//------------------------------// // 90: Theft of Hope // Story: An Equestrian Witcher // by OblivionShadow //------------------------------// Oblivion opened his eyes and his magic summoned Sasa as he looked at the Library in front of him. He could see Twilights light inside the Library and he could see that she was very upset and borderline panicking. His magic gripped the front door and he trotted quickly inside and joined her inside. “Twilight?” He said to her as her back was to him. She jerked and looked over her shoulder at him. Her eyes were wide and looked as if she was about to burst into tears at any moment. Sasa trotted to her and nuzzled her cheek and the mare simply stared at him. He moved to join her and she slowly turned back to face forward and stare at the far wall. He reached out and set a hoof on her shoulder and she jerked once more. Her spirit rolled within her and he could see that she was bordering on hysterical. His horn lit as he called on the World Spirit to help him calm her. It rolled over her as she stared at the wall. When her breathing had slowed and she was visibly less stressed he sent the World Spirit back to being dormant and sat down beside her. “What's going on? You sent me a letter saying I had to come back immediately.” “Their gone.” She whispered. “What's gone?” “Look.” She said as she pointed to the vacant space in the wall several feet in front of her. His orange eyes scanned the wall ahead of them and after several seconds of looking, he began to look around the room to try to ascertain what was missing. After several seconds his eyes widened slightly as she turned to look at him. Her eyes were tear-filled and she nodded. “The Elements of Harmony are missing.” She whispered. “WHAT?!” Sasa shrieked through their connection. “NO. No they can’t be missing.” “Look ahead Sasa. Their spot is empty.” He said to the feline. “They had a lock on them I assume?” “They did. If they had broken the glass then the lock would have activated. But there was no lock on the entire case.” She shouted, her panic returning slowly. “Were all of them in there?” “Yes.” She lamented. He could see the panic returning and his horn lit to calm her once more. The World Spirit flowed over her and he saw her calm down and he let it go dormant. Sasa nuzzled her as the white fire faded away from her. He watched as she looked at him and then her eyes fell on the medallion around his neck. Her hooves came up and she gripped the medallion in her hooves. He allowed her to grip it tightly and she looked up at him. “All but this one. This one is safe and sound. Tell me its here.” She said frantically. “I assure you the Element is fine. It goes everywhere with me.” He calmly informed her. He saw her look at the medallion and then to the bright silver rim that went around it. He saw her take a deep breath and exhale slowly. She slowly released the medallion after thirty seconds and her hooves wrapped around her body as she breathed. He leaned down and wrapped one foreleg around her to try to soothe her frazzled nerves. “Who would have known they were here? We only moved them a couple of weeks ago.” She muttered to herself. “They were supposed to be safe here.” He held her as tightly as he dared and she seemed to take comfort from him being with her. She stared at the gap in the wall and Sasa got up to stand in front of her to block her from staring at it. The feline looked from the mare to him and he nodded as a silent request came from her. His horn lit and covered the feline to allow her to speak once more. “Twilight.” She said. Twilight jerked slightly and looked at the feline. “Sasa?” “It is not your fault.” She crooned. “You were right to believe they were safe here. They found they could not take the Elements alone due to your safeguards. They were forced to take the whole thing. We will find out who did this.” She assured her. Twilight looked at her and he could see tears begin to flow from her eyes as her hooves gripped his fur as he held her. “But… Their gone.” “I know they are.” She went on. “You did what was right to protect them. Do not doubt yourself now. Without the Element of Spirit they are not a full set. If they wish to sell them then they are not at their full value. They will now have to find the final Element. That will bring them to us.” “You want them to hunt you?” She hiccupped. “Yes. Who better than a Witcher to be hunted by greedy ponies?” Sasa chuckled. “Do not doubt the strength of those around you. It is not hopeless dear Twilight.” “But I failed to protect them.” “You did not fail.” Sasa soothed. “You cannot guard them at all times. No pony can be everywhere at once. There is no blame to be put on you.” “But…” “No. Enough of this Twilight. You have the strength to stand and help us to find them. If you are worried about being judged at fault we will stand with you even in the face of others.” She went on. “We are with you.” Twilight hiccupped and looked from the feline to the Witcher, who nodded in agreement with the cat. “But Princess Celestia…” “I will speak with her about this.” Oblivion said to her. “I will leave Sasa here with you to help you begin to figure out when they were taken. If we can figure out a time frame then that will help us narrow it down. That will allow me to work on tracking the case when I return.” “See? You are not alone.” Sasa crooned and nuzzled the mare affectionately. Oblivion allowed the azure flame to fade from the cat’s body and Twilight turned to hug him tightly. She nuzzled into his fur and he held her close. She backed up from him after a minute and turned to hug Sasa. “Thank you.” She whispered to the cat who nuzzled her once more. “Stay with her.” He said to the feline as he got to his hooves and his horn lit as he teleported away from them both. Oblivion opened his eyes as his teleport faded and he was in motion a bare moment later. His hooves carried him easily through the castle, toward the throne room. He could tell that there was an audience going once more. He was not sure who it was with but he needed the Alicorn to hear what he had to report to her. He neared the throne room doors and the guards in front of the door sighed as he approached and without a word they opened the doors for him. His clawed hooves were silent on the plush carpet that led to the throne. He watched as Celestia saw him and he could see confusion cross her face as he drew closer. The ponies that stood in front of her stopped and looked back at him. They sneered the closer her got to them and they moved when it was made clear that he did not intend to alter his course for them. They parted and glared hotly at him as he moved to stand ahead of them. “I need a moment of you and Luna’s time.” He said to her, his tone sharp. She looked at him and for a moment he saw irritation flash through her eyes but he stood firm and refused to change his stance. “Can it wait?” She asked him. “No.” She looked surprised at his tone and finally nodded after a delay of several seconds. Her horn lit for several seconds and he waited as Luna appeared moments later. She looked blearily at her sister and then her eyes widened at the sight of him. She blinked several times as her sister got up from her throne. She looked apologetically to the ponies that stood behind the Witcher. “My deepest apologies but this is something I must see to. Please be certain that I am not discounting what we were discussing and I will be sure to pick up where we left off when I am able to at the normal hours.” The ponies looked angrily at the Witcher, who ignored them. The ponies filed out as they cursed amongst themselves. Oblivion waited until the doors were once more closed before he looked at the pair of Alicorn’s. Both of them looked expectantly at him. “What was so dire that…?” Celestia began. “The Elements of Harmony have been stolen.” He said blandly to them. Both mares fell silent and Luna’s jaw slowly dropped open as she processed what he had said. Celestia stared at him as her eyes blinked slowly in response. He said nothing further and allowed them to process what he had said and what their own replies would be. Seconds turned into over a minute before Celestia breathed in deeply and then exhaled slowly as she fought to remain calm. “I’m sorry?” She whispered out. “Twilight called me back to Ponyville and when I arrives she was incredibly distraught and at first neither Sasa nor I were sure why. She informed us that the Elements had been taken. I think she is most afraid that she has failed you, Celestia.” He informed them. “She has not failed me.” She replied. “I would then hope you would inform her of that.” He responded. “I will send her a letter once you explain what happened.” He went on. “I asked her about the case being locked and she assured me that it had a magical lock on it that prevented it from being broken into…” “Then how did they steal them?” Luna asked. “They took the entire case.” “Oh.” Luna said to him as anger began to cross over her features. “How will thou be retrieving them then?” “Once I am done here I will be going back to the Library to begin to track the case itself. I plan on seeing if there is a magical signature that can be tracked and find the other Elements that way. If not we will be tracking them the old fashioned way.” He informed her. “If thou have need of help please call us. We will do all we can to aid thee.” Luna said to him. “If I have the need I will call on you Luna. But tracking is one thing I was made for so I will do best on my own for it to succeed.” He assured her. “Please tell me you can find them? I trust yours is with you?” Celestia asked him. “I can find them given time. My Element is with me at all times. If they desire to sell the full set then they will need to take this final one from me to complete the set.” He replied and they both looked at the medallion that rested around his neck. “I assure you it is fine.” Both of them looked from his face to the necklace and back. He bit back a sigh and called on the Element. The armor slithered across his body and came to rest in its place. Both of them looked relieved to see it safe with him. He called it back into its normal form and the Alicorn’s were quiet as he regarded them. “Be sure to send a letter to Twilight and keep her calm. She was nearly hysterical when I saw her.” Celestia looked concerned and nodded as his horn lit to teleport him back to the Library. His magic faded and he found himself in front of the Library. He looked at it and he could see Twilights light from outside and she was panicking again if he was right. He trotted into the Library and Sasa was trying to keep the mare from panicking by nuzzling her constantly. His horn lit as he called on the World Spirit and the white flame covered the mare as she was falling apart once more. She looked at the white fire and her head turned to look at him, her eyes wide. He watched as her spirit calmed and she breathed slowly to help herself keep from crying. “Oblivion? What do I do?” She pleaded. “Did you see her? How angry is she with me?” “I did speak with her and she is going to send a letter to you soon. She is not angry with you in the slightest. She does not blame you and is worried about you overdoing it.” He informed her as the white fire faded and he sat down close by her. “Are you sure?” She asked him. “I’m certain.” He assured her. “I am going to start looking into tracking the case and see what I can find out.” He looked over her as the feline looked at him from behind the mare. “Go get Applejack and the other girls. I would prefer not to leave her alone in case she begins to panic once more.” His magic created a short note to the orange mare and it was tucked into the cat’s collar. She slunk away and slipped out the door. He looked back at Twilight and the mare was still trying to breathe and stay calm. “I just can’t believe that the whole case is gone and I didn’t stop it.” She muttered. “What could you have done? You were clearly not here and that means you were unable to be able to stop the theft. Celestia said that she was not upset with you and that she would send you a letter about it. I would expect you will be hearing from her soon and you will see that I am telling you the truth.” “I know you are. I don’t think your lying to me, I just…” “I know.” He said to her and he reached out a hoof and set it on her shoulder. “You seem to enjoy beating yourself up for no reason. You’re jumping to the worst case scenario and refusing to see the more likely ones. It is very unlikely that Celestia would blame you and punish you for something you could not have controlled.” “But.” “No. Let me finish.” He said to her and she went silent. “Celestia is not going to punish you for the theft. You were not here and if you had been what if they were more than you could have handled alone? Even with Spike, you could have been overpowered. Do you think she would wish you to be harmed trying to stop a theft?” Twilight looked at the floor and then back to him and she shook her head. “No. She wouldn’t want me to get hurt.” “Exactly. Now I want you to look at the odds of her being angry at you and the odds of her being glad you’re okay and speak to you about how it could have been stolen?” Twilight was quiet for several seconds and he could see the numbers running through her mind as she suddenly broke out into a small smile. “The second one is more likely.” Shew admitted and her smile grew a bit. “Exactly. You’re jumping to the wrong conclusion and focusing only on the worst case scenario. Look at the more likely scenario and watch as it unfolds in front of you. You’re smart enough to know what would happen and what would more likely happen.” He said to her. She smiled and turned to more clearly face him. She got to her hooves and threw her forelegs around his neck and hugged him tightly. She nuzzled into his mane and he held her close. “Thank you.” She said to him. “Your welcome.” He said to her and patted her back. “Behind you Chosen.” Sasa called out to him and he looked over his shoulder as the feline and the girls were now standing in the doorway. Twilight looked up as Sasa purred loudly and she squeaked as she let go of him and backed up as her face flushed. He got to his hooves and stepped back to allow the girls to surround the purple mare. His orange eyes narrowed as he began to scan the room for anything that stood out as out of the ordinary. Sasa rejoined him and he looked up as Spike came down the steps carrying a scroll. He startled as the stallion looked at him, his eyes were narrowed. “What happened?” Spike asked him. “It’s normal for a Witcher.” He assured the baby dragon. “Oh. Okay. Hey Twilight.” He called out and the mare looked back as the girls spoke to her. “It’s a letter from Princess Celestia. She says that she is not mad at you and she will be coming by to talk to you directly.” “She’ll be coming here?” Twilight’s voice was quiet. “Think of the options and pick the most likely.” Oblivion called out to her from his place near the back of the Library. She looked at him and nodded as she closed her eyes and breathed to keep herself calm. She nodded and opened her eyes to look at him closely and a smile crossed her face. He went back to looking for anything out of the ordinary and found what he was looking for. He knew the hoof prints that belonged in the area and two sets stood out to him. Sasa stayed back as he whirled on his heel and followed the tracks out the door and to the side of the Library. The Library was not in a very busy area of Ponyville so it was possible that the thieves would be able to move the Elements without being seen. “Anything?” Sasa asked him as he walked carefully around the Library. He didn’t reply as he moved toward the back of the Library. His eyes narrowed further as he found a set of wagon tracks in the compact dirt. He raised his head and his eyes went back to normal as he looked at the tracks. Sasa came to stand up next to him she lowered her head to look at the markings on the ground. “Wagon?” She said to him and he nodded in reply. “How did they get it out of Ponyville without it being seen? Somepony should have seen it.” “Do you really think they would have seen it and known what it was?” He replied and she looked at him and then shook her head. “That’s a fair point.” She admitted. He shifted to the side and began to follow the faint marks in the dirt as the wagon moved through town. The Witcher was quiet as his hooves were silent on the dirt and the tracks led him out of town. He was silent as the tracks headed out of town and their path went toward the Everfree. He lowered his head to scan the tracks for any sign of a change in direction and found that they tracks had not been tampered with to alter their image. The tracks went in to the tall grass of the Everfree and his eyes narrowed to allow him to follow the trail easier. “Great. Into the Everfree we go.” Sasa grumbled form behind him. “You’re surprised?” “No. I just wish for once we didn’t have to traipse through here for answers.” She replied. He tracked through the grass and into a clearing after over a mile of tracking. Sasa came to walk next to him as he moved into the clearing and he could see the abandoned wagon close by. He moved up next to it and his orange eyes scanned the wagon for any clues and aside from a few scratches in the wood from the case there was nothing that would give any sign of who had taken the case that held the Elements of Harmony. Beside him Sasa gave a low growl and she shook her head as he stood next to the wagon. “Now what?” She asked him. He didn’t reply immediately as his mind went over what could have happened to the case and the ponies who had taken it. He began to move around the wagon and his eyes narrowed as he searched for anything more. He looked up as Sasa jumped out of the way and into the back of the wagon to stay out of the way as he began to circle the wagon. He started circling close to the wagon and slowly began to widen his circle as he went around the wagon and his search branched out. He looked up suddenly as an area of trampled grass caught his attention. He moved toward the spot and he branched out as he moved to follow the grass that had been moved and was laying partially over, as though it had been forced to lay down from the force of something moving over it. “What did you find?” Sasa asked. “Something…” He began but his words died in his mouth as he focused on what he was seeing. He followed the grass until it vanished at the edge of the clearing. The tracks vanished and he moved ahead to see if they picked up just beyond the edge of the clearing and he was met with nothing beyond what he had seen. He moved back into the clearing and he backtracked to follow them back to their source and then back to the edge once more. He circled the clearing to see if there was anything more and he was brought back to the edge of the clearing in the same spot. His eyes went back to normal and he nearly ran his claws over his face as Sasa sat up in the wagon to watch him. “What are you doing?” She asked him. “There are tracks that lead to the edge of the clearing and then vanish. There is a second set of wagon tracks but they… disappear.” He admitted. The cat jumped from the wagon and trotted to join him at the edge of the clearing and looks at the tracks. He walked away from her and back to the wagon they had with them and he scanned it once more for any clues. He startled as Sasa suddenly yowled and he looked back as the feline spun to look at him. “Could they have been using one of the flying chariots?” She asked him, her voice insistent. His eyes went slightly wider and he looked down at the tracks in the grass. The Elder Witcher moved to stand in between what would have been the wheels and looked at the dimensions compared to what he knew of the flying chariots. He moved his hooves to check the spacing of the wheels and his mind began to race over the scenarios and options that the flying chariot would allow. “Do you think they stole one or could they be in the guard and they got one that way?” She asked him as he looked over the wagons spacing and the chariots tracks in front of him. “We will be finding out when we go back to Canterlot.” He said to her. “Great. More teleporting.” She joked as she rejoined him and they began to walk out of the Everfree. He trotted into town as Celestia landed close by the Library. He waited for her to go inside and once the door had closed he approached the chariot. The Pegasus guards looked over at him and they chose to ignore him unless they were asked to do otherwise. He moved to the back of the chariot and set his hooves to measure the spacing between the wheels. He looked at the height it would need to be to bend the grasses in the field. “Well?” Sasa questioned. “They’re the same.” He replied. “They used one of Celestia’s chariots.” “Oh boy. Now what do we do?” “We wait for her to finish and inform her of what we have found. We need to know what the procedure is with the chariots and how there are taken out of the city. For now, we wait.” “Great.” Sasa griped. “We could just go in and talk to her.” “Do you want to panic Twilight after we finally got her calmed down?” The feline raised her head slightly higher and she looked at her and shook her head. “Fair point.” Oblivion looked up as the Library door opened and the tall Alicorn came out and headed toward the chariot. Her eyes widened at the sight of the Witcher and Sasa sitting happily in the chariot. Oblivion heard Sasa chuckle at the resigned look from the mare as she approached them. “Normally I am not afraid to see any of my ponies but I admit I am a bit uncertain if I am happy to see you or not.” She admitted with a laugh. He waited until she got close to him and he turned to look at the chariot. “How are your chariots handled?” He asked. “Why are we discussing the chariots I use?” She asked him, her tone curious. “I tracked the case to the back of the Library where it was loaded into a wagon. I followed the tracks to the Everfree where I found the wagon.” He explained. “There were tracks from a chariot much like your own in the clearing. I looked at your chariot and it is nearly an exact match.” Her eyes went wide at the implication. “You mean that somepony has one of my chariots and used it to get the Elements out of Ponyville without being seen?” “Yes.” “Oh wow.” She whispered. “So one of my chariots has possibly been stolen or misused? What are you thinking?” “Again, how are the chariots are handled?” He asked. “Are they signed out or are they assigned?” “They are signed out when they need to be used by the guards or myself. Are you sure it is one of my chariots or could it also be one of Luna’s?” “I think Luna’s are taller in the rear.” “That’s true. Hers do ride a bit higher.” She admitted. “We can check them as well if you would prefer.” “That will not be needed. Are you able to come with me back to Canterlot? We can look into the chariots and go over the sign outs for the last few days.” She asked as she got up into the chariot and scooted over to allow him to join her and Sasa. He hopped onto the chariot next to her and sat down. “I have the time.” He replied. “We would need to speak with Shining Armor to ensure that the sign outs are current.” She explained as the chariot began to move out. “Shining?” “He is involved in the sign out process.” She explained. He fell silent as the chariot took off and headed back toward Canterlot.