After a rather unpleasant awakening, Spike now held a neatly tied scroll in one hand, as he rubbed at his heavy eyelids with the other, “Don't the princesses ever sleep...?” He grumbled to himself, only halfway out of his bed. It took him a moment to slide out the rest of the way, and then another to stop wobbling on his feet.
It had to be nearly three in the morning, whatever message Celestia had sent this time better have been important to interrupt the only sleep he had gotten since she had given Twilight her latest assignment.
Speaking of which, Spike had not been too surprised to find that Twilight's bed remained completely empty. Still. She had been going for over a day and a half as it was with her research, and while Spike himself usually enjoyed working with Twilight Sparkle, she had only gotten more and more immersed in her research as time had progressed without her seeming to find much success.
And the longer it took for her to find whatever it was she was looking for, the longer the poor mare was going without rest... at least, rest not done drooling on valuable tomes.
But, no matter how hard the princesses had her working, and no matter how much Spike dreaded heading downstairs for the possibility of being given yet another load of work on top of what they all were already dealing with. With a low grumble under his breath, and a quick puff of his chest to try and ready himself to give Twilight his aid if she needed it, Spike began to descend the dimly lit staircase, “Twilight?”
“Yeah, Spike?” Twilight Sparkle's voice seemed distant, it was a tone he had heard hundreds of times over the years. She was about halfway through a book, combing the words for anything that might relate to what she needed. It could be a long process, and Spike knew that more than likely she wouldn't really be hearing a thing he had to tell her if he didn't just pull her away from it.
He could only see the back of her anyway, a mane that was in desperate need of both a wash and a combing. Her tail lazily spread over the floor, as opposed to the way she normally would curl it around herself during study. Spike couldn't help but worry for her, “Er, Twilight... maybe we should break for tonight. I'm sure whatever it is can wait until morning.”
“Uh-huh.” The response was so tired and lazy that Spike knew she hadn't even attempted to listen. It was notably easy for Spike (As well as most others.) to become frustrated when she would get herself so enamored with her studies, however this time he knew it was different. The Princess had Twilight investigating magic that seemed to be even beyond Alicorn knowledge. Ponies vanishing from their homes all across Equestria, without a trace. It was a terrifying notion, especially with how little Twilight had turned up over a day and a half of constant research, and still she kept on looking for answers that were likely not even there.
Spike's lip curled into a soft smile as he approached the exhausted pony, remembering that sometimes she needed to be reigned in as well, putting a clawed hand upon her shoulder.
Twilight practically jumped out of her skin before turning to look at Spike, “Ye-heeess,” Her greeted was interrupted by her own yawn.
“Come on Twilight, you need some rest.”
“Spike, I ca-haaaaa-n't...” She replied, much to Spike's smug smirk and gaze. Shaking her head slightly, she turned back to her books... all of which had been closed over the few seconds she had turned away, with Owlowiscious sitting atop the largest of which and keeping it from being reopened.
“Hoo.” It seemed even he agreed it was time for bed.
Putting a hoof to her face, Twilight laughed, “But I haven't even been at it that long,” She looked over at the clock, and smirked, “It's only Three thirty-two!”
“On Wednesday.”
“Wednesday!?” Twilight practically screeched, “Oh no, I promised AppleJack I'd-” Spike was already pushing her toward the steps.
“Yeah yeah, we were supposed to go help,” He said with a yawn, “I tried to tell you earlier.”
“...I guess I really did get too wrapped up in my study,” She said, heading upstairs on her own now, the sight of her bed like that of seeing a family member who lived across the world, “Still, the magical fluctuations going on all over Equestria could be pointing to danger coming. If I didn't know better, I'd almost have to link all of this with Discord again and...!” Spike pushed her face first onto her mattress, and the young mare was asleep before she hit the pillow.
The baby dragon gave a sigh of relief as the sound of Twilight's low snoring went throughout the room. Were he not ready to pass out himself, he likely would have treated himself to the sapphire hidden beneath his pillow. Instead, he simply settled for crawling back into his own bed.
That was, of course, the moment he realized that the Princess's letter was still in his hand! He pushed himself upright, and looked over at her bed. He felt terrible about waking her but, “Uh, Twilight? I forgot to mention,” His voice was barely above a whisper. He doubted the message was all that important. Celestia sent messages all the time, after all, “There's a letter from the Princess here. But... you seem to be tired though, so Princess Celestia can probably wait until-”
Twilight Sparkle shot out of bed and right over to spike, getting uncomfortably right into his face, “What?! Princess Celestia sent a letter and you forgot?!” Her horn started to glow with a visible pink aura as the scroll was nabbed right from Spike's hands and unraveled in front of her face. She had to cast a small light spell from the tip of her horn, “...it's from Princess Luna?”
That was odd in itself, Luna was not the type to spend time writing letters, or if she did, Celestia would be helping. This, on the other hand, was a special case, as within moments Twilight understood why it was that the Princess had to resort to such mundane methods of sending her message.
Twilight didn't say another word before she dropped the letter without so much as putting it on the correct shelf. She didn't have the time, as she had already begun bolting downstairs and out of the library, even leaving the door wide open.
Spike attempted to follow her down, but the land speed of anypony, even Twilight Sparkle could easily outpace the small dragon.
“Twilight! Where are you going?!” He called out after her, before shaking his head slightly and shutting the door behind him. So much for all of the effort in putting her to bed.
Still, he was left with a morbid curiosity as to what it was Princess Luna of all ponies had sent to be read. He rushed back upstairs and grabbed a hold of the dropped scroll, only to have to light the nearest candle to even be able to read the single sentence that had been quickly scrawled across the page.
'Twilight Sparkle,
Strange magic in Ponyville. Fluttershy in danger.
Luna.'
- - - - - - - - -
Just on the outskirts of Ponyville, right upon the edge of the Everfree Forest, sat a small cottage overgrown with shrubbery and covered in smaller homes and entrances for the various creatures that resided with the owner of the cabin. It was the home of Fluttershy, the Pegasus who had become synonymous with the Element of Kindness.
At such an early hour in the morning, her home remained entirely silent. None of her friends inside would stir until the raising of the sun awoke them. Despite housing so many wild creatures, they tended to all work on strict schedules. Fluttershy especially was used to awakening at the crack of dawn, just to make sure her animal friends were all given the same care.
Which made it all the more odd that she awoke not to the dim orange light entering her bedroom, but instead to several concerned looking furry critters. The most noticeable of which was the small white rabbit who was continually shaking her head, “Angel? What's wrong?” Her voice was barely above a whisper, as she pulled away from her pet's grip and rubbed her hooves into her eyes, stifling the quietest yawn a pony could muster.
Angel simply pointed toward the stairwell, from which an eery green light seemed to be oozing its way into the room. The sound of hoof beats and an annoyed tone became more obvious as Fluttershy's senses came back to her, “Such a filthy place, and this form... some kind of cruel joke.” Whoever they were, they didn't seem particularly interested in the fine art of subtlety.
Fluttershy yelped and pulled the covers back over her face, someone had broken into her home! Worse yet, the hoof beats were getting closer and closer every second, “Is someone here?” A feminine voice asked, before a loud crash echoed throughout the bedroom, along with the loud grunts of pain of the mare below. Fluttershy gulped, as Angel the rabbit hopped on top of her and began bouncing on her flank.
Fluttershy all but leapt out of her skin, flying out from beneath the covers and falling off of her bed and to the hard wood floor.
“I can hear you,” The voice sounded further than it had before, “It would be easier if you came down here.”
Fluttershy had already curled up on the ground, covering her eyes and shaking. Angel, along with a few of the other creatures in the room, slapped a paw to his face and rushed to her side.
“I-I can't go down there,” She whispered, “Ohh, please wake up, please wake up, please wake up!” Her quiet mantra to herself did little to help her confidence as the mare below them grumbled and started up the steps once again.
It took nearly a whole minute, but sure enough there was a hot pink pony with a short yellow mane staring down at the pitiful display, “I apologize if I started you,” Her words sounded forced, her teeth gritting together anytime she was not speaking, “I was sent here by a portal that just happened to exit into your home. Do you know a...” Her words seemed strained, as though she were trying to speak utter nonsense, “Twilight Sparkle?”
Fluttershy finally came out from behind her hooves, “T-Twilight is m-m-my friend,” She said, pushing herself up, “If you'd l-like, I could sh-show you the way to her home.” She was trying to be strong, after all, this pony just wanted to talk to Twilight, right? She had to take a breath, trying her calming methods of focusing on only the sounds of her animals, before looking back at the intruder.
“Please do. I need to meet with the woman who wields this so called 'Element of Magic'.” Her dialect seemed to be from outside of Equestria, using words that seemed far more formal and added another layer to the discomfort Fluttershy still felt.
Fluttershy took her downstairs, where a large magical portal floated in the exact center of the room. It bathed the room in a sickly green light, and gave off a soft, yet notable hum. It was no wonder all of the animals had woken up with that thing there! She gasped at the sight of it, “Y-you...are f-f-f-fr-”
“Ugh, you're an irritating one. Spit it out already!”
Fluttershy gulped and then promptly forgot what she had been trying to say, starting to worry about the intentions of such a rude mare. She whimpered slightly, head down as they stood at the edge of the room. She could hear the chickens clucking outside, birds fluttered all around the room, all of them just as frightened as she was.
“Well?!”
She felt as though she might begin to cry, wishing that this had happened to anyone else. Rainbow Dash would have been so much more clearheaded, so much stronger. Applejack wouldn't have taken any rudeness from that pony either. Twilight, Rarity, even Pinkie Pie would have been able to make sense out of it all.
So why did it have to be her?
“C-could you please be a b-bit more...”
“A bit more what?” She asked, “Kind? Isn't that what you're about? Fine. I'll ask nicely, one more time. Where. Is. Twilight. Sparkle?”
“S-she's in the Ponyville library!” Fluttershy blurted out, just before something lifted her up into the air, a tight grip around her neck that seemed to only grow stronger.
“Was that so hard? Things don't always need to be so dramatic.” She stated, before heading for the door, leaving the terrified pony floating in the air, the wind being choked out of her. The mare had just begun to reach for the door, hoof outstretched, before suddenly stopping, “How in the hell does one pull a door with these... things?!” Her temper flared wildly, able to go from zero to one hundred in under a second.
Fluttershy's response was low whimper, ending in a cough. She couldn't breathe, this whole situation had escalated in a matter of seconds. It just had to be a nightmare, she was going to wake up at any moment!
“Useless.” The pink mare grumbled, before realizing the door pushed open on either side. Turning her head around to stare at Fluttershy... no, her gaze was slightly off, “Get rid of her, she's annoying me.”
Fluttershy didn't even have the time to consider just who that comment had been directed at, before her entire body was raised further, and being taken towards the portal. She wanted to scream for help, knowing that whatever was on the other side of that portal could not be good. Unfortunately, she had neither the strength of body, nor of magic to truly defend herself. Even her animals were unable to do anything, leaping up to grab her by the tail, in a vain effort to save her life.
The grip upon her neck finally eased as she was hurled into the green abyss that had been in front of her. As she finally filled her pained lungs once again, Fluttershy could hear her friends, all calling out her name.
That was the last thing she heard, before all went black.