Bloodline
Chapter 6 - Three of their Kind
The dark-clothed ponies had disappeared out of the woods around Twilight, Light Chaser and Rainbow Dash and now walked down a lonesome corridor. Only a few rare candles illuminated the dark halls faintly. A big wooden door hindered them from going on. The gentle knock of the pony in lead was enough to get the door opened. More light filled the corridor when the wooden doors opened. The giant chandelier at the ceiling of the room behind spent enough light to illuminate the whole hall.
The group of ponies made their way through the other members of their cult. They were kneeling on the ground surrounded by small candles, praying silently inside their own minds. The leader of the group was the first to reach the row of thrones. They stood far off from the praying ponies in the dawn outside the range of the light. Only the eyes of the ponies within these thrones were visible. None of them paid attention to the approaching ponies but one. Her purple eyes looked down on their leader and a offered him only a lazy smile that was hidden in the shadows when he bowed to her. The subservient pony looked up and spoke bashfully to his Lord. “My Lord. We shall report to you the newest developments judged by the observations the councils had commanded.”
From within the dark, the mare stepped out into the faint light of the candles. Her blue coat darkened in the twilight, but her white teeth and shining eyes seemingly glowed in the dark. Her white mane deflected the light and made her horn barely visible. “The great and powerful Trixie allows you to speak, lower servant!”
This pony hissed under the hood of his cloak at the humiliating remarks of the arrogant unicorn. Fortunaly for him, he managed to suppress his anger and disgust. Carefully, he raised his head and looked at Trixie with a false grin on his lips. “It seems that the Princesses were telling the truth. The recently crowned alicorn Twilight Sparkle was accompanied by a crystal pegasus. His origin is unknown to us. There are no records of his parents or any other family members. He has to be the one the Princesses were talking about: King Sombra's son. His name is Light Chaser.”
Trixie slowly walked down the stairs in front of the thrones. Before she reached the leader of the pony group, he quickly bowed down to her again. The blue unicorn put her hoof upon his head and pushed his nose against the ground. “You know that this little cult here was founded after the banishment of Discord and the capture of King Sombra, only a few nights before the moon turned mad and sought for the extinguishing of the sun. It is our goal to restore the order in which this world belongs. Do you understand that this might be a once-in-a-lifetime chance? Ever since the founding of this cult we dreamed of reviving the dark King. We can't consider any other action before we get this Light Chaser into our hooves. But the great and powerful Trixie can't think of a way to convince him to switch sides.”
The pony under Trixie's hoof didn't fight back against her force. His blood was already boiling in anger but he only had to endure this pain. He almost forgot about Trixie's words, but when he repeated her speech in his head, he was reminded of a reason their prey might join them. “Light Chaser had talked to a pegasus mare, the Element of Loyalty, Rainbow Dash. He said that his greatest desire is regaining the ability to fly. If we could grant him this desire, he may be interested in joining us. Even though he won't be pleased by being confronted with the possible resurrection of his father, he might give in and agree.”
Trixie took her heavy hoof from his head to scratch her chin while she dwelt in her thoughts. Her eyes closed and she began to hum, but her eyes snapped back open and she exclaimed her conclusion. “This is everything that is required to humiliated Twilight by showing the ponies of Equestria her stupidity. ” The great and powerful Trixie simply has to find a way to bring back his wings and convince him to join us!”
She began to laugh maliciously. With a spark of her magic she released small sparks around herself to dramatise the scene. The leader of the small group rolled his eyes and backed slowly down. The dumbness of the blue unicorn disgusted him. He just wanted to escape the mad-mare before she did something really bad.
The pony took his hood off and walked down the dark corridor. A still-cloaked mare stood in the shadow and waited for him to pass. When he crossed her path she silently whispered in his direction. “Do you have anything new besides the things you said to this puny Trixie pony?”
The light brown stallion looked at the shadowed mare and shook his head. His brown mane gently whipped by his firm movements. For a short moment his cutie mark was visible in the twilight. It was a hourglass that decorated his entire behind. For a short moment his blue eyes had narrowed when the mare peeked out of the dark to hear him better. “You are really a pain in the ass, always curious and putting your nose into things that shouldn't concern you.”
The mare giggled faintly and returned into her beloved darkness that hid her face. “Well, it is always an advantage to know what exactly is going on around here. The ponies were have become more and more labile, for example this Trixie. She has become mad. Even though she tried to clear the air between her and Twilight, she broke down. What mad-mare wants to bring back the Dark King? They would bring havoc over Equestria. What do you think, sweetie?”
The stallion straightened the bow-tie he wore underneath his cloak and coughed politely. “I'm not your sweetie. I'm Doctor Whooves, or just the Doctor. You know what? I like the Doctor more. Call me that if necessary. You are right, Trixie has become mad from the thought of proving to Twilight that she is equal to her. But we shouldn't do anything now besides waiting for her next move. Trixie's magic is nothing but show. She can't possibly be able to regrow Light Chaser's wings. This is nothing but a desperate girl-fight between Trixie and Twilight Sparkle.”
Darkness surrounded the mare and enveloped her in its gentle fangs. She carefully left while she spoke her final words to the Doctor. “Remember my words, Doctor. You say this is just a little girl-fight but this is far more than just fooling around. Light Chaser will be the one who brings Equestria down in the end. May it be with our help or on his own, this stallion will finally fall bitter and lonesome and begin to destroy everything that could hurt him.”
Doctor Whooves looked into the dark spot were the mare has stood before. She had retreated while she spoke her warning. The Doctor sighed and pulled his hood back on his head before he continued his walk. “I will remember your words,Whisper.”
Only minutes ago, the group of ponies that had observed Twilight and Light Chaser were in the forest where Rainbow Dash trained for the Wonderbolts. They were gone, but Rainbow, Twilight and Light remained between the woods.
Rainbow Dash still hovered alongside them and followed while they wandered through the forest. Light Chaser always held his distance from the brash pegasus. He simply hid behind Twilight, who was permanently walking between Rainbow and himself. From the corner of his eyes, the crystal pegasus glared at Rainbow's well-trained wings. Light Chaser gulped in front of the new pony. “Rainbow? Could you please tell me what flying means to you?”
She stopped in mid-air and eyed the crystal pony carefully. Rainbow was brash, but she knew that the wrong words might hurt the disabled pegasus on the ground. “Flying means really much to me. As filly I never had the freedom to go where I wanted to. Since I was able to hover only a little bit, I was always eager to feel the freedom high in the sky. Sometimes being alone at a place where nopony is able to reach you is the best. But don't think that flying means everything to me. You know, it is really awesome and stuff, but what means the most to me are my friends. I would give up my wings for every single one of them. Being able to fly might look enormous for you, but what really counts are the ponies around you that are caring for you and mending your worries.”
Twilight couldn't resist a smile at the warm words of her cyan friend. She would never have thought that Rainbow would find such suiting words. Twilight tried to read the emotions of Light, but the expression on his face didn't tell her anything. It felt like staring at a book with blank pages.
Rainbow cocked an eye at the curious stallion and passed Twilight quickly to hover in front of his eyes. “Now it’s my turn to ask you a few questions! How can you be the only crystal pegasus? I mean there just have to be more!”
Before Light Chaser could say anything, Twilight stepped in and shoved Rainbow Dash gently aside. Hastily, the lavender alicorn searched for an excuse. It was still too early to reveal Light's real identity to her friends. A pearl of sweat ran down her forehead. “It was quite unusual in the past that different races of ponies had foals together. So since the Crystal Empire only reappeared a few weeks ago, another kind of crystal ponies is a rare sight. This is the reason why he came here in the first place. He wanted to meet other pegasi. And please don't wonder why he may be a little bit timid sometimes, he was always the misfit among the other crystal ponies. Just give him time to adjust.”
Rainbow rolled with her eyes, but her frown quickly changed into an enthusiastic grin. “I didn't want to know about his entire family, Twi! But anyway, it is cool to have you here, Light! You just made your first pegasus friend! Come on! Bro-hoof, buddy!”
Twilight's eyes widened as much as Light Chaser's while Rainbow stretched her hoof towards Light. Twilight had to make a fast move and ignited her horn. The hoof got closer to Light. He didn't know how to act. Adrenaline shot into his body and made it impossible to move. Light felt heavy and slow but the gently stoke of Twilight's magic made him feel comfortable again. It was an odd feeling but it felt so good on his skin for this tiny period of time. Twilight had switched places with Light Chaser and got struck by Rainbow's hoof.
Rainbow blinked rapidly while she still pushed her hoof into Twilight's muzzle. Her eyes wandered slowly to Light Chaser, who laid shaking in fear at the ground. Rainbow Dash gulped and pulled her hoof off of Twilight. “Hehe, sorry. I see what you have meant with 'a little bit timid'.”
Twilight spat the dirt of her mouth and coughed gently. “Many ponies have hurt him in the past, so he has grown afraid of others. But I treated him like I would treat every other pony in need and earned his trust. I'm sure that in the near future he will become used to being around other ponies.”
Rainbow Dash rubbed her chin and dwelt for a second in her thoughts. She clapped her hooves together when an idea finally came to her mind. “I know just the thing! We know another pegasus who is the most timid, shy and scared pony ever! I'm sure you two will get along just great! She will probably be more afraid of you are of her!”
Twilight waited for Light Chaser's reaction. The stallion stared for a few seconds on the ground. His eyes wandered from the right to the left and back until he decided to get back on his hooves. Bashfully, he looked up to the alicorn and nodded weakly at her. Twilight's face brightened up while they continued their walk through the forest. Fluttershy's cottage was nearby. Only a few minutes parted them from the butter-coloured pegasus.
Light Chaser held more distance from Rainbow Dash than before. Until now he’d been brave, but Rainbow's approach brought back his fear. But it showed Twilight that Light wasn't really a pony who wanted to live in loneliness. Light Chaser seemed to be a pony that liked the presence of others much more than Twilight did on her first day in Ponyville. Soon he might be able to interact with unfamiliar ponies.
Twilight lost herself inside her thoughts for so long that she didn't realize that they had almost reached Fluttershy's cottage. It was already in sight. Twilight sighed and turned to Light. “Do you remember about the mare with the animals who I mentioned before? This is the pegasus we are visiting now. You will love her critter friends!”
From the distance, Light Chaser could already see many different kinds of animals running wild around the lovely cottage. Butterflies were dancing around the flowers in front of the windows and squirrels jumped from branch to branch and playfully juggled with their nuts.
Rainbow used the advantage she had with her wings and sped towards the door to knock a few times. Fluttershy always needed some time until she reaches the door. The timing was perfect. Just as soon as Twilight and Light Chaser reached the door, it opened and Fluttershy waved them quickly inside. Some lettuce and cucumber were in her hooves. It must have been feeding time right now. They went inside and waited for a second before Fluttershy returned to them. This time, she walked over to them without food in her hooves. “Sorry girls, but I was just feeding my little friends. I'm happy that you...”
Fluttershy hadn't noticed the third pony in the party and eyed the crystal pegasus for a short moment before her instincts kicked in. She retreated immediately and hid her face behind her mane. Almost inaudibly she whispered into her hoof. “Hi, I'm Fluttershy... Nice to meet you... sorry about my timidness. I'm not used to talking to other stallions than Applejack's brother, Big Mac.”
Rainbow and Twilight looked at each other. Even though they’d known Fluttershy for a long time now, they didn't understand what she had said. But Light Chaser seemed to have an extraordinary sense of hearing and understood every single word Fluttershy had spoken.
Light Chaser was surprised by the reaction of the pegasus. She was the exact opposite of the cyan brute that stood next to him and Twilight. His heart was pumping hard at the presence of two unfamiliar ponies around him. His mouth has become dry, but he managed to bring words out of his mouth. “Hello, Fluttershy. It is nice to meet you, too. I'm Light Chaser. I came from the Crystal Empire to meet other pegasi.”
Twilight noticed that his knees were shaking, but she couldn't hear any waver in his voice anymore. Light Chaser had become braver and braver with every passing second outside the library. Smoothly, he acknowledged the lie Twilight was telling them. He understood that she was trying to protect his true identity for good.
Fluttershy cowered behind Angel Bunny and tried to hide the majority of her face behind her long pink mane.
Light Chaser's fright slowly left him. He couldn't understand the behaviour of the timid pegasus. Why was she afraid of him? Light was the one that should be afraid of others. Why does a mare that lived her entire life amongst other ponies have fear of them? Finally, an idea snapped in Light Chaser's mind. He bowed down to equal the eye-level of Fluttershy. “I think I can understand why you are afraid of me but please don't turn your back in front of the opportunity to make new friends. Twilight made this long way to come here only to introduce us to each other and I kinda like you. Both of us are very similar. I'm as much afraid of other ponies as you. I would really like to make new friends, you know... Back in the Crystal Empire I didn't have any friends because of my appearance. So do you accept my friendship, Fluttershy?”
Twilight couldn't believe what Light Chaser just had said. Just a few days ago, he couldn't even tolerate a mere touch of another pony, and now he showed such advanced social skills? Nopony learns that fast about friendship. But Twilight couldn't possibly interrupt him now. She had to see where the situation was going. She looked spell-bound at her still sheepishly hiding friend.
Fluttershy looked bashfully at the most distant corner of the room while she let Light's words resound inside her mind. She slowly got back on her hooves and stroked single strands from her mane of her face. Close in front of Light Chaser, she came to a halt. A heavy blush decorated her face. Light spread his wings a little bit in glee about her reaction. Fluttershy was still looking at the ground and only saw a little bit of the crystal stallion, but something in her perception was wrong. She raised her head only enough to equal his chest. For a second, her eyes were locked upon his wings. It took her some time to realize what was different about them. Tears began to run frankly from her cheeks and met the floor, while small sobs escaped her lungs. “This is terrible... what happened to your wings?”
This uncomfortable and oppressive feeling returned to Light. But something inside him knew that he should keep his masquerade straight. “I really don't want to bother you with this. You could say that I lost them while I fought with my father when I was young. They were too gravely injured, so the doctors had to take them off.”
Fluttershy bit her lip, something drove her to get closer to Light Chaser. The crystal stallion felt uncomfortable, but not threatened by the timid mare. He wanted to run but something deep inside his mind something told him to stay still. Fluttershy laid her hooves upon his wings and gently stroked over their soft surface. “I'm really sorry to hear this. If there is something that I can do to help you, then please tell me.”
She quickly noticed that Twilight and Rainbow Dash were glaring at her with big eyes. As quick as her timidness was gone, so it returned. She hid behind her mane and backed off from Light. “Did I do something wrong? I'm so sorry...”
Twilight blinked a few times before she realized that Fluttershy had noticed her glare. She shook her head and cheerfully exclaimed what made her wonder. “No! You did nothing wrong at all! This is truly amazing. When I first met him nopony was allowed to touch him. It needed sometime until I was able to, Rainbow wasn't allowed to bro-hoof him a few minutes ago. But you just went on and touched him without getting punished. This is great!”
Fluttershy blushed under her mane and whispered her response silently into it. “I guess that means we are friends?”
Light Chaser hesitated her a moment. He searched for the right words for this situation. “Of course, I would be happy to befriend you.”
A small sheepish smile formed on Fluttershy's lips. She get back to her hooves once more and waved over some of her critter friends. “Hello, my little friends. This is Light Chaser, he is a new friend of mine. Please be nice to him. You could play something together and have some fun.”
The small army of animals surrounded Light and climbed on his back. He playfully began to rear up and down to give them a joyful ride. The small animals couldn’t do anything to him, they just wanted to play with him and enjoy his company. He missed something like this for over a thousand years. Rainbow Dash shot towards them and circled above their heads. “Awesome! Two brand-new friends in one day! This day has just become twenty percent cooler!”
Twilight couldn't act different then to smile at the playing ponies. But deep inside her mind, something bothered her. Light Chaser's sudden change in his behaviour made her thoughtful. Just a day before, he might have murdered those two for even touching him. But this morning everything seemed to be different. Different enough to convince Twilight to go out with him at some point. She thought about the possibility that the stallion was manipulating her and her friends. Even though it seemed to be impossible that Light was able to obtain such skills, Twilight decided to have an eye on him. Twilight was sure that something was odd with him. Out of thin air she created a scroll and a feather to write with. The recipient of this letter would be her sister-in-law, Princess Cadence. Hastily, she began to scribble at the freshly created scroll.
Dear Cadence,
I hope you and my brother are doing well in the Crystal Empire, but as you might have guessed, this letter isn't about small-talk. In the past few days, you should have gotten word from the Princesses that they had commissioned me with the reintegration of King Sombra's son into our society.
I'm here at Fluttershy's and he is behaving oddly right now. I'm afraid that something could be wrong with him after all. Even if I really began to take a favour on him. He changed his whole behaviour from one day to another. Light might be plotting something after all. I honestly doubt that his father had put some kind of spell upon him, but please tell me if there are any indications of such a spell. Moreover, could you please tell me everything you know about crystal pegasi, their anatomy and behaviour? If you have found new information about his banishment, please let me know.
With love, your sister-in-law,
Twilight Sparkle
Twilight sent the letter away with her own alicorn magic and sighed quietly. She walked back to her friends and enjoyed a little play with Fluttershy's friends.
Again, she didn't pay attention to her surroundings at all, and missed the dark mare dressed in a cloak that peeked in from outside the window.