killed you?" Celestia asked softly. Vinyl had to admit, that was a solid point. "Okay, good point. Rarity is a vampire though, The Change is natural," "And Nightmare Moon is nothing but pure hate and jealousy, now made Incarnate," "Look, let's say I hunt the kid down. What are you gonna do with her?" Vinyl asked, biting her lip in fear of the answer. "Her magic will be sealed and we will determine whether or not she is a true threat to Terra...and if she is, she will be sealed away," Celestia answered. "So she has a chance...Alright then. I'll be your Dog for a little longer Princess," Vinyl mumbled, hanging up and tucking her phone into her pocket. Alright boss, looks like a game of cat an mouse...You never let me really know you personally, so I can't just 'Port to ya...Smart. You took off without giving me a lick of info, so the Mark can't make me track you. I can take my time finding you, which gives you more time to vanish. But I'll find you eventually...You better have that kid ready to prove herself when I do find you Boss... Fluttershy squeaked, surprised by Rarity appearing in front of them. Scootaloo acted without thinking, throwing herself in front of Fluttershy and flaring out her impressive wings. At least until she realized it was just Rarity. The Magian blinked and looked around, surprised to find them in the middle of town. "Oh, hello Scootaloo, Fluttershy," Rarity smiled nervously, glancing around. "I don't suppose the two of you have time to talk, hm?" "Um...Of course Rarity," Fluttershy answered, grabbing Scootaloo's hand. Rarity glanced around and let out a slow breath, enveloping them in her magic. "I hope this works...I can't say I know Rainbow well, but Pinkie Pie has shared a little TOO much with me," Rarity muttered, dragging them with her teleport. She stumbled a bit as they came back into existence, Fluttershy thinking quickly and wrapping a gentle shell of Chaos around Scootaloo to keep her comfortable. "Um...What is happening?" Scootaloo asked, finding them standing in a Cell. "Ah, there's the rest of the group, well most of them anyway, if you ladies would be so kind as to exit the Cell?" The Doctor asked, opening the locked door. "And why, pray tell, are we in here to begin with?" Rarity asked, looking around, her eyes shrinking to pinpricks as she spotted Pinkie Pie shackled to a corner and wrapped in a straitjacket. Her magic flared instantly, eyes shining bright and her hair floating about in the air. "Now, Madam Filigree, if you would be so kind as to relax..." The Doctor began, taking a step back. Rainbow rushed in, waving her hands quickly "WHOA! CHILL!" She yelled. Rarity slowly let go of her mana, clenching her teeth. "Someone explain to me why our dear friend is SHACKLED TO A WALL!" Rarity demanded. "Because it's the only way to keep her from being tied down forever," The Doctor quickly explained. "Rare's, just sit a sec and lemme explain," Rainbow begged. Rarity sighed, stepping out of the cell, followed by Fluttershy and Scootaloo. They watched as the door was locked once more. "Dash..." Scootaloo's lip began to wobble as tears stung her eyes. Rainbow was there in an instant, snatching her up in her arms and holding her close. "Everything's okay Squirt," Rainbow murmured softly. "I-It's my fault! It's my fault Pinkie is in there! I-I went to her with Nyx a-and there was magic and then Spike showed up and...and...and..." she sobbed. Rainbow shushed her gently, rubbing up and down her back. "Shhh, later kid, we'll talk later," Rainbow promised, sitting down and holding Scootaloo until she had cried herself to sleep. "It seems it has been a tough day for many," The Doctor sighed. "Okay, so...What is going on?" Rarity asked softly. "Nyxie thought she was hurting Twilight...So she wanted to throw it all away to make Twilight happy. Spikey showed up and knocked her out and then he ran away with her. The Guards were coming...and if I didn't do anything they would just follow Nyxie's magic... S-So I broke the rules and made sure they saw me using as much Chaos as I could without hurting anyone. I got Scootaloo and Twilight away safely a-and I went back so they would take me in...So Nyxie got away a-and Twilight isn't in trouble and all of you are safe," Pinkie explained with a sad smile. Silence filled the room. Rarity would've yelled, were it not for the sleeping Skyborn. "Twilight came to me with Scootaloo...She didn't tell me much, but she went to talk to Princess Celestia. She said she was going to make things right," Fluttershy spoke softly. "I found a bunch of Knights and that Spell Nexus prick about to pounce on Pinks so I jumped in. Then the Doc showed up with some fancy badge and a code word that made em all back off," Rainbow tossed in. The Doctor chuckled softly. "A little bit of a favor I don't normally call in, the moment seemed right," he shrugged. "Can we please have one normal person in this town?" Rarity asked with a sigh. "Said the Vampire Princess," The Doctor murmured with a wink. "Can we PLEASE have someone in this town that doesn't know more about us than we do?" Rarity growled. "You're a Princess?" Rainbow scoffed. "Yea, right behind me," Vinyl said as she stepped into the room with a sigh. She was wearing a cheap pair of blue shades. "Guess a few hundred years works out some kinks," she mumbled to herself "what?" "Nothing, look, I don't like this anymore than any of you do. Pinkie Pie there will get a full pardon off the Princess as soon as we clean the shit off the fan that is the kid. Where-mmmmnnngh!" Vinyl bit her lip, turning around and smacking her head into the wall. "Please don't break anything," The Doctor sighed. "Fuck you Doc, you know I don't really mean that, but fuck you," Vinyl growled. The Doctor dug in his coat, pulling out a ring. Vinyl groaned, holding out her hand. The Doctor slipped the ring onto her middle finger, Vinyl hunching over for a moment and dry heaving. "Am I the only one confused here?" Rainbow asked. Vinyl let out a slow breath. "Okay, I'm cool. I got about an hour or so before this shit breaks. Look, being a Knight means having this shit," she pulled her shirt aside to show a small glowing sign etched into her breast. "Its a 'Gift' from the Princess. Pretty nifty shit, except when its not. I'm on a leash, and this thing makes sure I'm a good doggy. If that means using my magic for what the Princess wants, done," Vinyl explained. "Isn't that kind of illegal? Like, mind control kind of shit?" Rainbow argued. "Its the Princess herself, don't think normal laws apply. The Solar Knights technically don't exist, what law would cover this?" Vinyl pointed out. She sighed and sat down next to Rarity, giving her a small smile. "So...Remember everything huh?" Vinyl asked. Rarity nodded, grabbing her sisters hand. "I've been so..." "I erased your memories Rare-bear, so that you'd think I was just some deviant club owner that sent you off and didn't wanna deal with you. I sent you here, in this little cage of a town Celestia keeps all of her playthings in. You've got every right to be a bitch to me," Vinyl scoffed, wincing as the sunburst mark glowed brighter. "It seems Celestia refuses to play nice," The Doctor sighed. "She wants that kid, more than she's wanted anything. She's so damn determined that she's Nightmare Moon, she doesn't give a shit about anything else. The moment this ring breaks, I'll be back on her leash, chasing after the kids scent. You all have gotta find her an Spike before I can...Where the hell is Sparkle?" Vinyl asked, looking around. "S-She went to talk to Celestia," Fluttershy spoke up. "Oh fuck..." Twilight held her head as the world came back into focus. She was just outside the castle, Guards rushing out to 'greet' her. It wasn't everyday someone teleported to the castle and with Celestia's strict orders in place as of late, no one was taking any chances. Upon seeing it was only the Princess' favored student, they backed down, bowing to her. "Miss Sparkle, it is a pleasure to see you. We were not expecting to see you today," a guard spoke up. "I apologize sirs, this isn't a scheduled meeting, but I need to talk to the Princess, its urgent," Twilight explained, stumbling a bit. The teleport had taken more out of her than she expected. Guess I am still recovering... she sighed to herself. "We will escort you..." "That won't be necessary, stand down men, I'll take it from here," a voice called out. Twilight couldn't help but smile as her big brother Shining Armor stepped forward. His lack of a smile however caused her own to fade away. "Shining, I need to talk to the Princess," she said softly. He nodded and sighed. "The Princess isn't seeing anyone right now," he said with grim determination. "Wha...Shining this isn't funny! This is seriously important!" Twilight argued, blinking as Shining Armor placed cuffs around her wrists. "I know it is Twilight, which is why I have to do this..." he said sadly. She stood there in shock as his magic enveloped her, the enchantment on the shackles placing a lock on her magic. "Shining...N-No! Please! Don't do this!" she yelled, moments before she was teleported to Celamont's holding cells. "You can't be serious," Shining said through gritted teeth. "I know it is hard to take in Captain. But your sister has been exposed to Dark Magics, her body and mind are vulnerable and could easily be twisted by this Incarnation of Nightmare. Until we are sure there are no hidden triggers in her mind that would cause her to attack us..." "Then I'll be the one to do it. But you swear that she won't be hurt?" "We will have our top experts extracting any dangerous magic from her to restore her to her old self, you have my word Captain," Celestia promised. She watched as Shining Armor turned and marched away. You may deem this as harsh...But it is better than watching another one of my students die, "I gotta admit Spike, this might be the craziest thing you've ever done," "I know Twilight, but it's the right thing," Spike said with a small smile. Twilight Velvet sighed, leaning against her doorway. "What do you plan on doing about all of this then?" she asked. Spike was quiet on the other end for a moment and Twilight feared he would leave her in the dark. "I'm going to prove a freak can belong. It's too late for me, but she's innocent...and I need your help proving it. I have her safely hidden away, but not for long. We need to confront Celestia before she takes drastic measures," Spike said quickly. "She might already have gone too far Spike. You know this is a touchy subject for her, or have you forgotten how the Enchantment works?" she pointed out. Spike sighed. "No, I didn't forget...By now they will have Vanessa hunting me down and a group of guards will be going for your daughter, if they haven't reached her already," "What do you think? Would she simply lock Twilight away in the main cells?" Velvet wondered. "She'd want to 'pry the dark magic' from her. Even she knows that's bullshit, but she's lost in the past," "And what about us? What about our past Spike? Are we lost too?" Velvet teased slightly "We might be...I'll see you at the castle," "It's a date," Velvet chuckled, the pay and go phone melting in her magic. It was an emergency line with a one time use. "I guess I'll never get to retire," "I don't get it," Rainbow admitted. "Look, I dunno the details, just bits an pieces. But Celestia is really paranoid about brainwashing," "Like she's done to you?" Rarity argued. "We can talk about that later, running out of time here. Look, all you gotta know is she's had her closest friends and family brainwashed and set to assassinate her. With all this shit going down..." "No way, she won't think Twilight is an assassin! Will she?" Rainbow asked, looking around the room. "We'll have to assume the worst. On the one hand, they'll perform a diagnostic on her and realize she is clean of any Negative Type Magic. On the other..." "She'll be forced into a cell until someone qualified to diagnose the Princess' Personal Student, comes around," "All the snobs an eggheads in Celamont...Who the hell isn't qualified?" Rainbow scoffed. "You don't get it, there's only one person she's gonna trust to check on Twilight and its that fucking Magian..." Spell Nexus grinned as the guards surrounded him, readying a long distance teleport. Celestia herself had sent an emergency message, demanding his assistance in 'Cleansing' her prized pupil. It was too perfect. He had trapped one of the Elements in a cell and now another had been handed to him on a silver platter. Now we just need to track down the Incarnation, he thought to himself, relaxing as the magic of the circle flowed around and through him. In moments they had arrived, Spell Nexus being greeted by a grim faced Shining Armor. "Captain," he smiled. "There's work to do," Shining Armor grumbled, leading the way to the cells. It wasn't a long walk, but it dragged on, leaving Spell Nexus anxious for what would eventually lead to his crowning moment. They stopped before a cell, Twilight Sparkle herself looking up at them. "Shining...Please..." She begged. It was rather sad, how easy they had made it for him. "It's okay Twilight, he is going to help you..." Shining said softly, taking a step back. "I will need some privacy Captain," "I'm not leaving you alone with her," "I tried to be polite, but I suppose you'll want the truth. The process of Cleansing is not a pleasant one Captain. I would rather spare you the pain of seeing your sister in such a state," Spell Nexus explained. It wasn't a lie. Cleansing was rather brutal, but he had a different set of spells in mind. "There's nothing wrong with me! Please! I need to talk to the Princess!" she yelled, gripping the bars of her cage. "Probably a trigger placed by the Nightmare Incarnation, a need to see the Princess to make an attempt on her life. Sending her prized pupil in her place..." Spell Nexus sighed. Shining Armor grit his teeth, grabbing the bars for a moment. "Be strong Twilight," he said before walking away. "SHINING! PLEASE!" she called after him, but he was gone. Spell Nexus waited until he was sure he was alone with her, crouching down and grinning, his eyes becoming that of Nightmare Moon. "Hello Magic, we've much to discuss," Nyx shivered, opening her eyes to find her surroundings had changed again. Where once was wood there was now stone. She sat up, her hand landing on a note. Hey Nyx, sorry to drop you off like this. I gotta go run an errand real quick, but I'll be back with more food in a few hours. There's a box near you full of some snacks and drinks to hold you over Love, Spike She smiled a little, opening the box and finding some fruit snacks. Is this your life? On the run and eating fruit snacks? a voice piped up in her head. She paused and glanced around. "H-Hello?" she called out, her voice echoing in the cave. She frowned, grabbing a juice box and wrapping her blanket around her shoulders. She missed her bed. She missed her friends. She missed School. She missed Twilight. With a sigh she set her snacks and juice down, standing with the blanket around her shoulders. "Everyone is going out of there way for me...Just because they think it's the right thing to do. If I really have this bad person's magic, can't they just take it away?" she wondered as she paced around. "Spike said...They were chasing me for my magic. They think I'm evil because of it. So I just have to not use it...right?" she asked no one. Of course, she received no answer. You've gotta trust me Spikes voice echoed in her head. She smiled a little, sitting down with the blanket wrapped tightly around her. "I...I trust you Spike," Pinkie shivered, her head twitching to the side before she hunched forward with a loud groan. "Pinks, you okay?!" Rainbow panicked. "I-I'm fine, b-but Twilight's in danger!" she called out. Rainbow swore under her breath and stood. "What do we do?" Rainbow asked, looking at her friends. Vinyl shook her head, the ring melting around her finger. "Decide without me, I'll head off somewhere an look for Spike to buy you time for your plan, don't waste it," she said quickly, teleporting away. "We should go get Applejack a-and then Rainbow, you could use that spell to find Twilight," Fluttershy suggested. Everyone blinked and glanced at her. "Um...I mean, i-it's an idea," "Shy that is a damn good plan," Rainbow grinned. She paused and glanced at the Doctor. "I'll keep an eye on the little one and your friend, no harm will come to them, I swear it," he promised. "Thanks Doc!" Rainbow called as she grabbed Rarity and Fluttershy by their arms, pulling them along towards Sweet Apple Acres. Twilight glared at Spell Nexus through the bars to her cell. "Now I get it...You're the one possessed by Nightmare!" Twilight yelled, struggling to get out of her cuffs. "Oh, not possessed, Awakened. And you too will Awaken, Magic. You see, the Ritual was so close, until the rest of the Bearers ruined it...But now, I have you and the link I need to find my Queen," "Queen?" Twilight asked, wincing as her magic sparked just faintly between the cuffs. "Nightmare, of course. You and her are linked by Magic and Blood. Why, you could say she is your child," he taunted. Twilight felt her heart skip a beat. My...Child? she looked up at him, struggling to summon any mana at all. "But enough gloating. You will Awaken, and with the Link, you will lead me to my Queen so that we can finish what we started," Spell Nexus held out his hand, Nightmare's Chaos seeping from his skin and slowly filling Twilight's Cell. She backed up into the corner, but it chased her down, latching on to her and digging in to her flesh. She screamed and thrashed in her cuffs, desperately reaching for her magic and unable to reach through the enchantment on the cuffs. "You Sparkles are rather powerful, so surely you can struggle, but the pain will only grow with every minute, accept your fate and the pain will fade," Spell Nexus murmured. Twilight glared at him through the haze of Chaos. "F-Fuck you!" she spat, sure that she would've made Rainbow proud in that moment. He only shrugged, watching as the Chaos continued to seep into her body. Darkness filled her vision and all at once, the light was gone. Twilight was simply floating in the Abyss once more, the hooded figure floating beside her. "You're in quite the bind," the woman chuckled. "Is now the time for riddles?" Twilight asked. The woman shrugged. "Now is the time to get comfy. Your body is no longer your own Sparkle and while your power is great, you cannot break free of this alone. It's up to them now," "Them?" "The Elements, your friends. I hope you picked a good bunch, or this is where it ends...For both of us,"