Bloodline
Chapter 10 - Doubt
Twilight looked at Rainbow Dash as if she’d been struck by lightning. “What do you mean by 'she has taken him'? He wouldn't go anywhere without me! This doesn't make any sense! It looks like there are two different groups of ponies seeking after him!”
Magic roared around Twilight's horn. It soared down towards the ground and hit the rope that was wrapped around Rainbow's ankles. The rope burned and turned into dust. A small gust carried the faint remains away.
Rainbow struggled to get back on her hooves, but managed to turn around with a precise flap of her wings. “Why should there be two groups after him? Seems like the same ponies to me.”
Twilight shook her head violently. “No, they act totally different. The ponies that came to Fluttershy's cottage and here into the Everfree knew exactly where Light Chaser was. The ponies that rampaged through my home were absolutely clueless. From my point of view, it’s clear. We are dealing with more than just these maniacs.”
Rainbow Dash gulped at the thought of even more sickos seeking after Light Chaser. “What are we supposed to do now?”
For a short moment, Twilight sank into her thoughts. She excluded every foreign thought and tried to focus on Light Chaser. Silently, she mumbled something into her coat. “What did I miss? What could I have overseen...?”
Her mind needed a few moments, but it quickly combined the pieces to a whole picture. Various pictures flashed in front of her inner eyes. It was too much for her to actually realize what she had seen, but one particular picture was burned into her mind. It was the moment when Spike mentioned the Amulet of the Dark Alicorn in front of Light Chaser.
She gasped in shock, it felt like a lightning was racing over her spine. “I've got it! If their lure is giving him wings, they need magic! But not any magic, they need the magic of an alicorn to gain him wings. Since the Princesses and I wouldn't corporate with them, they need the amulet!”
Twilight spun around and extended her wings. Rainbow just looked at her lavender wings in awe. “Rainbow! Don't stare at me like you've never seen wings before! Come on!”
The alicorn's horn shone brightly and burned a hole into the thick layer of leaves and branches above their heads. Rainbow shook her head and quickly followed Twilight. The cyan mare caught up with her friend immediately. “Twilight? Where are we heading to?”
Twilight concentrated only upon her destination. “The library! We have to look after the amulet! Maybe it is still there! They have no reason to return to Ponyville if they've got everything they need. If the amulet is still there, we still have the chance to get any of them into our hooves!”
Rainbow and Twilight soared down and crashed right through the front door. Twilight wrapped the furniture that hid the Amulet inside her magic and shoved it aside. A small enchanted wooden box became visible. Twilight's magic crept inside the lock and opened it unexpectedly easily.
The wooden box revealed its contents, but to their disappointment the chest was empty. Twilight's entire body began to shake. Pure anger crept up her spine. Rainbow looked curiously over her shoulder and caught a glimpse of the empty box. She could see Twilight shaking and mumbling something into her coat. “Darn! The amulet is gone! I guess we have to find another way to chase them.”
Twilight's magic to begin boil in her inner. She wanted to find them so badly. It wasn't the thought of revenge that formed her desire, but the certainty that the ponies that got rid of Spike would get their righteous punishment. “Another way? There isn't another way! If they've got everything they require then there is no need for them to come ever back to us. Nopony would be so dumb as to risk facing an alicorn. Their entire plan could fail!”
Rainbow looked around the room when something inside her mind tried to come to the outside. “Well, isn't there anything else they need? Maybe some sort of spell or anything?”
Twilight's outrage slowly faded when Rainbow's words resounded inside her mind. Wasn't there something else? The switch inside her mind finally flipped over. “You are right, Rainbow! I simply love your plain mind!”
The alicorn passed Rainbow and shot straight to a small book that was thrown to the ground before. It was Twilight's notebook. Rainbow just hovered after her with a questioning expression. “Did you just called me stupid?”
Her question remained unanswered. Twilight was already rushing over various pages. Her magic stopped and she tapped her hoof at one exact point. “Here it is! Everytime I hear something that could be useful I make a mental note. And what use it being able to use magic if I can't even take notes from the distance!”
Rainbow rolled her eyes. “You actually realize how ridiculous this sounds, right?”
It seemed like Twilight couldn't even hear Rainbow anymore. This new turn of events gave her new hope. “The amulet was just additional! The last thing they really need is the fragment of King Sombra's horn! It is treasured inside the Crystal Castle of my brother and Cadence. We have to meet the other Princesses to prevent King Sombra from being revived.”
Rainbow looked briefly out of the window and pointed her hoof towards the outside. “You actually know that it is the middle of the night? How are you planing to reach anypony?”
Twilight shoved the notebook aside and levitated some books and quills into her saddlebag. “Don't be ridiculous. There is a pony that raises the moon. Princess Luna has to be awake at that time of the day. Prepare yourself; we have to go immediately.”
The cyan mare snorted loudly. “I should prepare myself? How about you? I'm the fastest pony in the whole of Equestria! You should prepare yourself to keep up with me!”
In her apartness, Rainbow had closed her eyes. When they slowly cracked open, she found herself over Canterlot Castle. Rainbow just hovered there, her mind needing a few moments to realize what just had happened. She saw Twilight quickly gliding down towards the tower decorated with blue fabric. Rainbow shot past her and landed as first on the marble balcony. “Hey, Twilight! Your teleportation magic sure has improved! I didn't even notice that you had used magic at all.”
Twilight could only offer a small smile towards her cyan friend when she gently tapped at the ground. She proceed to the balcony door and gently tossed it open, only barely enough to create a gateway for both of them.
The room was dark. No lights were lit inside Princess Luna's chamber. Twilight illuminated the tip of her horn. She was taken aback when she was able to see. A dark sphere was placed in the middle of the room. She couldn't see what was inside, but it didn't feel good to her. “Okay, Rainbow! Get in cover. I will blow this thing away!”
Before the cyan pegasus could answer, the magic around Twilight's horn became stronger and stronger until it released itself as a powerful ray. It hit the sphere and shattered it into thousands of pieces.
The two beings underneath the sphere were completely stunned by the sudden burst of magic that forced their shield to break. The two alicorn sisters were hanging above a map of the Crystal Empire. Princess Celestia arose and mustered Twilight carefully. “Twilight? What is the meaning of this?”
Twilight's eyes raced through the room, looking for a possible source of danger. They only slowly calmed upon the alabaster chest of her former mentor. “I'm very sorry, Princess. I couldn't afford lose time and open the sphere gently.”
Princess Luna accompanied her sister and mustered Twilight with a warning expression. “What could possibly drive you to such vast actions?”
Twilight bit her lips. Her body was filled with adrenaline since she concentrated such a huge amount of magic. “You are really asking me why I'm upset? Do you really think that nothing is wrong here? Haven't you noticed? Light Chaser is not here! This dreaded cult has foalnapped him! We can't lose any more time!”
Before Princess Luna could answer, her sister stepped quickly in front of her. “Twilight Sparkle! We know the situation is critical, but this doesn't qualify you to speak to my sister in this way! Has Spike's death confused your mind? Keep calm and explain yourself.”
Twilight used the calming technique Cadence shown her once. She put her hoof onto her chest, breathed deeply and then extended her hoof from her heart in a wide curve. “It is my fault. After Princess Luna left, I snapped and sent Light Chaser away. I told him to escort Pinkie Pie home, but on the way home he met Rainbow and they decided to hang out. They got trapped in the Everfree and a mysterious pony appeared and took him away.”
Rainbow looked bashfully at the ground while she closed in to the Princesses. “I'm really sorry. I didn't mean for something like that to happen.”
Princess Celestia laid her hoof in a welcoming and calming manner upon Rainbow Dash’s shoulder. “It is neither of yours fault. We shouldn't have gave this task to any of you in the first place. I have to apologize that we didn't checked for other possible threats. I'm sorry.”
Twilight shook her head and fell into Princess Celestia's hooves. “No, I have to be sorry! I disappointed you!”
She sobbed into her alabaster coat. Princess Luna watched the scene and rolled her eyes. “Well, if we could go on now? We were just seeking for a way to secure the fragment of King Sombra's horn from foreign influence. Do you have any other information that might help us?”
Twilight thought hard, but only a single but important thing came to her mind. “The Amulet of the Dark Alicorn. It was stolen after the ponies came into my home. So it seems like Light Chaser has taken it with him.”
Princess Luna cocked an eye. “Did he know about the amulet?”
Twilight almost whimpered at the thought of Light Chaser being a traitor after the success she’d seemingly made with him. “Yes, Spike was mentioned it while he was around accidentally.”
The Princess breathed calmly. “You think he betrayed us?”
Twilight couldn't talk any more. She simply nodded weakly and pointed her gaze towards the ground.
The Princesses looked at each other in concern. Princess Celestia sighed and turned again to her former student. “I was afraid that this could happen. I foolishly believed that the power of harmony was enough to show him the light. How could I think that King Sombra's son wouldn't follow his path into darkness? I should be ashamed of myself... But I can't let myself down now. I have made many mistakes during my lifetime and every time I came back stronger. We have to go to the Crystal Empire and secure the horn fragment. They will come to us sooner or later.”
The waver in Princess Celestia's eyes was gone and bravery replaced it swiftly. A small smile formed on her sister's lips. Princess Luna stepped back to their table and folded the map with help of her magic. “Then it is decided. We will go to the Crystal Empire and bring Light Chaser back into our control.”
A determinate look emblazoned the faces of the three Princesses only the usually so brave Rainbow Dash had issues. “Shouldn't we tell the other guys? I think it would be nice to have the Elements around since King Sombra could actually be revived and stuff.”
Twilight simply shook her head at her cyan friend. “I don't think this would be a good idea. The others can't really defend themselves against others. It’s already dangerous enough that you’re here. You've seen what these ponies are capable to do. You are fast and still able to flee, but the others are not. The Princesses and I are perfectly able to protect us magically.”
Rainbow Dash bit her lip. After a short moment of hesitating, Rainbow agreed. “You may be right. However, I think that the others would like to punish the ponies that did this to Spike.”
While Twilight only had to suppress her anger, something in Princess Luna's mind clicked into order. “You remind me of something, Rainbow Dash. When I returned from the library after the incident I searched for the purpose of this gruesome deed. It seems that I have found the spell that they want to use. For this spell is not only a living relative required, but the blood of a dragon.”
The Princess of the Night almost choked at her last words. “They want to bring King Sombra back and empower him until he surpasses my sister and me, to cause the ultimate downfall of our Equestria.”