Chapter 4: Captured!
~The shock of hearing such a scream followed by Robin's dramatic entry left everyone stunned. It was Lightning who snapped out of it first.~
"Come on!" She cried. "Let's try and stop her!"
~Fluttersy tried to shout wait, but before she or anyone else could protest, Lightning was out of the door, urging Robin to show the way, and rapidly followed by Alaxe the elf. Fluttershy and Rarity glanced at each other then made for the door themselves as well as the rest. Tad followed more slowly, looking extremely worried.~
"Which way is it?!" Pinkie cried as they burst from the cottage.
"Not sure." Twilight gasped, looking around wildly. "No...yes...I mean...this way. Come on!"
~Lightning, Robin and Alaxe were out of sight but the Rainbooms sprinted down the winding path in hot pursuit. Tad lumbered along behind them just as fast as he could. Running hard, The Rainbooms neared a rocky outcrop where the path swept out of sight. Fluttershy slowed and motioned the others to do the same. She could hear the sounds of a struggle just ahead. Moments later and panting heavily, Tad caught up with them.~
"Hide!" He growled. "Whatever you do, don't let her see you."
~With that, he shoved them off the path and behind the rocks and indicated that they should follow him as quietly as possible. But he only succeeded in getting Pinkie, Twilight, Applejack, Fluttershy and Rarity behind the rocks. Sunset Shimmer and Rainbow Dash, however, kept going since they were much faster than the rest. It was too late to call out to them, they disappeared ever so quickly. Keeping well hidden, the manticore led the rest of the Rainbooms he had with him around the outcrop to a place where they were within sight of the disturbance. Fluttershy stifled a gasp. A gnome was hanging in mid-air and struggling for all he was worth in what seemed to be an invisible grip casted by the Crone herself. A shadowy twisted figure whose bony fingers clutched the gnome. The long black cloak that seemed like the darkness itself, the greasy grey hair tumbling wildly about her shoulders, the cruel eyes and long, distorted nose covered in warts, and the mouth twisted in a snarl of hatred. Lightning, Sunset and Rainbow had come face to face with the Crone. They stood there panting alongside Robin and Alaxe, mesmerised by the sight. Hexia dropped the gnome to the ground where he lay whimpering in a limp bundle at her feet.~
"Well, what have we here?" She snarled. "New friends of these pathetic subjects of mine? Or what? How many?"
"We are not afraid of you, Crone!" Lightning said bravely.
"Yeah! Leave these forest creatures alone!" Rainbow demanded.
Hexia sneered. "You dare give me orders?! Who are you?! Where did you come from?!"
~She flashed a long black rod from the folds of her cloak. Robin reached for his bow and Alaxe went to draw his sword, but they were too late. There was a blinding flash and a cloud of smoke. When it cleared the two animals found themselves frozen to the spot. Totally paralysed, they could only watch in dread as the Crone advanced upon them.~
"We are not telling you anything!" Lightning folded her arms.
"Because we aren't in the mood for talking…" Sunset glared.
"Oh no!" someone suddenly whispered.
~Everyone turned around to see Joskye, Swift and Argie approach them sneakily from behind. They crouched alongside them and watched, horrified and helpless as the three girls were drawn towards the horrible darkness of Hexia. Pinkie Pie tried to cry out from her hiding place, but Tad gripped her firmly with his paw and motioned her to keep silent.~
"What are they doing?" Argie asked.
"I don't know, but we gotta stop them!" Joskye worried.
"Wait! Joskye, don't!" Swift cried quietly.
~Thinking of nothing, Joskye reached for Lightning and, as he did so, his feet lost balance and he fell out of the bush into plain sight. The Crone glanced to where he had fallen on the path and sneered. Then, with a cackling laugh, two foul creatures with olive green, reptilian skin and vicious looking teeth appeared behind him, pinioned his arms by his sides and dragged him to his feet. Six more then appeared and grabbed Lightning, Sunset and Rainbow too. They yelped in surprise.~
Leaning forward to their ears, Hexia whispered. "Come with me." Then she led them away.
Lightning showed a glare, then pulled back. "What? No! We are not going anywhere with you!"
~Hexia drew her black rod again. She waved it, and another flash occurred. When it cleared, Lightning fell unconscious. The Crone smirked, then continued on. As soon as Hexia, the disgusting creatures and the others were out of sight, Tad, Argie, Swift and the five Rainbooms rushed from their hiding place and tried to revive Mas, and his would be rescuers. Hexia and the others were well out of sight and it was only then that the paralysis also began to wear off. As their limbs regained movement and they found that they found speak again, the full horror of what had happened began to sink in.~
Tad groaned. "Oh dear, dear me. How dreadful this is! If only she had used the mirror wisely instead of rushing ahead like that." He sat down on the ground, a heap of despair.
"That's not fair!" Pinkie Pie sighed loudly. "How was Lightning, Sunset and Dashie to know?"
Fluttershy took a deep breath and sighed glumly. Alaxe and Robin seemed at a loss as to what to do. At last Alaxe went across where Tad sat and breaking the silence with a polite cough said. "Shall I round up a party to go after them, sir?" The elf's tone of voice said it all- it was hopeless.
"No…" Tad shook his grey head and groaned. "That will not do. It would harm everyone she's got in any case. No, let me think for a moment.
Swift, though she felt sick with worry for her elder brother, went across and stopped down beside the manticore. She put her arm gently around him. "Come on, Tad. Don't give up." She said. "I'm sure there's an answer. I mean, you said that the world has sent these girls, so maybe somehow this is all meant to happen as well, I suppose."
~Tad looked up into her face and smiled. The rest of the Rainbooms did too.~
"Anyway, somehow we've got to get our friends back!" Applejack added fiercely.
"We have to." Rarity nodded with her.
Tad patted Swift's hand. "Yes, of course, we must and we will get them back if it's possible. Silly me. I just felt so taken aback by the turn of events. So excited to see you and then crushed by...by all this. I'm getting old, my dears. Maybe I'm losing my touch. You understand, don't you?"
~Swift smiled and kissed the old manticore, feeling she loved him. He rose onto his hind paws.~
"I know Hexia well enough; she isn't going to kill your friends, otherwise, she could have done so at once. My guess is that she will keep them as hostages, to find out more about you, and that gives us a little time to make some plans."
~Alaxe, Robin and Fluttershy tended the poor Mas. Fortunately, they had reached him just in time and he seemed to be making a quick recovery.~
"Sh...she just appeared from nowhere and grabbed me." He gasped. "I don't know why. I wasn't doing anything."
~Grim-faced, Alaxe looked across to Twilight, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie and Fluttershy.~
"It appears to have been a deliberate decoy to get us here." he growled. "I think she knew of your coming."
~The elf's eyes narrowed suspiciously and the remaining Rainbooms knew at once he did not trust them. That, and the possibility that Hexia could read the signs too, that she could know, made them feel very uncomfortable.~
Fluttershy shivered, realising that it was growing dark. "Can we go back to your house, please?" She asked quietly.
~Tad glanced at the dying sun and the lengthening shadow of the gaunt trees. He nodded, seeming to understand how the girls felt. It was almost dark by the time they reached the cottage door and already the first stars were appearing. Tad stopped with his paw to where there was a gap between the treetops. A bright star lay just above the horizon glittering like a globule of molten silver. The sight of it brought an unexpected trickle of hope in the girls' heart.~
"The stars have risen." whispered Tad. "All will be well, you'll see."
~High in an empty mountain pass, The Prince saw that same star and was glad. For several days, he had trudged through the foothills of the range of mountains until he had begun to climb a high pass. Once he made it through to the other side he knew he would be in sight of the Great Forest of Caisar. Night fell, but still he battled on.~
"I can't give up now. I mustn't give up." He muttered to himself.
~He reminded himself over and over of his dream as he struggled on. Other forces might want to turn him back, but this was his destiny. Gritting his teeth, he yelled defiance at the wind and pressed on. Almost faint with exhaustion, he came through. Now high up in the cold, clear, air he saw sky again, and the stars. Beneath its lights he made his crude camp. It was simply a blanket in the lee of an overhanging rock, and a far cry from the comforts of home, but it would do. The Prince was tough and well trained in the rugged skills of outdoor life.~
With a yawn, he settled in. "Tomorrow, I will take the track down to the Waste Plains before reaching the forest." he said.