//------------------------------// // Energy Drinks by Fuzzyfurvert // Story: Magic of Love: A Twidance Prompt Collab // by ArguingPizza //------------------------------// by Fuzzyfurvert ~~~ My Little Dynamite: Book Two Part Two Cadance worked her back deeper into Twilight’s warm embrace, the light snow still falling from an increasingly cloudy sky.  The snowflakes were getting larger by the minute and the air smelled just like an incoming storm.  Twilight was right, if they didn’t find proper shelter soon, the weather would do them both end. She turned her ears to listen the fading sound that Twilight told her was a quartet of pony shaped gemstone creatures dragging away an unconscious Chrysalis.  Cadance frowned, thinking back to what the changeling had said to her in the Everfree temple.  If she hadn’t been outright lying, it left the rather troubling implication that Chrysalis had infiltrated Canterlot long long ago. Do the Sisters know?  If they did...why did they never tell her, or do something about it?  The way Chrysalis spoke about Aunt Celestia...it’s like they knew each other.  If Zecora’s story holds any truth, then that’s entirely possible.  But they never told me anything about Chrysalis or other changelings like her.  It doesn’t make sense.  Cadance sighed, letting air out through her nose silently.  The noise of the dragging was almost completely swallowed by the background, so it wouldn’t be long until they started moving.   She turned her head to look up and back at Twilight.  The blood that had been dripping from Twilight’s muzzle was already caking into dark red lines in her purple coat.  Twilight wasn’t looking at her, focusing on her hearing and holding Cadance, to keep them both warm.  The cold would take longer to bother her, thanks to some minor passive enchantments in her vestments, but Twilight lacked that benefit.  Hopefully shelter wouldn’t prove too difficult to find. “Twily?”  Cadance kept her voice soft and low, barely more than a whisper.  “What do you think Chrysalis meant when—”  She clapped her mouth shut when the sound of snow crunching under hoof suddenly came from behind the stone the two of them were backed up against. Twilight’s horn started to glow, her hoof reaching awkwardly toward her staff that was still partially covered in snow besides them.  Cadance held her breath, readying herself to dodge out of the way and counter whatever it was with her own blades.   She tensed at a closer crunch of snow, every tendon in her body taut. Just when she was about to move, a blessedly familiar claw gripped the top of their hiding place and Spike’s face appeared a moment later.  The tension spilled out of Cadance and she sagged against Twilight. “Twi!  Princess!  I’m so glad you two are alive!”  Spike bared row after row of fangs in his own relieved smile, reaching down to help the mares to their hooves.  “I was afraid I’d lost you two when I woke up a few minutes ago.” “We’ve only been awake for a few minutes ourselves, Spike.”  Twilight sighed, taking a quick look in the direction the creatures had left in.  They were still within sight, but only just in the now heavy snowfall.  “Did you see those...things?” “The crystal...pony...things?  Yay.”  Spike nodded and looked back the way he’d come.  “I came to when they started dragging the changeling off.  I wonder what they wanted with her?” “Who knows.  It’s unimportant right now anyway.”  Twilight coughed.  “I have no idea where we are, but we won’t last long in this cold without shelter of some sort.”  She looked back at Spike, her eyes going wide.  “Spike, have you seen Zecora?” “Yeah, she’s over there.”  He pointed back at a pile of rubble.  “Whatever it was that hit us transported all of us, plus a lot of the material from the ruins here at the same time.  That’s...that’s ridiculous levels of power, Twi.”  Spike ran his claw back over his green frill.  “I don’t think even the Princesses could pull off something like that.” Cadance placed her hoof on Spike’s shoulder, smirking at him.  “I’m sure Twilight can run the numbers on it later, Spike.  Depends on the distance traveled...I think.  But for now, let’s focus on getting mobile and then getting someplace warm.” “Good point.” Twilight nodded and moved around the low wall, keeping her head down as she crossed the open ground to where Zecora was at.  She found the older zebra sage wake and resting against the pile of rocks and jagged tiles that had provided her and Spike with cover.  Zecora smiled weakly up at Twilight and nodded along while the Battlemage scanned her for internal injury. Moments later, the battered and bruised, but otherwise healthy bunch gathered back in the small lee Twilight and Cadance had woken up in.  Once they were seated, Zecora pulled two large metallic tubes from her vest. “‘Hese be energy po’ions.  Drink, will warm ya and give power.  Like coffee, bu’ be’er.”  The zebra grinned.  “Glad I ‘hough’ bring ‘hem.” “Me too.”  Twilight sipped from the vial, grimacing at the too sweet flavor.  The effect was much like coffee on a cold morning.  She could feel a warming sensation in her belly and the weariness of the fight and the black magic fading into a manageable dull ache.  She smacked her lips, passing the potion to Cadance.  “Wow...that’s got a punch to it.  What’s in it?” Zecora cracked a sly smile and booped Twilight on the nose.  “‘Rus’ me, you don’ wanna know.” Cadance gagged when she swallowed, launching into a coughing fit.  Twilight patted her on the back gently and after a moment, the pink alicorn managed to catch her breath and blink away the tears.  “Wow...that is surprisingly better tasting than the stuff they sell as coffee in the Diamond Dog Crowning!” Spike snorted, rolling his eyes as he downed the potion with ease.  “Pansies.”  He handed his unused portion back to Zecora and hunkered down near Twilight.  “Ok...so what’s the plan?” Twilight took a slow breath, leaning on her staff.  “First thing, we need shelter.  Something defensible, if we can find it.  But it has to get us out of the elements.  Once we have that, I can make us a fire to warm ourselves and we can take stock and...figure out where the hell we are.” She pulled her cloak tighter around herself.  “You’ve got the best eyes, Spike.  Think you can fly in these conditions?”  Twilight cast a glance over her shoulder at the downpour of snow that was starting to pile up.  Energy potions or not, the biting cold was starting to make it hard for her to not shiver constantly. “I’ll have too, won’t I?”  Spike shook his head.  “Let’s just hope that whatever those things were that dragged the changeling off don’t head back this way anytime too soon.” “Let’s hope.”  Cadance echoed, leaning against Twilight.  “I wonder why they only took her?  Why not the rest of us while we were all out cold?” “I don’t know.  I’m not going to look providence in the mouth though.”  Twilight gently patted Cadance’s shoulder.  “We’re safe and I intend to do my best to make sure we stay that way.  We can ask questions later.” “Then I need to get airborne before the storm gets bad.”  Spike grunted and stood up, walking away from the group.  He winked at them and a moment later, his body started to glow and expand, loose powder blowing away from him as his body shifted from pony-sized biped to a winged quadruped that was easily twice the size of Princess Celestia.  Spike stretched his wings and bound out over the snowy plain, flapping until he started to gain altitude. Soon enough, Spike was completely obscured by the snow, leaving the three mares alone.  Cadance hoped he was going to be alright, and that he found them someplace to get warm and dry.  She was still staring up into the clouds when she felt Twilight wrap her cloak around them both.  She smiled and nuzzled into Twily’s side. “Cady?” “Yeah?” “When we get the chance...will you tell me where you learned to fight like that?  And where you got those weapons?”  Twilight’s voice was whisper quiet. Cadance swallowed, nodding slowly.  That was going to be a long conversation.