Crimson Sunset
By Nebula Star
Chapter 5: Regret
***
“Princess Celestia, there’s been another incident.”
Celestia sighed heavily. So far they’d had no luck in finding Sunset, though a search of the city was well underway. “Related?” Celestia asked the Pegasus guard that had brought the message.
“Unknown.” He said shaking his head. “A resident near the cliffside along the Canterhorn river reported hearing multiple screams coming from the canal. The guard investigated and two mares were found unconscious with puncture wounds in their necks as well as a few other injuries and signs of struggle. They’re alive, but both had lost a dangerous amount of blood and have been taken for medical care. Oddly, the guards that were on the scene reported that only one of the victims had a pool of blood near them, and he said even that didn’t seem to account for the amount of blood she’d lost.”
Celestia frowned and looked to her sister. Luna knew what she was thinking. “She did have fangs…” Luna reminded her.
Wincing at the memory she shook her head. “No. Draining ponies to power her magic aside, I refuse to believe that Sunset would willingly attack innocent ponies in such a violent manner.”
“None the less, perhaps I should investigate just in case.” Luna suggested.
Reluctantly Celestia shook her head. “No, we both should. We haven’t any leads here and it will be reassuring to our ponies to see us both investigating such violent crimes.”
Luna nodded, watching her sister carefully. She may not want to admit it, but Luna could tell that her sister was worried that the incidents were, in fact, connected. “Very well, sister,” she said then turned to the guard. “Lead the way.”
The guard took flight and both princesses followed, easily keeping pace. It didn’t take long before they’d reached the scene. Celestia’s eyes turned sad as they landed. She never liked seeing any of her little ponies harmed.
Both victims had already been taken for medical care, but outlines on the ground marked where they had lain. The guard had blocked off the area, but despite the late hour, a crowd of ponies had gathered watching curiously.
“Princesses!” The guard in charge greeted bowing along with the rest of the guard and most of the crowd.
“As you were, tell us what you know, Sargent.”
He nodded and turned toward the scene. “At this time, we aren’t sure who or even what was responsible, the mare that reported the incident only heard several screams; she didn’t see anything. The two victims were laid out here and here. Both had two puncture wounds on their necks as well as various other bruises and injuries indicating a struggle.” He said gesturing to the chalk outlines that were marked ‘A’ and ‘B’. “At first, we thought A had been the first attacked due to the amount of blood, but now we’re unsure. The medics informed us that victim B had been drained of blood to dangerously low levels, for this reason her wounds didn’t bleed as much. What was more, A’s right hind leg was broken. Our current theory is that this was to prevent her from running while the attacker drained B of blood.”
“Viciously efficient. I suppose it is unlikely that this is an animal attack then?” Celestia asked.
“I cannot say for certain; disabling one victim while attacking the other seems to indicate intelligence, but the rest of it…” He shook his head. “What’s more, the puncture wounds on their necks appeared to be bite marks from a creature roughly pony in size bearing fangs. I don’t know of any intelligent creature that fits, except possibly a Nocturne…”
Luna looked at him sharply. “No Nocturne would commit such a violent act!”
“Forgive me, Princess.” He said quickly. “I did not mean to suggest a Nocturne was responsible; just that they are the only intelligent species I know of with such fangs. So, the perpetrator is either not an intelligent species or were dealing with a species I’ve never heard of before.”
Reluctantly, Luna nodded acceptance of his apology. It still appalled her how the Nocturne had been treated over the years and she would not have them spoken ill of now. It was one of the few things she was still upset with Celestia about; that her sister hadn’t even noticed the prejudice that had been directed toward the bat winged ponies.
“Was there any sign of where the attacker might have fled?” Celestia asked.
He shook his head. “The tunnel is the obvious choice, but we’ve already searched it end to end. There were some fresh hoofprints in a few places, but whoever made them was long gone before we arrived.”
“Very well, carry on with your investigation and please make sure that I am kept up to date on the victims’ condition.”
He gave a small but respectful bow, recognizing a dismissal. “Of course, princess.”
Luna waited until he was out of earshot before speaking. “Sister… I fear this may be your student’s doing.”
“Sunset would never do such a thing!” Celestia hissed sharply.
“I know, sister, but the signs…”
“You said it yourself, Sunset was still sane when we saw her!”
Luna sighed. “I know. But we don’t know what the dark magic did to her, how it punished her… She may be struggling to maintain her sanity, or perhaps this is part of dark magic’s punishment for her. Whatever it may be, it is imperative that we find her. And if this wasn’t her doing, then we’ll know. But only if we find her.”
Reluctantly Celestia nodded.
Luna gave her a reassuring smile. “Let us regroup with the rest of the guard and see if there have been any developments.
“Yes. You’re right, Luna…” Celestia said staring at the outlines of the two victims; “we have to find her.”
~~~
In the center of Sunset’s workroom, crimson flames burst to life swirling briefly before clearing to reveal Sunset herself. Without wasting a single moment, she dashed to her desk eyes searching for what she’d come for. It wasn’t there; the desk was bare of any of her notes.
‘No, no, no, NO! How can I fix this if I can’t figure out where I went wrong!’ Sunset wanted to scream in frustration, but she dared not make a sound. There were guards posted on the tower, she knew.
Looking around she clung to the vain hope that perhaps her notes had just been blown off the desk during the casting; but deep down she knew that wasn’t the case. ‘The princesses or guard must have taken them as evidence…’ She gave a soft whimper. All that remained was the rune circle drawn across the floor, and the multitude of golden feathers that had fallen in the center. She looked at them and shuddered at the memory of the pain as her wings had twisted and stretched.
No, no time. The rune circle probably wouldn’t be enough, but it was at least something. Pulling a new roll of parchment and ink from the storage cabinet she quickly used a transcription spell to copy the circle back onto the parchment. That done she took one last look around the room just in case something, anything, had been missed.
She’d just about finished a final pass of the room when an anti-teleportation ward went up over the tower.
“Stop right there!” A rough voice shouted even as the door slammed open.
Sunset didn’t hesitate; nor did she panic. She’d designed her flame burst teleportation specifically to be unaffected by wards, as well as being untraceable. Crimson flames surrounded her once more, and when they faded, she was back in the crystal caves.
She’d spent some time exploring the crystal caves over the years. They ran for miles and miles under the mountain and much of them had never been explored. Most ponies didn’t even remember they existed. Sunset knew the princesses had closed off the caves around the same time they began building Canterlot Castle. That had been shortly before Luna’s fall. She also knew that they were never patrolled by the guard. The known entrances were all closed off after all. But there were others, several others.
It was the perfect hideout for her until she could fix whatever the spell had done to her… or work up the nerve to turn herself in.
The memory of two ponies lying one the ground, bleeding, with the taste their blood in her mouth… Sunset shuddered. She couldn’t bear the thought of Princess Celestia seeing her as such a monster. She had to fix this. Then she could turn herself in and face the consequences of her crimes.
She just had to figure out where she’d gone wrong… fortunately she’d already acquired quills, ink, parchment, and a few other supplies from one of the school’s labs and stashed them in the chamber she’d made into her hideout. So, she taped up the copy she’d made of the rune circle and set about writing down everything she could remember about her spell. She wouldn’t be sleeping tonight.
~~~
It was well after midnight by the time Celestia finally returned to her chambers. She and Luna hadn’t returned to the dinner with the Saddle Arabian delegates. The thought of returning to the party that was the reason she hadn’t been there for Sunset when her student had needed her most… It made her sick to the stomach.
Instead, she and Luna had overseen the guard in their search for Sunset as well as investigating the second attack and checking on the victims. So far neither the search nor investigation had had any success. Sunset might as well have vanished and as for the other; they still didn’t even know who or what was responsible. At least, that was what Celestia wanted to believe. Deep down, though, she knew Luna was probably right… Sunset did have fangs when they’d seen her. Fangs that were just the right size for the wounds they’d seen and for such an attack to occur on the very same night.
Understandably, she wasn’t feeling ready to sleep just now, so instead she stepped out onto her balcony overlooking the city. Once there, she looked up at the moon shining brightly over the city, blessedly free of the dark silhouette that had tarnished its face for so long. For a long time, she just stared up at the moon.
Some time later a shadow crossed the moon, though Celestia didn’t really notice. She was so deep in thought she didn’t even see her sister’s approach until she was landing on the balcony next to her.
“Sister, you should be resting.” Luna admonished, stepping to her sister’s side.
“And you should not?” Celestia countered halfheartedly.
“If I am to resume my duties at princess of the night, then I should begin adjusting to a nighttime schedule, should I not?”
“I suppose that is true.” Celestia sighed, though deep down she wished it didn’t have to be that way; she liked having her sister around during the day. They’d already lost so much time together. “Has there been any developments in the search efforts?”
“There has, actually.” Luna said and Celestia looked up sharply at her reserved tone. It was clear that what her sister came to tell her wasn’t exactly good news.
“What is it?”
“The guards we left watching Sunset’s tower just reported a break in. They believe it was Sunset herself. They say that she somehow got inside without them noticing. She was there for an unknown amount of time before the guards noticed the light of her magic inside. When they did, they attempted to restrain her.”
Celestia winced. “Were they hurt?”
“Nay, sister. There was not a fight. She didn’t need to. According to the guards she left using the same teleportation spell we saw her use earlier; but this spell apparently ignored the anti-teleportation wards that the guards employed. What is more, the guards also claim the spell to be untraceable.”
Lowering her head, Celestia closed her eyes.
“Sister, if your student truly has created a teleportation spell that bypasses our wards and is untraceable, then capturing her may be all but impossible for the guard.” Luna said softly, watching her Sister in concern. For a time, Celestia was silent.
“If she returned to the tower, then she was looking for something; most likely her notes and designs for the spell. Which most likely means she is trying to find out what went wrong, to find a way to fix whatever the dark magic did to her.” Celestia said finally.
“Sister, you know as well as I, that that will be an all but impossible task.”
“It will likely take more power than the spell that caused it.” Celestia agreed.
“And the only way Sunset knows of to gain that much power…” Luna trailed off.
Celestia looked up, fear all too clear in her eyes. “We have to find her before she makes the same mistake again!”
Luna nodded. “We will.” She said softly, putting a wing around her sister’s shoulders. “But for now, you must rest. I will keep watch over the night.”
Reluctantly, she nodded, though she knew she would not sleep easily. “Sister…” She said softly. “I may require your aid this night…”
“I will watch over your dreams, Sister. I will always watch over you.”
Celestia smiled thankfully, and giving her sister a gentle nuzzle, turned and returned to her chambers. Even with Luna’s aid, she doubted she would sleep well tonight.
~~~
A loud crack echoed through the chamber as Sunset slammed her hoof down on the stone floor of the cave. “Dammit!” She cried out in frustration. All around her the cave was littered with notes and diagrams, some taped up in various places around the chamber, but far more were discarded and cast down to litter the floor. It had been three days; three days since she’d holed up in the chamber. Three days, and three nearly sleepless nights. She’d written down everything, all that she could remember about the spell, every last detail, but still, she couldn’t find where she went wrong.
Fearing it was a dead end, that there was something she’d forgotten, she’d turned her focus to what exactly the spell had done, what had changed, and to see if she could formulate a new spell to undo the changes, or to perhaps cancel whatever curse that had been lain on her. So far that too was proving fruitless. She’d performed numerous scans on both her body and magic; what she’d found was that there was no curse; no magic holding her in this twisted form. Her body had been fundamentally, and permanently changed. Even her magic was changed. And as far as the medical scans were concerned, her body was in perfect health. The only good news was that her magic did appear to be alicorn magic now, small comfort as that was.
What that meant however, was that it would take a spell just as powerful as the first to alter her body again; and unless she could figure out what she’d done wrong, she just risked repeating the same mistake. But it was the only option she could see. She’d have to recreate her spell, do her best to make sure there’s no mistakes…
But the thirst…
She’d felt it growing stronger each day… every hour that passed. She tried to ignore it but it was getting worse; distracting her, making it impossible for her to think. She knew what it was now, what she needed to satisfy it. She had to resist.
There had to be some magic, some spell, that would alleviate her thirst, or at least suppress it. If she could just buy herself enough time to fix whatever she’d done wrong… If she could just…
~~~
Luna sighed heavily, walking the halls of the castle, it was well after moonrise and she’d just seen to it that her sister had retired to her chambers. She was worried about Celestia. Sunset’s unknown whereabouts was weighing heavily on her. The search continued, though it had yet to produce any results and at this point, Luna was beginning to suspect they wouldn’t find Sunset until she showed herself again. From what she’d found out about the mare, she knew enough about the guard and their methods to avoid them indefinitely. And clearly, wherever she’d holed up; it was somewhere unknown to the guard.
Luna feared that until Sunset was found, Celestia’s condition would only grow worse day by day. She’d already found that Celestia had canceled her usual afternoon court sessions ever since her student had vanished, along with several other meetings that while important, weren’t vital to the running of Equestria.
If this continued however, Luna knew she’d have to start picking up the slack, despite her inexperience in the modern age. She just wished she could do more concerning Sunset. She should have followed up on her worries when she’d first suspected the mare might look into dark magic.
She shook her head, there was no point in dwelling on what she should have done. She needed something she could do. If only she could find a way to locate her. But her searches in the dream realm hadn’t been any more successful than the guard’s search. She wasn’t familiar enough with Sunset to be able to call her dream to her as she could with Celestia. Truly she was not yet familiar enough with anypony in this age to do so. And so she was left to wander the dream realm aimlessly hoping she’d stumble across the mare’s dream.
Reaching one of the castle’s balconies she stepped out into the night and turned her gaze up toward her moon. Though it had been her prison, she still found comfort in her moon’s beauty, and always sought its light when she needed to think.
She’d only been there a few short minutes when a shadow swept up from the city, climbing high over the rooftops. Luna looked in surprise as it approached the moon in the night sky. It couldn’t be. The shadow reached the moon and was silhouetted against it, her bat like wings spread wide.
‘It’s her!’ Luna realized, and leaped into the air without a moment’s hesitation. "Sunset Shimmer! Wait!" She shouted urgently, hoping her sister's student might be willing to speak with her if she were still too ashamed to see her sister. But then the mare turned her head, looking back at her with one eye and Luna felt her blood freeze. There was no compassion in that look, no personality, nothing one would expect from a living being. Instead it was cold, calculating, and at the same time feral. It was as if everything that had made her Sunset Shimmer had been locked away, leaving only raw intelligence driven by primal instinct and her most primitive of needs.
The next instant, the familiar crimson flames encircled her and she was gone.
Luna continued on to where she’d been regardless and there came to a hover, scanning the magic residue left by the spell. It was just as the guard had said: She could find no way to trace the spell’s destination.
This wasn’t good; she knew a predator on the hunt when she saw one.