Author's Note: I hope you enjoy this one everyone.
“Why does she want me?” Seb asked. Twilight shrugged as best she could and handed the letter over to Spike.
“Spike, watch over the library for me okay?” Twilight asked. Spike nodded and the unicorn turned back to her friends.
“Pack your things everyone, and meet me at the train station in an hour.”
“You can’t go Twilight, you’re still hurt.” Pinkie Pie said, pointing to Twilight’s shoulder.
“I can handle a train ride to the princess Pinkie.” Twilight replied curtly.
“Come with me if you would please, Seb.” Rarity said, starting to make her way towards her boutique.
“Why?” Seb asked with hesitation.
“I will not let you go to Canterlot to see the princess in those rags you’re wearing.” Rarity said in her usual manner. Rainbow Dash and Applejack snickered to each other as the fashionista dragged him along by his shirt with her magic.
In her boutique, Rarity had Seb stand on a pedestal while she took measurements. She hummed softly while she dragged out her fabrics and sewing materials.
“What color are your eyes?” She asked suddenly.
“Green.” Seb replied in no uncertain terms.
“Oh I hope I have something that matches green.” Rarity whined.
“How about you just make me a simple shirt, like the one I had. That seems to work for me.”
“Good heavens no!” Rarity exclaimed dramatically. “You must look your absolute best and I’ll accept nothing less.”
“But I-” Seb was cut off almost immediately.
“Please stop talking darling. Now that I have your measurements go take a bath.” Rarity ordered, shooing him with a hoof.
“A bath?” Seb asked, being ordered around wasn’t exactly in his style.
“Yes, a bath. I’ll not be putting brand new clothes on you while you’re filthy. Now go on, shoo shoo.” Rarity said, pushing him towards the back room where a half bath half shower was lying in wait. Seb shut the door as soon as he was thrust in the room. Looking around he shrugged and turned the faucet on, getting undressed as he did so.
The hot water felt good on his skin, especially on the areas that still ached. His mind wandered again as he closed his eyes. He remembered that fateful day, the one where he had first met Trisha...
He took a job from some rich kid to steal his parents jewelry to make some point about getting a dog, it was a dumb reason to say the least. He knew he should have turned it down and rested that day; he could feel one of his attacks coming on, but he was hungry and took it anyway. The theft wasn’t hard to pull off; no one was home, no security system and the safe was unlocked. He got the jewels and left lickity-split. He jumped a few fences before his chest tightened and blood spurted from his mouth in the middle of a jump. He had tripped over the fence and crashed into a backyard. He heard the scream of a woman and looked up. Trisha was there, in a yellow sundress a pink bow wrapped around her waist with matching hat and sandals too boot. She was holding a watering can and standing in front of a whole garden of Irises. His heart skipped a few beats and his throat felt dry. She was beautiful and the light caught her bright blue eyes just perfectly so they shimmered. He felt a little embarrassed, her beauty reminded him of how ugly he must have looked. His hair was long, scraggly, and greasy without having had so much as a brush run through it all. A light beard trying to appear (he never grew a lot of facial hair, but it was still a lot for him), and his filthy clothes. His shame was interrupted by another spurt of blood and some harsh coughing.
“Oh, you poor thing.” Trisha gasped and knelt down beside him, putting her watering can down. “Here, let me help you.” She helped him up to a sitting position as he coughed and choked on his own blood.
“Get away.” Seb barked. He coughed again and blood dribbled from his lips.
“Don’t you talk to me like that mister.” Trisha scolded, almost mother like in her tone. Seb looked at her confused.”Come on lazy bones, up you go.” Trisha said as she forced him to his feet.
He dropped the jewelry as she dragged him inside. She laid him down on her bed. Seb tried the best he could not to touch the plush, pure white sheets but his blood and filth got on them anyway. Trisha didn’t even bat an eye at maring of her covers. She walked over to him and mopped up the blood from his mouth with a wet rag and sat next to him, smiling softly. He would never forget that smile.
“I’ll call an ambulance for you.” She said and stood up. Seb grabbed her arm. both of them were surprised at how gently he had grabbed her.
“Please, don't.” Seb begged in a hushed voice. It was the first time he had ever begged for anything. Trisha seemed to have realized that and nodded. That night, she had fixed him up, given him a bath, some fresh clothes, and trimmed his scruffy hair.
“There, now don’t you look handsome?” She said softly. That alone did it, she had stolen his heart and would never give it back.
A knocking on the door dragged him out of his memories like being ripped from a wonderful dream. He turned his head to the door and sighed weakly.
“Yes?”
“I’m almost done with your clothes. I’m putting some towels outside the door for you.” Rarity shouted from behind the door.
“Thank you.” Seb replied.
“Oh, and feel free to use the shampoo and conditioner.” She added.
He heard her hoof-steps as she left and looked down at the hair care products. He shrugged and began washing out his hair. It had been so long since he felt this clean. Normally in order to wash up, he would visit public pools that had free hair care products and showers to rinse out chlorine. He would sneak in, take a quick shower, then leave. He didn’t do this often because police were often hanging out at public pools to catch people doing what he did. He turned the water off and stepped out of the tub, flipping his wet hair out of his face. He let out a relaxed sigh and looked at himself in the mirror. He ran a finger over his scar on his side, it was soft and a little tender from the warm shower. It still hurt every once in awhile. He thought it was because it wasn’t treated by a proper doctor, or maybe Trisha’s ghost wouldn’t let it stop hurting so he’d never forget. He wasn’t very superstitious but it was still a possibility. He stepped out of the bathroom, wrapped a towel around his waist and used the smaller towel to start drying his hair. Rarity stopped him in the hallway. He grabbed his towel to make sure it stayed on and looked at her.
“Good, you’re out. Try these on please.” Rarity said. She levitated a white, collared shirt over to him with a black tight fitting jacket, and a pair of matching fine pressed midnight black pants.
He went back into the bathroom, put on the clothing, and looked at himself in the mirror. The clothing wasn’t a tailored fit, more like a fit you’d get from a regular clothing store that sold expensive looking clothes. The ensemble was a good fit all together but not what he expected. He was surprised at how well she did, considering she never made human clothes before, it was superb work. The jacket showed enough of his shirt to break up the all black of said jacket. The pants fit just as awkwardly as he thought they would, but he could make it work out. Rarity beamed when she saw him all dressed and clean.
“Oh you look absolutely dashing. Now, let’s fix up your hair.” She said, pushing him into a chair with a mirror. She picked up a brush and began brushing his hair out and drying it with a blow dryer, using her magic. Seb winced from the tension of having the knots being brushed out of his tangled hair. When she was finished, Seb looked in the mirror and tilted his head. She hadn’t really done much to it; moved his bangs out of his face and put a little styling gel into it to make it stay in place, but he did look better.
“There, now don’t you look handsome?” Rarity beamed.
Seb’s heart jumped and he turned away from the mirror. It didn’t mean the same from Rarity, but just the fact it was the same words made his heart ache from the memory. He could feel a tear trying to force it’s way out.
“What’s wrong? don’t you like it?” Rarity asked.
“No.” Seb replied with a shaky voice. “I like it, thanks Rarity.” Rarity beamed once again before they headed off for the train station. The pair were a touch late, but the others didn’t seem to mind.
Seb kept busy watching the snow outside during the train ride. The others had noticed his transformation and complimented him on it, but he didn’t seem to care much for talking. They took the hint and congratulated Rarity on the feat of making clothes for a human. Seb had easily fallen asleep to the inane conversation and to the steady fall of snow. He had the dream again, of the little boy and woke up to them arriving at the Canterlot station. He followed the group outside and looked around at the large city and couldn’t help but laugh. It looked a lot like home the only difference being there was no rundown or abandoned buildings. Twilight and the others led him through the many avenues up to Celestia’s palace. He got quite a few stares along the way but he couldn’t care less, he was clearly an oddity to them but couldn’t care in the least. They made it to the palace and the guards let them in without hassle. They made their way through the elegant hallways and rooms of the palace to the throne room where Celestia and a dark blue Alicorn were talking. They turned to see the group enter and the six ponies bowed quickly. Seb simply crossed his arms. Celestia smiled genuinely.
“Twilight Sparkle, how good to see you again. How is your shoulder?” She asked thoughtfully. The darker mare walked up to Seb and looked him up and down.
“Hello Princess Celestia. My shoulder is doing much better, thank you.” Twilight replied, an easy smile shining brightly from her face. Celestia nodded and turned to Seb, who was being visually assaulted by the dark mare’s gaze.
“Seb, I’d like you to meet my sister, Princess Luna.”
“Charmed.” Seb said.
“Why do you not bow to your princess?” Luna asked.
“Simply put, you’re not my princess to begin with.” Seb snapped. Luna looked up at her older sister, who simply smiled and chuckled.
“Luna, Could you go to Manehatten and over look the election of their new mayor please? I must stay and speak with Twilight Sparkle and her friends.” Luna nodded.
“As you wish sister.” Luna replied and walked out of the room. Once she was gone, Celestia took on a more serious expression.
“I received your letter Twilight, and it has me concerned. Not only because the fire itself was strange, but other strange things have been happening here in Canterlot as well. Ponies have been going missing all across the city.” Celestia said with dire pensioning. The elements gasped. “Another disturbing trend seems to be that many, if not all, of the victims are unicorns. I’ve placed a curfew under the city that Shining Armor has been enforcing nightly. This seems to be working for the moment.”
“Who could be doing this? Is Discord back?” Twilight asked, clearly in a panic.
“Does this sound like the work of Discord?” Celestia asked. Her question wasn’t meant to be harsh, it seemed more like she wished it had been Discord behind the trouble. “I fear there is a new threat to Equestria, something we’ve never seen before.”
“Nathan.” Seb said, in a low voice. He sounded angry.
“Nathan?” Celestia inquired hesitantly.
“A human from my world.” Seb explained. “He’s the one who brought me here, he’s also the one who shot Twilight, and probably the one who set that house on fire.”
“And you suspect he may be behind these disappearances?” Celestia questioned with more authority in her voice.
“I think so.” Seb knew damn well he was behind it, but he couldn’t risk revealing he’d spoke to Nathan. That may lead to mistrust and he could ill-afford that.
“Then it is as I feared.” Celestia said. “Twilight, I want you and your friends to stay here and help investigate this predicament. Shining Armor and his guards are busy keeping the streets safe and I trust you six.”
“What about Seb?” Twilight asked.
“I wish to talk to Seb alone.” Celestia replied. Twilight and the others looked nervous but Celestia smiled. “Don’t worry, it’s just a talk, no harm will come to him. I promise.” The six nodded and smiled in return.
They left Seb alone with the princess, who turned and sat down on her throne. Seb glared at the white mare and waited for her to speak while she got comfortable. He had time to look around the room. It was elegant of course, with majestic tapestries and stained glass windows depicting various scenes from Equestrian history. There were also two guards standing on either side of the princess’s throne, which made him doubly uneasy.
“Guards, please leave us. I wish to speak to Seb in private.” Celestia said sternly, once she understood why Seb was so tense. The guards left hesitantly but followed their orders dutifully. Seb and Celestia stood in a thick silence.
“What do you want with me?” Seb finally asked, breaking the silence.
“Humans are unknown to us,” Celestia explained. “and we cannot defend ourselves against something we do not understand.”
“What about your magic? Humans have never seen magic before.” Seb replied curtly.
“Don’t you think we’ve tried that?” Celestia asked sharply, the reply made Seb feel dumb for just asking.”It seems Shining Armor’s protection is useless against these humans. I feel that it may be because of the different world you come from.
“Twilight can use her magic on me no problem, and Rarity too.” Seb said.
“Twilight and her friends seem to be special cases. In truth, I don’t really know the answer to either of these questions. I’m asking you as not only a princess but as a another living being with every right to live, to please help us against this terrible threat.” Celestia had lost the grip she normally kept on her emotions, her words pouring with sorrow. Seb could see the fear and desperation in her eyes.
“I say you just give them what they want.” Seb replied.
“You give up very easily don’t you?” Celestia asked. That sparked Seb’s anger.
“Yes Princess, I do give up very easily. It’s how I survive. I don’t have a fancy castle and guards to keep me safe, I live in a dumpster and eat scraps and whatever I can steal to survive.”
He didn’t wait for her to throw any formal speech back at him to rebuttal. He simply walked out of the throne room. He walked down the hall, running his fingers through his well groomed hair as he did. What had he gotten himself into this time? He owed nothing to these ponies and didn’t have a need to save them. He made his way through the castle and into a tower. He hadn’t stopped to think of where he was going or why, he simply wanted to think. He quickly found himself in a secluded area with not a guard around. He thought it was odd that there weren’t any guards but figured the area must not be all that important if it didn’t warrant a single guard patrolling it. He found a double door at the end of the hall and opened them. there was another hall like the princess’s throne room, filled with stained glass of heroics and history and at the end of the room was another set of double doors. He walked over to them and noticed that one of them was slightly cracked open. His curiosity got the best of him and he opened the doors. Inside, there was a case. He looked around and saw no one around. He opened the case and inside were six necklaces and a large crown, perhaps a tiara. He recognized the charms on them as the cutie marks of Twilight and the others. Were these the weapons he was meant to steal? Why did they have those symbols on them? Was it possible they belonged to Twilight and the others? He closed the case and turned around, walking down the hall. He stopped. His heart was pounding and his breath seemed to escape him. Why couldn’t he just walk away with it? It was so easy; no guards, no Twilight, not a pony in sight. He bolted, carrying the case down the hall passing a guard on the way. He didn’t stop when the guard told him to stop, he just kept running. He ran outside into the snowy air and finally stopped.
As he caught his breath, Seb felt his chest tense up, another attack? He dropped to his knees, grabbed a handful of snow and shoved it in his mouth. He needed to cool the fire in his chest and the snow wasn’t helping. He heard the snow slush and looked up to see Nathan in front of him. His gun was aimed right between his eyes.
“Good boy, Sebastian.” Nathan said calmly. He tilted his head towards a couple of men who were holding chains, after taking the case away from him.
Seb stood up and walked over to them. They forced his hands behind his back and tied them up with the chains. They then began leading him out of the city through deserted streets. Once they were a decent ways away from the castle, the two men tied a blindfold around Seb’s eyes.
Seb couldn’t figure out how long they had walked or where they had walked to, but the familiar scent of water and stone told him he was somewhere underground. He was forced to his knees and the blindfold was removed. He saw a stone wall and knew he was in a cave of somewhere. A blade rested against his chin.
“I was surprised at how quickly you responded to my letter.” Nathan began. “I was wondering when you’d figure out where the weapon was.”
“How did you know?” Seb asked coldly.
“Research.” Nathan said simply. Seb heard a cry of some pony off in the distance. It was a larger cave than he thought.
“You torture innocent ponies just to get information?” Seb asked.
“Well they didn’t exactly know about the “Elements of Harmony” or whatever, but I pieced together the legends they told me about.” Nathan replied matter of factly. “Speaking of which, How do you use these?”
“I don’t know.” Seb growled. A foot made contact with his chin, sending him flying backwards. His head made contact with the stone floor and bounced a little. Nathan pressed a knee against his chest and Seb felt the blood forcing it’s way through his lips.
“That isn’t what I wanted to hear.” Nathan cooed. He pressed the knife against Seb’s cheek. “how, do, they, work?”
“I, don’t, know.” Seb replied in a similar fashion. Nathan ripped the blade diagonally across Seb’s face. The knife dragged across his skin, under his left eye, across the bridge of his nose, over his forehead and ending at his right temple.
Seb let out a painful hiss as blood spurted from the wound and into his eye and mouth. Nathan threw the knife away and stood up, nodding to a very tall gruff looking man. The man had dark brown hair and a five o’clock shadow and a tattoo of a snake around his neck. He was carrying a sledgehammer while two other men walked up to Seb and picked him up. They pressed him against the wall, making sure he was flat against it as possible.
“Hank and his brothers were arrested four years ago for torturing in the military. They’ll take good care of you until you tell us how these weapons work.” Nathan said and ruffled Seb’s hair before walking to a table where papers awaited his attention.
Hank walked over to Seb and moved a lock of hair from his face. He grinned and spat at his feet. Hank then took a few steps back and pressed the blunt end of the sledgehammer against Seb’s right shoulder and then pulled it back. With one hard swing, Hank slammed the hammer against Seb’s shoulder. Seb heard the bones in his shoulder crunch like potato chips in a bag. He let out an agonizing scream and would have dropped to his knees if Hank’s brothers weren’t holding him in place. He screamed and cursed against the rock wall of the cave. He was dropped to the floor and laid down on his back. One of Hank’s brothers ripped off Seb’s jacket and shirt while the other moved out of Seb’s line of sight. He could hear a fire sizzling in the background that he hadn’t noticed before and understood what was coming next.
“Alright pretty boy, are you going to tell us what you know?” Hank asked as his second brother came back with a red hot branding iron. Seb couldn’t see what the writing on it was. He turned his attention to Hank but couldn’t respond; his shoulder was in too much pain and he felt woozy. “Do it.”
Seb felt the heat from the iron hover over his stomach for a moment then, the searing hot burning against his flesh. Hard as he tried, Seb couldn’t hold back the scream. His back arched in pain as the smell of burning flesh reached his nose. Hank’s brother pulled the iron away and Seb’s body relaxed in a shaky spasm.
“You’re a stubborn one, I’ll give you that.” Hank said cruelly.
He dragged a poorly built wooden chair over and grabbed Seb’s right arm. He lifted him up by it, causing Seb to cry out again and plopped him down on the chair. He untied him, but re-tied him to the chair, making sure his arms rested on the arm of the chair. He left and came back with a regular hammer and a box of nails. He took out a nail, handing the box to a brother and walked over to Seb.
“I know you have some type of information in that little brain of yours.” Hank said, resting the end of the nail on the back of Seb’s hand.
Seb’s vision was blurry and he felt seconds from throwing up, but he managed to bring up enough of his saliva to spit at Hank. It landed on the man’s arm and the torturer’s eyes went red. He lifted the hammer and rammed it against the head of the nail, sending it through Seb’s flesh and into the arm of the chair. Seb threw his head back in an agonizing scream. Hank moved to Seb’s other hand and pressed another nail against his flesh. Seb groaned and tilted his head back, ignoring Hank’s harsh stare. Hank shook his head and lifted the hammer again, driving the second nail in. Seb’s scream turned into a weak whimper as a tear streamed down his cheek. Nathan walked up to the group and looked at Seb.
“Leave him for now, we’re not going to get anything out of him today.” Nathan said. “I want you to go out and get me more unicorns. Those stupid horns don’t last long after they die.” Hank and his brothers nodded and ripped the nails out of Seb’s hand in one quick yank then dragged him to the back of the cave.
They passed at least forty men as they went down the tunnels of the cave. They had turned the entire inside of the mountain into a network of tunnels and caves like termites working their way into a house. He was taken to a small cave that was blocked by makeshift iron bars they used as a type of cell. Seb landed on his injured shoulder and cried out again. He was locked up and left alone in the darkness. He shivered against the cold and the pain as it surged through his body. He could have just told them about Twilight and the others. It was true he didn’t know how to use the elements, or even if what he gave Nathan were the elements. He couldn’t think anymore, had to sleep. No, can’t sleep, in shock, can’t sleep. He tried to sit up but his shoulder throbbed. He fell back down and huffed in pain. He heard the sound of hoofbeats walk up to him. He didn’t care anymore. It could have been anyone, Twilight, Fluttershy any of them could be walking towards him and he wouldn’t care. He looked up and saw a pink unicorn with wings, like princess Celestia. She had a multi-shade of purple and pink mane and tail and a blue heart as a cutie mark. She looked like she had been handled fairly roughly but was otherwise a beautiful mare.It took him a moment to realize she was actually inside the cell with him.
“Are you alright?” She asked. She helped him roll over onto his back. He responded with a weak groan and coughed up blood. “What have they done to you?”
“Who are you?” Seb asked weakly.
“My name is Cadence.” The mare replied. “I’m actually a princess, though you wouldn’t think it if you looked at me now.” She said, and smiled softly. She laid down beside him. “What’s your name?”
“Seb.” He replied, coughing again.
“Have you come from Canterlot?” Cadence asked. He nodded. “Do you know anything about my husband? Shining Armor? I don’t think he knows i’m missing.” Seb shook his head. “Then, Twilight Sparkle, do you know her? She’s my new sister-in-law” Seb’s eyes opened quickly.
“I know her. She took me in when I came here.” Seb replied.
“How is she? Is she alright?” Cadence asked. Seb nodded. He was shivering from both pain and cold and wanted so badly to just sleep.
“How did you get in this predicament?” Seb asked. He had to keep the conversation going to keep himself awake.
“I went outside of my husband’s barrier. I was hoping to see if there was anything I could do. I left my crown at home so no one would recognize me as a princess right away. These creatures caught me instead.” Cadence explained. She obviously meant their captors as “creatures” Seb was actually surprised she wasn’t afraid of him, but then again he didn’t look all that threatening. In fact, he looked pitiful. Seb winced and coughed up some more blood. Cadence maneuvered herself so Seb’s head rested on her front legs.
They talked well into the night, keeping Seb awake until the shock wore off. They talked about Cadence’s wedding, which made Seb remember Trisha all too much. He asked to talk about something else so they began talking about what Cadence had seen. She told him about the unicorns being kidnapped and taken into the caves behind them. She only ever saw them go in. The men who took the unicorns down there would come out again with only the horns of the unicorns. It made Seb shudder. Cadence then explained that the magic in the unicorn horns disguised the humans as civilians in Canterlot
“It’s how they’ve been getting in and out of the barrier Shining Armor put up,” Cadence explained. “I can’t figure out why they haven’t killed me yet though.”
Seb finally couldn’t take it anymore and fell asleep.
Seb was then rudely awakened the next morning by one of Hank’s brothers, grabbing his arm and dragging him out of the cell. Cadence tried to run after him but the cell doors were closed on her before she could escape. Seb looked like a child being dragged out of a toy store by his father. Hank pulled him over to a large bucket filled with ice cold water. It looked like they had just grabbed a bunch of snow and let it melt in a bucket, complete with chunks of ice. They knelt him down in front of the bucket and tied his hands to it so he looked like a drunk preparing to throw up in a toilet. His shoulder creaked and strained against the tugging and pulling. It had stiffened last night and the broken bones had worked their way into his muscles. Hank stepped in front of him and crossed his arms.
“Well, you’ve had a whole night to think on it. What do you say? You want to tell us how these things work?” Hank asked. Seb was still dizzy and felt even more sick than the day before.
“I keep...telling you...I don’t...Know....” Seb breathed. He felt like he had just run 10 miles.
A hand grabbed the back of his head and forced into the icy cold waters of the bucket and held it there. It didn’t take long before Seb couldn’t hold his breath any longer and he was pulled out of the water. He took in a hard gulp of air before he was dunked back in. At first, the only thing that bothered him was the constant back and forth motion that bothered his shoulder. Then his lungs began burning from not getting decent amounts of oxygen. His only relief was when they stopped long enough to ask him the same questions over and over, then dunk him back in when he didn’t answer. They finally stopped when the majority of the ice had melted. They untied him and Seb finally got his breath. His lungs burned and he shivered from the cold water and the chilled wind coming in from outside.
“You are an extremely stubborn man.” Hank finally said once Seb had finished taking in huge gulps of air. “I’m starting to run out of ideas” No he wasn’t. It was a little ray of hope he gave to his victims just so he could shatter it. Seb knew better. He himself could think of numerous other ways to torture him. Nathan walked up to the pair and lift a few locks of Seb’s wet hair out of his face, then smiled.
“He’s getting there.” Nathan said. He kicked Seb down to the ground, hitting his broken shoulder.
The cave was filled with screaming for the next three hours while Hank used various methods of torture. He repeated his favorite torture; nailing someone to something a few times, putting nails through Seb’s feet and arms, even missing a little and pushing a nail through a bone. He ended the day with another round of dunking and then tossed Seb back into the cell. Water and blood flooded the cell floor as Cadence emerged from her sanctuary in the darkness. Seb shivered and whimpered against the pain. Tears even formed in his eyes but he blamed it on the water that covered his body. Cadence lifted his head back up onto her front legs and wrapped a wing around his shoulders to try and provide some form of warmth.
“Why don’t you just tell them what you know?” Cadence asked.
“I...really don’t...know....what the elements....work, or...even if...they are...” Seb panted.
“The elements? Do you mean the Elements of Harmony?” Cadence asked. Seb nodded.
“But, the humans can’t use them. Only Twilight and her friends can.” Cadence said.
“I don’t...know if...I gave them...the elements...” Seb whimpered.
“There should be five necklaces and a crown, with gems on them.” Cadence said. Seb’s heart sank; he had hoped what he gave Nathan weren’t the true weapons.
“Then he does have them.” Seb muttered.
“He can’t use them. Just tell him that.” Cadence said. She started to get up but Seb grabbed her.
“No. He can’t figure out he can’t use them.” Seb said. He groaned as another surge of pain shot through him.
“Why not?”
“The longer he focuses on me, the more time Twilight and the others have to stop him.” Seb explained. “He can’t move until he knows how to use them. Which makes his chances of being caught higher.”
“You can’t keep this up forever.” Cadence said. “What if Twilight and her friends don’t get here in time? What if you-”
“Cadence,” Seb interrupted. “you have to promise me not to say anything. No matter what.” Seb demanded. Cadence sighed and nodded.
Seb closed his eyes and fell asleep, cringing in pain constantly.