//------------------------------// // Chapter 27 - Getting Help // Story: Tale of a Lost Scoots // by RDfan27 //------------------------------// Rainbow Dash heard Fluttershy’s wingbeats as she descended to land next to her. Twilight’s invisibility spell was still active, so they couldn’t see each other, but it was quiet enough to hear a pin drop, so they did not have too much difficulty. “See anything?” Fluttershy asked in as quiet of a whisper as she could manage. Even with Fluttershy’s naturally quiet voice, it seemed to ring out loudly into the silence around them. “No,” Rainbow Dash whispered. “Do you think Twilight found anything?” Fluttershy asked. Right as she said that, they heard a fizzling sound coming from up above them and the invisibility spell began to falter, allowing slight glimpses of each other in the midst of the darkness around them. They looked up, at where Twilight was supposed to be. They only caught a slight glimpse of her before the spell died off completely, and she fell to the ground beside them with a thud. “Twilight!” Rainbow Dash screamed, rushing towards her friend and forgetting all about being quiet. Fluttershy was right behind her. Rainbow Dash knew the guards would surely have heard the ruckus. Thinking quickly, they threw Twilight over their backs and rocketed into the air, with Rainbow Dash having to adjust to accommodate Fluttershy’s slightly slower pace. Fluttershy flew fast; faster than she had ever flown in her life. One of her best friends was unconscious on her back, and they were surely being chased by hundreds of guards. That, coupled with the adrenaline, was more than enough to push her to the her body’s limit. She dared not look back for even a split second, as they bolted away from the complex as fast as they could while carrying their unconscious friend. They made it back to the lookout point in a fraction of the time it had taken them going the other way. As they approached the point, the outline of a soldier standing stock still, awaiting their arrival began to grow larger and larger with every flap of their wings. The guard must have seen the distress in their faces, as he instantly broke from his position and dashed forward, racing to help them with Twilight. As they stopped, Rainbow Dash looked back, fully expecting to see a swarm of guards blacking out the moon as they descended upon the three defenseless ponies. To her surprise and relief though, this was not the case. In fact, there wasn’t a single other pony in the sky as far as she could see. She did not have long to ponder this though, as, just as quickly as they had stopped, they took off again, now led by the guard in the direction of the bakery. *** Tidal Wave, Blazing Fire, Honeydew, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity all sat in the conference room. It had been nearly an hour or two since Twilight, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash had left, but they all still sat awake. With how worried they all were, it was clear none of them were going to sleep until the others got back. All of a sudden, the thick silence around them was shattered by the sound of a door flying open, followed by loud yelling coming all the way from the front entrance. In a split second all of them had jumped up and raced towards the sound. They were met just before the entrance into the main part of the bakery by the guard. “What happened?” Blazing Fire screamed. “I don’t know. Twilight passed out though.” “What?” all of her friends shouted in unison. Just then, they all heard the door swing open once more as Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy burst through the door. They were walking as quickly as they could while balancing their friend across their backs. They carefully carried her into a nearby room and placed her on a bed. Fluttershy panted heavily, and even Rainbow Dash was worn out. As soon as the weight was lifted, both of them fell to the ground as the adrenaline began to wear off. “What happened?” Applejack asked frantically. “W-we… d-don’t… know,” Rainbow Dash breathed out between pants. “She just… fell.” The others all looked carefully at Twilight. They saw various cuts, scrapes, and bruises adorning her body. “Twilight,” Applejack said, lightly shaking the mare. “Twilight! Wake up!” Twilight began to stir, and a dazed look appeared in her eyes. “W-what happened?” she asked groggily, looking up at all of the worried faces around her. “W-we don’t know,” Fluttershy said, still slightly out of breath. “You were up at a window looking in, and then y-you just fell! We were so worried. We thought you were hurt!” Fluttershy’s words seemed to fall on deaf ears as Twilight stared blankly ahead of her, her mind deep in thought. “I… I need to go,” she said distantly. “What? Go?” Rainbow Dash asked. “Go where?” Twilight ignored the question. “She knows we’re here. We need help.” “Who? Who knows we’re here?” Rainbow Dash asked once again. Everyone in the room was growing more and more worried by the second. Twilight sighed, hanging her head. “It’s what I saw in that window. I had looked away, and when I turned back, she was right there on the other side of the glass. She said she’s been expecting us.” “Who?” Blazing Fire asked worriedly. “The leader,” Twilight responded. “But there’s more. She’s… an alicorn.” Everypony’s jaws dropped at this. “B-but how is that possible?” Rainbow Dash asked frantically. “I didn’t think there were any other alicorns!” “Neither did I. I’m going back to Celestia. She’s got to know something about this.” The others nodded. “I don’t know how I didn’t notice it earlier,” Twilight continued. “Once I realized she was an alicorn, I could feel the magic radiating off of her. I should have noticed it sooner, but I just didn’t realize what I was feeling. I could feel the magic the whole time, but I never thought she could be an alicorn!” “It’s not your fault Twilight,” Fluttershy said. “No one would have guessed that.” Twilight sighed again. “I know, I just feel like I should have noticed. That’s not even the part that scares me the most though. I can’t tell for sure how powerful she is, but the only other time I’ve ever felt power like that is around Celestia.” Everyone in the room gasped. “Okay, this is bad,” said Blazing Fire. “I’m going to call an emergency meeting to tell the others about this. You go back to Celestia. Find out anything you can about her. Anything would help.” Twilight nodded, standing up. “How are you going to get back?” Rainbow Dash asked. They had come in through a magical portal, yet none of them had figured out yet how they were going to get back. There wasn’t another flower they could pick to just go back the other way. At least, not that they knew of. “I thought about that. When we arrived, I did a quick scan of the area. In that one spot, there is a portal. It’s only activated when the flower is picked, but I think I’d be able to activate it and hold it open with my magic.” “That makes sense… I guess.” “Don’t worry everyone. I’ll be back by tomorrow. Hopefully with good news,” Twilight said, getting up and beginning to head for the entrance. Blazing Fire stopped her. “Be careful. If she knew you were there before you knew she was, there’s no telling how much she could know.” Twilight nodded in understanding. She knew the risks of using her magic to teleport and open the portal, but she needed Celestia’s help now.. With a few final goodbyes, she made her way out of the door and disappeared a moment later in a bright flash of magenta light. All the others could do now was hope that she made it ok.