Twilight and I stayed hidden in the archives as we heard Cadance entering the library. We had already told the guards to let her in without issue, and now stood tensed up and ready to go as she came in.
I only gave Twilight a look as we watched the alicorn, my companion having a spell on both of us that would keep us invisible as long as we didn’t move. She stood in the center of the library, the bell nowhere in sight as far as we could see. That was good, for now anyway. It would make it easier to take her down, I thought, although knowing where it was at would be good, too.
“Be ready,” I whispered, barely audible as we stared, not that it mattered, since as long as we didn’t move, she wouldn’t hear us either. She was mostly just standing around casually, which I thought was strange, looking around as if expecting something. It was confusing to watch, and I saw Twilight stick her eyebrow up out of the corner of my eye.
“What is she doing?” she whispered to me. “Is she waiting for something?”
I didn’t answer. I didn’t know. I could only assume she was waiting for us to appear. I couldn’t imagine what could be holding her up from heading into the archives.
“You said you had a feeling she was going to be here,” Twilight whispered, keeping her eyes ahead on her. “What do you think is the reason?”
“I think she’s here to bring back Celestia,” I answered simply. I could practically hear her eyes going wide open as she held back a gasp.
“We need to go get Princess Luna and Princess Amore,” Twilight responded, barely keeping her voice in a calm whisper. “We can’t let her anywhere near her.”
“No, we need to stay here and not let her get access to that spell,” I told her. “As long as she can’t bring her back, there’s no issue. Once she walks in for the spell, we need to get on top of her and stop her.”
“Do you think she’s going to try to take Princess Celestia’s magic?”
“I would put a million dollars on it. That’s why she’s so eager to have her back. Steal her magic, and with Discord out of the picture, she’s probably more powerful than any single pony is.”
“Oh, this is bad,” Twilight said anxiously, looking like she wanted to move in place but forcing herself still. “We can’t let that happen. If worst comes to worst, I have my friends, and we can use the Elements of Harmony on her.”
“If worst comes to worst, I’m using that time travel spell,” I whispered back. “But it won’t come to that because-”
Before I could finish, I heard a voice speak, one that made me hold my breath and practically become paralyzed in fear. It was one that I knew absolutely hated me because of a certain pink alicorn’s edging. It was one I almost expected to never hear again, and one that made me audibly gasp in surprise at the owner came into view. I was very lucky to have Twilight both make me invisible and protected from danger because of who entered.
“Are you certain they’ll be here?” Celestia asked as she strode in behind her slightly smaller pink counterpart, scowling as she asked it. She looked exactly the same as when I met her however many months ago, without the flickers of flames in her hair like she had when I last saw her.
“I can’t imagine why Sombra would ever consider coming here, although I can see Twilight Sparkle heading here for a spell or two.”
“He’ll be here, trust me,” she assured her. “He’s a lot smarter than everypony else makes him out to be.” I would’ve smiled at that remark had I not been terrified of the pony she was talking to.
“How is this happening?” I asked Twilight through clenched teeth as I stood as stock-still as possible, worried that the two would somehow be able to see through the spell. “There shouldn’t be any way she knows how to do that! Do you think she was here earlier and saw it then?”
“I don’t know!” she responded. “I don’t think she- wait! She helped Luna banish her when Celestia became Daybreaker! I remember that! She probably knew the same spell to bring her back already.”
“What! Luna said she sent her sister away! If I would’ve known that I wouldn't have let-”
“Do you think they’re here now?” Celestia asked aloud, interrupting our conversation. “I can’t tell, but I can almost sense their presence.”
“They’re smart, but I don’t think they’re that smart,” Cadance replied. “I bet they’ll be here any second though.”
“My Twilight is not a fool,” she continued. “She knows a great many spells, more than I do. It wouldn’t surprise me if she had something to be lying in wait under our noses. That she let herself get tricked by Sombra is still quite puzzling to me.” She sighed, pausing for a moment before continuing, “If I see him again, he’d best be prepared to receive the full brunt of my anger. This is his fault.”
I knew she was referring to me, as Alex specifically. She was saying that my doing exactly nothing was what caused all of this, and it made me sick to my stomach. It felt like we were back to the first few days of this madness when she said that.
“We need to get Princess Amore from the Crystal Empire now,” Twilight told me. “That way she won’t-”
“No! Don’t leave me here alone! We can’t let those two do whatever they want, and I can’t be here alone with her! She’s going to kill me if you leave!”
That much I was certain of. If Twilight left me here alone, with or without the protection spell, I would end up dead. I knew that for a fact.
“It’s going to be two minutes,” she assured me. “Less than two minutes. All I need to do is get there, explain what’s going on, and get back here. Easy peasy.”
“No, not easy peasy, Twilight! Luna said it would be two minutes the last time I was alone with her, and I almost died! I don’t want to be alone with her!”
“Getting Princess Amore is the best way we can make sure nothing happens,” Twilight explained. “It’s going to take 2 minutes total, if that."
"Please don't-"
"Even if I’m here with you, if she finds you, it won’t end well, okay? There's no way the two of us have the power to stand up to both of them. We have to get Princess Amore here right now. I’ll be right back.” I wanted to argue, but before I could, Twilight teleported away in a flash to get her.
“Did you feel that?” Celestia asked, an ear turning in my direction. I held a breath as she said, “It was magic. I know he’s here, somewhere.”
“Twilight, please come back quick,” I thought fearfully as I remained motionless. “Don’t leave me alone with that witch.”