//------------------------------//
// End of Act 1 
// Story: Guess this is happening 
// by Silver Butcher 
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It was late at night, Twilight was exhausted from her search, her friends had all shown up to help with the search and so far no sign of Spinel had been found. Twilight was practically asleep on her hooves, not so much from the time but more so from keeping her echo spell active constantly for over 8 hours.
"Twily maybe you should take a break," Shining suggested.
"Spinel is dangerous," Twilight replied sleepily "If the pony who took her uses mind control or tricks her into attacking us she could hurt a lot of ponies, especially if the one who took her comes with her, what if it's Chrysalis, or Maybe Tirek found a way to use her to amplify his own power, or what if-"
"Twily," Shining cut in "Stop making theories, you gonna make the guards panic,"
"Why shouldn't they be? I am!"
"That's cause your suffering from overuse of Magic, you need to shut down the spell, get a cup of coffee, maybe take a nap-"
"I am not taking a nap!" Twilight replied crankily, as she said this her horn went from a dull glow to glowing bright and then dimmed and started repeating this as she continued talking. "If Spinel enters the empire-"
"Uh, Twily?" Shining said pointing her horn, Twilight looked up for a moment, then jumped to her hooves.
"I FOUND HER!" She screamed, "Follow me and gather every guard!" Twilight didn't wait for an answer as she teleported to the area the Crystal heart was kept, she extended her wings then froze as the echoed spell illuminated Spinel's gem she could see the glow heading towards her. Twilight stood her ground as she cut the Echo spell and sent out a magical flare, she almost fell to her knees when she did so.
"Spinel," She called out "Please tell me you're not gonna go psycho crazy and try and kill me or something," She called, but she received no answer. "That doesn't bode well for my imminent future,"
"Indeed it doesn't," A voice she had never heard before replied, Twilight stood in silence as a colt in a dress came into view, in his magic, he had what looked like a steel spike, and in his hoof, he was casually tossing up and down Spinels gem.
"Oh for the love of Celestia," Twilight groaned. "Are you the weird dress guy who's always surrounded by 5 ponies in cloaks?"
"I see you've heard of me," Topaz replied "I am-"
"-an idiot who better drop the gem if he knows what's good for him," Rainbow Dash called from above as she landed next to Twilight. She stood her ground before breaking her serious expression and trying not to laugh "I'm sorry is this guy wearing a dress?" she looked around like she expected some pony to jump out and tell her she was being pranked. "What is this?" She asked Twilight while motioning at the dress, Twilight just shook her head.
"I am too tired to care," She replied simply.
"What's with the queen?" Pinkie asked as she and Rarity joined the two.
"Not that there's anything wrong with being a queen," Rarity jumped in "It's just...they usually make it work, this gentle colt-" Rarity eyes caught onto Spinel and changed what she was going to say "-seems to have murdered Spinel,"
"What!?" Pinkie demanded having been too caught up in the dress to look at his hoofs "Oh heck no, I'll be right back I'm gonna throw so many pies at this guy..." Pinkie grumbled angrily about how nopony explodes her friends as she went to get some pies.
"So I take it Spinel's been poofed?" Applejack asked as she and Fluttershy made it to the scene "Oh, yup there she is," Fluttershy frowned as Topaz tossed the gem haphazardly around.
"Um sir," She asked kindly "I don't mean to alarm you but that gem is actually alive,"
"Oh yes I know," He replied simply "That's why I have this," he replied holding up the steel pike "I'm going to shatter it,"
"And no longer funny," Rainbow decided.
"Oh?" Topaz asked as he pulled his arm back "Move and I'll shatter it here, it might not be quite where I am supposed to be, but I'm willing to test if the ritual will work over here,"
"do you know what he's talking about?," Rainbow whispered to Twilight, Twilight shook her head "Hey!" Rainbow called "Hey, we don't know what you're talking about,"
"This here is the Anti-Heart!" Topaz said simply "It is said in stories of old to have been created to destroy the Crystal heart,"
"That is not right," Twilight replied simply "Spinel only tries to destroy things that make her mad and the Crystal heart has yet to do that,"
"I'm willing to bet you have thought," Applejack added pointing at Topaz.
"Oh yeah, honestly I'm just gonna let her kick your can for a while when she reforms,"
"And how do you plan on taking her from-" Topaz was cut off by screaming and Rainbow moved out of the way as Pinkie landed where she had been and began to throw infinite pies at Topaz, Topaz was knocked onto his rear and dropped both his spike and Spinel, Rarity used her magic and stopped Spinel from hitting the ground and brought her over to her.
"Wow," she said as she looked at the gem. "She's flawless," 
"Rarity give her to me," Rainbow demanded, "before your instincts kick in and you turn Spinel into a necklace or something." Topaz lit his horn and forced Pinkie to turn with his magic, hitting Rarity with a pie before she could stop, Rarity dropped the gem and Topaz tossed Pinkie aside and took Spinel back only for Rainbow to grab her, he shrugged and took Rainbow as well.
"Oh crud," Rainbow managed to say before he threw her face first into a wall.
"Oh, you simple-minded fools never-ack!" Topaz was cut off as Applejack just kind of walked up to him and punched him square in the face.
"Who's simple-minded now?" She asked as Rainbow walked away from the wall dizzily, years of crashes had made her pretty durable, tho it had still hurt. Spinel lay against the wall, Rainbow having taken the full force of the hit, Topaz laughed as he used his magic and sent the spike hurtling at Spinel, Twilight tried and failed to light her horn, she made to run at it when Fluttershy, who had already been walking to the gem, picked Spinel up, the spike embedded itself in the wall and Applejack began hitting Topaz again, after her second strike he used his horn and threw her at Fluttershy, who had been walking back to Twilight, Fluttershy was hit dead in the side and she and Applejack where sent flying across the ground.
"Oh my gosh, Fluttershy are you OK!" Applejack demanded as she got up.
"Ow," Fluttershy replied as she got up "I think I scraped my knee,"
"The winner is I," Topaz yelled as he managed to pull the spike from the wall and sent it once again at Spinel, just as it was about to hit Spinel's gem it started glowing and rising in the air, sending the spike into another wall, Topaz watched as Spinel took form and landed on her feet looking down, there was silence for a moment before she looked dead at Topaz.
"I am so tired-" Spinel said as she pulled her arm back and enlarged her hand, turning her arm into a spring, she coiled it and turned it to Topaz "-of being stabbed in the stomach," Topaz made a barrier and Spinel opened her hand and sent her arm flying, grabbing Topaz's bubble as she did so, Topaz blinked when he realized she had him, them her arm dropped and proceeded to crush Spike's statue.
"That was just petty," Applejack called to her.
"I need that," Spinel said simply as she pulled her arm back, Topaz firmly stuck in her grip, she reached into her gem and pulled out the Rejuvenator.
"You think you have won?" He asked dizzily, his nose was bleeding and he was missing a tooth "I am the great Crystal Topaz!" as he was talking Topaz used his magic to remove the spike from the wall, he aimed it at Spinels back who smiled.
"No," She said simply, he smiled and sent it flying at her, Spinel dodged and smacked Topaz across the mouth, sending him tumbling out of the spike's path and right into her Rejuvenator. Topaz freaked out for a moment and his cutie mark went glitchy, he jumped back.
"This is not the last you'll see of me!" he yelled as he lit his horn to escape, only for it to spark and do nothing, he blinked as the mane 6 and Spinel looked at him. "Time out?" he asked.
"I'm going to start beating you now," Spinel said as she put her Rejuvenator back in her gem "I don't know when I'll stop" The mane 6 turned to the entrance of the castle as Spinel began pummeling Topaz.
"Alright, the guards are gathering as we-" Shining began.
"It's all good," Rarity said as she made her way into the castle "Spinel's back, she's broken Spike's statue-"
"OH COME ON!" Spike cried out as Rarity ushered him back inside with her.
"-And Spinel's beating the colt who kidnapped her to a pulp,"
"I'm gonna go stop that," Cadance said simply, she walked over to the act "Spinel stop," Cadence yelled in her most motherly voice causing Spinel to flinch and look back at her, the was a moment of silence before she punched him again.

"Fine." She released him with great reluctance.

"You, your the decent of that traitor Amoura." Topaz coughed as he stubbornly stood up. "Your ancestor doomed the Empire to that monster Sombra." Cadence blinked a couple times in confusion.

"No, no I'm pretty sure she didn't." She said calmly.

"Lies, I am the only one who knows the true history of this country," He said firmly as he tried and failed to stand up straight.
"Can I hit him one more time?" Spinel pleaded.
"No," Cadance said simply "just cause he's crazy-"
"Where is your proof them?" Topaz demanded "Show me the proof of your ancestor's innocence,"

"I'm kinda curious as well seeing as I'm seemingly at the center of this mess," Spinel said, keeping her eye on Topaz. Cadence nodded "Follow me, it gonna be a short hike." Cadence then looked at Topaz's bruises. "You may have to carry him."

"Make up your mind," she mumbled as she hoisted the battered pony over her shoulder and followed the pink princess into the castle. She was not kidding about it being a hike as it took them five minutes to reach their destination which was the very top of the castle. Even higher than where Sombra hide the crystal heart. Inside the room was the remains of a very old ritual and two fossils lay on the floor, one was that of a pony while the other had pony like features but defiantly wasn't a pony, "Wow." Spinel was the first to speak

"What is this?" Topaz followed up.

"I don't know the full story but from notes I found and the history that followed I believe Amoura sacrificed her life to try and stop him." Princess Cadence explained.

"Well, I-um..." Topaz looked at the fossilized remains of what was clearly an Alicorn "...oh no," Topaz rubbed his head "I can't believe this, I feel like the worst kind of pony,"

"As you should." Spinel said as she shapeshifted her nose away "It's really dusty in here," She muttered

"I'm going to jail now aren't I?" Topaz asked looking at the princess

"Yep"



"Man," Spinel said as she sat down on the train seat and sighed. "I can't wait to get back to Camp Pining Hearts," as she put her feet up she felt a weight on her lap and looked down at Rarity, who was examining her gem. "Hey," She said and Rarity jumped away.
"Oh, I'm sorry I just hadn't noticed how...perfect your gem is,"
"Back up!" Pinkie declared making Rarity jump back and Pinkie took the seat "I got dibs on sitting next to Spinel, I'm gonna make sure nothing sharp gets close to her!" as this was going down in the back Applejack and Fluttershy were having their own conversation.
"...and she wasn't even trying to buck the tree!" Applejack was smiling ear to ear "Her time limit is almost up, oh I can't wait to have her working for me, and when Apple cider season comes along her help might double our cider output."
"Oh I think that sounds wonderful," Fluttershy said sweetly, "I think kicking trees will be an excellent outlet for her anger issues, speaking of which I should look into getting her a support animal, I think a Phoenix would be nice, they live forever and she doesn't age, It's a match made in heaven," at the front of the train car Twilight was sleeping to the side while Spike and Rainbow played a game of cards.
"It's kind of ridiculous that they already rebuilt your statue," Rainbow said as she placed a card down.
"It really is," Spike agreed.
"Rarity back off!" Pinkie demanded as she hugged Spinel "No non-Pinkies within touching distance of Spinel!" Twilight groaned as she looked at the loud mess of a train car filled with her friends.
"This is gonna be a long 4 hours," She groaned as she flopped back into her seat, the train only just beginning its departure.