Amy's words broke the young dragon's restraint, and a sob escaped his lips. The dragoness tensed up, knowing it was her words, her very presence that was causing Spike such anguish. There was little she could do for the one she had hurt so gravely besides ensure he at least had support in his hour of need.
Amy stood up and wobbled a moment on tingling legs as she fought the urge to look at Spike. The dragoness knew that if she were to see him now, it would only kindle the desire within her heart to take the young drake into her arms and comfort him. Such an act, especially from a monster like her, would not be welcomed by Spike, and she had no right to do so anyway.
Once her legs were firm beneath her, and the light dizziness caused from standing too fast had passed, she made her way to the door. Upon opening it, she saw Twilight Sparkle sitting a few feet away with her back to the door. When the squeak of hinges reached those purple ears, they twitched towards the source, and the head they were attached to followed soon after. Now staring at the dragoness, Twilight's eyes narrowed. "What's going on in there? Where's Spike?" she inquired as she stood and turned to face her fully.
Breaking down after discovering how wretched a creature his only remaining kin is. "He's inside... He needs your support right now... go to him." Amy told her, stepping to the side of the door. Twilight tilted until her head until her ears perked towards the faint sounds of distress coming from the room.
Without a moment's hesitation, The lavender mare ran to her little brother with the call of "Spike!"
Amethyst, not wanting to intrude on the two, began to make her way back to her suite. The journey was difficult as her weary soul and exhausted body stumbled through halls and up stairs. The dragoness would have been amazed she even managed to find her way back to the room, what with the experience she had just weathered after practically being drugged, but she couldn't find the ability to think of anything as she entered through the door.
She went about collecting her things in a mechanical fashion, reaching under the bed to grab her dark staff and drag it out. She laid it on the bed, hands reaching to tighten the knot of cloth on the end when she stopped. "You know, whoever you are, I'm in no mood to play games. So why don't you drop the invisibility?" said Amy as she straightened and turned to glare at a seemingly empty corner of the room.
After a few seconds, a shimmer became visible over the space before it was filled with sparkles. Soon after, the star filled veil retracted to reveal itself to be the mane and tail of the lunar alicorn. Luna smiled sheepishly. "G-greetings Amethyst, We are sorry to intrude upon your privacy," she began, stepping out from the corner, "We simply wished to... to express our deepest apologies for the actions of both my sister and myself. It was wrong of us to-"
"Lie? Stick your nose where it didn't belong? Drug me? All of the above?" the dragoness asked rhetorically with a barely maintained look of indifference. "Or maybe for pretending to be my friend to get me where you wanted?"
"No! That is not true! Our desire for your friendship was no fabrication!" Luna claimed, taking a hurried step forward. "We... I'm sorry for deceiving you, and for any pain I've caused you with what I've done."
"Pain? Me?" Amy whispered with widened eyes before they narrowed with a snarl. "What about Spike's pain!?" the dragoness roared, fire curling from her lips as she stomped towards the retreating alicorn. "He's out there suffering because of what he's learned," Amy yelled in Luna's face, the two now nearly muzzle to muzzle. "Why aren't you telling him sorry, huh!?"
The moon princess was now on her rump, back pressed against the wall, lips parted and eyes wide. She flinched when Amy's palm came flying past her head to slam into the wall behind her, creating a few small cracks through it. "Why couldn't you just leave things be!? Now I've... I've hurt him again," the dragoness said, her voice cracking and the look of anger twisting into one of sadness. "Why?... Why can't I stop hurting him?"
Luna did not know what it was her friend was talking about nor what to say to fix things between them, but the sudden lack of anger from the girl gave the moon princess the courage to speak, "I-I am truly sorry for... for everything. If I had known how hard this would have been for both of you, I'd have never allowed it to happen."
She was grasping in the dark for the right words, and when Amy's eyes snapped open and glared at her once more, she knew she had chosen wrong. "No, you aren't truly sorry, not yet. But you will be after I make you feel what he is feeling," the dragoness growled, her other hand rising from its limp position at her side to form a tight fist and cock back. The lunar alicorn was too shocked to do anything as a punch came rocketing towards her face.
The word "STOP!" rang through the air as a golden glow surrounded Amy's strong arm, but it only managed to slow the devastating blow, removing its crippling potential. The fist still plowed into Luna's cheek, snapping her head to the side with a whip of blood from her lips and a job for the royal dentist in the form of loosened molars. Before the lunar alicorn even hit the ground, the glow of magic spread over the rest of the dragoness and flung her across the room. As Amy spun through the air, her cloak came loose, falling to the ground a couple seconds after she landed in a crouch by her bed. At the same time Celestia appeared in front of her downed sister in a flash of light and raised wings. "Do not make another move, dragon!" ordered the solar alicorn with a look of steel upon her face and glow around her horn.
The dragoness hissed in response, pupils slitted and teeth bared. "Ah, Princess Celestia, how kind of you to come and accept your retribution willingly." came from the frenzied dragon's curled lips as she took a step forward, still on all fours. "You've saved me the trouble."
Celestia's gaze was softened with sympathy, but the hard edge still remained as she said, "Amethyst, I know you are upset with us, but violence will solve nothing. Please, calm yourself before either of us does something we will regret."
"Any regrets I bear from tonight will not be from this!" growled Amy as she stalked toward the two sisters.
"Amy... I know that you are angry, and though I am unaware of what has transpired between you and Spike, I cannot help but think he would be upset to find you in the dungeons," reasoned Celestia, sparing a glance over her shoulder at her slowly rising sister. "If you end this now, we can ignore your assault on a royal princess of Equestria and settle this like rational beings."
The idea of upsetting the young dragon even more caused Amy's steps to falter and a look of uncertainty to flash across her features, her eyes dilating a moment. As soon as it appeared however, it was gone and she said, "The dungeons are just the place for me, and I'm sure Spike will agree after tonight."
Celestia looked confusedly at the dragoness, but did not let the words distract her from trying to end this with words, "Well, surely the assault of his friends would bring him no joy, correct?"
This time, the look of regret and uncertainty remained for far longer before Amy grit her teeth and slowly began to step back. After she was once again by her cloak and staff, she grabbed the former as she reared back onto her hind-legs and threw the cloak around her shoulders in one smooth motion. "Fine... I will stop for his sake, but do not think that this changes anything between us," the dragoness grit out, staring daggers at the sun princess before turning to pick up her staff.
Luna, who was now standing on three hooves while the forth gingerly touched at her swelling cheek with a mutter of, "I deserved that," and turned her gaze to Amy as she gathered her things. "Where art thou-" the moon princess began to ask but flinched as the pain in her face flared up.
"Where are you going?" Celestia asked in her sister's stead.
Amy did not turn to look at them as she leaned her staff and bag over her left shoulder. "Away from here, I'm going home," she said as she began to walk towards the balcony.
Luna looked confused and a little worried when she heard the answer, and voiced her concerns, though she did so in a mumble to avoid opening her mouth too far, "But your train doth not depart until early morning."
Throwing open the doors leading outside with a bang, the dragoness leapt onto the railing and stared out over the city, causing both princesses to step forward in worry and the elder one to yell, "Don't do it Amy! Whatever happened tonight, jumping isn't going to solve anything!"
This actually got the dragoness to turn her head and stare at the two with a raised eye ridge. "Seriously? Guess I can add insulting to your list of transgressions... I'm staying in the city until it's time to board the train." Without further warning, Amy let herself fall over the ledge, leaving Celestia shocked and causing Luna to surge forward with a scream of "Amy!" When she reached the rail, the lunar alicorn wasted no time leaning over it, horn aglow with the intention of pulling the dragoness to safety.
Being princess of the night meant her eyes could easily pierce the darkness and lock onto the moving figure. What she saw however, gave her pause. The purple figure wasn't flying, and it wasn't plummeting to its death, it was more falling with style. Luna could see Amy hooking spires with her clawed hands as she descended, twirling off of them and sliding off bits of roof as she made her way down. At the final stretch, she had managed to reach the outer wall, landing only a moment between two patrolling guards before vanishing over the edge.
Luna absently made a mental note to talk to the two oblivious guards about keeping a better vigil, before looking over her shoulder at her sister and saying disbelievingly, "She's gone from the castle."
This snapped the solar alicorn from her stupor and she rushed to her sister's side to frantically scan the ground below. "Is she okay!? Where is she!?" she asked.
"Gone... over the walls and into the city," Luna clarified, still amazed by the dragon's agility and speed; suddenly feeling very lucky for her sister slowing that punch. "I fear we have not only lost a friend tonight, but have also made a powerful enemy... I only hope she can forgive us someday..."
~8~
After her dramatic exit from the castle, Amy had limped across the quiet city to the train station. As it turned out, performing high-level acrobatics while both physically and emotionally exhausted wasn't the safest of things to do. When she had made it to the station, she lay down on a bench and tried to sleep. Failing to do that, she instead focused on her sprained ankle. Though she could not necessarily heal the injury outright, properly circulated magic in the damaged area could heal it in a matter of days instead of weeks, and she could always use the practice in magical control.
In truth, the real reason she had taken such drastic action in escaping the castle instead of just allowing the ponies to escort her was twofold. The first was that she neither wanted to see nor be seen by others at the time, feeling horrible for both what had happened with Spike and for hurting Princess Luna while under the influence of her rage. The second reason was that she just knew it would have been Prim & Proper to be the one to escort her, and she did not trust herself to be able to stay calm in his presence. The butler pony had to have had some knowledge as to what was going on when he went and retrieved the special tea for his princesses.
After scaring a security guard by popping her draconic head out from under her hood, she boarded the train when it arrived and was on her way back home. If someone were to have asked her how the train ride had gone, the lack of sleep would have placed her answer somewhere between "miserable" and a sullen "I don't know"; haunted as she was by the what-ifs of how she could have better handled things, forcing her awake every time she tried to get some shuteye. On top of that, not having any food or money meant the trip was spent in gnawing hunger and she couldn't bring herself to eat the sugar diamond out of guilt. If she had not let her desire for the delectable treat control her after all, she would have never come to Canterlot.
It was only on the last day of the long trip that her tired mind could no longer sustain wakefulness, and she conked out. Luckily, her mind was also too tired to scrounge up any dreams to torture her with, and she awoke from a blissfully long and nightmare-free slumber. It was with this small blessing that she stepped onto the boarding station of Ford Junction in the late morning, her ankle healed enough to be only slightly stiff.
Despite the hardships in Equestria, the familiar sights and sounds of the closest thing to a hometown she had brightened her demeanor, and she could forget her sorrows for at least a little while. Already, she could hear the shouting from the various inhabitants in the melting pot of a city. Stepping out, she saw many different creatures milling about both on the ground and in the air. Some would call the city sitting on three borders ugly, but to her, it was a sight for sore eyes.
Dozens of tall smoke stacks rose from atop factories, billowing out thick fumes and staining the sky a permanent grey. The bulk of the buildings were made of red-brown bricks and plaster, resulting in a far less colorful city than what the dragoness had seen in Equestria. Taking a deep breath of smoggy air into her mouth, Amy savored the taste... before coughing it out. Okay, maybe I didn't miss everything about this place, but it's still nice to be home.
Not delaying any longer, Amy made her way into the densely packed streets, expertly weaving through the crowds with nary a bump of shoulders with passers-by. I definitely missed this. As much as I may enjoy attention, I prefer not being noticed over all the glares I was getting in pony land. The dragoness thought this as she ducked under a barrel being carried over the shoulder of a minotaur, and it was an accurate observation. The mules, donkeys, goats, zebras, gryphons, minotaurs, diamond dogs, and various other creatures hardly spared her a glance as they passed her, both used to seeing different species and too focused on their own lives to pay each other any mind.
It was the apathetic nature of Ford Junction that made the fact that Amy felt someone paying close attention to her all the more worrisome. Add onto that all the calls of "Watch it!" and "Outta the way, kid!" from those behind her confirmed someone, a non-native probably, was following her. Barely off the train and already somebody wants to cause problems. Figures.
Showing no sign of noticing besides a slight clenching of her jaw, the dragoness made her way through the streets before turning into the first empty alleyway she came across. As soon as she rounded the corner, she pressed her back against the wall and readied her staff, pulling off and holding the bag with her right hand while twirling the weapon in her left. You chose a real bad day to mess with me, creep... On the bright side, this should be therapeutic.
Before her stalker even made their way to the entrance, she already had some ideas about them; the hurried footsteps, their rhythm, and faint, accompanying clicking told her that the stalker was bipedal, had short legs and clawed feet. Probably some runt diamond dog trying to prove himself to the pack. I'll try not and hurt whoever it is... or at least not cripple them.
When she saw the shadow approach, it was of someone quite short, except for a large spire coming from the head. Amy didn't have time to ponder this though, as the stalker turned the bend and she swung her staff down towards their head. "Take thi-SPIKE!?"
The dragoness could barely divert the blow to the ground as both dragons screamed in surprise and terror. Spike continued to scream as her own became one of pain and she dropped the violently vibrating staff from her stinging claw. She let go of her bag and cradled her arm to her chest. "What are you doing here!?" was all she could think to ask as she tried to figure things out.
The young dragon had fallen onto his butt and his screams had begun to trail off. When they devolved into a squeaky wheeze, he coughed and started gulping down air. "What's with *gasp* people trying to *gasp* give me a heart attack *wheeze* lately? First *gasp* Discord and now you," Spike got out as he pat his chest a few times.
"Don't try and change the subject!" Amy exclaimed before covering her mouth and scanning the surrounding area. When she saw no one she uncovered her mouth and whispered harshly, "How did you get here!? Why!?"
Spike stood up and stared her right in the eye. "Because we weren't done talking yet, that's why," he told her, voice brimming with determination.
The dragoness had no idea how to respond to that, but she did know that the two of them couldn't remain standing outside, especially not together. Any fear of Spike's scorn was overshadowed by her concern for the young dragon as she grabbed her things and ran towards him.
His eyes widened and he protested when he was scooped up and held under Amy's arm beneath the cloak. "Be quiet, Spike! I need to get us somewhere safe, and we can't have people seeing you," she whispered. This had the intended effect as the young dragon's protests quieted and he stopped pulling at the arm wrapped around his midsection.
"Why not?" he asked with genuine curiosity.
"I've earned some dangerous enemies over the years who would love nothing more than to get me out of the picture and some of them wouldn't hesitate to use you to do just that," she answered.
The dragoness felt Spike tense up. "Okay..." he whispered back before adding a little a little louder, "Just ask before doing stuff like that though!"
Amy couldn't help but smile a little at that, but she soon returned to her stone-faced expression and ran out of the alley. She dodged past pedestrians, receiving harsh calls as she did, and made her way to the closest safe place she could think of, all the while trying to ignore the still present feeling of being watched. Please, please just let this one time be paranoia.
It wasn't long before the pair of dragons had made it to a more residential area of the city, scattered lights shining from the windows of tall apartment buildings in the area. Running up to one of the many buildings, Amy went to the gated front door and pushed a button to the side. After a minute of nothing happening, the dragoness growled and started tapping the button repeatedly.
Finally, a voice from inside yelled, "Enough! I'm coming already!" Soon after, the door behind the gate opened to reveal a bleary-eyed and chubby gryphon scowling at her. "Gods damn it, Amethyst, what's the big idea waking me up at the crack of dawn?" he asked angrily.
Amy deadpanned as she pointed a thumb over her shoulder. "Seriously, Pete? It's almost noon," she stated before shaking her head. "Whatever, let me in."
The gryphon grumbled, but opened the gate for her. "Just get in here already so I can go back to sleep. Always waking me up..." he said as returned to grumbling.
As soon as the gate was out of her way, she half walked, half ran into the building and through the lobby. The dragoness ignored the call of "ingrate" from behind her and started climbing stairs. By the time she was nearing the top, Amy silently cursed her friend's apartment choice; it wasn't that she was getting winded, but it was still a time-consuming climb to have to do whenever she wanted to see the pegasus.
"Where are we going?" Spike whispered as he peeked out from behind the cloak.
"To see a friend," she answered as she finally stopped in front of one of the many doors in the hall and started pounding on it.
Soon after, a male voice was heard complaining about noise while he was trying to write and hoofsteps approaching the door. "Who's there?" a female voice asked.
"It's me, Lorey, I'm back," was the reply.
"Amy? You're back!" was exclaimed as the sound of locks turning followed.
"'Lorey'. Is she the Lore Finder I read about?" asked Spike.
"You read about her?" Amy asked with a quirked brow.
Before he could answer, the sound of the chain lock sliding stopped and the voice spoke, "Amy... Why is there a child out there with you?"
This actually gave the dragoness pause as she realized where exactly she had brought her up-to-now-secret sibling. Really, she had only been focusing on getting the young dragon somewhere safe where she could figure out how he had gotten there and how to get him back to his home. It just so happened to be that the home of her best friend was where she felt safest in all of Ford Junction.
"...Amy? Are you alright?" Lore asked in concern, the lock sliding the last of the way and the door opening a crack to reveal a magenta eye.
It was Spike who answered, pushing the cloak to the side like a shower curtain, "I think she's just spacing out."
When the pony's eyes fell upon the little dragon under her friends arm, they widened and her pupils shrunk. "Wh-who are you?"
Spike was about to answer, but Amy finally came back to reality and she pushed through the opening with a "Not out here," making the pegasus stumble back a few steps to accommodate her guests. Once she was in, Amy pushed the door closed with her tail before falling back against it with a sigh.
Any relief she could have had was ruined by the voice of her friend, now tinted with steel, "Amethyst Thistle, who is that young dragon under your arm?"
The dragoness looked between Spike and the hard eyes of her friend, trying to think of how to explain the situation. "Well... You see, the thing is... He's... Ah, well, this dragon is my-"
Amy's fumbling was cut short as Spike rolled his eyes and asked, "Hey, can you put me down already? I can stand, after all."
She stared at him a moment before his words sunk in, quickly putting him down with a "sorry" when they did, and brought her hands under her cloak.
Now fully visible, Lore Finder could see more prominently what she had before as Spike wiped away imaginary dirt from himself and she leaned forward. "Who are you?" she asked again, this time with wonder.
"Lorey, the thing is, he's-he's my-"
"Hi, my name is Spike... and I'm her brother," the young dragon answered for the floundering dragoness.
The room fell silent as Amy stared on in shock while Lore didn't show any emotion at all. Finally the mare spoke, "Huh, that answers a few questions... and raises many more."