“Well, so that explains why the star pupil of Celestia would up and leave overnight, and not tell anypony,” Shining Bolt sneered. “I knew that ponies would become desperate in a moment of need, but I never thought that death of a loved one could drive one of the most powerful unicorns in Equestria to commit the ultimate sin!”
Twilight looked at the floor, tears streaming down her cheeks. Rainbow looked at her, sympathetically, as she wasn’t able to cry, at least not properly. It took away from her life energy if she attempted.
“You learned all sorts of magic from the greatest unicorn in Equestria, and then threw her teachings to the mud!”
“Shut your bucking mouth!” Rainbow’s head shot up, glaring at the stallion before her.
“Rainbow,” said Twilight, calming her short-tempered mare-friend. “He’s right,”
Rainbow paused, and then her expression saddened again. “But, you don’t know what it’s like do you?” she asked Shining Bolt. “What it’s like to lose somepony close to you, and suddenly be alone?”
His sneer faded. “No, I don’t,” He dissipated his spell. “I guess you’re right,” He backed up.
“I suppose I owe you an apology. I was worried that Celestia might have sent you to shut me down. Unsurprisingly, Celestia isn’t okay with losing students to a school in the desert,”
“What do you mean?” asked Twilight.
“The academy I run charges a lower price than Celestia’s, and features lessons close to the same as hers. So naturally, her school loses some unicorns to mine. She’s been trying to shut me down for a year now,”
“Well, I can assure you that I wasn’t sent by Celestia in the least,”
“Oh good. So anyway, you were asking about souls? I assume that you want to return Rainbow’s soul to her body, correct?”
“Yes, I am,”
“Then perhaps you might need to follow the legend of the ‘Sapphire of Ancients’,”
“The Sapphire of Ancients? But I thought that was just an old mare’s tale,”
“I admit that there is no proof that it does, in fact, exist. But should the legend be true, it could amplify your magical abilities ten-fold, possibly even to godly levels,”
“Really?” Twilight looked at Rainbow Dash, who nodded. “Seems like a good lead,” She turned to face Rainbow. “So, must I say it?”
“No…you were right. Ya know, I never thought that you were one to-,” Here ears pricked up.
“What is it?”
“Somepony’s coming. Whoever they are, they’re heavily armored,”
“Dammit, do you have a back door, or a window, or some sort of escape?”
“Uhhh…Yeah, in my office, window on your right,”
“Thanks,”
Twilight teleported herself into the office, and ducked out the window. She looked down the street to her left. There were about a dozen guards at the entrance, the heavily armored one must have been their captain. So she was wrong about the doctors not recognizing her, at least she got the info that she needed.
She looked from one building to the next, until she finally selected a taller building about forty feet ahead of her. She didn’t usually teleport through solid objects, but this was a moment of desperation, and she would have to risk appearing within a wall.
Her horn glowed, and she disappeared in a flash of white and pale purple. She reappeared on the very edge of the building…to the west of the building that she was targeting. She fell backwards, grabbed the edging below the top story window, and pulled herself back up.
Twilight looked across the way, judging which path she should take. “Buck,” she muttered. “Sometimes I really wish I had wings,”
Rainbow Dash reappeared. “Yeah, and then what? Lose your horn? Become an Alicorn?”
“Just speaking theoretically here,”
“Yeah, when we get out of this you’ll have to tell me what that means again,” Twilight took off at full speed towards the end of the building, and jumped to the next. She crossed over five or six buildings, went right, then crossed four more. Since the one she was on now was lower to the ground, she dropped into the alley, and pulled her hood up. Rainbow converted herself to her compact form and concealed herself, and then the two ponies slipped out into the crowd, blending perfectly.
Twilight walked to the train station and looked for the next train out of Dusaan. There was one leaving now. She jumped on board, and gave the pony at the entrance five bits, two more than it cost for a ticket. She headed to the back of the train, and went into the bathroom.
“Alright,” whispered Twilight. “What disguise should I use this time?”
“Oh, how about that black earth pony?” She heard Rainbow clearly, even though she couldn’t see her, just one of the many perks of being a bodyless soul. “Then you could hide the cloak under the seat,”
“Good idea,” the unicorn’s horn glowed, and the colors of her fur began to darken from a soft lavender to a sharp black, her mane style became longer and less organized, and the purple hairs in her mane and tail turned storm gray. Her cutie mark morphed to become a quill and parchment, and her eyes changed to a dark shade of blue.
“What was the name again?” she began folding the cloak, and cast a similar illusion spell on the locket, making it look like a pocket watch.
“Navy, I think. Yes! Navy Pure,” said the pegasus.
“Right, thank you,” She walked out and sat in the middle of the train. The back was too obvious a choice, and the front made it too easy to spot her if there was a talented unicorn among the guard squad.
There was a loud whistle, followed by a horn. After which the seats began to vibrate, meaning that the train was moving. Twilight didn’t like trains, they were loud, obnoxious, and it was impossible to get a proper rest aboard them. But she couldn’t deny that they were the most effective form of transportation in Equestria.
Seperating herself from her random thoughts, she began to mull over the “Sapphire of Ancients” suggested by Shining Bolt. She knew the tale, according to legend, a group of talented unicorns were banished from their homes for some reason, and when they begged for vengeance, they discovered the sapphire in a cavern system. They went on to use it to destroy their old city and then dispersed across Equestria to spread the legend. But it all just seemed too extraordinary to her. After all, even if it was real, it would have deteriorated to nothing by now, as the legend to place before even Celestia and Luna existed.
Twilight’s thoughts were interrupted by a raspy, but feminine voice in her head. “Twi’? Where are we going exactly?”
“Well, first we’re going wherever this train takes us, and then…I was hoping to put it off, so as not to risk getting caught, but we’re going to have to go visit Rarity, and see if she’s got anything on the ‘Sapphire of Ancients’,” She spoke the words without moving her lips. The two ponies had discovered that they shared a minimal telepathic connection thanks to the ritual, and could use it to communicate at times, but it required an immense amount of focus, so they only used it when they were surrounded by strangers.
“Don’t tell me you’re actually going to go look for that stone,”
“It’s the only lead we have, and we need to keep moving,” She looked out the window, admiring the sparkling quartz in the sand. “Heads up everypony, we’re coming home,”