//------------------------------// // Chapter 5 - A Break in the Storm // Story: A Heart of Change // by SilentBelle //------------------------------// A Heart of Change – Chapter 5: A Break in the Storm By: SilentBelle She turned her focus to the emerald held in her magic's grasp. With a practiced expertise, she siphoned the magic out of the crystal with a satisfying crack. Sweetie Belle loved emeralds, their magic always responded as quickly and as exactly as her own magic would, and this emerald was no different. She grabbed at the tendrils of magic and pulled them through her own horn. Once she held the magic there, she turned her focus on the steel nail which remained hovering beside her. Every material has a unique pattern or sigil, she rehearsed to herself. This was something that she hadn't learned in any book nor been taught by Twilight; it was something that she learned just through her unique sense of the world around her. So, this is steel then? She looked at the pattern. It carried certain solid sharpness that was shared amongst almost ever metal she ever came across. It was a reddish pattern that she knew would be extremely hard to bend to her will had she been trying to use the actual magic of the nail for anything other than copying. She got to work, and began weaving the emerald tendrils out of her horn, placing the pattern as similarly as she could to the steel's. Slowly the threads changed at her gentle willing to a similar reddish colour before her. The task wasn't easy, but after a couple minutes, she was sure it shared as close a resemblance as she could manage. It felt very similar to her. Now that I've gotten the hard part out of the way, I just need to tie in the spell sigil at the end. Thankfully most spell patterns aren't nearly as complicated as material patterns. Sweetie Belle often compared it to the difference between drawing a pony in as much detail as one could manage, to tracing just their silhouette. All she had to do was remember the basic shape of the spell and she could cast it. Thankfully the most basic scrying pattern is a simple eye-shape, a circle in a circle in a circle, with a thirteen equidistant lines filling the middle circle. Easy to remember once you've seen it, it really looks just like an eye. I remember the books always said, 'Just imagine you want to look at something and keep that thought in mind as you cast it.' She nearly laughed at the memory. It's funny how many spells they've managed to create, considering how little they know about how it actually works. With nary a pause, she quickly shaped the reddish magic before her and let the magic flow through the sigil on its own. She felt it pulling at her senses and closed her eyes instinctively. The world became dull around her, like a muted gray colour. She couldn't feel much. The glowing sensations of the magic from nearby trees or falling snow barely glowed at all. Even the wind lost its zephyr glow that would normally be flowing through it. But in the distance she did feel something, many somethings. Each glowed brightly. Like the moon on a cloudless night, she was drawn towards all of them at once. It was a strange sensation to have her sense of being pulled in so many directions at the same time. All in a moment, she could sense the distant steel tracks that they had left only half an hour earlier. Yet in the other direction, she could feel is snarl of smaller tracks running throughout the mountain. Through a force of will, she managed to pull her focus to the nearest track and trace it to its end point. Sweetie Belle extended her senses from there, outward. She was vaguely aware of the surrounding rock, but she managed to find what she was looking for. Yes! it has a tunnel that leads to the outside! Gently, she reeled her consciousness back to her body as directly as possible. The unicorn blinked slowly as she got to her hooves. Her senses began to subtly slip back into place. I learned my lesson the first time I tried scrying. I'm never just dropping the spell again. The experience had left the, at that time filly, unicorn as a whimpering mess on the floor. The memories of vertigo and nausea were still unpleasant enough to cause her to shudder, even after more than four years had passed. “So, did it work?” Apple Bloom called out to her. “Yeah, did it? The snow's getting worse with every second.” “Yup, it worked,” Sweetie Belle said with a shiver. She looked down at the wet ground she had been sitting on with a scowl. “The closest entrance to the mines is this way.” She pointed the floating nail in the direction her senses had just returned from. “Alright then,” Apple Bloom said readily while she fished through her bags. “Come on, we gotta go! The wind's picking up!” Scootaloo warned as the trees around them began to creek and shift under the breeze. “Pretty soon the loose branches are going to come crashing down!” “Hold yer horses. Just let me ge-uh,” Apple Bloom pulled her head away from her saddlebag with a device in her mouth. She set it down level on an extended fore-hoof. “I figured we might need a compass. Ah just wan' ta make sure we don't get turned 'round by the trees as we go.” She glanced down at the glass-covered device. “Alright, so it's east-by-northeast.” She tucked the compass away quickly and nabbed the steel nail as well. “Let's go!” Sweetie Belle shivered as they got moving. She felt her fatigue quite potently, even as she absorbed another gem's magic to banish the chill from her body. I'm glad that heat spell is so useful, but I can't go on like this forever, the body needs time to recuperate. And even if I'm using the gems, I still have to use my own magic to guide it and control it. Squinting, she saw her friends past a wall of flowing snow, and bounded after them. “Wait for me!” * * * Apple Bloom snatched the compass out once again and lined up the needle to the north. “Girls, it's that way!” she shouted to them over the wind and pointed a hoof slightly to their left. She groaned inwardly as she put the compass away. The falling snow was heading closer to blizzard conditions with every passing minute. Horseapples, she cursed to herself, Ah've never been outside in a blizzard before, but this is getting unbearable! “Girls, we gotta stay closer together! Don't let anypony out of yer sight!” Her companions nodded and closed the space between them. She nodded back, but couldn't stop a frown from reaching her lips. “Sweetie, do ya have any idea how far it was?” “Um- Ah!” the unicorn winced as she walked, her eyes shut tightly for a moment. “Maybe a mile? It's hard to notice other things like distance when you are scrying- Woah!” The unicorn stumbled as she spoke, falling sideways in a blanket of fresh snow. “Ah! Celestia, that's cold!” “Are you okay, Sweetie Belle?” Scootaloo had darted to her side in an instant and helped her to her hooves. “Careful, there's lots of roots under the snow.” “Ah don't think it was the roots that caused her ta slip.” Apple Bloom paused to look at Sweetie Belle. The unicorn's eyes we out of focus and there was a peculiar look to the way she tried to hold herself up. Is she sick? “SB, ya don't look so good. Scootaloo, Ah need ya ta carry Sweetie.” “What?!” the unicorn managed to blurt out and pushed away from Scootaloo. “I'm fine! I... can walk fine!” With a single step toward their destination, she swayed, nearly falling once again. “It can't be much farther.” Scootaloo jumped to her friend's side and lent her a shoulder before she could fall again. “Darn it, ya can be so stubborn!” the earth pony shouted at Sweetie Belle, just as a strong torrent of wind caught the tops of the trees. With several sharp cracks, she heard the upper limbs of pines wracked under the wind. Small branches and needles showered down from above along with the furiously falling flurries. “Shoot! The forest's comin' down round us! We can't 'fford ta walk now. Scootaloo grab 'er and we gotta go!” Waiting just long enough to see the pegasus comply, she took the lead. “Hey! Scootaloo! What are you doing. Hey! Put me down I can walk!” “But you can't run!” Scootaloo rebuked. “You know I wouldn't do this unless I had to.” Sweetie Belle tried to complain, but Scootaloo would have none of it. “You know it Sweetie Belle! We all have our strengths and help each other when we need it. Please, let me help you now.” The unicorn murmured something, but Apple Bloom couldn't make it out over the sound of the wind. She turned back to see Sweetie Belle was draped over the pegasus' upper-back. She was positioned just in front the wings, which Scootaloo held spread to keep her balance. Sweetie Belle stared indignantly at Apple Bloom. Or at least the mare tried to, but her eyes seemed to cloud over. It became a sickly gaze and made Apple Bloom shudder. The earth pony broke her eye-contact first. She has more pride than any of us! And she's also more stubborn. Can't she see we're just tryin' ta help her? “Just give a hollar if Ah'm goin' too fast fer ya ta keep up!” “Too fast? Not likely! I've carried ponies on my back before. I'm used to it!” “Well then, just be careful, an' let's go!” “You don't have to tell me twice!” They bounded off through the wintery forest as bits of wood, needles and snow fell all around them. What little of them that had not been wet from either the falling snow, or the puddle-riddled ground, was soon drenched. Apple Bloom only stopped once after nearly ten minutes of jogging between the swaying trees, and eventually she noticed that the trees had gotten significantly smaller. She checked her compass as quickly as she could. It's getting' bad out here. We have ta find shelter! Now! she thought with a shiver. She looked toward the east-by-northeast direction and she thought she saw something just beyond the veil of swirling snow. Squinting, she stowed her compass away and took a few steps closer. That's stone? Oh, hay, it's the mountain! She allowed a small smile to reach her lips. It's 'bout time too. Then Ah s'ppose the cave entrance has ta be nearby. But with this snow, we could be ten feet away an' we'd never find it. Think Bloom! Think! Yer friends need ya! Think! “Woah! That's the mountain, then? So... where's the cave?” Scootaloo asked worriedly and shot a glance back at the mare on her back who was shivering mercilessly. “Ah don't know! But Scootaloo we need ta do somethin' quick! Leave Sweetie with me and see if ya can stop the storm fer just a bit. We just need ta see a bit further, Ah'm sure we're close.” Scootaloo nodded grimly and with Apple Bloom's help, they picked their friend up from the pegasus' back. “I don't think she's doing too well,” Scootaloo admitted as she eased the unicorn against Apple Bloom. “She's been shivering non-stop, and she stopped struggling almost right away. I'm worried, Apple Bloom.” “Ah know,” the yellow mare replied earnestly, even as her own legs were quivering from the chill. She could only imagine how cold Sweetie Belle must have been. She wrapped her fore-hooves tightly around the unicorn in an attempt to shield her from the worst of the wind. “But we gotta do what we can fer now. We can worry later, once we find shelter. Now, quick Scootaloo, Ah'll do what Ah can ta keep Sweetie warm, but we don't have much time!” “Right!” Scootaloo took to the air and was quickly lost amongst the ever-shifting white. Apple Bloom closed her eyes against the elements and braced herself against the pervading chill. Please, Scootaloo. We're countin' on ya! * * * The winds threatened to hurtle her from the sky into the unknown world beyond the snowstorm and she saw flashes of lightning filter in from the clouds around her. Thunder filled her ears and blurred her vision, while the chill of the snow and water pulled at her body. Every beat of her wings felt heavier than the last. If I mess up... the thought lurked on the fringes of her mind. No! I won't mess up! I can't! This isn't just some race! This is more important than any race, than anything else! She climbed upward, as quick as she could, and soon burst through the top of the storm. The sudden change was almost unbelievable. Scootaloo nearly forgot to keep flapping her wings for a moment. The summer sun shone in its late-afternoon splendor, golden and warm. While below her, a seething mass of gray and white churned, with flashes of lightning and echoes of thunder adding to the turmoil. Oh, Celestia! I don't want to go back in there. She rebuked her own weakness with furious shake of her mane.And they don't want to be in there either, but they're counting on me. Alright, this needs to be fast and powerful, and it has to stop the wind. Just long enough for them to find shelter. She looked down at the ominous mass below her as she began her planning. Huh, I'm quite close to the center. Then could it be true? The storm really was chasing us? And the way its moving... that rotation. Clockwise? Well, in that case, I have an idea, but I need more height. Part of her screamed at the obvious danger of her plan, but she refused to listen to it. She recalled instead, one of Rainbow Dash's lessons. “Listen squirt. I know it might seem like doing an amazing trick like the Sonic Rainboom is impossible, but it isn't. All it takes is guts, motivation, and most importantly vision. That's right! You have to be able to see yourself doing it before you do it. Sure, you'll also see all the risks and dangers too. And yeah, those are very real, and they hurt like heck when you hit into them. A lot. But that vision you have, of the trick that you can see yourself doing, you'll come to see that that is what makes the pain and danger worthwhile. To be able to see yourself do the impossible. That's what it takes to learn a new trick. So, why not give it another shot? Scootaloo wore a determined grin and pumped her wings as hard as she could as she remembered her mentor's lesson. She headed ever-upwards until the chill of the air matched the chill within the clouds far below her. She came to a halt and caught her breath slightly as she hovered in the thin air. Alright, Scootaloo, you've seen yourself doing it. She blocked out the hundreds of different ways she could mess up, and ran through the single successful scenario she imagined. Gulping, she stared down at the gray and white below her. Don't think, just do! She dove, as she had hundreds of times before in her numerous practice sessions. The cool air whistled past her wings and pulled the moisture from her fur, leaving a trail of mist in her wake. With a quick quirk of her wings, the trail began to spiral. Scootaloo felt the world spinning around her as she dove in a diagonal spiral toward the clouds. Faster! Faster! She knew she wasn't quick enough. With heavy exhalations she flapped her wings as fast and powerfully as she could. Faster! The clouds were closing in quick. Even as she spun she could feel their ominous presence as she drew nearer. Her wings and back burned with the fires exertion, and the pain of a body strained past its limits. She knew the feeling, and the bitter recovery she'd have to face afterward, but she did not stop. Faster! The thought became her only purpose, and she felt the wind around her, latching onto her wings, and it surged along with her every beat and every breath. It felt as though her wings had become the skies themselves. Still she forged on. Faster! The world became naught but a haze of blurred gray as she continued her rotations. “Faster!” she screamed at herself over the howl of the wind, and awaiting thunder. She hit the cold clouds suddenly and quickly, with the sounding of thunder all around her. She closed her eyes against the clouds. For, at this speed, spiraling as she was, her sight would do little to aid her. She focused on the one thing that mattered: speed. She had to maintain it, for her friends' sakes. With wings feeling more pained than she could ever remember them, her heart beating faster than it ever had before, and her lust for a full breath of air beyond control, she kept flying. It could have been mere seconds, or hours. She had no way of knowing and lost herself to the searing melody of pain that told her she was alive. Suddenly, it stopped. One of her wings would flap no more. It ceased its function and she felt the winds take her. Just as she had taken them. * * * Apple Bloom held on against the bitter winds as the lightning seemed to spark up all across the sky. C'mon Scootaloo, we need ya! Now, more than ever! Suddenly she heard a gasp, and she turned to see Sweetie Belle lift her head up in sudden alertness. “I can see! It's so much brighter than the snow!” “Sweetie, what in the hay are ya talkin' 'bout?” the earth pony asked as she followed the mare's gaze. “What do ya see in the clouds? Some sort of spell?” “A beacon,” she replied simply. “It helps, like the moon on a starless night. I can finally see again.” “Right...” Ah'm glad that yer 'wake an' all, but please start makin' sense. As suddenly as the thought had come, so too did a cacophony of thunder and and accompanying glare of lightning. She felt the sound deep in her body, shaking her very bones. Was that Scootaloo? She could only ponder the question for a moment until the winds came. Like an explosion from the blasting chemicals which ponies used in certain mining operations, the wind flattened her and Sweetie Belle against the side of the mountain. The earth pony gritted her teeth while she turned her head from the fierce blast of wind, hurtling snow, and pine boughs. In that moment, she just barely caught the sight of Sweetie Belle smiling and peering into the wind. The unicorn's horn shone brightly all the while. In the next moment, Apple Bloom felt a warmth settle upon her, even as the wind tore at her braided mane and splayed her tail. It was a strange feeling, as if a warm blanket had suddenly been draped over her. In a few seconds, the initial blast settled and she turned back to the scene. The air was still, she noted, and in the distance she saw many of the smaller trees had bent over and snapped from the force of the blast. Beyond the bowing pines, a funnel of gray clouds raged. It tore at the forest below kicking up a cloud of snow and tree matter. Did she make a tornado? “Hey, look Bloom, it's stopped snowing! Scootaloo did it!” Sweetie Belle shouted with cheer. Alright, the earth pony told herself, this is no time ta be gawkin'. Scootaloo did her part, now ta do mine. “C'mon, Sweetie Belle, now's our chance! We gotta find the entrance to that mine. Now!” “But what about Scootaloo? She's still out there.” “And she's buyin' us time. Time we can't afford ta waste. Now, quick Sweetie! Ah need ya ta perform that ritual thing again, as fast as ya can.” Apple Bloom fished out the steel nail. The unicorn tossed a worried glance at the twister, but nodded. She got to work quickly, snagging the nail with her magic and bringing out a small garnet. “It shouldn't be far, so I won't need too much energy. But darn, at this rate, I'll use half my crystals in a single day.” Apple Bloom watched as the unicorn closed her eyes and her horn flared with energy. Satisfied that Sweetie Belle was working on the spell, she let her eyes focus on the cyclone churning in the distance, a quarter mile away. The clouds above it were pulling together at the top, and lightning flash ominously, yet thunder remained unheard to her ears. Ah have no idea what ya did Scootaloo, but it's workin'. At least fer now. Suddenly, a peal of thunder split the sky, and she watched as the cyclone swayed back and forth, then instantly fell apart. All the snow, water, and tree limbs were launched free from within. Even the clouds that had formed the the top of the tornado dispersed, leaving a roughly circular opening to the blue sky behind it. She scanned the falling debris in the slanted halo of light, frantically looking for a sight of orange and purple. Faint colours of the rainbow played in the open air, but she couldn't see the pegasus anywhere. C'mon Scootaloo. Where are ya? “Aha! I found it!” Sweetie Belle announced. “It's that way!” She pointed her hoof adjacent to the mountainside. “It'll only take a few minutes to get there.” “Alright, let's go!” “But what about Scootaloo? We have to find her too.” “Sweetie! We need ta find the shelter first, 'fore the clouds come back. Look,” Apple Bloom said, pointing her own hoof at the opening in the sky, “the clouds are already reforming. Soon it'll be snowin' again.” Sweetie Belle scowled back at the her. “I'm not about to leave Scootaloo out there. Especially if it's going to start snowing again. She probably needs our help!” “Sweetie, ya know she's tough, tougher than either of us, and we ain't goin' ta abandon her. But we need ta find shelter first! There's no point in rushin' over ta her if we all just end up stranded in the storm all over 'gain. C'mon, let's go!” The earth pony darted off before her friend could respond. We don't have time ta argue, can't ya see that, Sweetie Belle? * * * What the hay?! Why can't we go and find Scootaloo first? Sure, shelter's important. But what if she's hurt? The thought nearly made her sick. That should be our priority. She brooded over her displeasure as she followed Apple Bloom. After only a few minutes had passed, they rounded the base of a hill and saw a cave entrance before them. It wasn't too large. Not even twice as tall as a pony, and about as wide. It was propped up by thick, weathered, wooden beams. “It's kinda small, you know. Are you sure that this is the best place ta hide in?” Sweetie Belle looked at the entrance dubiously. “I remember the last time I went into a cave like this it collapsed on me.” Although, I was the one that caused it to collapse. “How sturdy are mines like this?” “It's a little too late to wonder 'bout that now!” Apple Bloom shouted in irritation. “Quick now! Sweetie, the clouds have reformed, ya need ta do that spell again, but this time find Scootaloo. It'll start snowin' at any time now.” “We should have just done that first. We could have found her by now,” the unicorn muttered to herself as she glanced to the clouds above her. They were gathering their energy once again, and she could tell that they would not only snow, but bring more lightning and thunder with them. She shook her head. Scootaloo, please be okay. She fished through her bag with her magic and pulled out the stones she needed, an amethyst and her last emerald. This should react to the bracelet. She pulled the magic from the emerald as she had before. Fortunately amethysts, as all gemstones that she used in her spells, had very simple pattern to them. She quickly copied it into her own weave of magic and set it to the sigil of the spell. She felt the magic quickly snap into focus around her. In the next moment, she felt her consciousness leave her body and disperse into the dull world around her. It took about a minute until she found the array of amethysts she had been looking for. Around the gems, she focused, and could sense Scootaloo. She was walking – well, limping would be a more accurate description – in their general direction. Sweetie Belle smiled to herself to see her friend moving, and slowly reeled her consciousness back into her body. Gradually she let her senses come back to her, until she finally sighed and opened her eyes. Apple Bloom was standing in front of her, looking to the sky nervously. But the yellow mare brought her gaze down to the unicorn as she stirred from her spell-trance. “So how'd it go? Where is she?” “Maybe a mile that way.” Sweetie Belle pointed nearly directly under the center of the clouds, where they gathered thickes and formed the darkest of grays. “She's still walking, but she's limping. She is headed this way, though. We can run over there and bring her back.” “No, Sweetie, Ah'll go, Ah'll help her get back here!” Apple Bloom pulled out her compass and balanced it on her hoof. “West by northwest. That'll be easy 'nough.” “There's no way I'm not coming!” Sweetie Belle felt her cheeks flush with indignation. “Darn it! Sweetie, this is exactly what Scootaloo and Ah are always tryin' ta tell ya. Ya don't have ta try ta do everythin' yerself. It makes more sense if ya stay here and let me handle this.” “The hay, it does! I can't just stay here when I could be helping Scootaloo!” “Sweetie Belle!” she said darkly. It was a whisper that sounded louder to Sweetie Belle's ears than any shout she had ever heard her friend utter. “You will stay here! You have ta be the one that can guide us back if we need it! Ah've seen what happens to ya when yer out in a blizzard fer too long. It makes ya sick.” Sweetie Belle was about to protest, but Apple Bloom cut her off. “Look, it's not that Ah want ta go alone! Ya know Ah don't want that! But we have ta do what makes the most sense, or else none of us'll get out o' this mess! 'Sides Ah'm the faster runner, ya know.” The unicorn bit back her retort and let out an irritated sigh. She knew the mare was right. A snowstorm like the last one would make her nauseous, and she couldn't run a whole mile and back. Not quickly anyway. “I- Darn it, Apple Bloom! Just be quick about it! If it starts snowing too much I'll find a way to signal you, even through the storm.” Just before the other mare turned to go, Sweetie Belle stuck out her hoof. “Just make sure you bring her back with you. Please!” “Ya know Ah will,” Apple Bloom promised. The mare then ran off toward the dark clouds. Sweetie Belle turned away from her friend as tears threatened to surface. Why? she had to ask herself. I thought I swore I'd never be helpless like this again. Is my magic not good enough to help them? Darn it! I could have done better! I should have learned more spells! She stomped into the mouth of the tunnel angrily. I hate this feeling, this waiting. But Bloom's right, I'd just slow her down. * * * Everything ached but nothing more so than her wings, even as they remained cramped at her sides. She had tried spreading them out, but the pain only grew and her vision turned to darkness. Everything had stopped hurting for a moment. She didn't know how much time had gone by in that silent void. But suddenly, like a pin being pressed against a balloon, a single snowflake landed upon her muzzle, and the world returned to her. With a groan, she had managed to force herself back onto her hooves. Her left hind-leg burned as she put her wight on it. I can't stop. Not yet. I have to find them. She held onto that single thought and glanced around. For some reason, the world seemed shallower, and smaller, and all her limbs begged her to just lay still. “Sweetie? Apple Bloom?” she called out with a cough. Ow! She flinched. My throat. Hay! Is there any part of me that doesn't feel like it was struck by lightning? Darn it, where are they? Sweetie... Apple Bloom... She saw a mountain faintly in the distance as a small amount of snow began falling around her. Snow. Again? The mountain... right... that's where we were going. A cave... a mine... To get out of the storm? Yeah, that sounds about right. She turned to face the looming mountain to step toward it, and nearly tripped over something. Scootaloo looked down and saw a tree had collapsed in front of her. Who put this here? She scowled at the debris. Beyond it was another felled tree, and another. The whole forest? she wondered at the sight around her. The world spun as she turned her head. No! Focus! One hoof in front of the other! To the mountain! With a wince etched upon her mouth, she began walking. Slow and steady. End of Chapter 5