Ch. 19: Into the Shadows
"Raven," said Princess Celestia, "send word to Chief Hurricane. I need her best fliers acting as spotters for the unicorns."
"Yes your highness," said the cream colored unicorn in the white and red kravat, "would you like me to include the same request for discretion?"
"Yes," said Celestia, "I would rather not scare my little ponies. The incident in Seaddle has enough of them in a panic." Celestia finished her dinner and placed the silver lid on top of the tray of mostly unfinished food. The secretary bowed and backed out of the princess's bedchambers. The alicorn settled herself on her bed and stoked the fireplace with her magic. A battered old book by a long forgotten author floated in front of her. She inhaled deeply, closed her eyes, and exhaled through pursed lips.
She read the same paragraph seven times before giving up and slamming the novel to the floor in frustration. She stood back up and stared into crackling fire. Being helpless was something Celestia was not used to. Between having something approaching omniscience, a life span currently measured in millenia, and control of the sun, the solar regent had almost never been in a situation that required her to so thoroughly surrender control to another. Perhaps her captivity at the hooves of Nightmare Moon qualified, but then again, she had personally trained and directed her eventual savior. Now, all she could do was give Twilight the little information she had and hope for the best. The platitudes of The Consensus counted for nothing, since nothing of this nature had occurred before. "Or had it?" thought the alicorn, "if one of our worlds winked out of existence, would we even know?"
Princess Celestia walked into the ornate hallway and held her guards in place with a wave of her hoof. She quickly ascended the castle and soon climbed into the observatory. Luna sat on the balcony, her starry mane fluttering in the gentle night breeze.
"I told you to rest Tia," said Luna, "surely the events of these last few days have left you in a state of exhaustion."
"They have," replied Celestia, "but I find myself unable to relax."
"I can protect our citizens as well as anypony," said Luna, "you said you trusted me to do so."
"Of course you can," replied Celestia as she sat beside her sister on the balcony, "and you do. I worry about what I've sent Twilight to do." She looked into her sister's night sky and marveled at the ordered chaos she created every night. "Do you remember what mother used to say about our abilities?" she asked.
"Mother said many things," said Luna, "I wish we would have taken more of it to heart."
"She once told me that we alicorns each had a specific role to play," said Celestia, "I always assumed it was our connection to the raising of the sun and the moon."
"Verily," replied Luna, "Mother did oft speak of our fates. What has you doubting our place in the world?"
"Twilight of course," said Celestia, "If this other Twilight was able to break the barriers between our worlds, what does that say about her role. What does it say about all the Twilights' roles?" Celestia gave into the fear that had been gnawing at the back of her mind for the last day. "What if she is the end?" she whispered, "What if she is fulfilling her role right now, and I've just sent one ticking time bomb to go find another."
Luna looked at her sister as if she had gone mad. "Twilight," said Luna flatly, "we are talking about the same pony, are we not: The one who sent you the bawdy photographic imprints of herself?"
"She doesn't mean to do it, of course," said Celestia, "but what if every Twilight in creation is capable of breaching the walls between worlds and removing them from creation? Amongst the infinite voices of The Consensus, how would I ever know if one world was lost."
"Your collective seemed quite capable of determining Twilight's transgression on this occurrence," said Luna, "surely others in your group would remember if such a thing had happened before. I think you may be taking one isolated incident and ascribing too much importance to it."
"I pray that is the case," said Celestia, "but it would mean that, in all of creation, there exists one Twilight Sparkle who had the audacity, or sheer dumb luck, to break through the void between worlds." She rose to her hooves and walked back towards the stairs. "If she is so special," said Celestia, "then what hope do we have if our Twilight cannot find her?"
It had taken a few hours for Mane Sail and Seaside Bounty to procure the supplies they needed for a trip to the southwest reaches of Equestria and Mexicolt beyond. In the meantime, Twilight found herself in the unusual position of repeatedly turning down her friends' offers of help.
"It's not that I don't want you to come," she said to the collection of mares, "I would just rather you all stay here and keep Ponyville safe. If more of these Rockfalls happen, I need you girls to be here to keep everypony from panicking too much." Twilight floated the last of the books she had found in Oracle's basement into a large wooden crate.
"And ya'll are sure that Oracle is the key to fixing whatever it is that's causing these calamities," said Applejack, "It doesn't seem right that all this trouble can come from one little pony, alicorn or not."
"We won't know for sure until we find her," said Argent, "which is another reason for you all to stay here. She and Horizon might come back, and we need you all to make sure they don't leave again." With a grunt, he heaved two heavily laden bags onto his back and made his way to the front door.
"Tain't a job that needs all of us," said Applejack, "and since I'm apparently useless, I'll volunteer to stay and watch out for 'em. The rest of ya'll can go with Twilight."
"There just isn't room on the Sun Skimmer," said Twilight, "but I do appreciate the sentiment, really I do." She floated the crate to the front door and looked back at her friends. "Please," she said, "just watch out for each other until I get back. I'll explain everything then." She walked out of the treehouse, eager to be on her way.
"Does anypony else get the feeling that she's hiding something?" asked Rarity after Twilight left the room.
"Maybe she's planning a surprise party!" said Pinkie. "Wait no, the closest birthday is 59 days away, and our 1,356 day Friendaversary isn't for another 79 days."
Applejack watched as her friends went back and forth, each trying to put forth some explanation for Twilight's reticence. The noticeably pregnant mare rose to her hooves and trotted to the large window overlooking the front of the library. Twilight lifted several large crates with her magic and placed them on the deck of the airship. "Too small my flank," she thought to herself with a scowl, "that contraption could carry all of us. She's tryin' ta do everything on her own again."
"We have to follow her," said Applejack, "that mare's gonna run out of luck one of these days, and we need to be there to help when she does." She put on an innocent smile and waved as Twilight lifted another large box.
"I agree darling," said Rarity, "but how are we to follow, when they're traveling on that deathtrap. Wherever they're off to will be closer as the airship flies than by train."
Applejack smirked and pointed at the bored looking Pegasus perusing the young adult fiction shelf. "Based on what that one's told us every day since we've known her, she's the fastest thing in the skies,"
"But what about all of us," said Fluttershy meekly, "I'm not as fast as Rainbow Dash, and you, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity can't fly."
"Well I'm sure Rar can wrangle up an airship," said Applejack, "I'm sure one of her fancy Canterlot friends can oblige."
"I'm flattered that you have so much faith in my networking skills," said Rarity, "but even if I could get Fancy Pants to loan us his racing sloop, Twilight and Argent would be long gone. They've almost completely loaded up their ship."
"Pffft," said Rainbow Dash, "I can deliver a letter and be back in less than an hour. Trains are for suckers. All you girls have to do is delay Twilight." She grabbed one of the many blank parchments that were scattered around the library and shoved into Rarity's protesting hooves. She began flexing her wings in anticipation of a prolonged aerial sprint.
Rarity sighed and levitated a quill and inkpot from the librarian's desk. "I don't suppose any of you know somepony who can fly one of these monstrosities," said the unicorn, "I can certainly provide adequate magical energy, but anything else would be beyond me."
"I reckon I know somepony," said Applejack with a smirk.
"You musn't go just yet," said Rarity, sweat starting to trickle down her face, "Pinkie Pie promised a farewell cake. You know how she gets when a party doesn't go as planned."
Twilight shuddered and looked towards the Sun Skimmer. Argent stood on the foredeck, awkwardly trying to stow several crates while answering several of Fluttershy's questions. Had she been a more suspicious pony, Twilight probably would have found the timid mare's sudden interest in Argent odd, but she chalked it up to Fluttershy's worry over the Rockfalls and their mission to stop them.
"Pinkie will get over it," said Twilight, "this is just much too important to put off any longer."
"Then let us come with you," said Rarity, "what happened to 'There's nothing we can't accomplish if we stick together'?"
Twilight looked away and suppressed the guilt that welled up in her chest. "I'm sorry Rarity," she said, "but I already told you all: This is something Argent and I have to do together. The best thing you can do is help me get everypony to say goodbye so we can leave." Twilight swept aside Rarity's protests and walked towards the crew of the ship. Main Sail stood on the ground behind the ship, engaged in an animated discussion with a trio of ponies. Twilight walked up behind the Apples and soon-to-be Apple.
"Oh wow," said the unicorn stallion, "that makes so much more sense now. I wondered what that lever was for."
"Yeah," said Soarin, "the rudder sail is the only way you're going to make any hard turns, but of course you'll have to throttle down the engines as well. I assume you were using vector thrust from the fans to turn at speed."
"It was all I could think to do," said Mane, "I'm used to letting the wind to the work. I guess there's a little more to it with an airship."
"I don't know about that," said Soarin, "you seem to know the wind better than any airship captain I ever served under. That's the hardest part of the job: 'Riding the Chaos,' as Captain Squall Line says. All you need to pick up is subtle differences like ballast control and thrust mechanics."
"Well hey there Twi," said Applejack from Soarin's side, "Soarin here was talking shop with your captain here. Turns out my beau knows a thing or two about airships." She winked at Soarin and received a kiss on the cheek for her flattery.
"That's fascinating AJ," said Twilight curtly, "and I would love to hear about it at length, but we really must weigh anchor, or whatever it is you do on an airship."
"Drop ballast," said Soarin, "an anchor on an airship wouldn't be of much use."
"Thank you Soarin," said Twilight, "now would you kindly escort your fiancee home for some rest."
"What about the cake?" asked Soarin, "I was told there would be cake."
Twilight slapped a hoof to her forehead and groaned. Before she could explode into flames, a pink blur whizzed past them and came to a sudden stop by the gangplank. A tall multi-layered cake swayed on the wheeled cart pushed by Pinkie Pie. "Did somepony say cake?" asked the excited pink mare. Her typical boisterous laughter and excessive volume got the attention of all the ponies surrounding the Sun Skimmer. Rarity appeared from the library with a stack of plates and napkins, while Applejack, Soarin, and Big Macintosh walked past a perturbed alicorn.
"Yes, fine, cake," said Twilight after teleporting to the top of the gangplank, "everypony have some cake." She flared her horn and created a dozen knives out of magenta energy. They quickly surrounded the cake and efficiently and precisely sliced the dessert into perfectly symmetrical servings. The plates flew from Rarity's telekinetic grasp and orbited the cake. Each dish received a slice and promptly zipped into the hooves of a waiting pony. "Cake, cake, cake, cake, cake, cake," said Twilight as she sent each piece on its way, "everypony just has to have their cake."
Fluttershy squeaked and ducked as the speeding plate approached her. With her eyes covered by her hooves, the meek mare heard the splatting sound of cake striking face followed by a crate thumping onto the deck. She slowly uncovered her eyes and saw Argent standing still above her. The side of his face was obscured by the plate which slowly began sliding downwards, leaving behind a smear of pink cake and purple frosting. "Oh my," said Fluttershy as the plate fell to the deck, "umm.... food fight?"
The mares at the bottom of the gangplank smiled deviously to each other and raised their plates in their hooves and magical aura. "Oh no," said Twilight, "you wouldn't dare." The collection of friends advanced on the gangplank. "We don't have time for this," said the alicorn as she backed towards the rear of the airship, "let's all just enjoy our cake, and I'll clean up Argent." She flared her horn and surrounded the stallion's head with a magenta aura. "See," she said peeling away as much of the pastry as she could, "good as new."
Whoever threw the first piece of cake would remain a point of contention between the six friends for years to come, but as the large piece of cake struck Twilight square between the eyes, any hope for any of them walking away clean evaporated like morning dew. Rarity quickly grabbed Pinkie and held her in front of her as Twilight surrounded the cake around her face and flung it back down the gangplank. Pinkie Pie, ever the avid devourer of all things cake, made the perfect shield for Rarity. What didn't make it into the pink mare's mouth splattered harmlessly to the ground.
Applejack, darted to the cart and shoveled several pieces of cake into her hat before running back behind the ship. She placed the weathered stetson into Soarin's waiting hooves and gave him a wink. The wonderbolt took to the sky and eyed the pitched battle below. Argent and Twilight were backed up to the aft railing, dodging and catching what they could with their magic. Pinkie Pie, still enthusiastically playing the role of equine shield, was covered head to tail in frosting. Rarity continued hurling cake back towards the princess and her bodyguard with her own magic.
Satisfied that his target was distracted by the ground assault, Soarin began his bombing run. He pitched into a steep dive, lining up his descent with all the skill that years as a stunt flyer had taught him. He held the hat in his outstretched hooves and took one last look at his target before inverting the hat and pulling up sharply. The cake continued its ballistic trajectory, perfectly aimed to force the two ponies below to delay their trip long enough to clean themselves. Before Soarin's payload could impact, a rainbow blur intercepted it. Rainbow Dash managed to keep herself level, despite the ludicrous amount of cake that plastered her wings and face. She banked around and landed on the deck, directly in between the combatants.
"Are you ponies crazy!" shouted the pegasus, "Twilight and Argent have serious business to take care of and you're all playing like little foals!"
"It's okay Rainbow," said Twilight with a giggle, "it was all my fault."
"No," said Rainbow angrily, "They should know better Twi. Come on, all of you, apologize and lets clean up this mess so Twilight can get back to saving Equestria." She turned her angry gaze to Rarity, Pinkie, and Fluttershy and winked.
"I don't know what came over me," said Rarity, "I'm so sorry. Here, let me get that for you." Her horn flared and the cake debris around the deck began coalescing into a large ball. "Come on Pinkie," she said, "let's get you and and Fluttershy to the Spa. I think Aloe and Lotus have something to remove frosting from your manes." The three mares apologized to Twilight as they descended the gangplank.
"Sorry about that Twi," said Applejack, leading an apparently chastised Soarin, "I'll make sure this varmint gets what's coming to him. Ya'll have a good trip now. Do us all proud."
"Thank you Rainbow," said Twilight, "at least somepony is taking this seriously." She looked to the ground and blushed. "Even if it isn't me." She grabbed Argent by the hoof and led him belowdeck. "Come on sweetie," she said, "there are towels and water in our cabin." The disappeared into the cramped confines of the ship, leaving Rainbow Dash and the others alone outside. Main Sail and Seaside Bounty passed her on their way up the gangplank.
The five mares, plus Big Mac and Soarin, gathered across the plaza from the Library and the ship parked in front of it. "Our ride's on the way," said Rainbow Dash. She whipped her wings, throwing bits of cake that had lodged underneath her feathers. "Fancy Pants' pilot will meet us by my place," she said.
"Why aren't you afraid of heights?" asked Twilight, "it took Rainbow Dash and Lightning Dust weeks to break me of mine, and to be honest, I still don't like looking down when flying." She looked over the railing of the foredeck at the terrain that swiftly passed beneath them.
Argent crossed his forelegs and rested them on the railing. "I spent a lot of time on that ledge outside the park," he said, "I guess I don't mind high places anymore."
"And yet somehow you're terrified of bunnies," said Twilight, playfully nudging the stallion's ribs.
"Not all bunnies," protested Argent, "just that one." He shuddered and shut his eyes tightly. "Angel," he scoffed, "a ridiculous name for the epitome of evil. Mark my words, that hellbeast is up to something."
Twilight rolled her eyes and sidled up next to him. Before she could continue their playful banter, the ship lurched to the side suddenly. She released her magic from around Argent after she pulled him back over the railing. "Mane Sail!" she shouted, "a little warning would be nice."
"Sorry princess," yelled Mane Sail from the ship's wheel, "didn't exactly see that coming." He pointed one hoof starboard, while using the other to steady the ship after its abrupt turn.
Twilight gasped when she caught sight of the cause of the disruption. An enormous bird of prey flew alongside the Sun Skimmer, each flap of its massive wings buffeted the airship with a gale of displaced air. "A Roc!" exclaimed Twilight, "I've only ever read about them." She trotted across the rolling deck and gawked at the mythical creature. "Seeing one away from its mountain nest is almost unthinkable."
"Nature is so fascinating," said Seaside, her legs wrapped around a bollard, "but maybe we should RUN!"
"Oh no we won't," yelled Twilight, "I may never get another chance at seeing one of these up close." She flared her wings and hopped over the railing, much to the dismay of Argent. The stallion looked on helplessly as Twilight slowly flapped her way closer to the beast. She passed under the creature, marveling at the enormous talons tucked against the Roc's stomach.
A flap from the giant bird forced Twilight to frantically fly to its other side. She carefully approached the Roc and reached out her hooves to one its pony-length feathers. She held her breath and gently stroked the tip of the mythological eagle's wing. If the creature minded the attention, it didn't show it. Twilight, emboldened by the seemingly placid nature of the Roc, gained altitude and flew above it. Thanks to her wing maintenance lessons, she spotted the large feather that was ready to be molted near the bird's back. She flared her horn and surrounded the wavering feather in an aura of magenta. With all the delicacy and care of a mother pegasus preening her foal, she gently pulled with her magic. The feather snapped from the giant raptor and floated into her outstretched hooves. The loud screech was all the proof she needed that her actions were unappreciated. The sudden flapping of the Roc's wings caused the massive eagle to quickly rise towards Twilight. She flared her horn and promptly teleported to the side of the ship and made a graceful landing next to Argent.
"You are insane," said the stallion, wrapping her in a tight embrace. The Roc peeled away from the side of the airship, turning south; deeper into the desert. "What happened to your fear of heights?" He held her at forelegs length and checked to make sure she hadn't injured herself.
"You get dropped by pegasi for a few weeks," said Twilight while removing herself from his grasp, "then tell me how you could possibly be afraid."
"How about when you throw in a giant bird that could eat you in a single bite," said Argent, "I think that might do the trick."
"Rocs aren't aggressive unless they're protecting their nests," said Twilight, "and we haven't seen any mountains for several leagues." She picked up the large feather she had liberated and ran her hoof along its central vane. "Totally worth it," she said with a satisfied grin. "Roc's feather is highly prized for its uses in alchemy and enchanting."
"Well at least you have your priorities straight," muttered Argent, "Obscure magical lore; everything else; self-preservation."
"I thought you were supposed to preserve my self," said Twilight as she carried the feather down into the hold.
"I wish we could help the poor thing," said Fluttershy, "she sounded so worried."
"I think the colossal eagle can take care of itself," said Rarity, her hooves pressed against her eyes, "we're the ones stuck on this flying deathtrap." The normally confident and composed unicorn huddled in the corner of the small cabin beneath the deck of the Sparrow. The sounds of an earth pony hopping on the deck above echoed through the small confined space.
Fluttershy, unused to dishing out platitudes herself, awkwardly patted Rarity's shoulder. "There, there," she said as if speaking to a frightened animal, "don't be scared. Airships are very safe, and even if something horrible happened, and we were to plummet thousands of feet to the ground below; there are four pegasi to save the three of you who can't fly."
"Thank you Fluttershy," whimpered Rarity while curling into a ball, "I feel so much better now."
"Stop whining," said the pegasus by the stairs leading to the deck, "you wanted to come along."
"Shouldn't you be getting back to Rainbow Dash?" asked Rarity flatly.
Lightning Dust took a drink from the canteen and tossed it back into the cargo netting beside her. "Even superstars need to fuel up," she said, "besides, they haven't altered their course since big bird." She stretched her wings and took a few steps up the stairs. "You're needed to recharge the fans. Just come up and enjoy the wind in your mane," she said, "it'll be easier to catch you from up there anyway." She disappeared up the stairs just before a half eaten apple splattered against the wall.
She climbed onto the deck and adroitly dodged the bouncing pink mare. "I'm off Lieutenant," she said to the stallion behind the wheel, "Dash'll be back soon. Stay on this course, blah, blah, blah, you know the drill."
"For the last time Lightning Dust," said Soarin, "I'm on leave. Cut it out with the formalities."
Lighting Dust hopped onto the top of the railing and pulled her goggles into place. "Maybe when I'm a Wonderbolt sir," she said with a wink, "until then, you're the Lieutenant."
"Hold up there Dust," said Applejack. She trotted to the pegasus and draped a set of saddlebags on her back. "There're some snacks and drinks in there," she said, "Dash ought ta be hankering for some vittles by now. Ya'll have some dinner on the fly. Hopefully Twi will stop for the night soon."
"You got it boss," said Lightning Dust. She hopped off the railing and fell under the airship before deploying her wings to their full span. She thanked their good fortune once again for the near perfect weather. With a few powerful strokes of her wings, she sped ahead of the airship. She had doubted the farm-mare's plan initially, but Dust had to admit that without Applejack's idea, they would never have been able to keep up with the princess's slightly faster airship. She and Rainbow Dash used their world class speed to shadow the Sun Skimmer. They took turns flying back to the Sparrow to keep the others on the right heading. As the princess's vessel slowly pulled away, each trip was taking longer and longer. She and Dash would never admit it to each other, but the nonstop flying was beginning to take its toll. She continued the long sprint, ignoring her aching wings and focusing on the horizon ahead.
She looked down at the now familiar desert terrain. At this altitude, it looked like an impressionist painting. Streaks of yellow, brown and orange dotted with greyish green patches passed beneath the speeding pegasus. The sun hung low in the western sky, sending long shadows from every rock and cactus on the flat desert plain. Her brow wrinkled in confusion as she stared downwards.
"Eyes on the sky, Dust," said Rainbow Dash, "What's so interesting down there? You almost flew right past me."
Lightning Dust looked up and shook her head. "Sorry Dash," she said, "I don't even remember now. Skyway hypnosis I guess." She pulled alongside her rainbow maned flying partner and examined the horizon. "They still heading the same direction?" she asked.
"Yeah," said Dash, "I think we crossed into Mexicolt a little ways back, but something tells me we aren't headed to Acapulcolt."
"I hope they stop soon," said Dust. She realized that she may have broken their unspoken rule of not complaining about their fatigue. "It's not safe," she said to cover her tracks, "even the greenest recruit knows you don't fly at night if you can help it." The bumping of the saddlebag against her flank reminded her of the care package she had been given. "Oh," she said, "Applejack sends her regards." She reached into the bag and pulled out a bag of fragrant cookies.
"Aww yeah," exclaimed Dash, taking one of the treats into her hoof, "Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal Cookies!" She took a generous bite and chewed loudly. "We're lucky the moon is near full tonight," she said with her mouth half full, "that and the gold plating should let us keep up with them if they do fly through the night."
Dust nodded and took a bite of a cookie. She looked back to the horizon and easily spotted the distant gleam of the sunlight striking the metallic hull plating of the Sun Skimmer. A twinge of pain from her left wing caused her to wince. "Why am I even doing this?" she thought to herself, "I've only known these ponies for a few months"
"Thanks again Dust," said Dash as she scrubbed the crumbs from her mouth.
"Applejack made 'em," replied Dust, "I just happened to be in the neighborhood."
Rainbow Dash laughed and reached out to lightly bonk Lightning Dust on the head. "I meant for helping us," she said with a laugh. "You're really going above and beyond for us. I just want you to know that I... that we really appreciate it."
Lightning Dust blushed and bumped her hoof against Rainbow Dash's. "What can I say," she said, "I like a challenge. Showing off in front of a Wonderbolt never hurt anypony either." She looked at the horizon and realized that their meal on the go had cost them a good amount of speed. "Snack time's over," she said, placing the bag of cookies back into the panniers, "if we keep gabbing, we'll lose 'em." Rainbow Dash nodded and spurred herself on. Dust took one last look towards the ground, trying to recall what had caught her attention.
"I don't know how you saw it from way up there," said Argent. He hopped off the railing and kicked up a small cloud of dust as he landed on the ground. The sun had just started to set on the western horizon, its radiant disk slipping below distant rolling hills. He trotted towards the small cart he had helped load up just a few months earlier.
"I've got an eye for detail," said Seaside Bounty, "something some ponies don't appreciate." She looked over her shoulder at the unicorn stallion looping a rope around a large cactus. "Some ponies would be taken advantage of if it weren't for attentive and honest mares such as myself," she said loudly. Mane Sail rolled his eyes and continued securing the remaining ground lines.
Argent reached into the cart and unlocked the collapsible roof they had constructed. With a few motions, the roof split in half and folded to the sides of the cart. "I don't understand," he said while digging through the tightly packed supplies, "It's almost all here." He lifted out a pink box with his magic and held it in front of him. "She barely even touched the cookies Pinkie gave her," he said while lifting out one of the stale treats. "What was she doing out here?"
Twilight hopped from the ship and floated down next to the cart. "There's no way this is a coincidence," she said with a puzzled expression, "they were either her with her, or here looking for her." She walked around to the front of the cart and looked for any clue as to where Trixie might have gone. "There aren't any tracks," said Twilight, "this wind must have blown away any trace of their passing."
"What wind?" asked Argent. He picked up a hoofful of dust and watched as it dropped straight down to the ground.
Twilight's ears twitched as she rose a hoof to them and listened intently to her surroundings. "I could have sworn..." she said, trailing off as she looked to the sky. A lance of electricity streaked across the sky from the north. Arcs of lightning vaporized nearby clouds as the pegasus at its tip rocketed towards the ground. It landed with a force that sent a cloud of dust in all directions.
"The shadows!" screamed the mare, "they're coming for you!" Lightning Dust galloped in front of Twilight and grabbed the alicorn by the wing and turned her to face the large cacti they were securing the airship to. Long shadows reached out from the desert plants towards the ponies standing at the cart.
Twilight turned to the heavily breathing pegasus mare and removed her hoof from her wing. She looked over the manic mare. The long flight and static discharge had left her mane looking like a porcupine. "Calm down Lightning Dust," she said, "what are you talking about, and why are you following us?"
Lightning Dust once again grabbed Twilight by the wing and pointed to the west. "Look at the sun," she said before spinning her around and pointing her back towards their ship, "now look at the shadows."
Twilight narrowed her eyes and looked back and forth between the horizon and the ship. She gasped and instinctively took several steps backwards. "Everypony get away from the shadows," she said, "Now!" Her horn flared as she levitated Argent and Seaside away from the cart and its westward creeping shadow.
As if emerging from still pools of inky black water, ebony coated beasts began climbing out of the shadows. Their four eyes burned with red hot intensity as the sound of howling wind began rising all around the collection of ponies. From the shadow of the cart appeared the largest of all the six legged beasts. It menacingly advanced towards Twilight, Argent, and Seaside, it's maw of gleaming teeth glinting in the setting sunlight.
"H...Hello," said Twilight, sweat trickling down her face, "I'm T...Twilight Sparkle. I'm sorry if we're trespassing." She backed away but found a wall of the creatures surrounding her. Argent nervously reached for his shield, but found his hoof barred by Twilight. "Tolerance, Argent," she whispered, "we just need to show a little kindness."
As she said it, the sound of wind reached a crescendo and the beasts leapt in unison, the razor sharp claws on their four front paws protracted. Before they could reach the ponies, a flash of light preceded the appearance of a shimmering dome of blue magic. "I don't think they'e interested in being friends," said Mane Sail, his horn afire with a dark blue aura. Cracks began propagating along the surface of the dome as beast after beast crashed into it. Mane concentrated and filled the inside of the dome with a flash of blue light.
Twilight swayed on her hooves as they all reappeared back on the deck of the Sun Skimmer. "So that's what it's like," she said, unused to the feeling of being teleported by another unicorn. She didn't hesitate to use her magic to sever the ropes that anchored the airship to the ground. "We're clear," she shouted. Mane Sail aimed his horn at one of the twin fans and fired a conduit of magic into it. The airship shuddered as it tried to lift off of the ground.
"They're not giving up!" shouted Argent from the port railing, shield bared in front of him in his golden magic aura. He stomped on a pair of paws that grabbed the deck in front of him. "They're holding the ship in place," he yelled.
"Impossible," said Mane Sail between blasts of hornfire, "There's enough magic in the engines to lift an elephant."
"What's an elephant?" asked Argent. He blocked a vicious claw swipe and brought the edge of the shield down on a four eyed face.
"They're really heavy," he shouted back. A swift gust of wind threw several of the beasts from the front railing.
"I'll be right back," said Lightning Dust before rocketing into the sky.
"Where's she going?" shouted Seaside as she reared up on her rear legs.
"Never mind that, lass," said Mane Sail, "do what you can on the aft deck." He tore a large section of the railing off with his magic and swept it along the starboard side of the ship.
Twilight stood in the middle of the deck, blasting magenta bolts of magic from her horn while yanking the other ponies out of the way of the beasts that made it past their desperate defense. She watched as the creatures that should have been knocked senseless by her hornfire casually got back to their many paws and clawed their way back up the hull of the airship. "They're resistant to magic," she said fearfully. She switched to using shimmering walls of magenta energy to keep the six-legged panther like creatures at bay.
From all around the airship, black clawed paws dug into the gold plated hull and gouged deep furrows into the expertly lacquered wooden paneling of the royal vessel. Sensing that their prey was panicking, the beasts licked their lips at the promise of more exquisite meals. Their feeding frenzy kept their attention on the ponies at hand, making them completely unprepared for the second airship that descended from the sky. Soarin flared his wings as he dove towards the grounded airship and held on tightly to the squirming unicorn in his forehooves.
"Easy Rarity, watch the hooves" he said, "you remember what happened last time." The mare continued screaming in terror. He shakily glided the rest of the way to the deck of the Skimmer and dropped Rarity on the deck before landing next to Mane Sail in time to give one of the creatures a wicked foreleg shiver to the neck.
"Rarity!?" shouted Twilight, "What are you doing here. I told you to stay in Ponyville."
"You said we couldn't come with you," she said, quickly regaining her composure, "you said nothing of following you on our own accord." She gave one of the creatures a very unladylike kick to the face and rejoined Twilight at the center of the deck. "Now make room for Pinkie Pie."
With a groan, Twilight looked towards the second airship and saw the pink mare floating down on yellow wings, like some Angel of Laughter, throwing hooffuls of confetti over the raucous melee. "Hold still Pinkie," said Fluttershy as she struggled to lower the giddy earth pony to the deck of the Sun Skimmer. "Sorry Twilight," said the shy pegasus, "but we couldn't just let you go all alone."
"Yeah!" said Pinkie as she reached behind her back and somehow pulled out her HullaBazooka, "It's not fair. I invite you to all of my parties." She blasted one of the creatures that was scrambling onto the deck with a salvo of streamers, party hats and pastry. "Reload!" she shouted to the pegasus behind her.
Fluttershy reached into Pinkie's panniers and began stuffing more party supplies into the tube. "Don't worry," she said after patting Pinkie's shoulder, "Big Mac is keeping an eye out for Horizon and Oracle, and Mayor Mare is working with the pegasi and unicorns the princess sent to help watch for more of those awful Rockfalls."
"Girls, I really appreciate-" said Twilight before being interrupted by one of the lunging black abominations. Rarity flared her horn and flung an empty crate at the beast. "- the help, but now you're trapped too. We need-" Another creature pushed past Argent, slicing his right flank with a swipe from one its middle paws as it passed him. Twilight angrily manifested a glowing magenta club and cracked the beasts skull with an overhead smash. "-to get the ship into the air again." Even with the other ponies frantically knocking the climbing beasts from the Sun Skimmer, the ship refused to lift off the ground.
The creatures began scaling the ship from all angles, forcing all the ponies back to the rear of the flight deck. With the ebony coated monsters closing in on them, Twilight gathered as much of her magic as she could and erected a circular wall of magic around her friends. "Get the others to the other ship," she said to Fluttershy and Soarin, "I'll hold this as long as I can." Claws raked against the barrier, gouging the surface as easily as they did the wood on the deck.
"Not just yet," said Soarin, his eyes raised to the sky, "I think we're right where Rainbow wants us."
Twilight looked up and saw the two pegasi mares screaming towards the ground at breakneck speed. They circled each other as they fell, forming the same double helix she'd seen them working on months earlier. "Mane Sail," she said, "would you reinforce my barrier please." The stallion nodded and added a circular barrier of his own around the alicorn's.
The twin contrails wrapped tighter and tighter around each other as Lightning Dust and Rainbow Dash accelerated through the invisible speed barrier that threatened to hurl them both back into the sky. They were soon back to back, their tails swirling together as their contrails merged into crackling rainbow hued lance of light and electricity. Just above the ground, they broke through the barrier together. A disk of rainbow light erupted from the cloud of dust and washed over the grounded Sun Skimmer. Twilight and Mane Sail grimaced as they held their barriers in place against the combined onslaught of claws and the gale force rainboom. Several of the creatures were thrown off the deck immediately, while those below were thrown against the hull. They quickly recovered however and were in the process of standing when the other hoof dropped in the form of a scintillating ball of lightning. The two pegasi were swooping away from each other, skimming feet above the desert floor when the ball followed their still visible twisted contrails and slammed into the ground. A lightning storm erupted and suffused the soil with crackling bolts of yellow lightning.
The screaming non-wind that had been nearly deafening began cutting on and off as the creatures shook violently from the electrical discharge that ran through their massive black bodies. Several shadows from nearby plants flickered and formed into smoking six legged beasts, while creatures surrounding the hull of the Sun Skimmer shook in violent spasms. The ship immediately began rising from the ground.
Nodding to each other, Twilight and Mane Sail each lowered their barriers. "Get these things off my ship," said the Alicorn to her bodyguard. Argent saluted and began bashing the stunned creatures off the edge of the deck. Mane Sail cleared the other side of the deck using the makeshift polearm. Rarity calmly used unused coils of rope that hung off the railing and trussed up several of the creatures together. Fluttershy and Pinkie pie pulled the bound beasts and to the side of the ship and waited for Argent to push them over.
Twilight walked to the rear railing and held on tightly while flaring her horn. Trixie's cart rose from the desert floor and slowly floated level with the airship. She deposited it on the deck and sank to the floor with a heavy sigh. "All done," said Argent. He inhaled sharply and winced as he sat next to Twilight. "Any idea what those things were, or what they wanted?"
"They weren't nice," said Twilight, "and they wanted us obviously." She ran a hoof along the three long cuts on his flank and shivered. "The other...," she said in a hushed voice, "Horizon and Oracle; you don't think..."
"No way," replied Argent, "You've seen what those two are capable of." He placed a foreleg around her neck and hugged her close to him. "I'm just surprised they left this many for us to take care of." With a groan he stood back up and helped Twilight to her hooves just as the two pegasi speedsters landed on the deck.
"Is everypony okay?" asked Rainbow Dash.
"Thanks to you we are," said Twilight as she hugged her friend, "just a few scratches here and there." She walked to Lightning Dust who was smiling like she had won the Manehattan Sweepstakes. "I don't know what would have happened if Lightning Dust hadn't reached us when she did," she said, "she's the real hero here." The mare didn't seem to even hear the alicorn's praise as she continued to smile and bounce from hoof to hoof.
Rainbow Dash chuckled and bonked the pegasus on the back of her head. "Best day ever," she said to the starry eyed mare, "right?"
Lightning Dust nodded enthusiastically. "Words can't even describe how awesome that felt," she said.
"Some of them are running away," shouted Seaside. She was pointing over the railing at a pack of the creatures as they swiftly ran to the east.
"I hate to ask this," said Twilight, "but do you think you two can follow them? Mane Sail needs to inspect the ship, and Argent needs to be patched up." She forestalled the stallion's protests with an extended hoof. "No arguments mister," she said sternly, "Celestia only knows what else those monsters can do with those claws. Go get the first aid kit and wait for me in our cabin." He nodded meekly and limped down the stairs.
"Find out where they're going, and get back here as soon as you can," she said, "by then I should know something from digging around Trixie's cart."
Twilight woke in a start. The dream never ended like that. One moment she was walking away from yet another impossible decision between the lives of her friends and Argent's, and the next she found herself awake in a dark room. The clang of metal against metal caused her to break out of her reverie. She rolled over and promptly fell onto a hard stone floor. She groaned in pain as she tried to rise to her hooves.
"Twilight?" asked a groggy voice.
"Argent?" she replied. She carefully felt along the floor towards the sound of his voice. "Is it really you? No, it's not...you're another trick; another lie."
"I'm me," he said suspiciously, "how do I know you're my Twilight? You're probably just going to leave me again, or worse."
"I promised I wouldn't, and my Argent said he would never abandon me," said Twilight, "my Argent told me that on a rock in the Everfree forest. He looked me in the eyes and told me he loved me."
"We had just found out where...when we were," said Argent, "and you and Zecora had just saved me from bleeding out." He found his way to the bars that separated their cells and reached through and found her pressed against the other side. "Of course you're my Twilight," he said wrapping his forelegs around her through the bars.
Twilight reached through and caressed his cheek with her hoof. They stayed there in the awkward embrace for several minutes. "Trixie is here too," came a voice from a cell behind Argent, "in case either of you were worried."
Twilight tried to grasp her magic but found that she was nearly completely drained. With what little magic she could muster, she created a small globe of light that hovered above her head. "Trixie," said Twilight, "where are we? What happened?"
"You're in another world," said a familiar voice in an icy tone from the other side of Twilight's cell. "You made a foal of yourself and decided to annihilate the immutable laws of the universe." The sound of hoofs striking stone rang out through the cells. "You've doomed two worlds with your idiotic actions, and now you're stuck in a prison beneath a crumbling ruin in the middle of nowhere." Hoofs struck metal as the mare slammed her forelegs against the bars separating her cell from Twilight's. Twilight pulled herself from Argent's grasp and tentatively walked towards the other side of her cell. The mare was slowly illuminated starting with her hooves. "It wasn't enough for you was it," asked the mare, her dirty azure coat now illuminated, "you couldn't have just dropped off the face of Equestria on your own." Twilight advanced the last few feet, revealing the fuming face of her least favorite unicorn in the entire multiverse. "No," snarled the enraged mare, "you had to take Trixie's brother, like she always said you would."
Stats
Page generated in 0.028 seconds
Total duration
873 users online
733,349 hits today, 2,814,898 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
Seesh, Trixie.
Err, Mechxie.
Take a chill pill.
If you can't find a chill pill, get a chill strip. Pull one out, put it on the tongue, chill. Twilight didn't know, and it was an accident, and she can fix you now. Make with the calmness of the universe.
Unless you got pulled through a rockfall, at which point you are free to take a hate strip, because that probably sucked like shit.
God, you are consistently excellent. This was such a great chapter. Man when Twilight and Twilight meet to talk things out it is going to be such a guilt trip. Unless Celestia is right and Twilight is doomed to be the ender of worlds.
So, I guess Twilight's still-open portal, if left unchecked, runs the chance of ruining both worlds, eh. I guess eventually the first one would get sucked in completely, with all the crap (a whole world's worth of crap) ending up on the second world, burying it under a planet's worth of rubble. Talk about potentially going out with a bang. Thankfully that won't be coming top pass, what with a line like "Whoever threw the first piece of cake would remain a point of contention between the six friends for years to come" in the chapter, so everything should work out ... sooner or later.
Though I really wonder where Twi, Argent and Trixie are stuck in - Trixie said another world, but didn't Twi's portal connect only two worlds? Or is their prison somewhere in the space in-between dimensions, and the beasts pouring through are some of the less benevolent things inhabiting the interdimensional landscape? Still no idea what they are, though seems like a particularly nasty breed of Changelings - I assume they were getting something out off the nightmares inflicted upon Twi/Argent, not just simple amusement. Feeding off the intense emotions they would have gone through in their nightmares?
I imagine the lot of them getting shocked is what caused them to drop their hold on Twi/Argent (and Trixie?). Speaking of which, the younger Twi sure is lucky that her friends followed her - I had the feeling the beasts would have gotten them eventually without that intervention. Though the question remains how they are going to find and help the older pair - they would sort of need to take a plunge in the portal to get to them, and I sort of doubt jumping in to a rift, were one to open, would be Twi's first instinct. Unless she finds something in Trixie's cart that would hint towards the need to do so.
And all Alicorns having a purpose to fulfill eh? Assuming that actually hold's true and isn't just Celestia's/Luna's mother talking nonsense, I look towards finding out what Twi's is. I kinda doubt ending the universe is it, though it would certainly make for an interesting twist, especially for an Alicorn who is (still?) mortal. I'm looking towards the next chapter, it feels like we are about to hit a few pretty big revelations.
Funny, I don't remember the Vashta Nerada mucking about with ponies' dreams.
I admit, I kind of do like mecha-Trixie. No doubt somehow she's going to end up with all the blame for this.
I… actually got angry at the stupid, pointless, reckless, foolish way they were delaying Twilight's departure.
That almost never happens.
☑︎ Achieve maximum immersion.
3272295
She probably was looking for her brother and got sucked into the rift.