Twilight came to, slowly. As her brain awoke, she noted that her body was very sore. She heard flames crackle and someone shifted nearby. No, two someones, another set of hooves clopped around, pacing from the sound of it. She was submerged in something very warm and the tub she was in was a bit too small for her since her legs were bent uncomfortably within it.
Finally, she forced her eyelids open and almost immediately slammed them back down with a groan as blinding light assaulted them. The pacing stopped and someone hurried over. Twilight moved her head a little to squint in the direction of the hoof steps. Shining Armor’s electric-blue mane swam into view as did Spike’s anxious face.
Torches flickered merrily along the walls which in Twilight’s opinion, was completely unnecessary since magical crystals jutted from the ceiling, glowing bright blue. The lava she was submerged in had cooled slightly and formed a stiff top layer.
Both Spike and her brother were sweating from the heat emanating from the tub but they peered anxiously down at her. She blinked slowly, wondering why. Tears filled Spike’s eyes and Twilight tensed as he nearly jumped into the lava to hug her. Spike was caught by her brother’s magic and lowered back down.
“Remember it’s hot, Spike,” Shining sounded as if he hadn’t drunk water for days and then gargled sand for this morning’s breakfast.
It was clear that the stallion hadn’t shaved for several days. The bags under his eyes indicated he hadn’t slept very much either. Her observations were interrupted by a flash of memories.
Cold. Sombra. Spike not moving. Fire. Sleep. Shadows. Snow.
Her head pounded as she attempted to make sense of the flashing images. She groaned again, but asked, “Did we all make it?”
Shining relaxed and huffing a self-deprecating laugh, he said “Yeah, thanks to you. I guess King Sombra doesn’t like fire,”
Twilight nodded wearily, “Could you both stand back? I’m going to get out,”
She slipped from the tub, immediately missing the warmth it provided. She stretched and accepted the hug Spike gave her.
“How long have I been out?” Twilight questioned upon seeing the sun high in the sky.
“About two days. You scared the sh- err, you scared the daylights out of us,” Shining hastily amended his statement, glancing at Spike, “Cadence watched over you for the first day or so while I reinforced the shield. Today it’s her turn, again,”
Something in her brother’s voice piqued her interest, “Should she not take her turn?”
He grimaced, “No, that’s not it. It’s just that she’s been doing it for too long. I don’t even know when her last night of uninterrupted sleep was. She’s hardly eating, she’s killing herself over this,”
Twilight frowned, “Well she’s not going to be much help if she perishes from magic power drainage,”
“That’s what I’m saying!” Shining complained, leading the way to Cadence, “But she won’t listen!”
“Aren’t shields your specialty, Uncle Shiny?”
“Yes!” the amount of exasperation in her brother’s voice had Twilight laughing.
Shining Armor opened an ornate door, presenting Princess Cadence. If Twilight thought her brother looked bad, then her sister-in-law looked even worse. Her usually shining mane and tail were dull and unwashed. Her wings were in desperate need of preening. Her thick and long coat was tangled. The magic in the air around her was weak and flickering, barely managing enough power to weave the spell.
Twilight studied the spell and easily replicated it. Her horns lit and repowered the protective enchantment that lay around the entire empire.
“Alright, enough of that,” Twilight reached up and snuffed out Cadence’s magic with her hand, “You’re nearing magical exhaustion,”
The smaller alicorn attempted to sit up straighter and glare. However, it was ruined by the fact that she swayed where she sat and nearly ate the crystal flooring if it weren’t for her husband catching her.
Twilight leveled a stern gaze at her former foal sitter, “You’re of no help to any creature by being a magic-less Princess that can’t even stand on her own hooves. Go rest and then come back, Shining and I have a handle on the shield for now,”
Shining didn’t even wait for his wife to agree and just walked back the way they came. The tired Princess’ eyes closed before they even left the room. Twilight sighed and settled herself on the floor near a window, watching the sun shine brightly over the city.
After a moment Spike grew bored and announced, “I’m going to get something to eat. Do you want anything?”
Twilight smiled at his thoughtfulness and requested some gems if he could find any. As she gazed out over the buildings, she couldn’t help but feel like something was terribly wrong. After a moment, she realized that there wasn’t any being outside. If Shining told her that the city was empty, Twilight would’ve believed him. The unsettling silence of the Empire hung over the atmosphere, putting Twilight on edge.
Resolutely, Twilight turned her attention elsewhere. Under the large castle she was in, was the leyline she noticed back at the train station. Most leylines were round in design with little tendrils branching off of it to connect to other nearby leylines. Usually, they glowed a soft color depending on what used its power the most. The ones under and around Canterlot were pastel yellow and light blue.
The leyline under the castle was almost square-like in nature and had no tendrils around it at all. It was also gray. Either this one was on the brink of dormancy, or it was continuously used for evil rituals. A cursory look around confirmed that this was the only leyline within miles.
Even if a leyline was all alone, which was strange in of itself, there were usually tendrils that abruptly stopped, usually from severed connections to leylines that were long gone. The cube-like leyline simply spun in place on its corner.
Gently, Twilight brushed her consciousness against it, giving it a feel. Immediately, the idle spinning of it stopped. Twilight retreated hastily, anything that reacted like that was a candidate for spontaneous combustion. She did not know what an exploding leyline would entail and she wasn’t eager to find out any time in the near future. The moment Twilight retreated, the cube leyline began its idle rotations once more.
Mystified, but cautious, Twilight let it be. She wouldn’t be drawing power from that thing any time soon. She was thankful that Shining Armor and Cadence weren’t such proficient magic users. She was thankful that most beings weren’t able to draw on the power of a leyline at all. The last thing any creature wanted was an imploding leyline.
Unbeknownst to the dragon, King Sombra’s interest was garnered. So, somepony had touched his leyline, how interesting. He might’ve just found his apprentice.