//------------------------------//
// Chapter 18 - To Choose to Act 
// Story: A Heart of Change 
// by SilentBelle 
//------------------------------//


A Heart of Change - Chapter 18: To Choose to Act
By: SilentBelle


“Ow!” The colt winced, bringing a hoof to his forehead.

“Azure!” Sweetie Belle called out to him, hoping her words would make it past the foul magic the flowed from his eyes. “You have to fight it, don't let him take control.” She wanted desperately to shoot her magic out and peel the poisonous energy away from the colt, but she didn't want to risk losing her magic like she did last time with Scootaloo.

“What is this? What's happening?” Azure managed to ask between heavy gasps.

“It's him, the pony behind it all. He's trying to control you! You can't give in to it! You have to fight it!”

“I...” His panting lessened. “I think it's going away...”

Sweetie Belle noticed as the magic receded behind the pony's eyes once again. But it'll come back at this rate. While the sickening magic disgusted her, she had to admit it did intrigue her as well. From what I've seen, it takes hold of the pony's mind... like a puppet. I'd never thought such an intricate form of mind magic was possible. It almost took control of the child while he was still awake. If that nameless unicorn has more than just this child and Scootaloo... No! she firmly told herself. Maybe I can do something to stop it. It's magic—just another set of threads—any spell can be unwoven.

Before she could send out a line of magic toward Azure, she sensed a disturbance in the magic around, it was akin to a change in pressure. Locating the source, she noticed a pony had arrived on the other side of the window.

Sweetie Belle would have gasped if she had a mouth, and Azure looked up in surprise to see Scootaloo enter through the open window.

Sweetie Belle was quick to note that Scootaloo's once beautiful amethyst eyes had turned to an unnatural red, and the whites around the irises bubbled with a sickening green which seeped away in purple plumes of mist. That wasn't the Scootaloo she knew, she could feel the twisted wrongness emanating from her friend.

“Who are-” Azure stuttered out in his surprise before a deep, calm voice interrupted him.

“Sleep, child!” The voice came from the pegasus, though Scootaloo's mouth did not move. As the voice spoke, Sweetie Belle felt a stream of that vile pattern strike out like a serpent and hit the child. In the next second, the child's voice stopped and his eyes rolled backward. “Time to take back what belongs to me.”

He moved forward with Scootaloo's body, next to the bed. The movements were staggered and unnatural, and Scootaloo's eyes remained open and unblinking the whole while. Using Scootaloo's forelegs as a master puppeteer would use a marionette, he reached out to take the amulet from the child's neck.

“No!” Sweetie Belle shouted. Using her own magic, she quickly wrapped it around Azure and pulled the child, along with herself, out of the bed and away from Scootaloo. She kept Azure aloft and moved out of reach from the approaching pegasus. “Scootaloo! Snap out of it!”

“Oh, if it isn't the half-heart girl,” the voice sneered. “Struggling now won't save you. I have your friend under my total control.” To prove his point, he made Scootaloo leap forward and grab at Azure.

Sweetie pulled on her dwindling reserve of magic and managed to move the child away from the lunge, though the motion was nearly fumbled as her telekinetic weave began to unravel. Azure hit the ground with a loud thud and slid to a stop near the door.

“Watch it, girl. You might hurt the child,” the voice said with a mocking laugh.

“You're one to talk!” Sweetie Belle rebuked.

Scootaloo's body began walking toward her and the unconscious child. Sweetie knew she only had enough magic for one last telekinetic weave or a spell of comparable complexity. Shoot! I'm so close to the door... If we could just get to a place with other ponies, then they'd stop him. She considered the window, but she knew the fall would be devastating to Azure. Certainly enough to break a leg or two, and she wasn't about to let the colt come to any harm if she could help it.

“Now why would I want to hurt that which is mine?”

“You don't own other ponies!” Sweetie Belle shouted and put all of her remaining magic into a simple light spell as bright as a flash of lightning.

Instead of thunder, Sweetie Belle heard a snarling hiss and noticed Scootaloo's body fumble unevenly to the ground. Please, let somepony have seen that!

“When we fall short, we beg for mercy. We give a silent scream to those who cannot hear.” Scoddri laughed bitterly in the aftermath of the spell. “You can't fight the tides of fate, Sweetie Belle. We all eventually drown in them, no matter how we struggle.”

That's all the more reason to struggle! she wanted to shout to the voice, but her magic reserves were empty. So she could only sit there and observe as Scootaloo's body staggered upright once again and stumbled toward her.

“I do hope that you are quite done, girl. As amusing as your parlor tricks are, you are quite out of your league.” Scootaloo stooped forward and slipped the emerald necklace off of the child's neck. In a moment, the pegasus had the necklace around her own neck.

“Sweetie...” The word tumbled from Scootaloo's mouth, and the pegasus' whole body began to twitch, her controlled movements ceasing for a moment.

Sweetie Belle noticed a flare in the strength of the magic which resided within her friend's eyes. It dripped forth like tears that transformed into numerous flowing coils which entwined around each of Scootaloo's limbs and tightened.

The mare's body was made to slowly stumble toward the window, her orange wings spread from her sides. “No...” Scootaloo's voice was barely a whisper as she gasped against the other pony's control of her body. “You can't...”

“Watch me,” the voice of acid spoke as he forced Scootaloo's fore-hooves on to the windowsill, preparing to dive off.

As they moved to the window, Sweetie Belle noticed a familiar pattern cross her vision. Scoddri's fragment? Her thought was echoed by a staccato of hooves coming up the staircase.

Scootaloo's body leaped clumsily from the ledge. As it did so, Apple Bloom crashed through the doorway to the room. Her eyes locked onto Scootaloo and the amulet around her neck.

“Oh, hay no!” Apple Bloom shouted. “You ain't getting' away with my friends!”

She ran at the window and dove through the air right at Scootaloo. With a chomp, she managed to snag her friend's purple tail, and she wrapped her fore-hooves around Scootaloo's hind legs.

The pegasus' wings beat furiously, but with the added weight of another pony, they quickly crashed to the ground, nearly flattening a crystal pony.

The afternoon crowd of mostly crystal ponies quickly formed a ring around the two ponies. There was enough room for Scootaloo to jump to her hooves with the intent to take to the air once again. But Apple Bloom had anticipated the action and gave her friend's tail a mighty tug, causing Scootaloo to fall flat to the ground before the pegasus could make a single wing-beat.

Apple Bloom then took the initiative and pounced on her friend, pinning her down, an action that she had perfected through more than a few days of roughhousing back in Ponyville.

Sweetie Belle heard a hiss, and noticed the magic recede back behind Scootaloo's eyes. “You'll pay for this. Of that, I promise.” The voice faded just as the magic had, and Scootaloo's eyes returned to their normal violet hue.

Scootaloo blinked, looking up at Apple Bloom. “Damn it all,” she muttered, a wan smile touching her lips. She then let out a tired laugh. “Didn't I tell you I'd find Sweetie?”

“And you did a fine job of it,” Apple Bloom said sarcastically and kept her friend pinned below her.

From the crowd of ponies, two guards rushed over them, their metallic armour clinking in synchronicity with their hoof beats. “Hey! What's going on here?!” one of the guards demanded, when a flamboyantly-dressed unicorn, whose cutie mark was blocked by his colourful jacket, interceded.

“Ah, perfect timing, gentlecolts. We're just retrieving a wanted criminal and bringing her back to the palace.” The blue unicorn smiled and then lowered his voice. “Let's try and not make a huge scene of this, shall we?”

“Lord Sky,” one of the guards responded. “I understand, Sir, we shall escort the criminal back to the palace.”

“Do be warned, that pegasus is a hoof-full, she even managed to hospitalize one of the royal guard and got away with it.” The unicorn allowed himself a small chuckle. “Well, until now, that is.”

“What? Criminal?!” Sweetie Belle asked. “What are you talking about? Scootaloo would never do something like that! It wasn't her fault!”

Apple Bloom rolled her eyes and sighed at Sweetie Belle's outburst, and the two guards looked between each other in shock and went to reach for their weapons.

“Now, now, boys. Settle down,” Sky Chaser said and lowered his voice once again. “That's merely a talking piece of jewelry. There was much magic at work here, and it would be best if we returned to the palace before the crowd gets it in their heads to start spreading wildly exaggerated tales of what has just transpired here.”

“Right.” Both of the guards nodded and moved over to where Apple Bloom had Scootaloo pinned. “Alright, girl, we'll take her from here.”

“Come on, Scootaloo,” Apple Bloom said gently as she let the guards lift her friend up from the ground. “They'll take you back to the Crystal Palace and we'll sort everything out there.”

Scootaloo merely lowered her head and nodded.

“But Scootaloo didn't do anything wrong!” Sweetie Belle protested. “Why are you calling her a criminal?”

“Oh, be quiet for a bit Sweetie,” Apple Bloom warned. “Ah said we'll sort it out at the Crystal Palace. You're making a scene here.”

“I don't care if I'm making a scene, Bloom! This is Scoots we're talking about! She's not a criminal.”

“Sweetie!” Apple Bloom whispered firmly. “Please, just stay quiet for a bit, Ah'll explain everything when we get out o' this crowd.

“Scoots? What happened?” Sweetie Belle asked, ignoring Apple Bloom's plea as they were escorted up the streets.

Scootaloo winced and with a hoof, she took the amulet off from around her neck. “Bloom, take Sweetie.”

Apple Bloom nodded and slipped the amulet onto her neck.

“What the hay?! Scoots! Bloom, what's going on?!” Sweetie Belle demanded. “If I don't get any answers I'll zap you!” She pulled at the magic from Scoddri's fragment and issued forth small sparks of emerald magic from the amulet.

A few nearby ponies gasped at the display of magic. Apple Bloom sighed as the guards made their way, with Scootaloo, out of the crowded streets and toward the palace. “It's complicated and we aren't entirely sure, but we think that Scootaloo's in danger,” she muttered quietly as she made her way out of the crowd and prying ears.

“Uh, yeah, they're taking her to the dungeon, and you're just letting them... If that doesn't sound like a friend being in danger then I don't know what does.”

“Oh, they're not going to take her to a dungeon,” Lord Sky said, as he emerged from the crowd and stood next to Apple Bloom. He had given the guards a last bit of debriefing before sending them on their way. “They'll just keep her in a safe room where they are sure she won't be able to escape or hurt herself, while we figure out how to deal with the situation. Oh, and I am Sky Chaser, by the way. Scrymaster of the Crystal Court, at your service, Sweetie Belle. Apple Bloom has told me a bit about you.”

“So you're the one that told them to take Scootaloo away and called her a criminal?” She saw the unicorn's smile only widen at the accusation and she was quite tempted to throw a bolt of magical energy right into his dumb face.

“Yeah,” Apple Bloom said. “I know it's painful ta see her like this, Sweetie, but we have ta figure out how ta break that spell that was put on her. She was bein' controlled, ya know?”

“Of course I know that!” Sweetie replied. “But we can't just lock her up, she's our friend, Bloom.”

“But you saw her yourself, Sweetie. Ah'm pretty sure she knows she was bein' controlled, or at least she knows that somethin' ain't right. She's countin' on us ta fix that for her while she stays in a safe place.”

But she needs us by her side, not on the other side of the city! Sweetie Belle was about ready to scream. “Well then, what are we waiting for? Let's follow them back and fix it!”

Lord Sky laughed at Sweetie's words. “Now that's a commendable approach to the situation, though it may take some time to figure out exactly what has happened to her and how to fix it. Mind magic is truly a troublesome thing to deal with.”

“Why don't we head back ta your chambers at the palace or perhaps to a library ta find out more information on mind magic?” Apple Bloom looked at the unicorn pensively. “Unless you know of a specialist in the city that could help.”

“Unfortunately, I do not know any specialists whom I'd trust to remove the magic without causing lasting harm to the poor girl. It might be prudent to search the library for some answers,” he said with a smile, and pointed to a nearby building with his staff. Above the door it read: 'Crystal Empire Public Library'. “I do, however, have a certain situation to explain to the staff of this infirmary about what just happened inside their building, and why one of their patients is unconscious and on the floor.”

“Yeah,” Apple Bloom said sheepishly. “Sorry fer makin' a mess o' things.”

“Oh, worry not, young Apple Bloom. If being near you and your friends is always this exciting, then I find such small matters of logistics to be little more than trifling tasks.” He laughed to himself. “Do come by my chambers later this evening, we can discuss your friend, Scootaloo, then.” With a bow and a flourish of his staff he turned and made his way into the green infirmary building that Sweetie had just been inside only ten minutes prior.

“What the hay?” Sweetie Belle asked. “Inviting you to his chambers... Is he making moves on you or something?”

Apple Bloom raised an eyebrow. “Ya think so too? He's doin' a pretty bad job of it, ain't he? I've heard he has a bit of a reputation 'round the palace. Makes ya wonder what he's really up ta though. Ah don't trust him any further than I could throw him, but he's been helpful so far.”

“Oh...” Sweetie Belle noticed a small line of magical threads idly flow out of the infirmary entrance. An auditory scrying spell... “So he must be the one who scryed on me earlier... and that's how you found us.”

“You did disrupt his scrying spell, you know,” Apple Bloom stated. “Caused a whole mirror to shatter.”

Sweetie Belle laughed. “Well, a scrymaster should learn how to protect his spells a bit better.” She reached out with her magic and grabbed at the small scrying spell. With deft finesse, she wrenched the sigil apart and pulled the magic into her amulet. “Of course I suspect he's hardly ever come across any pony who could dismantle his spells so readily.”

“Well, Ah'm glad that he was excited about the mirror breakin' rather than demanding for a reimbursement from me.” Apple Bloom moved to the library entrance, oblivious to Sweetie's hidden display of magic. “Up for some reading?”

“I doubt they'll have any useful books on magic in here,” Sweetie Belle muttered. “We should be by Scootaloo trying to fix her instead of reading random books.”

“Don't be dense, Sweetie. We both know they won't let any of us near her until later anyway. While Ah don't really trust Sky, Ah am pretty certain that he is genuinely interested in helping Scootaloo, if just ta figure out how that spell worked in the first place. So it makes sense ta wait for him ta get the authority required ta visit Scootaloo.” She shook her head. “Breakin' in past the guards just ta see her ain't a good idea. We both know she's innocent of any real crime, so we should approach it sensibly.”

But do we have the time to act sensibly? Sweetie had to wonder. The guy behind this all sounded pretty angry. And I just know he's going to strike when he thinks he can catch everypony off guard.


* * *


Scootaloo had been escorted to a sapphire chamber by no less than four guards once they had reached the palace. She hadn't kept track of where she was in the complex building. She just knew she was taken up a large number of stairs and that they had left her in this locked, empty chamber. Nothing was inside of it, save for a single plush pallet that had been laid down in the center of the room.

She had sat down there, nearly collapsing in exhaustion. Her body ached as if every muscle had been overworked, and her wings felt as though they were sprained. She remembered her crash-landing on the roof earlier, before the snake had taken hold, and now she was feeling the bruises and scrapes. Still, the dull throbbing of her body was easily masked by the more pertinent burning behind her eyes.

He had me, the thought ran through her mind as she pushed her head hard against the soft pallet. I saw Sweetie and then I crashed... But I still saw her. I chased after her... found her. Then I woke up to falling again. There was a missing gap there. It's him... he can control me? The idea made her bile churn, but she knew it to be true. She could still feel that serpentine presence, like a wrapping pressure slowly burning behind her own eyes. It was a fire that she knew wouldn't die out any time soon.

Sitting there... waiting to strike...

Scootaloo recalled Apple Bloom's stern and questioning glare when she had awoken to the mare pinning her to the ground, and the realization that had it not been for Apple Bloom, Scootaloo would have been flying Sweetie Belle right to the nameless voice. She almost got taken because of me. Damn it! I can't be near her like this. Staying away from her is the only thing I can do now.

A sound piqued Scootaloo's ears, and they twitched instinctively, notifying her that the front door's lock had just been unbolted. She raised her head to see who was entering the sparse chamber.

Six armoured ponies entered the room alert with their weapons at the ready. Each pony glowered at her as she met their eyes. They're looking at me like I'm scum... Scootaloo winced inwardly, but then there was one pony amongst them who did not have a glistening shimmer to his coat, nor did he share in their accusatory glares. He was a white unicorn stallion with a mess of unkempt blue hair and creases of fatigue which ran deep creases across his face. To his credit though, his posture was sharp and alert. 

Scootaloo blinked in recognition. That's... Shining Armor?

“Scootaloo from Ponyville, was it? Sister of Rainbow Dash?” Shining Armor asked as he entered the room, frowning at her slightly. Scootaloo could feel his eyes lock onto hers, and she was reminded of those other athletes she had faced over the years. She'd always hated the competition and those measuring gazes, as if they could determine her worth just from a single look.

“She's not my real sister,” Scootaloo said with a shake of her head. “So what are you going to do?”

“Show some respect!” a heavily steel-clad stallion with a crystal heart insignia emblazoned upon his armour ordered. He held a glare of of controlled anger—the look of a pony who had already decided her worth, or lack thereof.

Shining Armor ignored the other pony's outburst and looked Scootaloo in the eyes. He then nodded knowingly. “And a good friend of Apple Bloom,” he continued evenly. “I've come to ask a few questions. What we do afterward will depend on your answers.”

“Go ahead,” Scootaloo said dismissively, she glanced away and didn’t bother to raise herself from the pallet.

“The royal guard, Sergeant Bulwark. Earlier today you demanded entrance into the royal chamber, then attacked and hospitalized him!” the louder crystal pony shouted. “What did you do to him?!”

“I...” Scootaloo shook her head and winced. “I don't know what happened! I looked at him for one second then he fell over.”

“You liar! You attacked him then fled!”

“Captain, please!” Shining Armor said sternly with a short stare at the pony beside him. He then looked back to Scootaloo. “Is that all you did? You looked at him? Was there anything else?”

“It wasn't me!” Scootaloo shook her head. “There's somepony out there. The guy behind the storms. He attacked them.”

“Did I?” a quiet hiss filled her mind. Were you not trying to force your way past them? Did you not want them to fall? Did you not hate them?

“-tack him?” Scootaloo missed the question as the voice faded from her mind.

She blinked a few times, and the ponies were looking at her expectantly waiting for an answer.

“What?” she asked.

Shining Armor's frown deepened. “You were there. How did this unknown unicorn attack him?”

“I don't know... I'm not Sweetie Belle, I don't know anything about magic.”

“So there was nothing? No spell? No light? No anything?!” The captain shook his head and snorted derisively. “All magic leaves a mark. Your Majesty, I think she's lying to us. I told you this was a waste of time.”

“I have no reason to doubt her words, Captain,” Shining replied and ran a hoof over his temples. “It is unfortunate, however we must keep her here until we either clear or confirm the allegations against her. Perhaps Lord Sky will be able to glean some more insight on this situation.”

“That pompous aristocrat has no place investigating a crime against the guard,” the captain said sourly.

“We've talked about this before. There is magic involved, and I have ordered him to investigate it. An order from the crown in a time of crisis overrules any jurisdictions. Lord Sky is competent; he even managed to track her down before your own guards could.” Shining Armor shook his head and turned to leave. “It pains me to keep her here, but we have no choice at the moment. We're done here.”

The other ponies fell in line and Scootaloo watched as they cautiously backed out of the room, as if expecting her to leap on them and wrestle her way out. Out? And go where? Find Sweetie just so he can try and steal her again? The idea was preposterous.

“Captain, inform me when Bulwark awakens, we'll get his side of the story. In the meantime let’s go over the contingency plans should the alarm go off,” Shining Armor said as they left.

“But my Prince, we’ve been over this three times already. The guards know their orders. Besides.... you need rest, and with the princess-”

The door closed firmly, and the echoing of the locking bolt sliding shut filled the room for a moment before it petered out. Silence descended upon the pegasus.

“So they're keeping me locked up in here?” Scootaloo sighed. “I guess I deserve it after what's happened. It's safer this way.”

“Locked in, like a bird in a cage...”

“Shut up, you dumb voice!” she whispered. “I'm not letting you have control again!”

“Letting me have control? It is I who is letting you have control, girl. You serve me.”

“No!” she rebuked the hissing voice. “I don't serve anypony! I won't let you use me! You can't!”

The snake's laughter filled her mind for a while. Scootaloo clenched her eyes closed tightly and willed the burning behind her eyes to not return in force. The voice ebbed away, leaving Scootaloo alone on the pallet, shivering, and alighting the cloth fabric with tears.


* * *


“I don't even know what we're looking for any more,” Sweetie Belle complained as Apple Bloom pulled another book from a shelf.

Hmm, another book on traditions and histories within the Empire, but still no tomes explicitly about magic or anything. These might be the closest we'll find... Apple Bloom set the book on a pile of other histories of the Empire that they had found. 

Apple Bloom scowled as she spied the librarian from across the room. The golden crystal pony sat on the other side of a desk, yawning in a stray beam of the early afternoon sunlight which filtered in from above. He hadn't been much help in locating any books on magic. The stallion had just directed them to the history section and claimed that any books on magic would be over there, since they didn’t have an actual magic section. While Apple Bloom couldn't expect the librarian to have read all the books, it still irked her that he'd rather sit behind his counter and lazily flip through the pages of some juvenile romance story while she had to poke her way around the shelves.

“I told you they wouldn't have any books on magic here,” Sweetie continued with an added sigh as she lifted a book with magic and opened it to various sections before closing it and letting it fall to the ground. “This isn't Canterlot or Twilight's library, the crystal ponies don't have any books dedicated to magic. Why would they?”

“Hey, mind the books. Ah don't want ta have ta pay for any damages,” Apple Bloom warned her. “In any case, aren't you the one that always says that all ponies have magic and use it, not just unicorns?” Apple Bloom argued as she opened one for the history books and looked for an index. She found a listing, with one word in particular that caught her attention. 'Rituals – 107', it read.

“Uh, yeah, all things have magic in them. It's just that unicorns are able to manipulate it regularly and in a practical manner. We can shift it from one medium to another pretty simply, it just takes a bit of effort. The effects are so visibly different from either earth ponies or pegasi that they aren't even considered magical in the eyes of many stupid unicorns. Just because an earth pony can't levitate objects doesn't mean that their actions aren't magical, though.” Sweetie Belle snorted. “If those dumb scholars could see what I see, they'd realize just how wrong they are.”

“Hmm,” Apple Bloom hummed, ignoring Sweetie's comment. “It says that crystal ponies have a number of rituals that they perform. A rain dance, a harvest parade, a snow call, and the spring sonata.”

“Gah! I can finally talk again and I just get ignored,” Sweetie Belle made the sound of an exasperated huff, but when Apple Bloom didn’t respond right away, she continued talking. “Rituals, huh...? I don't suppose they have a 'break-insidious-magic-mind-spell ritual'? Though if they do have weather-altering stuff, then magic is definitely at play with the crystal ponies too. Canterlot always uses magic to clean up winter when spring arrives, and the only way to interact with things like clouds is with the proper magic sigil.”

“Or if you're a pegasus,” Apple Bloom added as she kept reading.

“Pegasi use the same sigil though,” Sweetie Belle argued back. “They just form it instinctively. I could replicate it easily. Heck the cloud-walking spell is practically the same thing. It's not too tough of a sigil... it's just subtle.” Sweetie Belle paused for a moment. “But still, Bloom, we aren't getting anywhere in here.”

Apple Bloom frowned at Sweetie's complaints and shut the book in her hooves. “You really aren't one for books, huh?”

“Why read about doing stuff when we can just go out and do it, Bloom? I don't see why Twilight always thought that reading them was so much fun. 'Sweetie, you have to read about and fully understand the physical transmutation spell and all its rules before you cast it!'” Sweetie had changed her magical voice into a surprisingly accurate portrayal of Twilight's own. “Fah! I told her that she only needed to show the spell to me once and I'd be able to cast it in no time at all, and then I proved it to her. Then she goes and says I wasn't doing it safely enough.”

“She was probably right,” Apple Bloom muttered as she moved to return the books to their shelves.

“She was not!” Sweetie protested while the amulet flashed, echoing her annoyance. “No pony was hurt, and there were no lasting damages.”

Apple Bloom frowned as she put the last book back upon its proper shelf. She recalled hearing about that particular event before. Numerous times in fact. “Wasn't that the week when Twilight had lost the entirety of her mane? You two haven't ever gotten past that incident, have ya?”

“It was just hair... It grew back. She even got a potion from Zecora to fix it up real quick.” Sweetie snorted. “Honestly, she's too picky about how things are supposed to be done. If it's not done the traditional way she's used to, then she'll bite your head off and claim it's wrong.”

Apple Bloom chuckled lightly and moved to the entrance of the library. She pushed open the door and stepped out onto the street with a small grin on her face. “How you two ever made it through the past five years, Ah'll never know.”

“Tell me about it.” Sweetie's amulet pulsated lightly as the afternoon light fell upon it. “So, now that we wasted a good hour, are we going to head on back to the palace and finally try to help Scootaloo?”

“Hmm... Well, Sky said ta meet him in the evenin'. Ah'm not certain Ah'd want ta just loiter 'round the palace fer that long.”

“So then where are you going to be taking us? Sightseeing?” Sweetie's voice was laced with sarcasm. “We should visit Scoots.”

“And we will. But goin' now is pointless. We'll need Sky's authority ta even get close to Scootaloo. Plus we'll need ta find a way ta get rid o' that spell that's on her.”

“Which I can't do unless we go to her...”

“Which we can't do unless we get permission to go to her. Which we'll get this evenin'. A lord like Sky Chaser is a busy pony, we'll meet him like we planned.”

“Busy?” Sweetie Belle snorted. “He's probably trying to sweet-talk some random mare, and he’s probably getting rejected as we speak. Though it has been a while since he last tried to spy on us.”

“Oh?” Apple Bloom asked, mild concern breaching her voice as she made her way down the colourful streets. She kept an eye out for the store signs as she navigated through the crowds of ponies, but she kept the majority of her attention on Sweetie Belle’s words.

“Yeah, he was trying to listen in on our earlier conversations. I picked apart his spell though. I think he'll know better than to try scrying without my permission again.”

“That wouldn't cause any more damages would it?” Apple Bloom asked worriedly, thinking back to the mirror that had shattered when they were scrying earlier that afternoon.

“Nah, it was a little different than that. See, that was scrying via an object, which means the spell is built around the object's magic, I guess kind of like a seam in a dress or a pillar of a structure. Of course with his first spell, that magic was linked to my amulet via Scoddri's fragment and I wrestled it out of his spell sigil. Thus his spell collapsed, much like a building, or a dress if you pull at the main seam. I’m actually surprised that the mirror shattered in the first place, normally it would just shut down the spell.”

“And his attempt after that was different, how?” Apple Bloom wondered, as she built a picture in her mind of Sweetie Belle knocking out the central pillar of a building and using her magic to catch all the falling debris as it fell. The image nearly made her chuckle.

“He used a ranged scrying spell the second time, not a seeking one,” Sweetie Belle explained. “It has a different structure, and I took it apart from the top down. So it was kind of like if somepony were 'unbuilding' a building instead knocking it over. If that makes any sense.”

Apple Bloom considered as the image in her mind was taken apart piece by piece, and she nodded. “Your magic really is a lot like building things, isn't it?”

“Yeah... I suppose it is. In the same way that building and painting are the same. It's creating, reworking, and adjusting the magic to fit the right sigil so it does what I want.”

“But how do you know how it needs to look?”

“The same way you know how to talk I guess. Or in the way that a pony knows what words to use to write for a song, or what intonations to use when singing.” Sweetie Belle laughed. “It starts off as a lot of guesswork and seeing how other ponies do it. If you look at the grand picture, it certainly seems impossible. But I've figured it out one step at a time, and now, when I know what I want to do with magic, I can work at it until I get it right. It's an answer you'll never find in the books on magic.”

“That makes... Far more sense than Ah thought it would,” Apple Bloom admitted.

“Well of course it does. Magic might seem like inexplicable unpredictable chaos, but there are patterns to its creation and its application. Using those patterns, adding to them, building on them... that's what real magic is about.”

“And that's why the spells always backfire,” Apple Bloom said with a laugh.

“The best way to learn is make mistakes,” Sweetie concluded.

Apple Bloom frowned at that. “But with Scootaloo we can't afford ta make mistakes.”

“I know that,” Sweetie Belle said coolly. “And I promise that this is one time where I won't make a mistake. I've spent a lifetime making mistakes, Apple Bloom, of learning when and where I can make them, and when I shouldn't have made them. I'm not going to mess up with Scootaloo on the line. If there's one thing in this world you can be sure about, it's that.”

Apple Bloom nodded. “Ah'm glad yer more serious about this than ya make yerself out ta be.”

“What's that supposed to mean?” the amulet shot back.

“Well, ya just come across as a little spacey from time to time is all... but Ah know from experience that ya always come through when it counts. And it does this time, Sweetie.”

“Thanks,” Sweetie replied softly.

Apple Bloom's eyes were drawn to the sign she had been looking for. It was a newer building of onyx coloured crystal with a dome-shaped roof on the outskirts of the city. A few nearby buildings had scaffolding around them and ponies going about, fixing what they could with their supplies, but the onyx building showed no signs of being damaged from the storm. Pristine polished rubies were the single colour standing out against the dark building. They formed the letters of the arching sign, 'Crystal Gems'.

“Ah, just the place Ah was lookin' for.”

“Huh...” Sweetie said. “You were actually looking for this place? I thought you were just trying to map out the city.”

Apple Bloom laughed lightly as she approached the building. “I wouldn’t be wanderin’ around aimlessly, Sweetie Belle,” she assured her friend. 

There were no windows or translucent crystal panelling on this building, which was quite unlike every other building she had seen in the city thus far. Though a single ‘open’ sign painted on a sturdy hinged wooden stand did at least indicate that the owner was present.

She pushed her way through the dark door, which swung open easily at her touch, sounding an echoing chime as she entered the shop.

“Welcome,” a voice called out from across the room followed by a quick sniffing sound. “Ah, what brings good ponies such as yourselves to my gem shop?”

Apple Bloom took a cursory glance at the shop. Numerous gems were on display behind glass cases. The goods were centered on rather high-quality fabric, chosen to accentuated the colours of the crystals that were being presented. They positively twinkled from the light of numerous glowcrystals that were suspended from the ceiling. I feel like I'm underground again, Apple Bloom thought. Ah'm impressed.

She turned her focus across the room and it fell upon the diamond dog who had called out the greeting earlier. Unsurprisingly, the dog had a greenish tint to his coat, and he wore a simple brown vest with numerous pockets. Many of the pockets were filled with different metallic tools, and Apple Bloom felt her curiosity piqued by the small utensils. Not for the first time, she wondered just how a dog could manage to cut the gemstones as perfectly as they managed to.

“Jaden?” Apple Bloom asked simply.

“Hmm? Yes, that is my name,” the dog admitted while nodding, though his brow formed to a frown as he glanced at her. Apple Bloom was quick to note that his eyes lingered on the half-heart amulet for a while longer than she’d have expected them to. “Do I know you, pony?”

“Oh, no, we've never met,” she assured the dog. “But Ah have just come back from visiting the Blacksnout clan, and I talked to your sister while Ah was there.”

“Oh?” the dog questioned and moved out from behind his counter to get a better look at her.

“Yes. In fact, Ah made a deal with her, and by association, with you,” Apple Bloom explained as she fished through her pack and pulled out a heavy stone from within it. “She asked me to deliver this to ya when Ah got here.”

Jaden raised an eyebrow at the stone. “Ah, sister, always making deals without my consent.” He laughed. “But I'm sure that she has her eyes on a worthwhile prize. Hand it here and let me read it.”

Apple Bloom offered the stone and smiled. “Ah'm Apple Bloom by the way.”

Jaden nodded as he took the stone. “A pleasure, certainly. Just give me a moment while I read this.” The dog squinted at the stone before him, and his mouth moved ever so slightly as he worked out the words to himself.

With a soft smile, Apple Bloom looked around to see what else the diamond dog had in his store. His selection of gems was quite extensive. She was certain that she couldn't name half the different types of gems if she had tried, and the fact that none of the gems had prices displayed alongside them could only mean that she was in a quality store. Our future supplier... And if we botch this up, Ah'll lose all my money Ah saved up for that 'pprenticeship just reimbursin' Aura and Jaden. She smiled inwardly. She liked a challenge when she came across one, and this was one she was ready to face.

“So, you are an inventor... Apple Bloom, yes?”

Apple Bloom nodded and turned back to face the diamond dog.

“Well, my sister has promised that we are to be your supplier of gems as well as get you into contact with a few of the metal suppliers that I deal with. It may take a few days before I can get in contact with Polish and get the metal you'll want. So be sure to give a me a list of what you need in advance,” Jaden explained. “Aura seems to think that your invention has great promise, and that even if it fails, we'll have turned a profit from this venture, regardless. Though if it does succeed, we are your first customers at double the cost of the materials.”

“Only for the first five we make,” Apple Bloom said sternly. “And you two can do whatever ya want with them after ya bought 'em. Mark 'em up in price and sell 'em, or use 'em yerselves.”

The dog hummed in a light growl. “Yes, and if Aura thought you capable of creating such a device, then it will be worthwhile. Even one as unimaginative as I can see how useful such an invention would be for any dog.”

“Or pony,” Apple Bloom added. “Ah hope it helps out everyone, ponies and dogs alike.”

“A rather lofty ambition.” The dog nodded to himself as he moved back to behind his counter and set the carved rock down into a compartment out of Apple Bloom's sight. “But you are young for a pony, and it is such ambition that drives youth. You want to make your mark, a name for yourself, to prove yourself. And who am I to quell such enthusiasm?”

“A fellow entrepreneur?” Apple Bloom suggested.

“Ah, precisely.” Jaden barked a laugh. “The first diamond dog to open a business in the Crystal Empire, I was. I do hope you will also come to share that same sort of success with your plans.”

“If Ah didn't think I could do it, than Ah wouldn't say Ah could,” Apple Bloom returned.

“Such is the spirit of an innocent youth. I wonder though... If your plan fails, what then, good Apple Bloom? What will you do if your dream are not reached?”

“What anyone with a lick of sense would do. Ah'll pick mahself up off the ground if Ah trip, dust mahself off, and keep chasin' mah dreams until Ah reach 'em. It's that simple.”

“Hmm yes. Simple,” the dog agreed, smiling at her. “But hard and burdensome all the same. Do try to keep that inspiration as a well polished stone. I would hate to follow through with my sister's promise to collect the reimbursement instead of witnessing the birth of a brand new invention.”

“You have mah word,” Apple Bloom promised. “And Ah'll prove to ya, it's as good as gold.”

“I do hope so. And I do presume you have a list of things you'll require...”

“Of course.” Apple Bloom reached into her bags once again and pulled out a folded piece of paper. She gave it to the dog. He unfolded it and gave it a cursory glance.

“Conservative estimates on the quantities, most likely, but not entirely too troublesome to come by. It will take a few days to procure the goods.” He tucked the note into one of his numerous vest pockets. “Do tell me, where should I send a messenger to inform you when the goods have arrived?”

“The Crystal Palace,” Apple Bloom said with a small grin as she turned to leave. “Just send them askin' after Apple Bloom and it should get ta me. Thanks for your time, Jaden. It'll be a pleasure doin' business with ya.”

“May the stone hold strong above you,” Jaden replied and took a seat behind his counter once again.

Apple Bloom stepped onto the streets and was nearly blinded by the afternoon sun. She shielded her eyes with a hoof and blinked a few time to fight off the golden glare.

“Well, he could give Byron a run for being the most sophisticated and reasonable dog I've ever seen. Looks like our little plan is getting the materials it needs. I hope you included all the tools we'll need as well, in that list of yours.”

Apple Bloom laughed. “I was quite thorough in the planning. Though, thanks Sweetie,” she said as she finally lowered her hoof.

“I see my silence was not entirely without reward. So... where do I cash in your golden words of thanks to pay for my struggle to refrain from talking?”

Apple Bloom rolled her eyes. “Ya know, Ah kinda get the feelin' that you've been more of a snark than usual since ya got yerself trapped in this amulet.”

“Maybe it's because I don't have to be worried about physical repercussions for insulting other ponies. And it wasn't me that got myself trapped in here. It was that other Sweetie. If I found out that she took my body and left it in some other world, I'm not going to be entirely pleased, I can tell you that.”

“Ah'm sure it wasn't her fault neither.” Apple Bloom looked down at the necklace. “Ya know, she wasn't exactly havin' a picnic when she got here. In fact, she kinda made our own troubles seem dim in comparison.”

“Having some dumb unicorn cast mind magic on Scootaloo is not dim in comparison!” Sweetie Belle argued back.

“Right.” Apple Bloom looked to the sky. “And it's getting' late enough that Ah think Sky is probably headin' back ta the palace by now. We might as well head back too. Hopefully he has an inklin' of where ta start, 'cause that library was well and truly a dead end.”

“You know, he tried listening in again on you, back in Jaden's shop there.”

“Oh, did he? That's not really his business at all,” Apple Bloom stated plainly. Ah wonder just how extensively he scrys around the city. Apple Bloom wasn't really annoyed by the action. In fact, if she was completely honest, it's something she'd expect a pony like him to pull. If he can get away with it, Ah'm sure he'll do it. He really is an opportunist. I'll have just have ta watch what Ah say when Sweetie's not around ta chase his scrying spells off. “Did he hear any of the conversation?”

“Hmm, maybe a word or two,” Sweetie Belle admitted. “When I noticed his spell and went to crash his voyeurism, he reigned his magic in quickly enough for it to slip out of my reach. He learns quick, I'll give him that. Still, spying on people you're trying to help...” Sweetie snorted. “Honestly, you should slap him in the face for trying something like that.”

“Why?” Apple Bloom asked. “He's a scrymaster. Spying on other ponies is kind of his job. If it weren't for his talent, we'd have never found you and Scootaloo in time.”

“Yeah, but he's invading your privacy. It's like he's taking what's yours without asking first.”

“Coming from a pony who does that to me all the time, Ah hardly find your argument convincin'...”

“Yeah, but we're friends, and friends always share with each other.”

Apple Bloom shook her head and walked toward the palace.


* * *


Apple Bloom was slightly out of breath after climbing the entirety of the spiral stairs and she paused for a moment to compose herself before knocking on Lord Sky's chamber doors.

“Here at last,” Sweetie Belle said with a sigh.

“Oh be quiet, you didn't do any of the walkin',” Apple Bloom said while scowling at the amulet.

Trust me Bloom, I wish I could have been doing the walking, Sweetie thought to herself bitterly. “At least I kept you company.”

“And remind me why that's supposed to be a good thing,” Apple Bloom responded with a raised eyebrow.

Before Sweetie could think up a witty retort, a golden aura sprung up around the door, and with the sound of a few sliding metallic clinks, the door opened inward. The blue unicorn waved at them from across the room. “Ah welcome, young Apple Bloom. So glad to see that you have returned. Most ladies your age would have run off, intent on never seeing me again.”

“And I could never guess why,” Apple Bloom said sarcastically as she moved into his rooms.

“Well, now that you are done going on your shopping errands around town, perhaps we can get down to business. Though I am curious as to why you'd deal with the diamond dogs. Surely you could get better deals around town. I myself am well acquainted with many such ponies around the city. You had only needed to ask and I could have pointed you in the right direction.”

“Ah realize that.” Apple Bloom nodded evenly as she moved up to the unicorn. “But that's mah business, not yours.”

“Oh, but of course. I was merely letting it be known that you can ask such a favour from me at any time.”

“Whatever,” Sweetie said, trying to pull the conversation back to the issue at hoof. “So did you figure out any ways to help out Scootaloo? The library wasn't much help.”

“Right, I almost forgot your good friend Sweetie Belle was with you.” Sky gave them a smile and picked his staff up with his magic. He then pointed at a bookshelf in the corner of his room. “As it turns out, I've been leafing through a few different books pertaining to mind magic. And just as I had remembered reading, attempting to remove that magic is often quite a bit more dangerous than the actual magic itself. I do believe we might be at an impasse here, as harming your friend is certainly not an option.”

“There has to be somethin' we can do though. Scootaloo's countin' on us ta help her, and we aren't gonna give up.”

“Yeah,” Sweetie Belle said. “Can't we at least go and take a look at her?”

Sky shrugged his shoulders and brought forth is crystal-capped staff. With a deft flourish and a glowing of his horn, Sweetie saw a sigil quickly form within the scepter—A visual scrying pattern—and one end shot forth into one of his many mirrors, the other end of the pattern shot through the walls of the palace. Sweetie Belle was quick to note the direction in which the spell was headed.

The surface of the mirror quickly shimmered with magic as it coiled and swirled, and eventually formed a cohesive image of another room. From the mirror they were looking down into a sparse chamber. There was only one piece of furniture in the room, a simple, yet plush pallet. And sitting on that pallet was none other than Scootaloo, with her head pressed hard into the fabric beneath her. Her teeth were clenched in a perpetual wince. Her hooves were firmly held over her ears, and her eyes were pressed shut, as though she were trying to block the entirety of the world from her.

“Scootaloo,” Apple Bloom said with a gasp. “She looks so miserable. We have to help her!”

“Would that I could, young Apple Bloom. But alas, my talents lie solely within the domains of scrying and augury.”

It hurts to see her like that. Sweetie Belle reflexively sent out a small tendril of magic toward the mirror, but reined it back in before it interfered with the scrying spell. I can't do anything for her here. She turned her attention to Scootaloo and studied the pegasus.

She saw the ever-glowing energy that her friend had. The only other ponies she had ever met that glowed with such a bright inner magic had been Twilight, Rainbow Dash, and her otherworldly counterpart. Yet as Sweetie studied her friend’s magic glow, she caught sight of a second pattern just beneath the surface. It was a sickly purple and green sigil which seemed to coil like a snake, and her heart screamed out for her to reach in and wrench that invasive pattern from within her friend. And she would have, had it not been for the fact that the mirror was separating them.

I'll save you! she promised. You aren't alone. Hang in there, Scoots!

“But there has to be at least somepony who's studied enough in mind magic ta help out.” Apple Bloom reasoned. “There's gotta be a pony with mind magic as their special talent.

“Maybe in Canterlot,” Sky Chaser admitted. “I'll see if I can find somepony, young Apple Bloom, but I cannot make any promises.”

“Speakin' of which, don't ya think maybe one of the princesses could help? They're talented in magic.”

“Perhaps if Celestia or Luna were here, we could ask them. They have thousands of years of experience in the study of magic, I'm sure that they've had to deal with similar magical problems before. And as for Cadence... she is... indisposed of at the moment.”

“She collapsed from fendin' off the storm, right? That's why she wasn't at the meetin' earlier today. Makes sense. Keeping a spell runnin' fer over  three days must be nearly impossible for anypony, alicorn or otherwise,” Apple Bloom reasoned.

“You are quite right,” he said with a nod and a small grin.

“So... can we actually go and talk to Scoots?” Sweetie asked.

“Getting permission to see her would be tough if we don't have a reason to believe we can help her condition.” Sky looked at the amulet. “And I don't believe any of us have even the first idea of how to dispel such a dangerous spell.”

“But we can't just wait here, twiddling our hooves while Scootaloo has to face that by herself!”

“But running in there could cause more harm than good if yer not really prepared. You should at least read some o' Sky's books on the subject.”

“Feel free to browse the contents of my library, my young friends. Though I do have to agree with my dear Apple Bloom, caution is most advisable in this situation.”

“I'm not your dear anything.” Apple Bloom glowered at the stallion.

“I meant no offense of course.” Lord Sky smiled back.

“Well, maybe I will look at some of them,” Sweetie admitted. Damn. I want to act now, but I don't know how I'm supposed to do it. If I messed up and lost Scootaloo... No! she told herself firmly. I can't even consider failure! It won't happen! I won't let it! And if that means I have to slog through a hundred different books just to figure it out, then that's what I'll do.

She reached with the magic from Scoddri's fragment and sent it out to the shelves and began slipping books out one at a time, studying their titles one at a time. As she did so, the other two kept talking.

“So, if we can't do much more 'bout that right now...” Apple Bloom began.

“Care to accompany me to dinner?” Sky asked. “I am quite peckish and I assume you could use a meal yourself, Apple Bloom.”

“You just don't give up do you?” She scowled at the unicorn.

The stallion only wore his usual smile. “I figured you wouldn't say no to a quality meal.”

“Make sure you find a lot of food, Bloom eats more than Scoots and I put together,” Sweetie offered in an amused manner as she continued sorting the books into piles of pertinent and not-pertinent.

“Ah, duly noted, Sweetie Belle. I shall keep that in mind.”

“Hey!” Apple Bloom shouted at the necklace and scowled at Sky.

“Don't worry. Eating lots isn't a bad thing. It just means you're an active and healthy mare,” Sweetie said. “Besides, you might as well go out and get a good meal for once. Eat enough for both me and Scoots. I'll keep myself busy while studying these books.” 

Apple Bloom sighed. “Alright, Ah get ya. Ah hope ya find somethin’ worthwhile in those books.”

“If it’s in here, I’ll find it.” Sweetie Belle assured her. “Have a good date.”

“It's not going to be a date!” Apple Bloom shouted back. “Damn you two! It'll be a business discussion over a meal.”

“Ah yes, of course.” Lord Sky laughed. “Whatever was your fine friend thinking?”

“I'd be at a loss for words if I ever had to describe what was running through her mind.” Apple Bloom prodded at the necklace idly with her hoof.

“Well, it shouldn't be too hard to figure out.” The amulet flashed as she spoke. “I'm pretty good about voicing my thoughts when I think of them. So that's a good place to start.” By this point Sweetie Belle had gathered a good five tomes to read through. Though she doubted that they'd have anything entirely useful to say about the specific situation Scootaloo was in, but she really didn't see any other options. “In any case, I seem to have enough books here. So why don't you go and enjoy a meal with that fine stallion while I work away at these books? At least one of us should be out having fun.”

“Stop implying that it's a date, Sweetie. That's kind of creepy.”

“Creepy that a lord on the Crystal Court wants to have supper with you? You should feel honoured,” Sweetie argued. “Hay, I've never been asked out by a lord before.”

“That's just it. Ah'm only seventeen and he's practically double mah age.”

“He also dresses like something out of my nightmares,” Sweetie agreed. “But he's not really a bad stallion.”

“I dare say, these are the most comfortable robes that one can find. Not cumbersome in the slightest, and softer than a cloud.” Sky wore a face of mock-indignation as he walked over to the front of his chamber.

“You could have chosen a better colour though.” Sweetie said with a laugh. “Yellow, blue, black and white. My sister would have a fit if she saw you.”

“Oh? Would she?”

Apple Bloom moved to follow the stallion toward the entrance. “Yeah, her sister, Rarity, is a fashionista. She fills plenty of orders for the royals in Canterlot. She's one of the most successful business ponies Ah know.”

“Perhaps, once this whole conflict is resolved, I can add to the success of her business. But for now, I do think a dinner to discuss business is underway.”

“But we shouldn't leave Sweetie alone.” Apple Bloom argued. “What if that unicorn tries to capture her again?”

Sweetie Belle reached for the magic from Scoddri's shard and unhooked her amulet from Apple Bloom's neck. Then with care, she extended her magic into her friend's saddlebags and slipped the fragment out of it, and floated it nearby. Not close enough to fuse with the necklace of course. I can't afford to let it fuse. She'd just have to be careful.

“Don't worry about me,” Sweetie said. “Lord Sky actually has some pretty useful locks on the doors, not to mention the constant scrying spell he has in place on his chambers. Nopony's going to lay a hoof on me without him knowing well in advance.”

Sky smiled. “It is as she says. My chambers are most likely the most secure in the entirety of the palace. Oh, and Sweetie Belle, I do thank you for not dispersing those spells. It took more than a little while to set it all up properly.”

“Hey, I know how much effort it takes to set up a spell like that. We're guests here, and I'm not about to trash your place. Though you should stop spying on us while we're out and about.”

“I'm just doing my job,” he said with a laugh. Then looked turned to Apple Bloom at his side and nodded as he walked out the door. “If you would follow me, my lady.”

Apple Bloom huffed and gave him a light shove down the stairs, and he nearly lost his footing. “Ah told ya before not ta call me 'lady'.”

Whatever other antics followed, Sweetie Belle was not privy to them, for the door was quickly sheathed in a golden aura and swung shut. She turned her attention back to the books and couldn't help but be reminded of that first indigo tome she'd ever borrowed from Twilight. It ended up as a pile of ashes... And I'll be damned if I don't feel good about that.


* * *


Apple Bloom followed Lord Sky until they reached a hallway that must have been on the other side of the palace, given the fifteen minutes it took for them to reach it.

“Ah yes, 'The Nook' as it's called,” Sky explained as he opened a translucent red door. On the other side, a gray crystal pony wearing a dapper black uniform awaited them.

“Oh, Lord Sky. How fine it is to see you this evening.” The pony glanced at Apple Bloom and frowned only slightly before continuing. “A table for two then?”

Sky nodded and they moved to follow the pony. Apple Bloom glanced about the small restaurant. There were individual tables arranged in little areas that she would have had to describe as nooks or crannies. She saw where the restaurant got its name from. She also saw the numerous other patrons as they passed by a few separate nooks and Apple Bloom immediately felt under-dressed. Every other pony she laid eyes on was wearing some form of fashionable attire, and just judging by the layout of the plates and the numerous utensils that accompanied them, Apple Bloom was very much certain that she had never laid hoof in as fancy a restaurant as this. It didn't pass her notice either that the largest seating that the place accommodated were tables for two.

“Many nobles love the privacy this place provides while they can share a meal with close friends and share numerous secrets as well,” Sky supplied as they were directed to their nook. It was a small, cozy inlet with plush red cloth seating. “After you, my lady.”

Apple Bloom rolled her eyes at his words, but she didn't feel like refuting him while the server pony was still attending to them, so she sat down and complacently took a menu that was proffered to her only a moment later.

“Can I get you anything to drink?”

“Just water,” Apple Bloom said, more out of habit than anything else.

“And two glasses of red crystal wine,” Sky added with a pleasant smile.

“Right away, my lord.” The server bowed and went to retrieve the drinks.

“Ah don't drink,” Apple Bloom said.

“I realize, you are young, and you probably haven't had the chance to drink a real vintage. It would be a shame if you didn't get to at least taste the finest that our nation has to offer. I do not think it will disappoint a mare of your exceptional taste.”

Apple Bloom raised an eyebrow at that and rested a fore-hoof on the table. “And how in the hay are you supposed to know what my tastes are? We just met nine hours ago.”

“Believe it or not, I am a rather fine judge of character. You are a country girl, Apple Bloom. It shows in the way you walked in here and scowled at all the ponies being in dress. And of course it shows as one of your greatest strengths as well, the way that you put forth everything you've got and then you keep on going once you've completed your task. It's a sort of country-born tenacity that would put most of these noble ponies to shame.”

“And you can tell what type of drink I'll like, just based on that?” Apple Bloom chuckled. “Ah think yer just guessin'.”

“Ah, but I'm not done yet, my dear.”

“I'm not your dear-”

“For you see, because of your roots, a pony can assume that that you grew up on a farm, or near a farm, especially with a name like 'Apple', that's a dead giveaway. And farmfolk are known for their efficiency, and their appreciation of the simple things, hence your almost instinctual ordering of water. I imagine you think it would save our dear waiter much trouble to order the simplest thing.” Lord Sky smiled knowingly. “There's a certain benevolent simplicity in actions like that, which I find strangely refreshing to see.”

Apple Bloom shook her head. “You know this is starting to sound a little convoluted.”

“Then do stop me if you think I am wrong about any of this. But I can tell that you will enjoy this drink because of that honest simplicity that you carry within yourself. You've surely eaten more than an apple a day for most of your life, and the only way a pony could do that would be if they could learn to love those simple things.”

“Sure, Ah'll give ya that. I still love apples, and just 'bout anything that mah family makes out o' those apples.”

“Which brings me to our beverage, crystal wine. You see it is a simple beverage, much like cider. The berries are picked, they are crushed to juice, then they let them sit for a while. It's just a simple drink, and from its simplicity, its finest flavours emerge.”

“Ah still think you're just guessin' that Ah'll like it. Ya see, Ah know crystal wine is quite popular, so Ah reckon that there's just a good chance that almost anypony will like it.”

“A simple, yet tactful observation,” Sky said with a laugh as the waiter approached their table with drinks balanced on serving tray. “I'll leave it to you to decide whether or not I was lying.”

As they received their drinks the waiter nodded to them. “Are you ready to order, my lord?” The waiter gave Apple Bloom a small look before adding, “My lady?”

Apple Bloom realized her folly at not having looked at the actual menu, and was about to awkwardly open it and choose an item, when an idea came to her. She steadied her hooves and instead of looking through the menu, she reached for the sanguine beverage and took a small sip of it.

As the wine touched her tongue, she felt that bitter taste of alcohol, but behind it was a sweet flavour that contrasted with the bitter, like day and night. Not bad, she thought. Cider's still better though.

“Ah yes, I'll have the zucchini platter with a side order yam crisps and make sure to include a small bowl of that tomato-based sauce that I love,” Sky said simply. He hadn't even been supplied with a menu.

He must come here very often... Apple Bloom wondered at the stallion across the table from her. Ah wonder why he really wanted to bring me here. Ah know he hasn't showed all his cards yet. What game is he playin' at?

“Of course.” The waiter nodded at Lord Sky's order, then he turned to Apple Bloom. “And you will be having...?”

“Oh, Sky Chaser knows what I want,” Apple Bloom said with a smile.

Sky let out a small chuckle. “Indeed. She'll have the summer vegetable platter. She's quite interested in how many different vegetables our fine country has to offer.”

“Very good, my lord.” With a nod, the waiter retrieved the menu from Apple Bloom and quickly retreated from their nook. Apple Bloom and Sky were left alone once again.

“Hoping to catch me off-guard?” Sky asked. “To be fair, I didn't see that coming. Being surprised is not something I get to experience too often. It's a fine feeling.”

“You're not the only pony who's a good judge of character,” Apple Bloom offered as she sipped at the fine vintage. “Though Ah do have to wonder why you have taken such an interest in me. Given your reputation and all... it's kinda far from flatterin'.”

“Why?” he mused aloud at the question. “It's a simple answer, and perhaps that's the greatest part of it. Much like this vintage.” He paused to lift his glass with his magic and take a sip. “You are a simple pony: hard working, and honest in your actions. Which might actually be a rarer thing than one might initially assume, and that in itself is a most admirable quality. But there's also a certain duality to you as well. Much like the bitter and sweet of crystal wine, you hold a certain... synergy. A mind that out-thinks those around it, and a resolve that outlasts those around it. Few ponies ever have that duality to them. And those that do are the ones that are most likely to achieve their goals and lead their generation. Those are the ponies that I like to get to know. They're intriguing. And not to mention profitable.”

“Profitable...? Ah guess that's quite the compliment,” Apple Bloom admitted and shook her head with a small blush. She then took another sip of the drink. “So I'm intriguing, huh? Can't say Ah've ever heard that before.”

He smiled at her. “And now it is my turn to be curious. I wonder, what do you make of me? An honest opinion if you will. What do you make of this fool of a stallion who you've only known for nary a day.”

“Well, Ah'm reserved in mah judgment of you, since Ah can't really figure out what your game is. Ah know there's more to it than you've said, and you know Ah know that. But just judging from your actions, Ah'd say yer a bit of a fool who's pretendin' ta be romantically interested in me, perhaps usin' that 'reputation' as a cover. But while playin' the fool, you also get a surprisin' amount o' stuff done, and more efficiently than most ponies Ah’ve known.” Apple Bloom returned his smile with one of her own. But Ah can't help but think that yer smile is just a mask yer usin' ta hide yer real intentions. And Ah can't help but wonder why.

“Yes, being cautious around nobles is always the safer strategy. It takes years to know some of these ponies, and even after all that time, one still has to wonder what mask they might be wearing.”

“Comin' from a pony that spies on others fer a livin', that's sayin' somethin'.” Apple Bloom, took another swig of the drink, and noted that she had just finished the last of it. “So, you think you can make a profit by interacting with me?”

“Ah, you state it so bluntly.” He raised an eyebrow then shrugged. “But I guess there's no sense in denying it. Apple Bloom, I think you are going to go places. You have an inventor's mind and the aspirations to chase after those ideas. You also have the tenacity to not give up once you've decided that's what you want.”

Apple Bloom frowned at the stallion.

“What?” he asked with a disarming smile. “You carry some very intriguing plans in your bags. Flying wings for any pony to use...”

She sighed. “You realize that most ponies would be entirely annoyed and angry if they knew that you've been riffing through their bags, plans and journals.”

“Oh, of course. How do you think I got my reputation?” he asked with a laugh. “Honestly, I'm half-surprised that you haven't gotten up and bucked me halfway across the room. What gives?”

“Well, because Ah know that bucking somepony for something they've already done is, fer the most part, pointless. Besides it would only sully our good relations. As Ah said before, you're an effective pony at getting stuff done. And right now, Ah don't really care too much 'bout a lot o' things except that me and my friends need ta get some stuff done.”

It was only a moment later that Apple Bloom heard the waiter pony arrive with their dishes. The pony quickly set their platters upon the table and deemed it necessary to leave as quickly as possible, but only after refilling their wine glasses.

“So it would appear that our conversation has turned to business,” Sky said with a grin as he picked up his utensils and dug into his food.

Apple Bloom began to wonder just how 'free' this meal really was.


* * *


So if a pony wants to use mind magic, they actually have to enter their subject's mind... and there are records of ponies who have attempted to do so only to never come back. there are also some where the subject had their mind irreparably damaged. Sweetie Belle had a sinking feeling in her gut as she set the last book down. No wonder it's so dangerous. But with Scoots, if we don't do something soon, I think irreparable damage will be guaranteed.

“Enter the pool of a pony's mind with a splash. What shape will it take, and where will the water go? Scoddri's voice piped up with billowing laughter. “The change is inevitable, but will you be there to cause it?”

There's no such thing as fate, Scoddri! I’m choosing to save Scootaloo. Like how my cutie mark was my choice. It’s my freedom. My will. And I will save Scootaloo if it's the last thing I do. It's my choice, and that's all there is to it.

“And what of that little thing called 'failure'?” As the voice spoke, Sweetie couldn't help but remember seeing Scoddri's statue fissure and crumble, only to be tossed away, sown like dandelion seeds to the wind. “What happens when you meet with that again, girl?”

I'll overcome it! she thought firmly at the voice in her mind. I won't hesitate this time!

Scoddri only laughed. It was a fragmented sound, like he was in ten different places at once, laughing slightly asynchronously with himself. She let the sound peter out, and in its stead she heard a sound, not in her mind this time. The front door to the many-mirrored room shimmered with a golden glow, and the door opened inward.

Sweetie Belle welcomed the sight of the approaching ponies. It gave her an excuse to pull herself from those dark thoughts.

“Now, watch your step Apple Bloom,” Sky warned with a smug grin as he moseyed into his chambers. “You might have had a bit too much to drink.”

“You wanna fall down a flight of stairs?” Apple Bloom asked with a bit of a deadpan as she walked evenly through door.

“Aww, no drunken stumbling?” Sweetie asked as the earth pony entered. “Geez Sky, you raised my expectations there. I'm sure I'll get to see it one day though.”

“It's a shame,” Sky returned jovially. “Apple Bloom just wouldn't drink more than two glasses, no matter how I urged her.”

“Well, sorry to disappoint ya both, but Ah do have standards. Honestly, there's no point in getting drunk.”

“Watching you struggle to get up a flight of stairs could be reason enough...” Sweetie supplied.

“Well good luck ever getting me ta do that, 'cause it ain't happenin'.” Apple Bloom moved over to Sweetie's amulet, where it lay on an open book on the floor. Once she got over there, she scooped up Scoddri's fragment and placed it in her pack. “Make any headway on the books?”

“Just brushed up on some of the rules I was forced to read a few years ago by Twilight. I have a pretty good idea of how the spells work, and I also see why it's such a controversial section of magic. Finding someone who is experienced in it might be impossible.” Sweetie raised her amulet form into the air before moving herself to latch around Apple Bloom's neck. “Turns out that it goes against the laws stated in the Equestrian Laws of ‘Safe Magical Practice’. It's very much illegal to perform mind magic on a pony who hasn't first consented to it. But often ponies won't even care to look for consent as evidence. Since one pony could potentially be controlling the other's mind, any consent often loses its credibility.”

“Huh... Ah guess it is a tricky subject. A blanket ban probably was the best choice in that case.”

“Yeah, it probably was,” Sweetie agreed. “Though there haven't been too many incidents over the years... Still, we probably aren't going to find an expert in this field of magic any time soon.”

“Darn,” Apple Bloom muttered, an action which quickly transformed into a yawn. “Well, maybe Shining Armor and the rest of the council have an idea of what to do next. Maybe they've contacted the princesses by now. We can talk ta them in the morning and work out a plan from there.”

“Yeah...” Sweetie couldn't help but let disappointment fill her voice, even magical as it was.

“I am sure that the council will think of something. Maybe the solution will be to strike down this unknown villain quickly before he can cause your friend any more harm.”

“Ah suppose, but Ah don't think that's too likely. What, with the way he's played his cards so far. He seems quite intent on staying out of sight and likely in someplace safe.”

“At least such cold cowardice limits the ways in which he might act,” Sky added with a nod, then moved back toward the entrance of the room. “Shall I escort you back to your guestroom, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle?”

“If it's not too much trouble,” Apple Bloom said.

“Huh... You know, I expected you to kind of refute his request.” Sweetie Belle considered for a moment. “Wait... what happened during dinner anyway?”

Sky smiled. “A private discussion.”

“Which is no concern of yours at the moment, SB. Let's get goin'.”

“SB? Since when do you call me SB? Something did happen didn't it?”

Apple Bloom groaned. “Ah'm sure you'd love ta hear all about it. But you ain't hearing a word about it from me.”

“Well, Sky? What happened?”

The stallion offered a small chuckle. “You'll excuse me, Sweetie Belle, if I decide it is in my best interests not to answer that question. Especially when we're walking down a flight of stairs.”

“Fine! You two keep your secrets.”

“Hey, don't sound so sour, SB,” Apple Bloom said as she looked down at the amulet around her neck. “Everypony has a few secrets.”

“Remember this girl, everyone has their secrets, and they can be dark and powerful. For these secrets form the true face to anyone you meet. It may take years to notice them, but everyone has those secrets.” Sweetie wasn't sure if Scoddri had just spoken, or if it was just her memories coming back to her, but the words remained in her mind for a while as they made their way to the guest quarters.

Everypony has secrets, huh? I guess that's true.

Once back in their plush suite, Sky said his farewells and left. Sweetie caught sight of him casting a scrying spell, but it shot out in a direction away from their suite.

Apple Bloom sat down on a plush bed and cast a sad glance over to the other empty bed. “I hope we make some headway tomorrow.”

“We'll just have to try our best,” Sweetie replied and unlatched herself from her friend's neck and settled onto the endtable. “You should get some sleep, Bloom. It's been a busy day.”

“Yeah, Ah will.” Apple Bloom took her saddlebags off and placed them beside her bed. Before she could get too comfortable though, she jumped to her hooves. She walked over to the door and firmly turned the lock on the door. “At least I shouldn't wake up with you missing again.”

“Well, if somepony tries to abduct me, I'll create some thunder. You'll be awake in no time at all.”

Apple Bloom got back into her bed and settled into it's comfy embrace. She let out a sigh into the moonlit room. “Say, Sweetie... What's it like? Not having a body?”

“It's... The worst feeling I've ever felt. And if I didn't have my magic, I know I'd have given up by now.” And for all I know my body is as good as gone. It's been over three days now... without food or water... What are the chances that it'll all turn out fine? She would have shook her head, had she the body to do so.

“Oh... Ah'm sorry, Sweetie.”

“I know... But I can't complain about something like that. I can't let it get me down. If I do, then I won't be going anywhere. If I stay still, then I feel like I've stopped living. But I'm still me Bloom! Right? Even without a body, I'm still me... Or is it a body that makes us who we are?”

“You're you, Sweetie! You’re alive, and don't you forget it!” Apple Bloom said firmly, staring at the amulet through the darkness.

“You're right.” I still have my mind, my essence, my magic. She let her amulet shine brightly for a moment, just to reassure herself that she still could influence the world around her, that she was still alive. But what about Scoots?

She let the light from the amulet die out as her mind fell back to thoughts of the pegasus. I need to act!


* * *



End of Chapter 18