The sound of sirens echoed through the streets. As if that alone wasn't enough, Shining's insistence of his sister staying behind in their home did nothing to ease her fear. Twilight Sparkle was willing to stay behind, and for the first few hours, despite her panic, she did as she was told. Turning off the lights and locking the door, she curled up in her bedroom, waiting for any form of message or sign from her brother.
She would get one, but not one she wanted to see. The alarms began blaring, and several trucks carrying men armed to the teeth drove quickly passed the street in front of her apartment building. They wore the same uniform that Shining wore.
Her paranoia reached its peak. She grabbed her phone and her jacket, and ran out the door, slamming and locking the door with shaky hands. As she went down the flight of stairs, she pulled out her phone under the dim, flickering lights of the old hallway.
"Come on, Shining, please pick up..."
The tone hummed in her ear six times, and then her brother's voice came up.
"Hi, this is Shining Armor. Leave a message and I'll get back to you as soon as possible. Thanks-"
She shut her phone off as she fled the building, and ran down the road where the trucks ran, towards the sirens.
The evening sun had finally set, and the night air brought a fresh breeze through the streets. In the dark of the encroaching night sky, the sound of rushing footsteps was the only sound heard along the downtown sidewalks.
At last, she spotted a large crowd outside the town hall, gathered under the streetlamp's yellow, warm glow. The air was cold, but as she drew closer towards the hall, she could smell the faint smell of chicken soup being cooked. Her pace slowed to brisk walk as she approached the foot of the stairs to the entrance of the massive building, with very dim lights within. She opened the door, passing a few who were sitting against the wall, and pulled back her hoodie to look around.
Her light purple-toned skin glowed comfortably in the yellow light from overhead. Her hair was a much darker shade of purple, with lighter streaks of lilac and green going down the middle. Her eyes shone purple, unobstructed by her hair, which was loosely tied back in a long ponytail that reached her upper back. They were still hidden behind a pair of glasses, with a thin black frame, and square in shape. She was somewhat tall for her age, and slim. Mrs.Cake spotted her across the lobby, recognizing her immediately, and rushed out to greet her.
"Twilight!" Mrs.Cake called out, grabbing her hands and startling the young girl. "I wasn't expecting you! I would have imagined that Shining Armor tucked you away in an armored bunker or something!"
Twilight's face lightened greatly in response, and smiled gently. "I wasn't expecting you to be here, either. I'm glad you're safe from..." she looked around, half anxious and half embarrassed. "Whatever this is." she finished quickly.
"Oh, Twilight," said Mrs. Cake, "its just terrible, simply terrible!"
"The Grand Jewel is gone, and half the city is already blacking out. Oh, and Celestia is missing and being blamed for the whole thing, and your brother went off to the castle all on his own, and -"
By now, Mrs. Cake was talking at a speed where it seemed that her entire sentence was a single word.
Gently shifting her hands to a more comfortable hold, Twilight clasped lightly on Mrs.Cake's shaking fingers.
"Whoa, s-slow down there Mrs. Cake. Tell me everything again, one at a time, slowly," she said.
Mrs.Cake heaved a heavy sigh of relief, before ushering her to follow, leading her past one of the long tables, where several people were gathered, drinking the heavenly-scented soup, and taking part in many loud conversations.
She sat her down at a table that was relatively empty, on an office chair that had been moved from one of the rooms meant for business meetings. Twilight pulled up a second chair from another table, and the two sat down from across each other.
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The night passed by quickly. By the time Mrs. Cake was done telling Twilight all she knew, the moon was near it's peak, and the cold autumn air ushered everyone inside. The city hall bustled with people, and Mr. Cake was rushing around the lobby with trays of soup.
Mrs. Cake felt even worse than before Twilight came, as if her heart was being tugged at by a lost child. Twilight hung her head down low, her eyes were shimmering and watery, and said in a shaky voice, "Are you sure?"
Mrs. Cake nodded. "My husband overheard the whole thing. Shining left to find his squadron a while ago."
Twilight wiped her eyes with her sleeve. "How long ago?" she asked, still trembling.
Mrs. Cake inhaled deeply, and rubbed her head. "It was around seven-o-clock, so it must have been around two hours ago."
Twilight stood up suddenly, placing her hands on the table and startling Mrs. Cake. "Then there's still a chance I can find him!" she exclaimed. "Where's Luna?"
"W-w-wha-, I don-" Mrs. Cake stammered, still trying to process the first thing Twilight said.
"You said Luna was here, right? Where is she?"
Mrs. Cake paused and looked at Twilight, then shook her head. "I-I don't know."
Twilight tilted her head and narrowed her eyes slightly. She raised her gently hand towards Mrs. Cake, and a warm, light-purple light began to shine from her palm. Mrs. Cake, confused, leaned back slightly.
"Twilight, please, don't do it." Mrs. Cake ushered quietly. Her eyes began to glow slightly, and Mrs. Cake tense shoulders were now relaxed. Twilight closed her eyes and listened carefully.
The noise of the people dining on soup and talking loudly began to become more and more muffled. Instead, only Mrs. Cake voice could be heard in Twilight's ears. They echoed, ringing out like church bells, for only a few seconds, before she lowered her hand and opened her eyes.
"You're lying, Mrs. Cake," she said calmly.
Mrs. Cake sighed, throwing her hands up in the air. "Did Luna teach you that spell?"
Twilight's expression eased, forming a sort of half-hearted smile on her face. "I picked that one up on my own."
Mrs. Cake looked at Twilight with a gentle look in her eyes, saying, "If you read my mind, then you also know that I'm worried about you."
Twilight shifted her position, looking towards one of the many hallways leading into the offices. "Must have missed that one," she muttered groggily.
Now it was Mrs. Cake's turn to smile. "I don't need to read your mind to know that you're lying. Or tired, Twilight."
"You must be starving, too, dear," said Mrs.Cake, standing up. "At least let me go fetch some more soup from the kitchen for you."
Twilight began to respond when Mrs. Cake put her finger on her lips. "Ah-ah-ah, I want you to rest. I'll tell Luna you're here, but until then, I want you to sit down for a bit and REST," she hushed, adding some light emphasis on the last word. " Your brother will be fine, I know it. The worst of it is over already, so there is nothing more to worry about. Please, just slow down and think before you do anything."
Twilight hesitated, then nodded and thanked her, now realizing that she hadn't even thought about supper in her frantic trip to find Shining. When Mrs.Cake had gone back to the kitchen, she once again looked at her surroundings as she pulled out her phone.
The table she was sitting at was a small round table, wooden and waxed, barely large enough to fit a laptop, but she didn't mind the lack of space. She began dialing the keypad, putting in her brother's number, hoping that he would pick up this time.
The tone hummed in her ear six times, and then her brother's voice came up.
"Hi, this is Shining Armor. Leave a message and I'll get back to you as soon as possible. Thanks-"
Twilight turned her phone off. She had heard the same message being played at least seven times this evening. She laid her arms on the table, and rested her head on them. She was very tired, and her worry wasn't helping her wake up. The noise in the background faded, as Twilight thought about where Shining Armor could have gone, and how she could get to him.
The tears were coming back. Despite her best efforts and Mrs. Cake's comforting words, she couldn't stop her mind going to the worst possible scenario.
If Celestia truly was behind this mess, Shining would stand no chance. Even at his best, his power dwarfs in comparison to the queen of Equestria. Shining, how could you be so stupid, Twilight thought to herself. The sadness was quickly replaced with a slow anger that she knew was selfish, causing her to clench her fists. Why? Why did this happen? A blackish-purple aura began to flow through her hair, shifting the color to a slightly darker shade and causing it to move around gently. Celestia... if you really did steal the jewel... and if you lay a single finger on Shining... I swear, I will hunt you down like a dog....
"Um..... excuse me?" A small, tender voice interrupted Twilight's thoughts. She looked up, and hair lightened up to its original color. Standing before her was a girl, around her age, but seemed much younger. Her skin was a pale yellow, and her hair was a soft pink that contrasted with the green headband on her head. Her eyes were green, but also round, and her expression was soft. She leaned forward ever so lightly in a bow, and inhaled gently.
"I'm sorry, but I couldn't help overhearing your conversation with Mrs. Cake-san." she said, fidgeting with her fingers as she spoke. Twilight sat up straight, looking right into her eyes. The girl quickly shifted her gaze away, instead looking down at a point on the floor with nothing in interest.
"I don't know if this brings any comfort to you..." she said, eyes still shying away from Twilight, "but I think I saw your brother earlier. I even talked to him a bit...". By now her voice died down from her already quiet tone to an almost inaudible whisper.
Twilight sighed and shook her head. "Thanks for trying, but no, it doesn't help much."
"Oh," said the girl, who brought her shut one of her eyes and brushed aside a bit of her hair, as if she had been stung by a bee there. "I'm sorry..." she muttered.
The two were silent for a bit, but the girl awkwardly remained there. Twilight looked back up at her. Why is she still here?
"Is there something else you wanted?" she asked, trying her best to make the phrase sound as polite as possible.
The girl thought about this silently for a minute, then said, "Your brother seems to be a very strong person...."
Twilight raised her eyebrow. The girl stammered and waved her arms, quickly trying to explain herself. "Umm, I - I mean, your brother was able to..... fend off my brother's attack pretty well..."
"WHAT?" Twilight exclaimed, standing up, and her hair flickering back and forth between its original color and the darker shade from before.
Her outburst was quickly ceased when the girl before her screamed in response, gathering the the attention of a few nearby. The girl curled herself into a ball, arms over her head as if she was about to be attacked.
"Ahhh, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'll leave..." she blubbered.
Twilight, obviously taken aback by this, looked around at the staring onlookers, shooing them away with quick motions from her hands. When they were gone, she knelt down to the girl, bringing her to stand.
"I should be the one apologizing... I didn't mean to cause you to panic like that. I'm sorry," said Twilight, holding onto the girl's shoulders.
The girl wiped her eye with her finger. She swallowed her sobs, but continued to look down at her shoes. Twilight lifted her head with her hand, and spoke gently.
"My brother- what did he look like?" she asked.
The girl touched her fingers together, pushing them against each other. "He was tall... blue hair and blue eyes... pale white skin... I heard his name...it was... 'Shining Armor'"
Twilight sighed. "Yeah, that's him...."
She decided it was better to leave this topic behind them and move on.
The clattering of plates caught everyone's attention. A man with teal-green skin was singing, dancing on the table and knocking off a few plates, much to the dismay of many. In his hand was a small bottle of liquor, nearly empty and held to his mouth like a microphone.
"Oh no... " whispered the girl, who ran towards the scene. Twilight followed her, catching a glimpse of Mrs.Cake walking out the kitchen and being shocked by the events unfolding.
By now, people were clamoring at him. Some even threw food at him, yelling at him to get off. He continued his dance, until he reached the end of the table, and fell flat on his face, shattering the glass bottle. The people gasped and went silent for a bit, as the girl went up to her brother on the floor.
"Zephyr, what did you do now..." the girl muttered. Twilight turned him over to reveal a large red mark where he hit his head, which was bleeding slightly.
"Zephyr... is he your brother?" Twilight asked, pointing at the drunken man. The girl nodded and held her small hand to her chest. "I'm Fluttershy," she added.
Twilight looked at him, and placed her hand on his forehead. A light purple glow began to shine through, as the man groaned. He coughed twice, then, turned to look at Twilight.
"Hello, beautifullll..." he slurred, causing Twilight to cringe. She removed her hand. The blood was still there, but the mark was now gone. Zephyr raised his hand to touch his forehead, getting some of the blood on his fingers. He simply shrugged and wiped the blood off on his shirt. As Twilight stood up, however, he grabbed her wrist.
"Where are you going, angel?" he brought her closer to his lips, ready to plant a kiss on the young girl's forehead.
Instead, what he received was a blow to the face. Twilight's fist was sparking with purple energy, and sent Zephyr across the room, causing him to land awkwardly on one of the chairs and send him back to sleep.
"That was for attacking my brother, pervert," said Twilight, lowering her arm.
Luna walked out of the hallway, with a disturbed and worried expression on her face.
"What happened?" she asked, before laying her eyes on Twilight.
She straightened herself up, and cleared her throat. "Twilight," she said simply. "It is good to see you."
"Luna!" Twilight explained, rushing towards the woman, and wrapping her arms around her waist.
Luna, slightly surprised by this public display of affection, chuckled and stroked Twilight's hair.
"We have much to discuss," said Luna.