//------------------------------// // Chapter 12 // Story: Skyfall: The Crusaders // by sister_mike //------------------------------// Chapter 12 Sweetie Belle Sweetie Belle and Spike stood at the entrance to the labyrinth. Sporadic drops of rain began to fall from the sky and thunder rolled in the distance. "Let's get this search over with," Spike murmured. Sweetie Belle gazed uneasily at the dark clouds above them. She nodded and they entered the maze. The hedges were tall and slightly overgrown. Sweetie Belle was actually surprised that there was any path at all. Her arms and legs got scratched here and there lightly, as they made their way through the maze. They picked directions at random, neither of them having ever been in the labyrinth before. "Another dead end," Spike said with a sigh. Sweetie Belle groaned slightly. This was about their seventh dead end. For all she knew, they kept running into the same one. They had been walking around for hours. The rain had stopped, but the thunder still rolled in the distance, a flash of lightning here and there. "Maybe we should try and head back so we're not lost in here all night," Spike said, as he began to turn around. Sweetie Belle sighed and started to turn as well, but then stopped. There seemed something off about the dead end. "Hold on a sec, Spike," she said. She walked closer to the dead end. "I think this may have actually been part of the path." "Oh?" "The brambles are thinner here—and I think I see something on the other side," Sweetie Belle said. She began to push through the bush without waiting for Spike's reply. Her arms were scratched all over and a small line of blood appeared on her cheek. But she pushed through to the other side and her heart began to race. "Whoa," Spike said, as he almost bumped into Sweetie Belle, who had abruptly stopped on the other side. Spike brushed some random twigs off of his shirt, his hard scaly skin untouched by their prickles. "Why'd you stop?" "We're... at the centre..." Sweetie Belle said. She took a few steps forward and stopped. The centre of the maze was circular, various other overgrown pathways leading to it. In the centre was a trickling fountain, though it was mostly dried up and a pathetic stream wilted from the top. But it wasn't the fountain that Sweetie Belle was looking at. It was on the other side of it. "What...?" Spike whispered, finally clueing in to what Sweetie Belle was looking at. Sweetie Belle took hasty steps forward, walking widely around the fountain. Her breath caught in her chest. Standing on the other side of the fountain, frozen in stone, were two sisters. The first sister, the elder, had a controlled look of annoyance on her face. Her crown stood straight on her head, and her wings were ruffled and slightly spread behind her. There was a crystal on her forehead. Her flowing white dress was now gray, trapped flowing behind her in stone. Her mouth was slightly opened, as though she was saying something at the time, and one of her arms was raised, fingers pointing at something, something that had been on the other side of the fountain from her, where Sweetie Belle now stood. The second sister, the younger, was ever so slightly shorter than her sister and was standing beside her. With a crystal in her forehead, her tiara sat neatly on her head, but her facial expression was that of anger. Her jaw was clenched, teeth slightly barred and her eyes were set in a glare. Both of her fists were clenched and her wings were widely spread behind her. Her feet were positioned as though she were about to attack. Mixes, people who were both Magiks and Winged, were an uncommon occurrence. These two, however, were the two most well known and famous Mixes in Earthica. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. Sweetie Belle approached them cautiously. She hesitantly reached out and put her hand lightly on Celestia's arm. Cold stone. "They're completely rock," Spike whispered, as he carefully inspected Luna. He turned to Sweetie Belle, "How long do you think they've been here?" "Probably just before the sleeping curse hit," Sweetie Belle said quietly, "I think the princesses were deemed missing when the curse hit Earthica. They were hit first, with a different spell." "You think it's the same creature who did the sleeping curse, that turned the princesses to stone?" Spike asked. "It has to be," Sweetie Belle said, "I mean, what else could have ha—" Without warning, the ground began to shake violently. Sweetie Belle staggered back, nearly knocking Princess Celestia over. She carefully kept the princess balanced, afraid if she knocked her over the princess would shatter. Spike held onto Luna. Thunder roared and lightning flashed. The ground before them began to break up. "What's going on!?" Sweetie Belle asked. Suddenly, there was a great roar, a terrible wail. The ground before them crumbled, the fountain tumbling into a hole. The shaking stopped. Another horrific shriek filled the air. The giant silhouette of a beast, awoken from its sleep, began to rise out of the hole. "It's the monster," Sweetie Belle whispered, barely audible to herself. Its piercing purple eye fell on Sweetie Belle. A scream escaped from her lips, as she stared into the eye of the beast. Apple Bloom Unbeknownst to Sweetie Belle, just as she had entered the maze, her friends back at home began searching the books in the underground laboratory for clues as to how to cure the sleeping curse. The hours were long and tedious. Apple Bloom, Scootaloo and Diamond Tiara each searched through book after book after book, but nothing was to be found. Unsure of what the time was, Apple Bloom sighed and put back another useless book. Diamond Tiara groaned. "I didn't realize this little chore was going to take all day," she whined, tossing another book on the floor. "What did you expect? We haven't explored this room before," Apple Bloom said, "And we need to search thoroughly. Without Sweetie Belle's magic, it will take longer." "I dunno... I'm starting to think maybe we should call it a day," Scootaloo said, stretching her wings and arms, "We have been down here a long time, and we haven't found anything yet." "Alright... let me just check this last book. Why don't y'all pack a few and we'll look at them back home?" Apple Bloom suggested. Diamond Tiara groaned louder, but began to stuff her bag full of random books. Scootaloo did the same. Apple Bloom flipped through the book in her hand, skimming the pages. Another likely dud. But then something stood out. "Hold on a second... I think I've found something!" Apple Bloom said, her heart beginning to beat rapidly, "This book describes a spell, an ageless spell that encases its victims into crystal. Apparently some dark Magik three thousand years ago became so obsessed with some princess, that when she denied his advances, he trapped her in crystal so that he could look at her all the time, and so that she wouldn't age. She would live inside the crystal forever, frozen in time." "That sounds like what's happened to everyone else!" Scootaloo said. She jumped to Apple Bloom's side and began to peer over her shoulder at the page. "Does it say something about a cure?" Diamond Tiara asked, as she hesitantly joined Apple Bloom and Scootaloo. "The dark Magik was eventually turned into some sort of mythical beast and banished forever, by another male Magik. The good Magik traded his life to create a counter spell that would awake the princess. He was apparently her intended hand in marriage and loved her deeply," Apple Bloom said, "The spell's right here. He set it so that anyone, Magik or not, could use the counter spell, so that no one would have to go through the pain he did, of seeing his beloved forever trapped in an ageless crystal." "Oh my God... we've finally done it. We've done it! We've found the cure!" Scootaloo said, punching the air. "Come on! What are you waiting for? Let's go up there and use the spell! Let's wake up your sister and everyone else!" Apple Bloom couldn't help but smile. She held the book close to her chest as she ran up the stairs, Scootaloo in the lead, Diamond Tiara behind her. They raced out to the town centre, the main 6 trapped in their crystal forms. Apple Bloom stood in front of the main 6, positioning herself closest to Applejack, her hands shaking as she opened the book again. She took one last look at her sister, crystalized in fear, and began to read the spell. Apple Bloom stumbled over the words, but once she began to say them, she found she couldn't stop. Even though she knew she was butchering the pronunciation, there was something about the words that just almost automatically spilled from her mouth. The setting sun was almost gone, an orange glow over the town, dark clouds approaching from the distance. When she was done, Apple Bloom looked up at her sister. Applejack didn't move. The crystal was still around her, her eyes were still shut and she was still as she had been the past thirteen years. Apple Bloom held her breath. "M-Maybe try it again?" Scootaloo whispered, "Maybe you didn't—" Suddenly, there was the loud echoing of a series monstrous roars in the distance. Apple Bloom and the others turned their heads in the direction of the sound, the direction of Central City. "What was that?" Diamond Tiara asked, her voice shaky. All of a sudden, as another roar began to wail, there was a loud snap sound and a flash of light. Apple Bloom shielded her eyes slightly. "It was the monster." As the light faded away, two silhouettes appeared. Apple Bloom recognized Sweetie Belle immediately, but the male she wasn't sure. There was something familiar about him. "Oh my God... Spike, is that you?" Scootaloo said, "—wait, did you say monster?" "It just suddenly woke up," Spike said, "Sweetie Belle screamed and grabbed my hand and suddenly, we were transported here." "I didn't know you could do that kind of magic, Sweetie Belle," Scootaloo said. "N-Neither did I," Sweetie Belle said, still shaking. "The monster... it woke up? Just now?" Apple Bloom whispered. She glanced down at the book. The dark Magik had been turned into a mythical beast... "Yes," Sweetie Belle said, "And that's not all. We found the princesses. They've been turned to stone and are in the labyrinth." "I think it was me... I woke up the monster with the counter spell," Sweetie Belle whispered. "Yes, you did," said a voice behind her. A chill ran up Apple Bloom's spine. The hairs on the back of her neck began to stand on end. Even though she hadn't heard that voice in thirteen years, she knew it right away. She would recognize any voice of the main 6, the Element bearers. Slowly, Apple Bloom turned around. Behind her, standing slightly in front of the other Element bearers, all of whom were slowly looking around, confused as to what had happened and where they were, slowly moving their limbs around, was Twilight Sparkle. She was looking directly at Apple Bloom. "You've re-awakened the karkadann," Twilight said, as she stepped forward. "T-T-The what?" Apple Bloom stuttered, in complete shock. "The monster," Applejack said quietly. Apple Bloom dropped the book at the sound of her sister's voice. The monster roared again the distance, accompanied by thunder. After thirteen years, they had finally done it. They had awoken up Earthica, and the main 6. They had started time once again. And now, because of it, they had a monster to defeat. To be continued...