Chapter 2.5
Meanwhile back in the Equestria we all know and love, Princess Celestia steeled herself for the possibility of bad news even as she walked up towards where her most trusted individuals were examining the magical signature they had dedicated back in her castle. “Found anything yet?”
Sunset Shimmer looked up from her work with a shake of her head. “I’ve studied magic on two different worlds and whatever it was that teleported Twilight and the others away, it doesn’t match anything I’ve ever come across.”
“Okay, I know I’m not one of you science ponies,” Gilda, who was currently helping look after the younger members of their little group with Little Strongheart and Big Mac, “but here’s a crazy idea: why doesn’t anypony cast a spell and follow them?”
“It’s not a bad idea on paper,” Sunburst, who had arrived at Starlight’s request, declared from where he was working with his childhood friend, “but it comes with it’s own risks.”
Starlight simply nodded. “We still don’t know if they went anywhere dangerous…”
“...or if they went anywhere at all,” Celestia declared with a grim nod. “Our friends are right: it’s too risky.”
Scootaloo - despite the cast she was wearing - couldn’t help gaze upon the other Crusaders, honorary or otherwise. In particular, she was unable to take her eyes off of a bedridden Applebloom and a currently comatose Sweetie Belle in particular. Despite her best efforts to stay brave, she couldn’t help the sniffle/whimper that escaped her. “Too bad I wasn't fast or strong enough to do anything…”
Diamond Tiara , despite her past heckling of the Crusaders and her own injuries, couldn’t help but place a comforting hoof on the daredevil Pegasus’ shoulder. “Take it from me, those two are tough: it’ll take more than this to do them in.”
Celestia likewise gave a reassuring grin. “We'll find the Element Bearers, and don't worry about your friends: whatever that energy was, it prevented their wounds from becoming too severe, right Luna?”
Princess Luna, having returned from a meeting with the Griffonstone Council, simply gave a nod by way of reply. “Young Applebloom will need a cast and Sweetie Belle will be out for another few hours, but neither of them will be facing any permanent damage...to which they are lucky. I can only surmise that under different circumstances they would not only have had their set of injuries switched, but intensified.”
Applebloom, who at first had been upset about not being able to help out with the upcoming Apple Bucking Season, quickly looked towards Sweetie Belle, sending a silent word of thanks and a wish for recovery in her direction: her pushing her out of the wagon meant she wasn't in a coma right now, and she'd rather die if it meant her friend avoided a coma or an even worse fate that was meant for her.
Celestia, meanwhile, having noticed the young filly's intense stare and from that being able to guess her innermost thoughts, gently placed a hoof on her shoulder. “Don't blame yourself too harshly and be sure to word your inner desires carefully.”
She couldn’t help but look towards her sister, a tear running down her cheek as she recalled how a particularly stressful night of having to deal with more than a few unruly individuals, she had broken into an argument with the Princess of the Night. She still remembered how she’d instantly regretted the words she had said next. "I wish you would just...GO AWAY!!" It wouldn’t be long after that that she would be forced to seal Nightmare Moon away for a thousand years.
Celestia smiled as Luna placed a comforting hoof on her shoulder, letting her know that all past sins had been forgiven, Sunset Shimmer likewise giving her adoptive mother a hug to know that she didn’t hold any resentment either.
Watching this, Applebloom smiled as she gently stroked her friend’s hoof...only to jump back a ways as she thought she had felt the unconscious Unicorn give said hoof a squeeze. After calming down a bit, however, the youngest Apple simply smiled and gave her friend’s hoof a squeeze back. “Don't worry about it: I would do the same for you…”
To Be Continued