//------------------------------//
// Chapter Nine: Within 
// Story: Missing Harmony 
// by Razor Blade the Unicron 
//------------------------------//

Spike was not a pegasus by any means. He could fly, and that was where the biological similarities ended. He was a dragon, and dragons, simply put, could not in any way mimic the speed and agility of pegasi. He couldn't turn fast enough to react to Amethyst's fall, and she plummeted before even Twilight could even light up her horn.

Likewise, Twirly was not a pegasus by any means. She had wings, yet could not truly fly. The wind controlled her with no constraints, whilst a pegasus at least had minimal control. Yet she had an advantage that Twilight and Spike didn't have: a close understanding. She could see Amethyst's fear before the knife even came into view, and she acted as if she were capable of catching the unicorn, forgetting for a moment that she was in fact a breezie.

So within mere seconds, Amethyst was falling towards the earth with Twirly clutching onto her mane. Her horn was stinging in agony, a dangerously thick chip taken out of the tip. Had she a moment for self-analysis, she would have been relieved to see that the damage was no where near permanent. 

"Amy, use your magic!" shrieked Twirly.

"Can't..." whispered Amethyst, sounding like she was going to faint at any moment.

"Amy, please! I can't catch you! I'm not strong enough!"

"Strength...? But you've got that..." Amethyst's eyes closed peacefully. Her horn lit up with an oddly controlled aura, with Twirly being surrounded in her magic. "I think... There's a reason you're called a breezie..." Twirly's antennae lit up, and her eyes widened. "So why would a pegasi need you give you wind when you can make it?"

A small burst of wind spiraled around Amethyst's mane, and Twirly's eyes narrowed in concentration. While Amethyst held her close in her magic, her wings twitched, and the wind spiraled down further. Her wings twitched even more, and glittering wisps of aquamarine magic marked out the path of the wind. Time seemed to have slowed down for the two, giving Twirly less to think about as the wind she created began to completely surround Amethyst. Their speed of descent lessened, and Amethyst's eyes opened, appearing blue for a moment. For a moment, she was held in place by the wind, and she and Twirly locked eyes. She was just about at half the height of one of the shorter castle towers, when the aura around her horn finally snapped due to the chip.

Amethyst continued on her fall, but this time she wasn't nearly as scared. She gave a comforting smile to Twirly, who remained hovering in the air above her, eyes still wide in surprise. Amethyst saw Pumpkin and Spike all still frantically diving down towards her, just before slamming down on the ground that was just slightly cushioned by the snow. She had landed on her side, being greeted with a bruised ear as opposed to a likely concussion. The weight of the armor had actually helped, as it had absorbed the bulk of the force exerted.

Pumpkin reached her first, quickly rolling Amethyst onto her back to relieve the pressure on her side. Twilight was beside her in a moment, her horn glowing brightly as she looked for any major visible injuries.

"Hey, Twilight?" asked Amethyst softly. "What if I had been wrong?"

Twilight paused from her analysis in confusion. "Wrong? About what?"

"Breezie magic." Her eyes glazed up towards the sky, the snow being blocked by Pumpkin's wing. Twirly had already glided down, and was standing dazed on Spike's head. "I've always wondered about it. After all, everypony's got magic. I mean, why wouldn't breezie magic have something to do with wind? So I took a chance and tied to pull Twirly's magic out myself. It worked, but what if it hadn't?" She frowned, and stared straight up at the stars. "How much would it have hurt everypony if I wasn't here?"

Nopony answered.

Blue landed roughly, her hooves smashing into the ground. "They got away," she snarled, her fangs glistening dangerously. "Couldn't even tell if they were a pegasus or a griffon with all that covering." She paced around angrily, seemingly oblivious to Amethyst being injured. "We've got no tracks other than 'has wings', and even then we don't even know if they were real wings! So help me Luna, I-"

"Yellow." She looked over at Amethyst for the first time since landing. "Their eyes were bright yellow." Amethyst thought back to the knife drawing near to her horn. "And they had hooves."

Blue sighed. "Better than nothing, I suppose. Are you okay? It looks like you were hit by a brick of marble." Pumpkin looked away nervously. "Private, is there something you're not telling me?"

"None..." Pumpkin looked down at the ground. "None of us caught the Elemental, ma'am. She managed to levitate herself for long enough to reduce the impact force, ma'am."

"Twirly caught me," corrected Amethyst. "Using her magic."

Blue arched an eyebrow. "Twirly?"

"Eh?" Twirly snapped out of her daze at hearing her name. "Somepony say my name?"

Her eyebrow somehow arched even higher, and she glanced over at Twilight. "Know anything about breezie magic, Sparkle?"

"They're studied about as often as dragons," responded Twilight.

Twirly muttered under her breath. "Like we haven't got one of each right here..."

"Then I'll just a take the Elemental's word. We've got more pressing matters, anyways." Something small suddenly hit Blue's head, and she winced lightly from the impact. "The hay?"

Spike picked up the object from where it laid in the snow, revealing it to be a large, rusty key. There was a tiny "D" etched onto the shaft, with an etching of a key below it, which seemed unnecessary. Blue grabbed it and looked at the etching on the shaft, and her eyes narrowed.

"This is the skeleton key for the dungeons," she said. "Which is supposed to be in the storage area." Her fangs glistened dangerously. "Meaning that everypony is in the dungeons, or we're being led on."

"Do we take the risk, Captain?" asked Pumpkin, while Twilight helped Amethyst back onto her hooves.

"This is the only clue we have, so yes." She then turned towards Spike (and Twirly). "We'll go check the dungeons, while you and the Elemental to obtain the Elements." Spike nodded. "Sparkle, Private, let's move."