Twilight POV
Again with this library having everything but the one thing I'm looking for??!! First, Cassiel having weapons and magic that nopony knows anything about, then the Heartless, and now Equinox? To make matters worse, not even he knows how or even what he did! And how can he not be even the least bit disturbed by the events of the Dragon Migration?! I've sent Princess Celestia a letter in hopes of her having something in the archives even slightly related to this, but she hasn't gotten back to me.
Equinox. He just keeps raising more questions, and giving no answers. Where did he come from? Where did he learn to use that kind of magic? How-why does he seem to not feel anything?
"Just give it a rest, Twi." Spike said as he put another book away.
"I can't just drop it, Spike. There has-"
"If there was basically nothing on dragons, why would there be something on a species that's either completely new, or so far in the past that the rediscovery alone would make history? Not to mention weapons and magic completely unknown to the Princesses?" He interrupted.
"I need answers! Once again, a human appears out of nowhere with powers nopony knows about, and we were attacked by Heartless, again! It's becoming like Cassiel all over again! Except we're not getting answers from him this time, and dealing with him is like talking to a ponyquin!"
"Well I don't think Garble and the others becoming Heartless has anything to do with Equinox for one, and he not only saved us, but them too in a way, right? Even Rainbow, Rarity, and Applejack are warming up to him after that day. Why won't you give him a chance?" He asked.
"He didn't save them if Princess Celestia and Princess Luna were right about keyblades, or whatever Cassiel used, and it's because of-"
"He's not Cassiel, Twi! He's acted nothing like how any of you described him! The only things I know about Cassiel are what you all said about him; how he had no regard for life, rude, almost sadistic, no respect for others, but like Equinox, none of you know why he was like that. Nopony even tries to acknowledge it was him that saved Ponyville back then. It could just be amnesia in Equinox's case, but has nopony considered what might have made Cassiel the way he was?"
"Nothing could possibly justify murder, Spike. Nothing could possibly justify the Heartless. And nothing could possibly justify him leaving us to fend for ourselves against monsters that supposedly only he had the means of destroying completely!"
"He had no right to leave when nopony wanted him around, going out of their way to make his day more difficult, even after saving everypony and nearly getting himself killed? Do you not see how contradictory that is? I'm not defending him, but he killed a murderer, Twi! A pony who killed her own daughter for money from what I heard! At least he had a better reason!"
"We're not discussing this anymore! I'm getting to the bottom of this and ensuring we never have to deal with another human like them or Heartless if it's the last thing I do!"
"Were it that easy..." A deep voice spoke from out of nowhere, startling us.
"Who's there?! Show yourself!" I lit my horn as Spike got behind me.
"All in due time. Not that you'll be able to do anything then either. Until we meet again, all of us..." The voice faded out.
(Remnant, Anima)
The girl found someone who could take her to the one she seeks, she had encountered him before for the same reason. Everyone inside the camp backed away from her as she walked past the front gate into the camp. Moments later, an older woman who closely resembles her, but with black hair and red eyes stepped out of her tent to greet the newcomer, her daughter.
"What is it you need this time, Yang?" The woman asked as they both entered the tent.
"Right to the point, huh, Raven? Not even going to ask how things have been since Mistral?" Yang asked.
"Calling your own mother by her name?" Raven dodged the question.
"Not important. I'm here for one thing, then I'm gone. You're going to take me to my brother." Raven scoffed at Yang's demand.
"I didn't know Tai had another child, and have you already forgotten how my Semblance works?" Raven asked.
"I haven't, and I'm talking about Cassiel. If Ren is anything to go by, there might be more to it than you know." Yang answered.
"Well sorry to crush that little thing you call 'hope', but my Semblance can't open portals to the afterlife if that's who your 'brother' is." Raven said, harshly.
"He's not dead." Yang told her.
"And what makes you so sure of that?" Raven asked.
"Because of what he said, and I used the last question of the Lamp." Yang answered.
"You what?!" Raven raised her voice. "Why would you use the Relic for that?!"
"Because Cassiel somehow had Maiden powers,-"
"How??!!" Raven interrupted.
"I'm guessing those 'keyblades' or whatever they were called can unlock more than doors like the Vaults. I can guarantee at least one of us on the team was in his final thoughts, but none of us became Maidens. I asked the Lamp, but it didn't have an answer to the first question, so that one didn't count apparently. I asked it if he was still alive, and the answer was 'yes'."
"... What is it he said?"
"That he was 'returning to Darkness', whatever that means."
"Let's say there is more to my Semblance than even I know, why would I help you this time?" Raven asked.
"Because if it weren't for him, Vernal would be dead, Salem would likely still be alive, and by extension, you would still have a target on your back. He single handedly did in a few hours what Ozpin had been trying to do for hundreds, possibly thousands of years. You owe him your life as well as Vernal's, the least you can do is try to bring him back!" Yang got up in Raven's face.
"Maybe you should see if Ruby has made any progress?" Raven suggested.
"Last I saw, she hasn't. She doesn't go anywhere without his keyblade, and she's only recently learned how to turn it into a scythe. Why would you suggest her?" She asked, suspicious of Raven.
"I watch the news, Yang. I saw her clinging to that thing like her life depended on it, and it wasn't disappearing. When someone else held Summer's, it reappeared in her hands a few seconds later, so it is hers for now if he is alive. The other reason is because of the portals he kept opening during the battle at Mistral, something Summer could never figure out how to do. If your sister can figure out how, she can probably take you to him."
"So you have nothing for me then? Not even going to try links between other people?"
"You're not wrong when you say I owe him a lot, but there's nothing I can do because my portals are severely limited compared to what he kept using. Things might've been different if I went with all of you, at least then I would've seen the impossible happen first hand."
"Well it's too late for that now, isn't it?" Yang asked, harshly.
"He was right. Your sister was right. Summer was right. Qrow was right. Tai was right. Even if the hope given was false, Salem could still be defeated, she could still be destroyed. It's too late for regrets, but if what you say is true, it's not too late to save him. Contrary to my attitude earlier, I would help you now and at least set one thing right if I could, but that's out of my power what you're asking of me." Raven couldn't look at her daughter as she said this.
"Then I guess I'm waiting on Ruby then." Yang said, less than pleased with the result of her search. As she was about to leave, Raven stopped her.
"If you're about to head back home, at least let me do this for you." Raven exited the tent and used her sword to open a portal.
"That eager to get rid of me?" Yang asked as she turned her motorcycle towards the portal.
"No, just trying to help in the only way I can. For what it's worth, I'm sorry." Raven said farewell to her daughter.
"Didn't you just say it's too late for regrets?" Yang stopped a foot away from the portal. "Thank you, mom." She pushed the motorcycle through.
"Don't mess this up, kid." Raven thought to herself before re-entering her tent.