//------------------------------// // Ripped Away // Story: Dangerous Elements // by Poison_Joke //------------------------------// Chapter 1 - Ripped Away A glorious moon glistened brightly in the gloom of the night sky, surrounded by a tapestry of stars that seemed to swirl around each other, only separated by the deepest black. The princess had truly outdone herself, and her work was not lost on the eyes of a purple unicorn, who gazed intently up at the marvellous scene above her. The long walk back from Sweet Apple Acres was something Twilight was used to by now and she didn't mind walking on nights like this, even when her friend Applejack insisted that she stay and eat enough apple-based food to feed a fully grown dragon for a week. That was something the baby dragon, now sulking on her back, wouldn't have minded at all. "Come on Spike, it's getting dark and you know we couldn't have stayed there all night. It's the harvest season and we'd be up with the sun anyway" Twilight told him, glancing back over her shoulder at the grouchy purple dragon. "Do you even know what a sunrise looks like?". "Oh har har har" Spike said sarcastically, glaring at the back of Twilight's head. "I just can't believe you passed up on all that free food! I thought you were supposed to be smart?". A low grumbling from Spike's Stomach only added to his unamusement. Pretending to trip over a branch in along the dusty road, Twilight stumbled slightly, causing Spike to stop sulking and grab hold her mane so he didn't fall face first into the floor. She carried on down the path towards Ponyville with Spike now clutching to her, mumbling something under his breath about gemstones and probably about how he thought Rarity wouldn't have made fun of him. She would have thanked him for all his hard work with the biggest, most tastiest gemstone in her boutique and maybe even given him that kiss he sought after for so long. Lights from the town glimmered in the distance, still quite a while away. She could see her home from here, the huge library in the shape of a tree. It was beckoning her toward it, promising a warm bed, a crackling fire and the chance to read through Rainy Sky the Science Pegasi again. It was funny and educational, something the huge, dusty tomes that she usually read cover to cover in a day or two often didn't offer. Though she did enjoy the 600 CR - National Historical Archive, and it's 3000 pages. Maybe she could read it again in a few days, she mused. "Okay," Twilight snapped, "maybe the idea wasn't that great, I could really use a bed right now." Her and Spike had been helping Applejack harvest what she could of her orchard, something the farm pony was more than happy for them to do after last years little show of stubbornness. That had taken all day and most of the evening, now it was getting late and a chill was starting to set in, making her shiver slightly and up her pace. Not used to being up so late, the little dragon had started to doze off on her back, the sound of snores replacing the rumbles from his hunger when she stopped suddenly, jerking him awake. "What the? Twilight? What did you do that for? The joke wasn't tha-" "Shhh Spike! Can you hear that?" Spike stopped, focusing his hearing on the area around him. The countryside around Ponyville was, as it had always been, serenely quiet. This was a small town and lacked the hustle and bustle of the bigger cities like Canterlot or Manehatten. There were no carts filled to the brim with goods constantly coming and going, no trains passing by from every corner of Equestria and no laughing and jeering of ponies on a night out. There was just the wind, the musical sounds of insects and the occasional Owl hooting his presence before taking flight on silent wings to begin the nights hunt. Then, breaching the cool night’s silence came a muffled cry for help, someway off the right of the dirt road. Twilights ears flicked towards the sound, and again the cry came. It sounded like a young colt. "Let's go Spike! Somepony's in trouble!" Spike barely had a moment to grab Twilight's mane again before she galloped up and over the fence towards the timid voice. Again the cry for help came, sounding slightly clearer as they rushed towards its source as fast as Twilight's tired legs could take them. The area around them started to grow thick with foliage and trees, casting strange shadows across the ground in between the glints of moonlight that struggled to permeate the leaves above. Twilight had to slow down, careful not to catch herself and trip over the twisting of branches and roots that were scattered across the ground. Her horn glowed, lighting up the way and allowing her to find the easiest path through the littered foliage. "I don't like this, Twi. Who in their right mind would be out here at this time of night?" said Spike nervously. "Well we're gonna find out soon! We're nearly there! Hold on!" Twilight shouted into the darkness ahead of them, still galloping towards where the cry was coming from. "Help! Please! Anypony!" the small voice called out in desperation. It was just ahead now, Twilight burst through the tree line with her horn still glowing brightly. "We’re... Here?" Twilight looked around, confused, her horn fading. The area they had ran too was a small clearing, surrounded by the tall trees on either side. The moon shone down brightly above them, illuminating her violet coat and glistening off of Spike's iridescent purple and green scales. "Um... Hello?" she called out into the clearing, only to be met with silence. "I really don't like this Twi..." "Shh Spike! Hellooo? Is anybody there?". Twilight called out again but was met with no response. She was sure the voice had been from here, so where was it now? Admittedly, Twilight started to grow weary of the calmness of her surroundings, and the lack of any immediate danger. That was until a muted, bemused chuckle from behind caused them to snap around, frantically eyeing the trees they had recently burst through. Only they found nothing there. "Who's there! This isn't funny!" Spike growled, standing tall on Twilight's back, puffing his chest out of his small frame and surveying the trees. Another stifled laugh came from the left of them this time, causing Spike's intimidating posture to slightly deflate. He pressed closer to Twilight's head, quivering a little, telling himself that it was just because of the cool night air and his sudden shaking wasn't because he was afraid. He had to be strong for Twilight. After all, he was the man here. "Okay, maybe you're right. We should just- Ow!" Twilight felt a sting in the back of her neck. Reaching round with her magic, she pulled loose a small tube tipped with a sharp point. A small dart floated beside her, glowing in her purple aura. She pulled it around to her face to inspect it more closely. "Huh? Where did this come fro..." Twilight leaned forward, her eyes struggling to stay open as she fell straight on her face. The dart fell to the ground beside her and rolled behind her foreleg. Just short of being thrown forward onto his back, Spike immediately jumped down off of her back and in front of Twilight. He turned to face her, looking worried and began mouthing words that she just couldn't make out. A tingling numbness started spread down her body, causing her to lose any energy she had left after a gruelling day of work. Wow was she tired! The scene around her started to blur together and slow down. Spike's frantic waving in front of her made funny purple streaks through the air. Everything could wait. Now, it was time to sleep and the grass in front of her was looking pretty comfortable. No wait. What was that? Another figure had emerged from the tree line in front of her, a pony, who was making their way towards Spike. Her mind panicked, the little pony in her head screaming at her to get up; to warn Spike. "Ss-pike. Ru-" Try as she might, she couldn't get the words out. More figures joined the first, quietly making their way towards the frantic dragon, who had resorted to trying to trying to lift his incapacitated friend to her feet desperately, managing to help her unresponsive body sit upright. "Spike p-please... L-look out" Twilight mumbled, sounding out of breath. Her consciousness was drifting away, threatening to give out. The encroaching ponies were covered in black jackets that hid most of their body, including their mouths and flanks, concealing their cutie marks from sight. The closest pony, an earth pony stallion, attempted to grab a hold of Spike from behind, wrapping a foreleg around him and attempting to wrench him away from his fallen companion. This wasn't a very good idea on his behalf. Though still a baby, Spike was pretty strong and this was something this pony definitely hadn't anticipated when the young dragon suddenly threw his head back, hitting his assailant square in the jaw. A crunch of bone sounded and well as a muffled gasp of pain from behind the mask on the stallion's face. Blood started to drip from his muzzle and he fell backwards, glaring at him and cursing under his staggered breath. He got back up and joined the ranks of approaching ponies; a few snickered at him as he passed. Around five or six of them walked menacingly towards the pair, attempting to surround them. Through tired eyes, Twilight noticed two more ponies circling the area from above, barely visible against the dark of the clear night sky. She also noticed that all of the ponies on the ground weren't using any magic. As a dragon, Spike was naturally resilient to magic, even at such a young age. Though that didn't mean they couldn't remove him in other ways, they were simply circling the two of them, holding back for an opportunity. Spike turned, trembling with fear but still standing between them and Twilight, a filly who had been like a sister- no, a mother since he'd hatched. He wasn't going to let them get her so easily. A few spurts of fire from his mouth pushed back those who were growing confident with their increasing numbers, but he couldn't keep this up for long. . The last time he had to use so much fire in a day was before Discord was defeated. Celestia had seen fit to remind her student of the friendship she shared by sending back all over her reports at the expense of Spike's stomach. He didn't move for a week after that. Though of course he didn't mind. Anything he could do to help out he enjoyed, especially helping Twilight to fight back the crazed Draconequus. That was more than worth a sore stomach. "S-stay back! I'm warning you!" Spike glared at the group of strangers, but his eyes and voice betrayed any courage he was trying to muster. His innocent eyes that watched countless sunsets, that had seen his closest friends grow closer, eyes that stood vigilant against anybody who would try and come between them now held only fear and desperation. Watching his defiance, Twilight grew angry, her mind ordering her to retaliate, to protect her number one assistant - her closest friend - from any harm. How dare they? How dare they!? She wasn't about to just sit here and do nothing. Twilight's horn glowed its purple aura and intensified as several layers more of magic enveloped around her horn. She'd bested Nightmare Moon, Discord the Spirit of Chaos and removed a rampaging Ursa Minor from Ponyville. She was the Element of Magic for a reason and wasn't about to let some strange ponies hurt her Spike. A whip of violet light lashed out from the tip of Twilight's horn, smashing away one of the encroaching strangers. He slammed into one of the surrounding trees, sliding down slowly and staying there. Her horn glowed again as another was lifted off of the ground and driven, forcefully, back down again. Twilight cringed as she swore she heard a snap from the impact. Her magnificent light now continued as her horn once again became enveloped in layers of magic, promising to release another powerful spell. Even when incapacitated, Twilight was no push over with her magical abilities. "Put her out now!" roared one of the ponies in black, in a deep voice that vibrated through the air. A shock wave of energy emanated from Twilight's horn, the sudden blast sending the nearby ponies hurtling towards the far end of the clearing. She would not be put down so easily, not with Spike in danger. She struggled to her feet, eyes starting to burn with white fire as she took aim at the apparent leader of these strangers, the one who had ordered she be put down. Again, her horn shone brightly with magic. Arcs of electricity that leapt from her horn dissipated, crackling and whipping at the air around her in a shocking aura as she stamped her hoof on the ground, causing the chilled earth beneath to crack and shudder beneath her newly found strength. "Leave. Us. Alone!" More of the darts ripped through the air from the attackers towards Twilight and Spike. Another series of stings hit Twilight, sinking deep into her coat. She was unable to hold back a pained moan that escaped her lips. Again she reached around with her magic to remove the darts, only to have it now falter. The darts dropped lazily next to her and her eyes grew heavier. Exasperated breathing followed as whatever toxin the darts were coated with coursed through her veins and shut down parts of her body. Her glowing horn vanished and her legs collapsed underneath her. Hearing his friend hit the floor, Spike turned to see her fighting to keep her eyes open, a tear slowly creeping its way down her soft cheek to the floor below. This was all the distraction they needed. The pony who ordered Twilight be sedated grabbed hold of Spike, careful not to fall to the same bruising fate as his companion by pushing Spike down into the ground hard. He wasn't nearly careful enough. Enraged by the sight of his closest friend, Spike thrashed and scratched with all his might, managing to tear away parts of his clothing and leave large gashes in the side of his assailant from his claws. The tattered pieces of dark cloth, including part that was covering his flank, now lay shredded amongst the grass of the clearing. It revealed his cutie mark. With the last of her willpower, Twilight focused in on this, burning the image into her mind. It was a strange sight and it took a few moments for Twilight to figure out what it was. A wheel, tilted to an angle to show the inside with red and black segments covering it. Wait, she'd seen one before! It was one of those gambling tables where you throw the ball in when it spins. A roulette wheel! Memories flooded in of Rainbow Dash's last birthday, with a trip to Las Pegasus for all the girls. The city itself was a sight to behold, lights and adverts everywhere. Ponies walking the streets dressed up in dapper gambling suits as well as the occasional guard, ponies clad in the golden armour of Celestia's royal regiment, who looked like they'd seen everything the city had to offer. As with most nights for many in the bright city, that night ended up in the loss of a lot of bits in the casinos and an insane hangover the next morning most of the group. Namely for Dash, Pinkie and AJ. Herself, Rarity and Fluttershy had lost track of them for nearly two days whilst the two unicorns and the timid pegasi panicked, then calmed down in a spa. Only to finish in the spa, panic again and have to reuse the spa's services, much to the delight of the attending ponies. When the girls eventually met up, the excuses they had were crazy! Something about a foal, a zebra who they owed money to and a pro wrestlers pet tiger. They also asked to leave. Immediately. Before anybody went to check on one of the hotel rooms. It was a completely ridiculous story. But it helped. That image was sunk into her mind as the pony turned and bucked Spike right in the face. His scales were as hard as solid rock and could resist magma, but the force of this kick right to the head put the baby dragon out like a light. Spike lay sprawled along the floor, just inches from Twilight's face. Smirking, the stallion who had bucked Spike trotted gently over to her and patted her softly on the head. "Thanks, we'll take this from here.” The last thing she saw was her number one assistant, her dragon and her brother, placed carefully into a bag and carried off between the trees. Twilight couldn't fight it any longer. Her body had given up, even though her mind raged with anger. The toxin of the darts was just too much for her. She closed her eyes and unwillingly fell into a deep, deep sleep.