Chapter 26-
Patchwork
Rumbling. That was the only sound. Not the rumbling of thunder or a waterfall. No. This was a lower, muffled rumbling like those of an earthquake, completely stuffing the ear canal until it was all that he could hear. This sensation filled Chris’s existence as he stood, blood-soaked and dirty, at the end of the medical hall. Blurry shapes and colors filled his vision, some of the figures rushing about and causing the occasional crash of sound against the low rumble in his ears. His only focus was a door at the other end of the hall. The last place he’d seen Sweetie Belle before she’d been rushed through by a pack of colorful shapes. He’d been stopped at the front of the room, he didn’t remember by what, left to watch and wait in silence.
It was in this state that another shape approached him, thunder suddenly interrupting his earthquake of silence. The man didn’t respond, only continued to stare at the door, waiting for something, anything. He didn’t even utter a sound as light tingling made its way up to his brain, the details of the doorway suddenly moving around on their own.
You may want to pay attention, young man.
Like a shot, everything seemed to rush back at him, the medical hall returning to sharp focus as he sucked in air, having not realized he had exhaled but never inhaled. He looked up in confusion into the teal eyes of Artemus, her worried gaze finally registering in his mind as he finally felt the hand she had placed on his arm. They locked eyes, searching one another for several quiet moments. “...I’m sorry, what?”
The Alicorn let out a breath she had been holding, straightening up before repeating her question. “How are you holding up?”
Her words were barely above a whisper, but for some reason, they boomed like thunder in his ears. They bounced around in his head, ideas following behind the statement until, finally, he had only one answer. Gray eyes shimmered as Chris’s stoic, blank expression seemed to melt into true agony. He lunged forward, all but tackling the Alicorn as he clung to her for dear life. “It’s all my fault,” he sobbed, shoulders shaking as tears stained the front of the mare’s gambeson. “I shouldn’t have rushed in! I should have made a plan! If I had then- then-!” His throat choked up until no sound escaped him except for wordless cries.
Artemus stared down in shock at the young man, but her expression quickly melted away, brows furrowing and a small, quaking frown forming on her face as she brought her arms up to rest her hands on his shivering back. Her hands rested against him, one hand rubbing up and down mechanically. The silver mare’s teeth suddenly flashed as she wrapped her arms around the young man, drawing him in close as her features scrunched up in sadness. Tears snuck out from under her eyelids, trailing down her cheeks to fall from her chin onto Chris’ shoulders.
“I’m so sorry…” she whispered sorrowfully. “We shouldn’t have left you out there alone…. We knew what was coming. So listen to me when I tell you,” she paused to pull away slightly and raised a hand to tilt his chin up to look into her eyes, “what happened to Sweetie was not. Your. Fault.”
Drowned gray eyes looked up at the mare, his drooping features twitching now and again. The young man hid his eyes behind his wrist with a last sniffle as he rubbed away the tears. He paused and took a deep breath, seeming to calm himself a bit. He lowered his arm, his sad gaze cast on the ground to his side. He gave a slight nod, and Artemus let her shoulders relax a bit. Before either could continue, though, the doors leading to the rest of the castle burst open, Chris barely sidestepping to avoid being implanted into the wall as the heavy metal door crashed into it.
“WHERE IS SHE!?” Chris cringed as Rarity’s shrill cry tore through the air of the medical hall, the white mare’s expression nothing more than worry and terror. “Where is my Sweetie Belle!?” The unicorn looked around the room, eyes narrow as she searched, some of the staff and patients looking back in shock or curiosity, though most of the room gave her as little mind as she gave them. At least until her eyes landed on the young man standing next to the door. “You.” The mare’s eyes flashed with flames, his own shrinking in fright as she stomped toward him.
The ranger couldn’t help but step back as the heat of the mare’s fury grew closer. He was hardly aware of Artemus stepping forward, holding her arms out down next to her waist in a non-threatening display. “Please, Miss Rarity-”
“Get out of my way!” The alicorn’s eyes widened as a loud screech filled the room, her metallic boots scraping against the smooth cobblestone as a light blue aura surrounded and moved her aside.
Chris’s gray eyes were filled with azure as the tall, white mare grabbed the front of his vest and yanked him closer to her. “How could you!?” She shouted, lips curled back in a snarl. “How could you let anything happen to her!?” Chris didn’t, or couldn’t, answer as the older unicorn shook him roughly. His mind froze as the words rattled around in his mind, reaching into his soul and yanking at the strings. It wasn’t until he felt something cold and wet fall on his collar that he came back to reality, finding the mare’s fiery eyes replaced by blue orbs drowning in tears. “You promised her.”
The air grew silent as the words rang out. Not one of them moved. Not one of them dared to. Chris stared at Rarity as she stared back at him, his mouth open, but the words froze in his throat. Slowly, his lips closed, and moisture began to well up in his eyes once more. An orange hand gently took the white mare by the shoulder, turning her to face Applejack’s green eyes. “Just breathe, sugarcube,” the farm pony said gently, moving a stray hair of the unicorn’s frazzled mane out of her face. “Ya know he ain’t ta blame fer what happened….”
“Yes, I am.” The simple words boomed like a gong, drawing the three mares’ attention back to the blond man. His eyes were glued to the ground, hair and shadow overcasting most of his face. “I went out there without a plan. I didn’t take full stock of the situation. I’m the reason they attacked in the first place.” He paused, his hands curling up into tight fists until his nails dug into flesh and a drop of blood hit the floor. “Maybe it would be better if I had never-”
“Don’t ya dare finish that.” Chris flinched, still looking at his feet before raising his gaze slightly to watch Applejack march towards him. “We might be dead if it wasn’t fer yer help. Everythin' you’ve done ta better the Resistance has been beneficial, and ya haven’t failed us yet. But, if’n you start thinkin’ like that, ya will.” The blonde mare huffed through her nose and turned to look between Rarity and the young man. “No one in this room is to blame fer what happened. So, instead of wallerin’ in pity, why don’t we put our thoughts on somethin’ positive like Sweetie gettin’ better?” No one spoke a word after the earth pony’s telling off, but, after a moment’s hesitation, the man looked past the green-eyed mare to Rarity, the purple-maned unicorn returning his gaze. They both looked away shamefully, giving similar nods.
The sound of a door opening caught all of their attention, bringing their eyes to the end of the hall where they could see Apple Bloom walking towards them, her usually pristine scrubs wrinkled and stained. She stopped a few feet away from them, eyes on the floor as she left her hands in her pockets. The silence stretched on until the redheaded mare let out a sigh. “Sweetie Belle…” she started, her voice strained as she kept her emotions in check. “...There’s nothing else we can do. We took care of every puncture wound, patched up internal injuries, set bones… but there’s still so much worse. Part-” The mare had to stop and catch her breath as her words caught. “...Part of her skull collapsed, resulting in serious brain trauma. Pieces of her ribs went into her lungs. There’s nothing we could do about her horn.” Apple Bloom stopped again, but this time she couldn’t hold off the tears that streamed down her face. “I’m sorry… we can’t save her.”
Silence permeated the air for several seconds before a world-ending scream shattered it. Rarity Diana Belle hit her knees as she felt her heart ripped from her chest, screaming as tears rained from her eyes. But none of this was heard by Chris Scott. Once more, everything was reduced to the low rumbling in his ears, his sight blurring until there was nothing more than blurry shapes and colors once more. She wasn’t going to make it. Sweetie Belle was going to die. And, despite the insistence of those around him, he knew who was to blame.
Not the greatest thoughts to have at a time like this.
Chris jerked visibly as the voice from earlier spoke to him again. Who are you? He questioned mentally, slowly beginning to put up whatever mental barrier he had.
You already know, but that’s unimportant, the presence answered, the young man feeling a hand being waved dismissively. Right now, what is important is keeping that little mare of yours alive, is it not?
Chris’s shoulders slumped at that. If you’re actually in my head, the blond argued, then you already know that there’s nothing that we can do.
There’s nothing they can do, the voice corrected. You, on the other hand, have been working on the solution long before this morning.
The young man’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion for a moment before images and plans suddenly appeared in his mind. In an instant, every single one of his defenses were up, the sensation of having information “uploaded” to his mind all too familiar. “Psycho!” Chris exclaimed as he entered his mindscape, stepping into a fighting stance. In front of him stood just who he expected to see. The Psycho Ranger stood not ten feet away from him, arms held behind his back as he did nothing to hide his presence. However, unlike the last time he had seen the evil ranger, his armor had changed colors, the black under armor now an off white, just darker than his shin guards and gauntlets that still swam with pitch-black energy, the colored accents of the suit a dark blue.
“Hello, Christian,” Psycho answered, his demeanor calm.
The young man waited for the figure in front of him to make a move, but, after what felt like an eternity, nothing happened. “...What the hell are you up to?” Chris questioned, never once letting his muscles loosen.
The ranger simply shrugged and turned to look off into the distance. “Not much of anything, really,” it answered, voice even. “After you awakened me, I’ve simply been trying to help you. I can’t very well continue to exist if you die, after all.”
“So that’s it then?” Chris accused, tensing even further as his lips curled back. “You’re just looking out for yourself.”
The armored being in front of him scoffed at that. “If I was only looking out for myself, what reason would I have for trying to help you help your… what was the term you use? ...Ah, yes, marefriend.” It turned its head to look at the man from behind its black visor. When Chris didn’t respond, its armored shoulders slumped. “You did look at the plans I injected, didn’t you?”
Chris didn’t answer, his eyes still glued to the figure. After a moment, he closed his eyes and focused. Images of his workshop appeared in his mind, a table in the middle on which sat the metallic frame of the body he’d been building for Samson. And then another image. Of a robotic filly. Gray eyes snapped back open. “Hell no,” the man said forcibly, snarling a bit.
“Why not?” The ranger asked, turning to face him again, arms finally coming out from behind his back to cross over its chest. “You want to save her, don’t you? This is your best chance of doing so.”
“There are so many holes in that, I don’t even know where to start,” Chris replied, putting a hand to the bridge of his nose. “First off, the android isn’t even near ready. It’d take me another month or two just to get it finished. Second, all my designs are to put a soul with no body into it. I’d have to find a way to pull not only her soul but her mind out and replace it in the android. I don’t have the time to do all of that if she’s already sitting at death’s door.”
“What if you made the time?”
Chris blinked at that. “...What are you talking about?”
The specter in front of him let out a sigh and grabbed the front of its helmet. “I swear, if I didn’t know any better, I’d say your memory is waning,” it muttered before looking back up at him. “A time dilation spell, like the one the purple one used on us.”
The blond allowed the words to roll around in his head for a moment before he answered. “The theory is solid…” he consented before shaking his head. “But still, we can’t perform a spell like that. Time isn’t exactly an element.”
“No,” Psycho agreed, drawing a bit closer. “But maybe we don’t have to cast the spell. What if we got someone else to cast it?”
“But who do we know that can-”
“Do not finish that sentence!”
Chris promptly snapped his mouth shut as the figure chastised him, the white armored figure rubbing the black glass of its visor. “We are in a world of talking, upright ponies,” the specter finally said, looking up again. “A world that you have much more knowledge than I do. So how is it I can figure out who you need for this job?”
The man thought for a moment on this before his eyes widened. “Starlight Glimmer.”
“Yes!” Psycho exclaimed, throwing its hands in the air. “However, we’ll need more than just her.” With a swipe of his hand, the ranger sent images through the air, each one unfolding before Chris’ eyes. From left to right, he saw Sunset Shimmer, Scootaloo, Apple Bloom, and Heavy Ladle. “We’ll need the expertise of the first three. Magic, engineering, and medical science.”
“And Heavy Ladle?” Chris questioned, quirking an eyebrow as he looked up from the image towards his hitchhiker.
“We’ll need someone who can prepare sufficient nutrition for you and the others while under the effects of the time dilation,” Psycho pointed out before the images faded. “So… what do you think?”
The man paused as he thought over the specter’s plan. On the one hand, all the pieces fit together, and there was sound logic to it. But something still bothered him. “What’s in it for you?”
A breath of laughter escaped the ranger across from him, the figure once more turning away. “Absolutely, nothing,” it answered as it looked off into the distance. “In my current state, I could never overtake your mind. Even given time to stockpile power, I alone could not beat you.” The figure glanced towards the young man, eyeing him for a moment. “After so much time and effort, I am at your mercy.”
Chris stared at the avatar inside his head, mulling over every word he’d just heard, calculating every risk in actually believing any of them. “...Fine,” he murmured, relaxing from his fighting stance. “We’ll do it your way.”
“Excellent-”
“But!” Chris’s sharp bark cut the ranger off completely, Psycho even taking a step back from the force of the single word. “If this comes back to bite me or hurt anyone,” gray eyes looked up with the intensity of a cornered beast, “I’ll kill you first.”
Psycho didn’t say a word for a moment, its confidence diminished by the stare it was receiving. “I… I understand,” it answered with a bow of its head.
Gray eyes burrowed into the armor of the phantom in his mind, still untrusting of the evil persona. Slowly, he let his mind ease and let his focus return to the outside world, which immediately assaulted him with ear-piercing wails. Chris winced, opening his eyes to find Rarity still on the floor, crying into Applejack’s shoulder as the blonde earth pony tried to comfort her. Apparently, not much, if any, time had passed while he was dealing with the voice in his head. Speaking of, a quick search revealed that Psycho was sitting deep in his mind, his presence barely noticeable. Good, the ranger thought, focusing on the situation at hand.
With a slight frown on his face, he moved forward until he could lower himself down beside the distraught mare, sharing a glance with Applejack before placing a hand on Rarity’s open shoulder. “I’m so sorry…” he whispered, his eyes tearing up a little before he wiped his eyes and cleared his tightening voice. “...But… I might have an idea.”
Rarity curled closer to Applejack at the words, the farm pony in question glaring daggers at the man. A clearing throat caught his attention before he heard the sound of metallic boots coming towards him. “Chris…” Artemus spoke up in a soft but stern tone. “I don’t think this is the time for heroics.”
Chris closed his eyes and took a deep breath, exhaling before he straightened up to his full height. “I agree,” he muttered as he opened his eyes and looked back at her and Apple Bloom. “But this isn’t about heroics. This isn’t about pulling some crazy shit out of my ass just to prove what I can do. This isn’t about war or soldiers. This is about Rarity’s little sister. Apple Bloom’s friend. The mare I love.” He didn’t realize his knuckles had turned white as he was speaking, reopening the holes he’d already dug into his hands. “I have something that can save her. All I need is a little more time.”
The two mares stared at him dumbly, the young man even realizing the loud crying had devolved into low sobs. It took a moment before Apple Bloom spoke up in a tight voice. “Chris… she’s out of time.”
“Then we’ll make time,” he insisted, his gaze moving to her. “How much does she have?”
Bloom stared back at him with wide, disbelieving eyes. “Th-thirty minutes at the most,” she stuttered out. “What could you possibly do with thirty minutes?”
“I’ve done more with less,” the ranger muttered before he shook his head. “But still, that might not be enough….” He stopped, putting a knuckle to his chin as he tried to think. An image of Discord in his stasis chamber popped into his head, and, begrudgingly, he had to thank Psycho for his input. “What if we put her in one of the spare stasis pods?”
“Um,” the red-maned mare answered, her face scrunching up before she visibly started doing the calculations in her head. “With her rate of decay… it could give us… six hours? Eight at the most.”
“We’ll have to make do with five, then,” Chris stated, his heart already starting to pound out of his chest. He turned, and he looked at Artemus. “How quickly can you gather Sunset, Starlight, Scootaloo, and Heavy Ladle?”
The alicorn’s eyebrow lifted at that, her expression changing to bewilderment. “I can give a call to everypony except Miss Heavy Ladle,” she answered, her expression not changing. “What are you planning to do?”
“Better I explain it once, so we don’t waste time,” the man answered, already doing mental math in his head and counting on his fingers. “Have them all meet me at my lab.” He paused and turned to Apple Bloom. “Bloom, I need you to get Sweetie into one of those pods yesterday and then meet the rest of us at my lab.”
“On it,” the young mare answered, quickly turning tail and racing back down the hall, barking orders into her communicator.
Chris looked to the others. “We have no time to waste,” he explained, turning and starting to leave the medical hall. “I need to go get my lab ready while we wait for the others. After that, no rest until we succeed or our timer runs out.” With no other words, the man slipped out of the large hall and raced off in a blur of orange and yellow, leaving Artemus, Applejack, and Rarity to stare after him.
Beep… Beep… Beep…. It was the only sound to fill the small area. The sound of a heart rate monitor doing its job. That and the quiet breathing of a sleeping pink pegasus. There were no longer any bandages wrapped around her body, Chris’ miracle bean having worked its magic, but still, the pegasus slept on, rolled over on her side to keep pressure off her back where her wing was still missing.
Next to her sat a deathly quiet Cobalt, his yellow eyes glued to her sleeping form as he leaned back in his chair, one hand covering his lips as the other hung limp over the side. He had done as his leader had suggested and had given the bean to Firefly the moment she was awake. Almost instantly, her wounds had mended themselves, but it appeared that the magic could not restore what wasn’t there. And so he had sat, and they swapped a few sentences before she grew tired again and had drifted off to sleep. It had not been a very… uplifting conversation to have.
Only the stallion’s ear twitched as some of the curtains were moved out of the way, a silent Aria Blaze stepping into view before the curtains moved back into place. Just like the other sirens, she had been given clothes that would be much less revealing, the violet sister now sporting a black crop jacket, jade green tank top, dark blue jeans, and black high-rise sneakers. She didn’t speak as she stood next to the curtain, her mulberry eyes watching the dark Thestral closely.
He didn’t say a word, simply continued to watch Firefly as her chest rose and fell to the rhythm of her breathing. “...Y’know,” he suddenly murmured in a strained whisper, the siren perking up to listen. “I never even asked why she wanted to be a ranger….” He sighed and finally leaned back. “For me, it was an easy decision. I wanted to push myself further beyond the pony I was, and I couldn’t do that where I was. Chris was so accepting of my secret, of my unnatural powers, that he established himself as the de facto leader I’d gladly follow. But Firefly,” he paused and blew air from between his lips, almost as if he were frustrated, “I have no idea why she joined….”
Aria shuffled a bit from where she was, her arms behind her back before she let out a sigh and let her hands rest on her thighs. “Cobalt…” she started quietly, her eyes on the floor before lifting to look at him. “We’re leaving.”
The dark blue pony let out a tired sigh at that. “So you and your sisters decided, then?” He asked, not looking up.
The seapony nodded in response, still not looking up. “Adagio thinks we’re in more danger here than if we struck out on our own,” she began to explain dryly. “And after what I’ve seen today… I think I’m starting to agree.”
Cobalt Steel was quiet for a moment, watching Firefly’s breathing for a moment more before he leaned forward in his chair. “So,” he started, voice even quieter as he rested his arms on his knees and clasped his hands together. “Everything we talked about last night… what was that?”
It was Aria’s turn to sigh, looking off towards the side. “I don’t know, good sex?” She suggested, a slight shrug moving her shoulders. She was quiet for a moment before she grimaced and finally looked towards him. “We’re scared, Cobalt,” she declared, voice desperate. “We’ve literally lived under the ass of an evil sorceress for over a decade. She took everything from us. She made us watch as she burned an entire world to ashes. We thought maybe, just maybe, you guys would be able to keep us safe. It was you guys that took her on, on her own turf and even managed to kill that goddamn dragon,” Cobalt winced at that but didn’t interrupt, “and we thought we could trust you guys to take care of us. And… you did….” Her voice shrank to an echo, her eyes moving away from his face. “We’ve been free for almost a month, and you’ve shown us more kindness than we’ve seen in our entire lives….” She paused and bit her bottom lip before she continued. “You’ve shown me so much kindness….”
The stallion finally looked up as the siren began to move towards him, stopping next to his chair. He looked up into her eyes, yellow searching mulberry, and vice versa. Finally, they stopped and looked into each other, the answers they were both looking for found within the other’s eyes. Aria closed her misty eyes and leaned forward. Cobalt didn’t resist as he leaned forward, too, the pair sharing a tender kiss. It lasted only seconds before they each moved back, separating and opening their eyes. She lifted a hand to his cheek, and he brought his over it, taking in a deep breath, taking in her scent before letting it out again. “I’m sorry…” he muttered quietly, looking up into her eyes again as they separated.
She blinked the building tears out of her eyes, giving a shuttering smile. “Me, too,” she replied before she took her hand back, turning and walking back towards the curtain. She stopped as she drew it open, her eyes on the floor. “...Goodbye, Cobalt.” She slipped away, the curtain falling back into place and leaving the Thestral alone with the still unconscious Firefly.
The Thestral watched her go, the curtain shifting back and forth for a moment before it stilled. After another moment, he sat back in his chair, his eyes once again on the sleeping mare beside him. He let out a tired sigh and closed his eyes, wondering how he had let things grow out of control.
Wheels rattled across the ground before the cart came to a stop next to a large metal table, the contents of which were covered by a large cloth tarp. Chris let out a breath as he straightened up from pushing the small metal rover to the center of his lab. His heart was pounding in his chest as he turned and looked around the workspace, making sure he had moved anything nonessential out of the way. To be fair, though, it wasn’t exertion that had his heart beating away. “What’s taking everyone so long?” He mumbled, his foot tapping nervously on the floor as he leaned back against the table. He’d taken his vest and bracers off, replacing them with a stark white lab coat that did nothing to lessen his nerves.
Not all of them are capable of the same speeds you are, Christian, Psycho’s voice reminded, having come forward after the young man had reached the laboratory.
“Maybe not,” the man consented, letting out a small breath. “But they can still teleport and things like that. Where are they?”
The entire castle is in chaos after that attack, the voice in his head chided. They are going as fast as they can, I’m sure, but that’s not what you need to focus on. Right now, you need to focus on calming yourself down. You’ll never accomplish your goal if your mind continues to be as disturbed as it is. Now, take a breath and relax.
Chris did as he was told, closing his eyes and beginning to take in slow, deliberate breaths. Slowly, his heart stopped racing, and his mind became clear, the tapping of his foot coming to a close. After a few more moments, he opened his eyes, taking one last, deep breath. “Thanks-”
The moment he opened his mouth, the sound of knuckles rapping against the wooden door, which led to his and Sweetie’s room, drew his attention away from his internal roommate. That’s strange, he thought, moving towards the door. Why didn’t they come through the training room? Without conscious thought, he found his defenses coming up, the faint crackle of Static reaching his ears as he put his hand to the knob. Slowly, he opened the door, just enough for him to peek through. He let his eyes widen a bit in surprise when he found himself staring into piercing green eyes.”Applejack?” The man questioned as he opened the door, seeing the farm mare standing in the doorway, Rarity behind her with her eyes on the floor. “What’s…” he continued, looking between the two mares, “going on?”
“We needed ta talk to ya before you ’n the others got started,” the blonde pony answered firmly, stepping back away from the door. “In private.”
Chris’s brows furrowed in confusion, once again looking between the ponies before he stepped into his room, closing the door behind him. “Is there something wrong?” He asked, glancing down as he felt a slight bump against his leg, Rose staring up at him with her front paws on his leg.
“Nothing wrong… per se.” The man’s eyes were brought back to ponies in front of him, Rarity sitting on the edge of the bed, mindlessly petting Veral’s head as he nuzzled against her leg. Chris frowned, and he glanced at Applejack, who had stepped off to the side. The only response he got from the farm pony was a slight nod towards the fashionista. Gray eyes turned to the purple maned mare, analyzing every inch of body language.
“...Rarity.” The older mare winced at the sound of her name, slowly looking up with powder blue eyes. Chris slowly walked forward until he turned and sat on the bed next to her. “What’s going on?”
The unicorn stared at the man beside her, her lips starting to tremble as her shoulders shivered. She looked away from him and stared at the floor, her hands gripping the front of her skirt tightly. She let out a hiccup as she took a breath, shuddering as she closed her eyes and wiped away the tears that were starting to fall again. She shut her lips again as she tried to regain her composure, only managing to look older than she seemed, shoulders slumping as she bowed her head. “...I was a good little filly…” she finally spoke up, though not much more above a whisper. “I was so much like Sweetie… smiling, laughing, carefree,” she let out a little scoff, “as carefree as a Belle can be, anyway. As time went on, though… I grew tired of it. Being so prim and proper all the time, just as every lady should be.”
Chris raised an eyebrow at the sudden venom that appeared in the mare’s voice, pushing his question aside as she continued. “I suppose everypony goes through a rebellious streak,” Rarity muttered before she let out a hateful laugh, standing up and pacing towards the door that led to the rest of the castle. “Mine simply didn’t hit until I went off to higher schooling. I met some ponies, ponies that talked me into ‘loosening up.’ And, Celestia, did I.” At this point, the mare had started pacing in front of him, eyes still glued to the ground, lips pursed into a tight line. “Parties every other night, neglecting my studies, hating my parents just to hate them. I turned into the very thing I was so against… and, eventually, I paid for it….”
The mare stopped pacing and slumped into the couch across the room, eyes staring straight ahead. “I was in the second semester of my second year,” she mumbled quietly, her voice coming out like a ghost of itself. “Another party, more drinking… too much drinking… there was a colt there, a handsome young stallion.” She paused to sniff and wipe at her eyes. “I couldn’t have remembered his name that night if I had even bothered to try… I still can’t. We started talking, and one thing led to another. An innocent drunk kiss… making out… we found an empty room and-” The mare choked and stopped, closing her eyes and letting a few of her tears hit the floor, her shoulders shaking.
Chris started to get up only to stop as Applejack walked past him, sitting on the couch next to the white mare, wrapping an arm around her quaking shoulders and bringing her into a soft embrace. The room was quiet except for the silent sobs of the stark unicorn. The young man watched the two of them, his mind still processing everything he’d been told. And he was beginning to come to the most logical conclusion.
However, his train of thought was derailed as the blonde mare spoke up. “Rare an’ ‘er parents didn’t want the family name pulled through the mud,” she continued for the still crying mare. “So… they decided they would raise the baby an’ Rarity would continue her learnin’, but... .” Applejack pursed her lips and glanced at the unicorn in her arms before letting out a sigh. “Rarity couldn’t keep the filly until she could prove that she could take care of herself and the baby….”
All was silent for several moments. Chris looked between the two mares, waiting for one of them to speak up again. Neither of them did.
The man let all the breath out of his body with a long, tense blow, rubbing his hand over his eyes and forehead. “I assume Sweetie doesn't know any of this?” He asked, letting his hand drop as he looked back at them. At a nod from the fashionista, Chris only nodded his head a couple of times. “Right…” the ranger murmured, turning away from them for a moment to stare at the opposite wall. “...Right.” He turned to face the two mares, eyes hardened as blue and green eyes turned up to look at him. “Would you tell her…? If you could…?”
“In a second,” Rarity answered without hesitation, hand holding tight to Applejack’s.
Chris nodded at that. “I’ll make sure you get that chance,” he promised, expression never changing. “I don’t want to lose her, either.” He pushed himself up off the bed and started walking back towards his lab. “I’m sorry I can’t speak any longer. Time is not on our side.”
He heard a tired sigh behind him. “It never is….” The young man paused in the doorway at the sound of Applejack’s quiet voice. He didn’t reply as he slipped back into the lab and closed the door.
“Chris!” Gray eyes shot up as the shout pierced Chris’ ears and head. The black orb of his brother shot forward, the blond man taking a step back before Samson stopped a few inches short of his face. “I heard about what happened. I-I’m so sorry, Chri-”
“Shut up, Sam.” The simple statement came out low and soft, striking with the weight of a freight train as the orb stared at the steely eyes and angry frown of his brother. “We both made our mistakes. We both let our tempers get the better of us, and it is. Both. Our. Faults.” Chris paused and stared at his brother with his cold gaze, letting his words linger in the air. “Now, are you going to help us or not?”
A stressful breath seemed to escape from the black orb before Sam bobbed up and down in a nod. “Okay,” he answered slowly. “Let’s do this.”
With a nod of his own, Chris took a step back, opening his arms as if to embrace his ethereal brother. The orb across from him said nothing as the red and orange lights within began to glow a bit brighter before rushing forward.
“Wait!”
Dark aura exploded out from Chris before Sam could make contact with him, the bluish energy forcing the black sphere away from the young man. Sam shook as if clearing his head before leveling out with his brother’s eyes. “What the hell was that, Chris!?” He questioned before the shifting colors within his form slowed almost to a halt. “Oh, hell no….” Chris’s blood ran cold at that, the blond man taking the hand from his head as he looked up at his brother. Samson drifted closer, stopping only a few feet away from the young man as he scrutinized the gray-eyed man. “After all the shit you gave me, you went and unlocked your dark element, too? You fu-”
“It was not his doing.” Sam was silenced as the voice of Psycho spoke up again, a new orb of dark blue with transparent, almost clear electricity dancing around it forming behind Chris’ left shoulder, looking at its angry counterpart. “I took it upon myself to break my bonds using Chris’ anger as a catalyst because I didn’t particularly feel like dying.”
Samson was silent for several moments, seeming to contemplate this new information before he began to close the distance between himself and the manifestation of Psycho. “You’ve got thirty seconds to explain before I start ripping you apart.”
“It would seem,” Psycho immediately picked up, drifting back slightly to gain some space. “That when Harmony split the dark element into two, whether intentionally or not, she put more positive energy into one side and more negative into the other. This resulted in the imbalance that causes your dark powers to run rampant, whereas mine are much more… stable.”
“You’ve only got ten seconds left,” Sam growled, a spark of red electricity arcing over his form. “Nine. Eight. Seven-”
“I have a solution!”
The exclamation caught both brothers by surprise, Chris turning his full attention on Psycho. “What do you mean?” He asked, intrigue dripping from him.
“We can tame Samson’s dark element,” the orb answered, hovering up and down slightly. “However, it will require some… external assistance.”
“What kind of ‘external assistance’?” Samson interrogated, suspicion equal to his brother’s intrigue in his tone.
Psycho was silent for several moments before the sound of a sigh escaped him. “We will need the help of Harmony,” the spirit replied, a nervous twinge in its voice. “She is the one that split the dark element, to begin with, and we will need the help.”
A scoff drew the phantom’s attention to Chris just as his eyes stopped rolling. “I think the three of us against half of you is more than enough,” the man countered, crossing his arms impatiently. “After all, it only took me and Sam to finish you off the last time.”
“Except you won’t be with us.”
Chris stopped, turning his head to blink at the dark blue orb. “...I’m sorry, what?”
“You can’t fight with us,” Psycho reiterated, floating a little closer to the man. “When Samson and I engage my other half, whatever host entity we are within will be paralyzed during the duration of the battle, which could take several hours.” The orb fell silent as it watched Chris’s gaze fall in thought. “Besides that, you have a life to save.”
Gray eyes looked up in surprise, meeting the unflinching surface of Psycho’s form. After a moment, Chris’s expression became stoic, the man giving the orb a nod. “I’ll leave you guys to it, then,” he affirmed before looking towards Samson. “What do you think?”
The black orb was quiet for a moment before it sank a bit and let out a small sigh. “I think this is most likely a huge trap… but,” Sam floated back upwards, “I think it’s about time we took full control of our powers.”
“Then let’s do this,” Chris replied with a slight smirk. Each orb gave a small bob as the door sliding open drew their attention across the lab where the six mares he’d asked to meet him walked in. Starlight, Sunset, and Heavy Ladle each looked around, taking in every inch of the impressive lab space, Scootaloo cocking a hip with her arms crossed and face angry, Apple Bloom beside her with her hands in the pockets of her lab coat, Artemus hanging near the back.
“We’re all here,” Scootaloo grunted through her teeth. “You had better have a damn good plan.”
“If I called it anything, I’d call it desperate,” Chris admitted, drawing the attention of the others to him, several worried looks crossing their faces.
“What is the plan, Chris,” Bloom urged, taking a hand from her coat pocket.
Chris looked to the red-head before scanning the rest of the group he’d gathered, taking a deep breath before he began to explain. “My plan is this,” he murmured, his hand reaching out to the table beside him, grabbing the white blanket on top before he yanked it off. Underneath, a mish-mash of mechanical parts was revealed, elaborately and meticulously molded together to form the rough shape of a humanoid body minus a head, most of which had seemingly been assembled next to the machine. Bloom, Scootaloo, and Artemus all stared at the automaton with wide eyes, Heavy Ladle and Sunset flinching at the almost ghastly sight while Starlight wore a look of shock.
“Chris…” Artemus breathed, teal eyes tearing themselves from the amalgamation to look at the man. “What… what is this?”
“This,” the blond said, placing a hand on the arm of his work. “Is the secret project I’ve been working on recently. I call it ‘the puppet.’”
“What possible use could you have for that thing?” Sunset questioned, her muzzle scrunched up as she stared at it.
“And how does it help Sweetie Belle?” Scootaloo added heatedly, her ear twitching as she began to fume.
Chris looked over each of them for a moment before he began to explain. “Originally, this was meant to be a vessel for Samson.” The orb of his brother jolted a bit, shocked by what the man had said. “An empty, mechanical shell that he could use to stay independent from me.” Gray eyes looked down towards the unfinished machine, a sad look passing over them as his hand swept over the arm. “A body that could accept and house a soul.”
Everyone fell silent as Chris trailed off. The silence didn’t last long, though, as a certain purple-maned pegasus spoke up. “You plan to shove Sweetie into that!?” She practically screeched, taking a step forward as she brought her fists to her sides. “Are you bucking insane!?”
“I know it’s a long shot!” Scootaloo’s eyes widened with everyone else’s at the man’s yell. His fists held tensed at his sides, trembling as his head remained bowed. He looked up slowly, tears in his eyes. “But it’s the only plan we’ve got….”
True silence fell over the group. Scootaloo stared at him for a moment before her eyes went to the floor, holding her arm with the opposite hand. The rest of the group exchanged secretive glances with one another, each with conflicting thoughts… all but one. A hand fell on Scootaloo’s shoulder, and the pegasus looked up into warm, orange eyes. Apple Bloom gave a slight nod, her lips pursed together before she straightened up and looked to Chris. “What do you need from us?”
A small smile broke on the young man’s face at that, widening his stance and crossing his arms. “I’m going to need you, Scootaloo, and Sunset to help me finish the puppet,” He began to explain, pointing with two fingers to each of them as he named them. “With the four of us working together, we should have all the skills needed to finish it in…” he paused and did some mental calculations, “a little over a month.”
Faces paled at the estimate. “B-but, Sweetie Belle doesn’t have that kind of time!” Starlight exclaimed, taking a step forward with wide eyes.
“Which is exactly where you come in, Starlight,” Chris replied, looking at her directly. “You're the single most well-versed pony when it comes to time magic.” His face turned serious. “What I’m asking is nothing short of the single most taxing thing you’ll probably ever do, but… I need you to slow down the time in the lab and turn what time we have into the time we need.” He stopped and let his words sink in, searching her expression.
The mare was quiet for several moments, her eyes first searching him before they started to dart around the lab as if taking measurements. After another moment, she let her eyes fall to the ground at her feet. “...I can do it,” she answered, looking up at him as she dropped her hand from her chin. “I can turn every hour we have into another week, but that’s the most I can give you.”
“We can work with that,” Chris replied before turning his gaze. “Finally, and most importantly, if we shift time for us in here, that means we’re-”
“Going to need provisions,” Heavy Ladle interrupted, crossing her arms as she eyed the young man. “And I don’t see any form of food storage in this lab of yours. ...You’ll be needing my kitchens.”
The blond gave a nervous chuckle at that, rubbing the back of his neck. “That obvious, huh…” he murmured to himself, clearing his throat and looking back up. “That is the assistance I was going to ask you for, Miss Ladle. Are-”
“Are we up for it?” The pegasus interrupted again, looking at the young man sternly, a brow quirked up. She stared at him as he sputtered and looked to the ground again in embarrassment, her severe look fading as a small smile drew up on her lips. “Of course we are.”
The mare’s confirmation drew Chris’ attention back to her, his eyes finding her smile that caused his lips to widen in a grin. “Thank you, Miss Ladle,” he replied, the tension melting from his shoulders.
Heavy Ladle’s deep blue eyes met the young man’s, a sparkle in her sapphire orbs. "That's 'Heavy Ladle' to you, Christian," the mare teased gently as she turned towards the door and made her way out.
The young man stared after the older pegasus, a smile slowly spreading across his face. A moment passed, and a light push of his shoulder brought his attention behind him. Sam bobbed behind him, nodding towards their audience. “Right,” he murmured to himself before straightening up again as he let his sense of urgency replace the warm feeling in his chest. “The last thing we need is going to require your help, Artemus.”
“Anything you need,” she replied, the alicorn taking a step forward.
“We need to get Sam and Psycho to Harmony.” Every mare in the room tensed up, Starlight and Artemus igniting their horns and hands. The dark blue orb floated backward, taking a bit more cover behind the brothers he’d already been hiding behind. Chris glanced back at the globe, taking a step to the side to better cover the spirit. “I know what you might be thinking, but-”
“That thing has tried to kill you, Chris,” Artemus growled, raising her fists even higher. “It’s tried to kill both of you multiple times. Why on Equis would you let him roam free?”
“Because he saved my life, Artemus,” Chris answered, the mare’s anger quickly turning to confusion. “He’s the only reason I’m still alive and the only one that kept his head on long enough to come up with this plan.”
The room fell quiet at that, looks of unease going from one mare to another. “...You’re sayin’ the thing that tried to kill you,” Apple Bloom finally spoke up, looking back to the man. “Is the one that came up with a plan to save Sweetie Belle…?”
The young man nodded his head slowly at that, even more slowly starting to relax. “While I was brain dead after the news, he came up with the plan to save her,” he clarified, stepping aside to reveal the dark orb fully. “If it wasn’t for him, we’d be planning a funeral.”
The mood grew somber at that, everypony present slowly relaxing. Even Artemus let her hands fall, her horn starting to dim while her eyes stayed glued to the dark blue orb. “...If you say he is to be trusted,” she muttered, giving a sigh and looking down for a moment. “Then I will do what I can.”
Chris sighed and bowed his head at that. “Thank you,” he replied, looking back up. “Obviously, they’re not on the same time limit as us, but the sooner we nip this in the bud, the better.”
“I’ll see to it that it’s done,” the older alicorn answered with a small bow, turning a more brutal gaze on the two orbs. “Let’s go, you two.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Sam replied, shooting after the mare as she turned and left the room. Psycho seemed to glance at Chris before rushing to catch up to the others.
The blond let out a small breath and turned to look back at the remaining four mares. “You guys ready for this?” He asked, looking at each of them. The ponies exchanged looks amongst themselves before Starlight gave a little sigh.
“Let’s do it,” the unicorn replied, her features hardening. “I’ll be right outside the door, and it’ll take me a few minutes to get the spell going. I’ll flash a green light when things are going.”
“Roger that,” Chris replied, each giving a nod before the lavender mare turned and made her way out of the lab. “Once we get started,” he warned, looking to the others in the room, “we won’t have time to stop. I’ve got a cot set up in the corner with some pillows and a blanket, but it’s very small, so we’ll have to take turns. There’s a coffee pot and some mugs set up on the counter in the back. Help yourselves if coffee’s your thing. Last, I set up the chemical shower for anyone who needs to clean up, which, something tells me things are going to get messy from time to time, and the cabinet can lead to a toilet if you use the pin pad now.”
“You really thought of everything, didn’t you?” Scootaloo questioned, already making a beeline for the coffee pot.
“No, unfortunately, I can’t take the credit,” the man admitted, leaning against the table behind him, the incomplete android rattling as he did so. “If Psycho hadn’t kept my head on straight, who knows where I’d be right now.”
“Do you really trust him?” Apple Bloom asked, going past him and beginning to inspect the robot on the table.
Chris was silent for a moment, letting out a breath and giving a small frown. “Honestly?” He finally spoke up, not looking up from the floor. “I don’t know. Maybe it is all a trick to try and get control of my body. But,” he shook his head and looked back at her, “I can’t think about it right now. Sam and Harmony should be more than capable of handling him if he is up to something, but… my main focus has to be Sweetie Belle.”
The yellow pony frowned at him before looking away and giving a little sigh. Sunset simply watched them, standing where she’d been when she’d walked in. A green light got her attention, and she looked to the glass wall, Starlight firing off a green light from the other side, the flash of colored light flaring up in extremely slow motion. “It’s time,” she stated matter-of-factly, taking her jacket off and hanging it up on a coat rack by the door, taking a lab coat down, and putting it on. “Let’s get started.”
“You sure this is a good idea?”
“No, but the only other option is for Chris to kill himself and hope my dark side can’t use him as a rotting puppet.”
Even without a body, Samson turned to look at the floating orb next to him, taking his vision off of the Tree of Harmony. “...You are just the epitome of sunshine, aren’t you?”
“I speak concisely and logically,” Psycho replied, not looking away from the Tree. “To do otherwise in this situation would only waste time that we do not have. Speaking of,” it paused and turned its observation to the cave entrance, “was it truly wise for the moon goddess to leave us alone?”
“Maybe not, but she has other things to deal with right now,” Sam answered, turning his attention back to the Tree.
“If this goes bad-”
“If this goes bad,” the human spirit interrupted, his sight falling to the dirt at the Tree’s roots. “We’re all fucked anyway.”
Psycho looked to the dark orb, observing him for a few moments before it seemed to bob up and down as if sighing. “Let us begin, then,” it muttered finally, focusing on the Tree. “Once we enter into Harmony’s realm, my dark side will manifest from you. The borders between mind, body, and spirit are nonexistent in her world, and, with all the power you’ve been siphoning back into him, he will have the power to create a body upon entry. Be prepared to fight immediately.”
“Understood,” Samson stated. The two tensed themselves before levitating slowly towards the Tree, sinking seamlessly into the trunk and out of sight.
Most of the havoc in the med hall had reduced to a low hustle over the last hour or two. No more injured had come in since the first forty minutes of the first incident, though that still left the hall stuffed full. The staff had been forced to help those with lesser injuries as quickly as possible, dismissing those who didn’t need emergency bedrest immediately in favor of keeping beds open for those who needed them. They were glad they had, too, considering that patients had filled every empty bed, the medical team still hard at work keeping an eye on their wards.
Soft steps made their way through the hall, another set of quicker footsteps following along. A long and short shadow fell on one of the stark white curtains, a hand reaching out to gently pull the cloak back. Behind it lie a single hospital bed, a pure white stallion lying on the bed, the blanket pulled down to his waist as a suspended sheet covered the right side of his body.
Shining Armor winced as someone rustled behind the sheet, still working to clean the wound his little sister had inflicted on him. “Careful,” warned a male voice, the unicorn immediately ceasing his minuscule movements.
“Sorry, doc,” the counselor apologized through a raspy voice, slowly opening his eyes. Movement caught his attention, turning his cerulean eyes to take in the newcomers. His features lit up when he spotted his wife and daughter standing at the edge of his little area.
“Hey,” he croaked, giving a little smirk with the left side of his mouth. “There's my girls."
"Daddy!" Flurry Heart cried, letting go of her mother's hand and running towards her bedridden father.
"Careful, sweetheart," Shining warned, holding his left arm out and bracing himself. His daughter slowed at the side of his bed, hesitating for a second before gently laying her head and arms on his torso, giving a faltering smile as the stallion wrapped his arm around her. He smiled a bit wider, rubbing the filly’s back as he looked up to meet his wife’s worried gaze.
Cadance kept glancing towards the curtain, behind which she could see ever so slight movement of the doctor as he continued to work on the blue maned stallion. Shining followed her eyes for a brief moment, closing his eye and giving a strained chuckle. “It’s not nearly as bad as it looks,” he tried to reassure her, forcing his smile a little bit wider.
“Watch the muscle movement,” the doctor warned from the other side of the sheet.
“Sorry, doc,” Shining apologized before looking back to his wife. “Okay, it’s a bit worse than I let on, but I’ll be fine.” Cadance moved her gaze back to him, her lips pursed as if she didn’t quite believe him. They fell silent as she gave him that look, Shining’s confident smile slowly fading until his features were almost apologetic. “...I’m sorry, Cadie.”
The mare gave a quiet sigh, looking away for a moment and wiping at her eye. “I thought we’d lost you, Shining,” she admitted softly, looking back to him, tears still welled up in her eyes. “When they came to the door and told us you’d been hurt….” She stopped and bit back the choking of her voice. She stayed silent for a moment before she took a deep, steadying breath before she continued. “I didn’t know if you were going to come back to us or not….”
The unicorn frowned as he stared at his wife, closing his eye as he gave a very long sigh. “...I’ll always come back, Cadance,” he murmured, opening his eyes again. “I promise you that much.” He paused and looked to his daughter, Flurry staring at him with big opal eyes. “I promise both of you,” he added, putting a hand on her head. She smiled and closed her eyes, pressing her head further into his warm touch.
He let his smile return slowly, glancing up for a second to see his wife giving a mild smile. A few moments passed, and his smile slowly started to fade away again, his gaze turning distant. “...Cadance.”
“Hm?” The mare answered, her wings fluffing slightly as she took her gaze off her daughter. She stopped as she spotted the frown on her husband’s face. “What’s wrong, Shiny?”
He didn’t answer right away. Instead, he seemed to mull over his next words very carefully. “...It was Twilight, Cadance,” he finally answered, looking up at her with mourning in his eyes. “Twilight led the attack.”
Cadance could only gasp at the revelation, eyes going wide as she lifted a hand to her face. “Was… Was she the one…?” The mare couldn’t bring herself to finish the sentence. However, the slight nod and blink from her husband was all the confirmation she needed.
“I’m… I’m going to go to Artemus,” he murmured, eyes not meeting hers. “It’s time I made her aware of just who we’re dealing with….”
In…. Out…. Ten seconds in…. Ten seconds out…. In through the nose…. Out through the mouth.... Down the diaphragm, filling the belly…. And out the trachea, emptying the lungs….
This was Starlight’s mantra. The only thing keeping her going as sweat poured down her brow. She kept her eyes open, no matter how strained or irritated they became. Magic constantly flowed from her horn and hands, never more or less than the amount she had started the spell with. She heard a gasp of air that turned into a yawn. She glanced behind her, evaluating the dark, rustic gold mare behind her, watching as her subordinate started to fade into unconsciousness.
“Amber.” The sharp bark jerked the mare awake, green eyes blinking against the mane that gave her her name. “Go rest. You’ve earned it, and you’re exhausted.”
The junior mage blinked for a moment, her eyes tired. “....But Arch-Mage-”
“No buts from you, Adept,” Starlight cut off, looking further behind herself at the older mare. “Go get some rest.” Green eyes stared into blue for several seconds before Amber gave a tired sigh.
“Yes, Arch-Mage,” she relented, giving a tired smile before removing her hand from the purple mare’s shoulder and starting to leave the Rangers’ training room. Starlight immediately felt the weight of her spell slam back down on top of her. She grit her teeth for a moment before letting out a heavy breath and looking over her other shoulder where a male unicorn held to her.
“You, too, Silver Mane,” she told the aptly named stallion. “Go get some rest.”
“Yes, Arch-Mage Starlight,” he replied, taking his hand from his shoulder, the result of which was a grunt from the stronger mage.
“When you go,” the strained mare began to add, all of her focus back on the bubble in front of her. “Find Honey and Pearl and send them here to assist us.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he answered before turning and making his way out, quickly catching up with his cohort and helping the exhausted mage along her way.
Meanwhile, Starlight continued to pour out her magic, sweat pouring down just as quickly. She couldn’t help but admit that she, too, was reaching the end of her rope, her eyelids far too heavy to keep open, the muscles in her arms weak, and her horn sore. The only anchors she had left were the loyalty she held to her friends, colleagues, and student… and the pair of hands resting on her back. The gentle, powerful hands that had stayed with her throughout the spell.
“Are you alright, Starlight?” Trixie asked her horn, hands, and eyes all glowing red in unison with the black pendant around her neck. “Trixie can feel how low you’re running.”
“I’m fine, Trix,” Starlight assured, not taking her eyes off the turquoise magic in front of her. “I can’t break the spell. Breaking it for even a second to take a breather could cost them hours of time they could be using to save Sweetie Belle.” She took a deep, shuttering breath and rolled her shoulders, completely unblinking. “I owe my student that much.”
She couldn’t see the blue unicorn behind her, but she could feel the worried expression coming off the mare. “...You’re burning yourself out,” Trixie murmured, her hands tensing against Starlight’s back. “We can transfer the spell’s source to Trixie, and she can finish the spell with a few more members. You need to rest. A spell like this isn’t something you should continuously cast for more than three minutes, let alone three hours.”
“We’re over two and a half hours in, Trixie,” the lavender unicorn grumbled, shifting her footing slightly. “And besides, I can’t transfer the bearing of the spell. You know that. The matrix is too complicated, and trying to move it now would shatter it like glass.” A frown crossed the mare’s face, and a tremor ran through her body.
Trixie’s frown deepened. She knew that Starlight was too hardheaded to be convinced otherwise. They’d been together too long for Trixie to think differently. However, the pink mare had a point. The spell was too complicated to be transferred between mages. It was simply a waiting game. She sighed and bowed her head, feeling helpless despite the extra magic she’d been generating.
The sound of hydraulics drew her gaze to the door, the familiar squeaking of a cart meeting her ears as Heavy Ladle made her way back into the room for the seventeenth time in the last several hours. “You girls look like hell,” the pegasus noted bluntly, her lips pursing the moment she laid eyes on them.
Trixie blinked a moment before a soft chuckle escaped her. “Trixie won’t lie,” she answered, opening her scarlet eyes with a grin. “She and Starlight are beginning to run very low on stamina.”
“And all of your fledglings?” The older mare questioned, stopping her cart next to them, a slight look of concern crossing her face as she caught sight of Starlight’s features.
“More are on their way,” Starlight grunted, rolling her shoulders again as the cream mare stared at her.
Heavy only narrowed her eyes. “Uh-huh,” she murmured, slowly turning back to her cart. “I’ll be back.” With no other word, the pegasus marched forward into the bubble, her form quickly becoming nothing more than a blur of color.
Starlight let out a huff, her form slumping forward slightly before she forced herself back up. “Don’t, Trix.”
The blue unicorn immediately closed her mouth, a tight-lipped frown forming on her face. It wasn’t much longer before the doors opened up again, and twin footfalls ran to them, Pearl Aurora and Honey Song coming to a stop beside their elder mages. “You two already know what to do,” Trixie barked a bit too harshly, her growing irritation more than evident by the way her eyes and the amulet burned a brighter shade of red.
“Yes, Master,” both mares replied, Honey shooting a fearful glance at her fellow mage before they each looked to the barrier. Their eyes lit up in yellow and pink auras, spell circles spinning in their irises for several seconds before they blinked, took deep breaths, and put their hands on their Arch-Mage’s shoulders.
Magic instantly surged through the wizened unicorn, a soft gasp escaping her as her back straightened. Her magical aura brightened where it had dulled. “Thanks, girls,” the tired mare croaked, the boost in magic doing little for her physical state.
A soft pop drew her attention back to the bubble where Heavy Ladle was making her way out of the time distortion. She stopped her cart, eyes locked on Starlight’s and, without breaking eye contact, picked up a bowl and began to fill it with a ladle from her pot. Wordlessly, she stepped forward and lifted the spoon out of the bowl. “Eat.”
Starlight glanced down at the filled spoon, flicking her eyes back up to the older mare. “What is it?” She asked cautiously, never lowering her output.
“Chicken noodle soup,” she deadpanned, raising the spoon higher. “Eat it.”
Starlight scoffed quietly, her shoulders slumping momentarily as she shifted her gaze back to the bubble. “We don’t have time for this,” she muttered, her voice fading.
“We’ll have even less time if you don’t get your energy back up!” The bark made every other mare jump slightly, the slight snarl in the cream-colored mare’s frown giving no room for argument. “Now stop being stubborn and eat the damn soup!”
Blue eyes stared at blue, the younger mare’s full of surprise and, admittedly, a small amount of fear. With a small nod, she opened her mouth and leaned forward. Heavy gently placed the spoon in her mouth, pulling it back out as Starlight swallowed. The pink unicorn let out a breath, feeling warmth return to her cheeks as it spread from her belly. The chef watched her, her features softening slowly. “...Better?”
Starlight nodded her head, letting out another breath before a small smile spread over her face. “Much better,” she answered, glancing at the other mare. “Thanks, Miss La-”
Loud, rapid knocking ripped their attention to the bubble, watching as Chris waved his arm wildly over his head, his other fist banging against the glass behind him. A page taped to the glass next to him read, in big, bold letters, “IT’S DONE!!!”