[Clover]
With a little more composure and a little less panic, tension among the six never rose to dangerous levels, at least not enough to undo the stitches of old wounds.
Twilight entered the lounge, followed by Kate, then Rainbow Dash. Stanley was directly behind Cadence as her escort back through the hallways of the building. He was more concerned for the condition of Kate's body than the imposter in her head. If she happened to fall over, he'd be there to bolster her balance. Given the recent events thrown at him over the past several hours (and then some), protection of his friends was vital to his ever fracturing faith in desperate need of repair.
Lucas was the last to return from the kitchen, finding that all his companions were accounted for and waiting for the next step.
Minutes earlier, each of them took part in cleaning up the kitchen by simply putting away dishes, picking up stray ceramic shards from the plate knocked down by Rainbow Dash, and set every little appliance back in their place, all within two minutes. It had been weird day for everyone and they were glad to have gotten to a point where their differences were [almost] sorted out, only to be replaced by an even greater problem. With what little they had to offer to each other, the most important of which was trust.
All six of them spread throughout the large decorated lounge in pairs. Twilight and Rainbow Dash stood next to the sofa nearest to the lobby. Kate and Cadence settled by the pile of books, looking at each other again in keen study of 'themselves'. Stanley and Lucas stood side by side behind the largest sofa like they were already best friends. Although far from being true, they had no reason to hate each other anymore. If anything, they needed each other to change for the better.
There were only two words in Stanley's mind to explain the dangers they were now facing. If only he could say them with as little apprehension as possible.
“They're coming,” he finally said after a minute of silence, being as succinct as possible.
“Who's coming?” Rainbow slowly asked.
“The people that received the radio signal you sent with the beacon. They're on their way.”
Stanley deliberately left the information vague so that the ponies wouldn't worry. It was the wrong approach. One would think such bargain would be less effective by having the opposite effect, for terror is fueled by obscurity. His deep, rugged voice was just enough to inflict his message with fear.
He noticed the exchange in confused glances between the ponies.
“So how is this going to work?” The navigator put his hands in his pockets and pivoted his both side to side. His trembling nerves doubled with every minute that went by, because every minute the ponies were stuck on Earth was a minute closer to being discovered.
“Wait, hold on.” Cadence spoke with the utmost content. Her brow furrowed. “Who is 'they'? Please, we want to know why we must hurry the use of a most delicate feat of spellcasting.”
“Let's not worry about that—“
“But we need to know what is going on,” Twilight interrupted. She immediately did her best Fluttershy impression of sinking back shortly after speaking. Her instinct to know had kicked in. “If I may ask, why the sudden rush? You mentioned prison and government, surely you don't mean they have something to do with us? I assume you were only kidding by the sarcasm in your voice.”
The young man was slightly taken back by her apparent conclusion of the illustrative gestures he made back in the kitchen. Twilight struck him as the type of person—or pony—that was too much of an intellectual powerhouse who was also socially inept to recognize the lack of a serious tone in casual, if not all conversations.
Stanley ran a hand through his hair. “I wasn't joking, but I may have exaggerated my point a little. But it's not impossible, those things could happen.”
“But why would those thing happen?” Twilight questioned, eager to get him to elaborate. “I would feel better if I knew exactly what is bothering the two of you.”
Stanley stared at her for ten seconds too long. She couldn't tell if his look was an attempt at intimidation with some form of silent treatment or was studying her closely. She was already starting to feel the heat of interrupting him and vexing him for an answer.
He quietly filled his lungs with air and—when he was prepared to talk—he puffed it all out in one swoop.
“A Coastguard rescue team is on their way here,” he said with a straight face. “That small device you saw on the floor, the one I broke in order to spare you from that painful headache that was attacking you, which you're welcome by the way, it sent out the radio waves...” he tapped on Lucas on the shoulder as he explained. The captain held up what was left of his beacon for her to see. Two halves of it actually. “Well, it's a distress beacon we sailors use as an SOS, a call for help. It sent out a strong signal to a response team in the event we needed help at sea, which means it won't be long until they get here.”
Kate sighed. “I would estimate about twenty minutes to a half hour until they arrive,” she concluded. Because such aid has happened only once before a few years back, she judged by that experience. That amount of time for rescue was actually pretty slow considering, but it also depended on how long the beacon was active for. The longer it was on, the easier it was to trace, but there's no way of knowing until it's too late. “And since it we aren't exactly in mortal danger, they won't be very happy when they show up.”
Twilight and Cadence now began to share the same concern as the humans. Rainbow Dash, however, interpreted the news differently, thinking that it's wasn't a big deal as long as they were hidden from sight, or back home by then. She thought it would help to apply what she learned from her friends and be more optimistic. Turns out being friends with Pinkie Pie had some redeeming qualities in sticky situations.
Although, they all could agree that what was coming—as Stanley so bluntly put it—was not something to look forward to.
The room felt a little warmer in the sense that each one of them understood exactly what to fear from new company and that each one of them were all in it together. After letting the information sink in, Stanley stepped forward and repeated his original question.
“So how is this going to work?”
Despite informing the ponies on the new threat, his question brought them no closer to speeding up the process. Each of them fell silent once more as a triangle of stares hovered above the room. Twilight was the one who could fix the mishap between Kate and Cadence, but in the grand scheme of things, it still didn't answer the question of how they were going to get back to Equestria. She hadn't the slightest clue on what spell brought them here in the first place. She was still waiting for the last piece of the puzzle to manifest as a forgotten memory.
It shouldn't be too long.
“So... do you think you can repeat the exact spell as before?” said Lucas. “Are there some weird words you have to recite like any other wizard? Like Harry Potter?” Twilight gave the man a quizzical look. He grinned and twirled his hands wildly. “He's a fictional wizard from a famous book series.”
“Spells are more than just words, but you're right, some incantations such as curses and hexes require high-level spellcasting abilities while reciting old verses from a spellbook. Fortunately, the spell I used is neither a curse nor a hex, nor is it spellbook oriented. All I need to do is perform the same spell and repeat the malfunction that occurred with my magic.”
“Repeat the malfunction?” Cadence gulped. “I-I don't know. Isn't that a bit dangerous? Not to mention unpredictable.”
“Don't worry.” Twilight stood up, helping the human Princess to her feet. “I'm sure it will be fine. I just need to replicate my error and it should work.”
“Are you sure you have enough magic to get it right?”
“I'm sure.”
Twilight reassured her with a warm smile, which in turn gave Cadence the strength to do the same. It was all they needed from each other to remind them of what they lived for.
“Do I have to be asleep for that?” Kate asked.
“That can be arranged.” Lucas smirked, intentionally instigating naïve transgression for his enjoyment.
“Oh Ha Ha,” she laughed dryly. It didn't take her long to realize the ruse in his voice. She stuck a hoof at him, puffed her lips, and scrunched her muzzle. “Now that's the Lucas White I remember.”
“I could be a lot worse.”
“Good thing you won't. I know you too well. I do like the new you, though.”
“Ah, same for you. How's that horn working out for ya? Careful not to impale someone with it.”
“I could make it look like it was an accident. You'll never it coming.”
“Too bad you can't fly. It wouldn't been funny to see you try.”
“Hey man, these wings are beautiful.” Kate nodded at Cadence. “You have lovely wings by the way.” The Princess feebly nodded back, unsure is she was sincere.
“I didn't say they weren't beautiful.”
“You jealous?”
Lucas blinked. His hesitation was a reflection of his actual disposition, but got back in the game and pinched his fingers together.
“Maybe a little, but hey,” he shrugged and wrapped his arm around his cousin's neck. “We are who we are.”
“And you are?”
“I am me.” Lucas posed in a flashy manner. Soon after he felt a light nudge on his left shoulder, snapping from his silly self-portrait stature.
“You guys done screwing around?” Stanley taunted dearly.
All three of them have been through this kind of antiquated rapture many times in the past. It seems they never could outgrow whimsical habits of immaturity. It happily reminded each of them of the better days of their partnership, that much they were grateful for.
Although it ushered a drop of entertainment, the sort of comedic relief they were looking for, it threw the three ponies for a loop. Cadence and Twilight couldn't say they have witnessed behavior like that before, but Rainbow Dash chuckling to herself. Humans were interesting.
Indeed.
“So anyway, I don't mean to be picky,” Lucas proclaimed. “But how do we know this will work? If this is high-level magic you're talking about, then there's a good chance it might not work out as planned. Forget the amount of magic you need for a second. What about the small details? I'm no expert in computer programming—or anything really—but if it works like a code, errors are never usually a good thing. You might mess up her mind more than it already is.” Kate shot him an affable glare at the remark. “Or worse.”
“I will make sure that won't happen.” Twilight took a step forward in his direction.
“But I'm just saying, maybe it be best if you take your time with the spell. Stanley is just overreacting to our little problem. We can worry about the Guard later, but right now, we need to focus on what we need to do.”
“Of course.” Twilight nodded took another step.
“But if Twilight doesn't succeed in time,” Stanley wailed. “Then we'll have to run—“
“I said stop worrying about it.” Lucas pat his cousin on the back, hard enough to make him jerk forward, but too soft to hurt. “Rushing things only make things worse. I'm saying we have to think about this more carefully.”
“And what do you suppose we do when it's too late.”
“I will take care of it, so ultimately it's my responsibility to keep them safe.” One moment Kate was wearing a frown as her captain spoke, and the next, it had nearly vanished, replaced by fond display of pride for the new Lucas she came to like. She was still dying to know what exactly the two men talked about what outside. “I decided to help them yesterday, so I intend on doing that.”
“So, as long as you're here, you're in charge?” Stanley said in a patronizing tone.
“I didn't say that.” Lucas was getting tired of hearing Stanley complain. “All I'm saying is to make sure we don't let things get out of hand from being so careless. So like I said, think about this for a second.”
A quick, reluctant sigh shot out the navigator's nose in hopes that his older cousin was right. He mentally berated himself for losing sight of the obvious issues concerning the greater good. In retrospect, he turned into the fool he constantly tried to avoid.
“Fine.”
By the time they were done arguing, Twilight was directly in front of Lucas. Standing half his height, she waited until the man returned his gaze to her own to complete her vows.
“I will do everything in my power to make things right for my mistake.” She then bowed to him like he was royalty and looked up at him as if she was begging for mercy. “Please, I understand that it is particularly overwhelming to those who underestimate my ability in magic, but as a humble pony who has been through similar concerns for a friend, I only ask that you trust me.”
The simple action surprised the captain. Not a day in his life did he think something like this would occur. A lavender unicorn from a fantasy-filled universe kneeling before him made him both nervous and enlightened at the same time. Searching for the appropriate feeling was nearly impossible. Whether or not she saw him as divine or noble—or a combination of the two—he held back his initial impulse to protest. It would only evoke delay.
Glancing at everyone standing around to watch the silly deed unfold, no one said a word, or gave any indication that what had transpired between him and unicorn was awkward.
Little did he know, Twilight thought of him as an intelligent and exceptional individual. The few ideas he had lectured to her the night before about how the concept of magic made him feel and how he envied her raw abilities was inspiring, regardless of whether it was intended to be. Inspiring in a way that made her rethink of the way she viewed equality and the real potential of others. His words tugged on something deep inside her that she never thought she had.
Their first encounter took her completely by surprise and—at the time—she had no clue how to react. At first, the mere sight of the human caught her off guard, sending her screaming into the night. She had to admit the hilarity of that outcome. Now, she was beginning to see who he really was. Even though she hadn't spent a whole lot of time around the man, she didn't need to. It reflected in his motivations. Extensive conversations would not have been enough. He already showed how much he needed a friend judging by the conflicts between Stanley and his interactions with Kate. Still, she knew he had the potential to change if she showed him a little compassion.
It was about time she banished her pretentious ego and adopt an entirely new set of values that changed the way she understood the will of others, all to ensure her sense of self would not inflate much larger than her integrity could withstand.
The unicorn raised her head high.
“What would you like me to do first?” she asked.
Lucas cleared the dryness in his throat and took a step back.
“Well, let's get this place cleaned up before we do anything else. Kate?” he snapped his fingers to garner her attention. “Why don't you and Cadence start with the cleaning off the table and figure out who sits where. Twilight, you can help Stanley and I sort these books and put them back on the shelf.”
As luck would have it, Twilight was positively shaking with glee for being assigned to help the men sort their collection of priceless volumes of human literature. She made a mental note to ask if she could take one back with her to Equestria.
“As for you,” Lucas finished off, looking at Rainbow Dash. “Do you think you can keep watch? Maybe fly around and explore a little?”
The pegasus grinned widely, her cheeks puffing at the corners of her mouth, enough to produce an audible squee. She was already on her way to the door when Lucas spoke again.
“Look out for any signs of other boats or airplanes that come this way. Don't let them see you. When you see them, notify us right away.”
“Wait, what's an airplane?”
“You'll know when you see it. Now go!”
Rainbow saluted with a hoof and out the door she went.
Kate walked to the center of the room and stood beside the glass table between the two sofas. She proceeded to use her alicorn magic to move the two heaters off the table and placed them on the floor next to the pile of books. Next on the list was to relocate the hard-cover history book and empty soda cans somewhere else. Conveniently enough, she found a trash can against the side of the large sofa and threw the cans away. As for the book, she added it to the pile of books her friends were currently busy with.
All that was left on the table was an expensive-looking glass heart that appeared much like a neatly cut diamond.
“What's this?” she asked the only person who could hear her.
Cadence—who had finally found her balance with walking on two legs on her own—sat down on the couch, opposite of Kate.
“Hmm, it looks like a miniature replica of the Crystal Heart.” The Princess picked up the glass figure and held it closer to her face to get a better look. Her features scrunched in amazement and confusion. After all this time, she hadn't noticed it until now, probably because it blended with the table beneath it. “How— how did you acquire such an item from our world?”
Kate shrugged, ruffling her feathers that started to irritated her sides again. “I didn't know we had one. Weird.”
“From what you have told us, your world does not know of ours. This cannot be.” Cadence became captivated by the existence of a totem of the power source from her entire kingdom in the human world. There must be an explanation.
“Hey Lucas?” Kate called out to the three behind couch. “Where did we get this?” She pointed at the small Crystal Heart in Cadence's hands.
Having already sorted half of the books on the floor, the trio stopped and turned their attention towards them. Lucas stood up where he sat. It was difficult to see the item in question from that distance—and also because Cadence covered most of the object with her palms, examining every cut and corner of the object that bestowed love and joy to all ponies.
“Where did we get what?”
“That.” A hoof pointed at Cadence. “That tiny glass heart.”
Cadence lifted her gaze from the heart and looked at the captain. She clutched it close to her chest for a moment like a foal's plush doll and then held it out half an arms length away from her, inches above the table. She balanced it on the palm of her hand and cocked her head at it. The moment Kate's eyes came in contact with the heart again, they locked in on the center of the gem with an unblinking stare.
“Oh.” Lucas dropped his shoulders, unimpressed and undervalued. He rolled his eyes, mockingly. “That? Well it used to be the glass apple you gave me for my birthday.”
“Really now?”
He nodded, a short huff escaped his nostrils. Taking a temporary break, he walked up to the sofa and leaned on the headrest. “Yup. Twilight turned it into a diamond with her magic powers. I guess we can't always keep everything we own.”
“Not just any diamond,” Cadence quipped without looking away from the glass heart. She was squinting at it curiously, not a blink ensued. “The physical manifestation of love and joy, the source of courage and serenity within us all, the symbol of harmony and peace for the subjects of the Crystal Empire. The eternal energy that sparkles within me. My life's destiny, my inner spirit.”
Lucas stood up straight and took a step back, kicking a book back across the carpet. He crossed his arms and bit his lip, a bit offput by the delegated statement as if she rigorously rehearsed the words so flawlessly so that she could deliver them at this particular moment in time. Everything she said sounded like it could have come out of a fantasy manual on magical treasures.
“That's quite a mouthful,” he said after the whole room had gone quiet. “Are you look possessed by it or something? It's just an ornament.”
“However, this is just a representation of the actual Crystal Heart, but for it to be so perfectly drafted in every way puzzles me.” She turned to the purple mare who had move closer to the table during her speech. “I admire your accuracy and craftsmanship, Twilight. Where did you learn such precision in the art of sculpting?”
“It was just a demonstration to show Lucas the existence of magic. It was the only thing that came to mind.”
“The only thing? Are you sure?” Cadence looked at the heart again. She gently lowered it to the table—Kate's hypnotized gaze followed—and set it down nice an easy, giving a whole new meaning to the phrase 'handle with care'. A myriad of branching thoughts sprouted out of the single idea that the glass heart was more than just a fashionable party decoration. She stared at it long enough to know that something was off about it.
Twilight noticed the Princess' enchanted study of the heart.
“Is there something wrong?” she muttered.
“I'm not sure.” Cadence paused, unsure if her worries were worth noting. It took no more than a couple seconds for the decision-making portion of her brain to choose a path. “Did you... do something to it, Twilight?”
“Um.” The mare shook her head. “Nothing that should affect the mineral composition of the silicon molecu—“
“No no, I mean... are you sure it was safe to rearrange this object without sufficient knowledge of the true power of the Crystal Heart?”
“Are you suggesting I altered it too much? So much, in fact, that I somehow created the real Crystal Heart, only a smaller version of it?” Now that that ridiculous hypothesis floated around in her mind, Twilight could no stop thinking about it, no matter how improbable it seemed.
“Out of my apple?” Lucas added after having understood where the avid discussion was leaning towards. If there was one thing he could heed to, it was his own personal belongings. His apple/Crystal Heart was the center of attention now. Even Stanley joined the fuss by getting up from his post and standing shoulder to shoulder next to him again.
“I don't think so.” Twilight answered, given the silence as affirmation. “I don't even know that's possible. No, it IS impossible,” she rephrased. As much as she hated to call horsefeathers on the assertion, she couldn't believe that she believed it to be true, even without evidence. For some reason, all it took to believe was Cadence's word.
“Okay, I'm lost here.” Stanley raised his hands and rounded the sofa to get a better look of the lavishly cut heart. “You're not making any sense.”
“You've done an marvelous job, Twilight.” Cadence slipped off the couch and sat on the floor, leaning in at eye level with the Crystal Heart. “If it has some of your magical residue left over, we can use it to our advantage.”
“You've all gone nuts.” Stanley murmured, but his remark went unheard.
“Perhaps,” Cadence continued. “it is the solution to the spell that brought us here. Maybe it could take us home, or at least show us the way.”
“That's wild speculation,” Twilight mildly objected. “But I don't disagree with you. I hope the answer lies with the Crystal Heart. Teleporting to this world may have something to do a powerful source of magic. Although, we can't be sure if that source is the Heart itself. I remember Kate saying—”
“We don't have time for this!” Stanley interjected, turning the serious meter on high alert. “We've already wasted enough time looking at that useless thing and joking around instead of moving on more important things...” The young man's ability to see the big picture as clearly as the rest of them had gone way over his head. From the way he spoke, he sounded more annoyed than cordial. “Like putting this mess away and getting on with fixing everybody's life so everything can go back to normal.”
He back tracked and returned to the tedious mission of organizing their assortment of published works, old encyclopedias, nonfiction novels, and copies upon copies of various history books, one of which didn't belong on the shelf.
“Don't get so worked up, Stanley. We are doing the best we can to make sure we get through this.” His cousin pat him on the back, reassuringly.
“Our best is not enough,” he replied angrily, ignoring eye contact.
“No, stop.” Lucas scolded, standing over his associate. “Look at me.”
Stanley stopped what he was doing and froze in place on command, refusing to face the man after giving him that attitude. His voice was so deep and dominant, it scared him to the bone, chills creeping down his spine. The light of the room seemed to flicker, but he was pretty sure it was an illusion from the blood rapidly draining away of his face.
“Look at me,” he repeated more calmly.
Stanley eventually did, but with all his new friends watching, he did so slowly and shamefully. The saddened grimace revealed much about his prevailing feelings. Lucas could tell.
“I know we are in a tight situation here, but you need to loosen up and not stress yourself out so much.” He bent over to pick up a book, read the cover title, then flicked it back in the pile. “Come on, forget about the books, it's a stupid idea put them away anyway. A waste of time, as you so smartly put it.”
“Um...” Twilight's voice hummed from the side. “I don't mean to interrupt, but it looks like your friend Kate is currently in the process of discovering the final piece of the puzzle.”
Both men looked at each other and settled the ties with sighs.
“What does that mean?”
“See for yourself.”
They did just that. What they found when carefully relocating to the other end of the room was a drooling stare from the violet eyes of the pink alicorn. Her equine ears flicked irregularly, but other than that, the sight of her appeared like her mind had been wiped clean or hypnotized by spinning black and white spirals. It was a little creepy, which worried them.
“What's wrong with her?” asked Lucas.
“I believe she's having another vision.”
The humans took that a joke.
“A vision?” The captain simply played dumb by putting his hand on his hips. “Really? She's gonna make us think she's seeing into the future or something? I don't buy that.”
Following her gaze, her light of sight pierced into the center of the glass heart. He prodded over and sat down next to Cadence on the opposite end of table. He thought he'd have some fun.
“Watch this.” He stuck an arm out over the table.
“No please! Don't touch me... I mean her... I mean us...” Cadence's pleaded through Kate's soothing voice. Lucas repealed his hand from. Within an instant, he had another, safer idea.
“I was only gonna test if she's faking it or not. She does put on a convincing brainwashed face.”
Stanley quietly knelt beside Twilight to watch what happens. Lucas waited a few more seconds as the time ticked on, raising an eyebrow after the fifth second. Kate still remained a lifeless statue. He was beginning to lean away from it being another joke, making way for an uncertain state of mind. As much caution as he had around Kate now, there was a point where the line was unclear. He didn't know what to do if the risk was a blind gamble, an anxious bet cold enough for his sclerosis to resurface.
Lucas' right hand started shaking uncontrollably again. He pulled his arm away just in time to hide the building convulsions, but not before snapping his fingers loud inches from Kate's face.
Just was intended, Kate jolted her body up slightly, rigidly joggling her head side to side after being pulled away from the magical memory. Unaware that each her companions were watching her every move—having been absorbed by her eerie hindrance of character, she rubbed her eyes and propped up straight, her vision still fuzzy.
“Whoa,” she grumbled.
“What is it, Kate?” Twilight quickly sputtered, eager to hear about. “What did you see?”
“What did I see?” Kate said, searching for a purple blob in the blur coated withing her corneas. Twilight's repetition of question placed the unicorn some three feet away. “I saw white.”
Twilight's ears flattened, largely unsatisfied with the answer. “Is that all?”
“Did you see robots fighting aliens in the near future?” Stanley joked.
“What? No.” She giggled. “Just white. A very shiny white void. It was so surreal.”
Kate's eye sight soon returned to her, and not long after the vision, everything was back to normal. She glanced at every one standing around her, brightening the room with each of their faces. For some reason, that last vision felt like hours to her. She felt so alone and lost, having only herself to stand next to. Not quite a comforting memory to begin with, but she was convinced it was a mix between a memory and Cadence's own weary perception of worth. For a Princess that was one with the element of Love and tremendously powerful in every way, this was surprising to Kate. She understood Princess Cadence's deepest feelings, which consequently guided her through every emotion. EVERY emotion, no matter how small.
The woman felt like a criminal, an innocent spy, trapped inside the personality of another. Forced to endure the hidden side of an alicorn Princess that very few knew and play the unwilling thief that steals the secrets held dearly behind her mind. This thought did not help her any more than sitting quietly as her friends waited for her to continue.
Kate looked at Cadence across the table.
“I'm sorry.”
Her human counterpart tilted her head.
“What for?”
“I— uh...” Considering all the ears listening in on her every word, it probably wasn't ideal to articulate the personal stigma that WAS Cadence. It's best to keep the matter incognito and leave it be. It was to remain unsaid, even among her closest friends. “Nothing. I'll tell you later.”
“So Kate,” Lucas began. “What happened? Twilight is saying you had some freaky vision, like those crazy psychics claim to have.”
“Uh, yeah. But it's not about the future...” She turned to the unicorn mare between them. “I'll let her explain it.”
Twilight nodded once and cleared her throat. “It's an abnormal ability that unicorns have that only occur after periods of short term memory loss. Usually a pony would not have vivid images come to them in pieces, but under certain circumstances, like ours for example, the gaps in our memories return to us as distinct visions.” She smirked. “I read about them in Starswirl the Bearded's journal. He briefly studied of the side effects of magical misfires, including amnesia.”
“So that's what that was?” said Lucas. “A vision? A memory?” Fixing his eyes back on Kate, the look he gave her was exactly like that of Twilight's. “Well... what kind of memory was it?”
“The same thing I told her. Just white.”
“There must be more to it than that?” Twilight could not bring herself to accept how her visions was nothing but a blank image, no detail at all. Also, she herself expected a new resurgence of her own vision to verify the memory, but was awarded nothing. No strange feelings, no misty cloud showing her the past, and no illusions. Just the now.
“I'm pretty sure white doesn't have a shape,” Kate added. “Right? I mean it's a color, or lack thereof.” She looked down at the crystal heart resting at the middle of the table. A light-blue aura surrounded the precious jewel and hovered towards her. Using her magic, Kate delicately set it in her right hoof, sticking to the bottom like paste.
“Sure, but what does that have to do with anything?” Twilight grunted, slightly irritated and almost frustrated.
“Twilight, Twilight,” Cadence called, raising her chin with a hand. She was the only one to notice the building panic. “Remember what I taught you.”
With her new human forearms, she patted herself on the chin, breathed in, then let her arm flow outwards away from her body, breathing out. The corner of Twilight's mouth tugged into smile. The recently stressed unicorn copied the familiar gesture, taking a deeper breath to ensure calm stability.
“Better?” The response came with a nod. “Now what she means is, we don't understand what you mean by that? Care to explain?”
Kate lifted the Heart higher where a single ray of sunlight fractured beams on several different directions. It was nice to admire the light show, but it did nothing more than a brilliant spectacle. Though, it wasn't the rays Kate was staring at, but the ornament itself.
“I told you the vision was white, but that white was shaped like this, the Crystal Heart. Like a glowing orb in the sky.”
Twilight perked up, now sharply interested. However, it said nothing about location, time, or who she was with. With one more detail, the clear picture did not reveal itself any further.
“Can I see that?” Cadence asked.
The pink alicorn obeyed and lowered the heart to eye level. As soon as the Princess grabbed hold of the objects while still in contact with Kate's hooves, she stopped. Both of them felt a strange, yet strikingly familiar sensation flow through them, channeling some kind of acute energy from their intimate touch, down their arms, and up to the core of their brains. Their hands began to vibrate, neither of them could control it.
In fact, neither of the two could let go their grip on each other. A small breeze started to swirl within the expanse of the room, startling the humans.
“W-what's going on?” Stanley stuttered, feeling an uneasy chill on his skin. Him and Lucas stepped back, along with an equally confused Twilight Sparkle. It was then that a humming sound gradually wailed to a point of shaking the entire room. The indoor wind intensified, blowing papers of the shelves and drawers in the air, even moving something as heavy as a book.
The room appeared to rage out of control. It knocked over books, blew the window blinds for a ride, and sent Stanley and Lucas' loose clothing flailing in the flustering gale. The mysterious storm spawned a vortex, one which circled around the Princess and the house's owner, producing a bright light at the very center of the glass heart they were holding on to. The rapid displacement in pressure was almost too much to bear, coming dangerously close to that of a trashing tornado.
The three spectators could barely make out the faces of their friends caught in the middle. Their expressions were unmistakably unpleasant, squeezing their eyes tight and gritting their teeth.
“Let go of the heart!” Twilight shouted over the volume of the fluctuating hum, the hairs in her mane threatening to tear off her scalp. The two men behind her had the same problem.
It was too late, by the time the white light became blinding daggers, a seething, crackling sound electrified beyond measure, nearly rupturing the painful decibel limit of their eardrums.
*BOOM*