Chapter 4: Matters of The Heartstone
Everything happened in an instant.
Rainbow Dash darted forward; swords leaping from the sheaths on her back and into her hands in the blink of an eye as Pinkie Pie moved to block her path. Rainbow sidestepped - pivoting on one foot and spinning past the performer without even losing momentum - and closed the remaining gap between herself and Twilight in a split second. Twilight's eyes just barely managed to focus on the gleaming edge of an incoming sword as it slashed down at her head.
At the last possible instant Rainbow jerked back, and a rush of air blew across Twilight's face as Applejack's hammer swept up through the space where Rainbow's sword arm had just been. Rainbow leaped away, right into the path of the juggling pin Pinkie was swinging toward the back of her head with both hands. Before the blow made contact Rainbow spun to her left, one of her blades sweeping across in front of her and slicing through the pin just above Pinkie's grip. With the same motion her right leg snapped up and drove the metal plating on her shin into Pinkie’s left side. The performer gave a pained yelp as she sprawled across the floor. Rainbow finished her spin and settled back into a low crouch, her blades resting lightly in her hands and a cocky smirk painted across her features.
All Twilight could do was stare with wide eyes as Applejack moved to shield her from Rainbow Dash. The whole sequence of events had happened so quickly that the young mage hadn't even gotten a chance to raise her staff, as feeble a defense as that would have proven, before it was over.
"Pinkie! You ok?" Applejack called out.
"Yeah," Pinkie replied through clenched teeth; one hand holding the side of her ribcage as she struggled to her feet. She regarded what was left of the juggling pin in her other hand with a frown before tossing it away and rejoining the others. "Though it looks like I'm gonna need to make some changes to my act at the Dame."
"I'd stick to performing, if I were you," Rainbow laughed, "but it seems like at least one of you has some nice moves." She fixed Applejack with a stare and a toothy grin. The two held each others' gaze for a long moment.
"Twilight, you take Pinkie and Spike and head on upstairs. I got this," the cowgirl said. Twilight blanched.
"What? No! You can't fight her on your own!"
"Twilight's right!" Pinkie nodded in agreement. "We should work together, and besides you know what they say about epic fights: the more the merrier!"
Spike scratched his scaly head. "Pinkie, I don't think that's-"
"We ain't got time to argue!" Applejack cut them all off. "Look, they obviously know we're here now; for all we know the wizard runnin' this rodeo might already be makin' off with the gem. We can't afford to waste no more time dealin' with his guard dogs, and like you said, Twilight, I ain't no good for fightin' magic anyhow."
Twilight looked back and forth between Applejack and Rainbow Dash, who seemed surprisingly nonplussed about them having a tactical conversation right in front of her. "Are you sure? I mean, are you going to be all right by yourself?"
There was a long pause before Applejack answered. "Don't worry about me, sugarcube, you just focus on gettin' that gem back."
An unexpected lump formed in Twilight's throat. "Applejack..."
"That's nice and everything," Rainbow finally spoke up, giving her blades a quick twirl, "but you guys're kinda forgetting one important thing. What makes you think I'm just gonna let-!" She was cut off as Applejack suddenly rushed forward, swinging Winona across at chest level. Rainbow leaped to the side, clearing the weapon easily, but the cowgirl's attack forced her away from the staircase and Twilight, Pinkie, and Spike did not waste the opportunity to escape. Rainbow grimaced as their echoing footsteps grew softer, but she could only spare the stairwell a passing glance before Applejack's hammer descended from overhead. She stepped back this time, and the weapon put a spiderweb of cracks into the stone floor where it struck, sending vibrations up through the surrounding columns.
"You got it wrong," Applejack said, her eyes burning into Rainbow Dash from beneath the lip of her Stetson. "It ain't you that's keepin' us from goin' upstairs - it's me that's keepin' you from goin' after my friends!"
Princess Celestia pressed her signet into the soft, warm wax of a freshly-sealed scroll, holding the ring in place for a moment to allow the imprint to set before carefully peeling it away. She paused to regard the tiny, stylized blazing sun for a moment, a faint smile on her lips. She had just set the letter aside when a knock came from her chamber doors.
"Come," she called as she spread out a fresh scroll on the desk with her magic and dipped her quill. The doors opened as a Guard Captain entered, shutting them behind him and striding to the center of the room. He removed his golden helmet and tucked it under one arm, revealing his shoulder length cobalt-blue hair, and waited patiently to be addressed. The silence stretched out, broken only by the scratching of rachis against paper. Finally, the Guard Captain cleared his throat. Celestia smiled.
"Almost a full minute. You're much more patient than you used to be, Shining Armor," she said without turning around or even slowing her writing.
"Ma'am," was Shining Armor's only response.
"I understand that there was an incident on South Mane Street earlier this evening."
"Yes Princess," Shining Armor confirmed with a nod. "I was just on my way to file the report with the Commander General when I received your summons."
"You may deliver it to me."
Shining Armor blinked. "Ma'am?"
"I would like you to tell me what took place."
"It... it was just a barfight, your highness. Someone set off some kind of smoke bomb and it started a brawl. We arrested those involved and put them in jail for the night to cool off and sober up; standard procedure."
"Was anyone hurt?"
"No ma'am. A few bruises, but nothing serious."
"Was one of my students involved?"
"From here at the Academy?" Shining Armor asked. "No ma'am, I don't think so."
Celestia nodded. "I see. Thank you Captain, you may go." Shining Armor bowed and turned to take his leave, but he paused just as he reached for the door and turned back around.
"Princess, if I may... on my way here I heard a rumor from some of the other guards. Is it true that Twilight Sparkle has been reported missing?"
"Yes, I believe she has," Celestia replied. Shining Armor's frown deepened.
"Request permission to begin a search for her immediately," he stated firmly.
"Oh?" Celestia said. "What is young Twilight to you, Captain?"
"She..." he hesitated, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. "She's my little sister, Princess." The scratching sound of Celestia's quill paused for an almost imperceptible instant.
"Hm," the Princess mused. "Strange. I spoke with her not too long ago. She did not mention having a brother." Shining Armor's gaze fell to the floor.
"Well... we aren't on the best of terms," he admitted. Celestia let out a breathy sigh.
"I see. You needn't explain further, Captain, I'm familiar with such... family dynamics. However, I'm afraid I can't let you go off on your own to look for her in this instance." Shining Armor took a step forward, his mouth falling open in shock.
"But Princess-!"
"Please take these orders to the Commander General," Celestia cut him off as the scroll she had sealed a moment ago wrapped itself in a golden aura and floated up from her desk, through the air, and into Shining Armor's waiting hands. "They are instructions to organize a city-wide search for my missing students. Tell the Commander that I am also assigning you to oversee the detail." Shining Armor grinned.
"Thank you Princess! I promise I won't let... wait, did you say 'students'?"
There weren't many moments that Twilight Sparkle regretted spending almost all of her free time reading and studying instead of sprinkling in a little athletics and exercise to keep herself in shape, but today was quickly becoming one of them. Her legs burned and her breath came in short gasps while she took the stone stairs as quickly as she could manage, sometimes two at a time. They had been climbing for almost a solid minute now, but there was no indication that they were nearing the top and she was beginning to wonder just how tall this tower actually was. Ahead of her Pinkie Pie was skipping her way up step after step, the potentially rib-cracking blow she had taken from Rainbow Dash apparently all but forgotten.
That blow she took from Rainbow Dash. Twilight's ascent slowed as she stared at the other girl's back. Spike took notice and waved his claw in front of Twilight's nose.
"What’s wrong Twilight; you ok?"
The pseudo-dragon's concern caused Pinkie to turn back around as well. "Whoa! Your face is really red! You look like you just ran up a whole bunch of flights of stairs!" she exclaimed.
"That's... because we... just did!" Twilight panted, stopping and bracing herself against the wall with one hand.
"That explains it!" Pinkie said with a wide smile. Twilight shook her head and rolled her eyes.
"Nevermind me, are you ok? That kick looked like it really hurt, and now you're running up these stairs and I... I feel bad about it."
"Huh?" Pinkie said, her head tilting so far that Twilight thought it might roll right off her shoulders. "I feel totally splendiferific! Why would you feel bad? You didn't do anything."
"Exactly!" Twilight said. "No, I mean... back there when that girl attacked us I... I couldn't do anything. I would've died, but you stepped in to try and save me only to end up getting hurt, and now Applejack is down there risking her life against a foe that I'm pretty sure she doesn't think she can beat just so that I can go fight some super-powerful wizard that I don't think I can beat, and-!"
Spike stuck his clawed hand over Twilight's mouth to stop the fountain of words before she started hyperventilating. "Breathe, Twilight... remember to breathe!" After a moment and a few measured inhales and exhales through her nose, Twilight nodded and Spike uncovered her mouth.
"I'm sorry, this whole situation is just really, really stressful and confusing. I keep thinking about how much danger we’re all in and… well, I don’t understand why you’re still helping me,” Twilight explained. “Applejack I get; she’s doing it for the money - that doesn’t make me feel much better, but at least I understand where she’s coming from - but you don’t owe me anything, Pinkie. When we met at The Dancing Dame you didn’t even know my name; there was no reason for you to get involved, so why did you?” Twilight fixed her with her most serious expression; the one she usually reserved for cramming before a test or putting the final touches on a research paper. “Why are you risking your life for my sake?”
Pinkie grinned from ear to ear. "Well, duh, sillypants! What're friends for?"
Twilight stared at the other girl for a moment, blinking owlishly. "What?! We… we just met! An hour ago! How are we close enough friends that you’re willing to put your life on the line for me?" A split second later Pinkie Pie was inches from Twilight's face, her eyes wide and her lower lip trembling slightly.
"You... you don't want to be my friend?" she asked, the corners of her eyes threatened by moisture. Twilight shook her head vigorously.
"No! I mean, yes! That's not what I meant, I was just trying to... well, I…” Twilight trailed off. A moment later, with the pink performer’s face still inches from her own, Twilight sighed and let her shoulders slump. “Thank you, Pinkie.” she said with a soft smile. “I thought I was ready to do this on my own, but to be honest, without you and Applejack I never would've gotten this far. I'm really happy to have you here." Pinkie’s frown flipped over in an instant, and she pulled Twilight into an unexpected hug.
"Hey, what about me?" Spike asked.
"Yes, Spike, you too," Twilight said with a laugh before gently releasing herself from Pinkie’s embrace and starting up the stairs again. "I still feel like I have to warn you both though. This is going to be the most dangerous part of all; I have no idea what we're going to find at the top of these stairs."
"No problem!" Pinkie declared as she started up the stairs again. "If we knew what was going to happen it wouldn't be nearly as much fun!"
Spike rolled his eyes. "Sometimes I think the word 'fun' doesn't mean what you think it means."
Rainbow Dash ducked as Applejack’s hammer whistled by mere inches above her head. She tried to dart in behind the weapon to strike at her foe, but somehow the cowgirl was already bringing it back across for another, lower swing. Rainbow leaped backward - twice this time - to give herself a little more room to maneuver, and Applejack doggedly pursued.
“What’s wrong?” Applejack taunted as she wound up for another strike. “What happened to all of that ‘ten-seconds flat’ hooey you were spoutin’ a minute ago? I thought all you folks from Cloudsdale we’re s’posed to be the best fighters in all of Equestria.”
Rainbow’s eyes narrowed momentarily as she sidestepped Applejack’s latest attack. “How the hell did you know I was from Cloudsdale?” The cowgirl held her next blow but kept advancing as Rainbow continued to back through the forest of pillars.
“I grew up on a farm just outside of Ponyville, right smack in the southern heartlands,” Applejack said. “Sweet Apple Acres saw more’n its fair share of bandits from all over Equestria, and that includes ones from Cloudsdale. I’ve fought plenty, and it’s a mite hard to mistake that fightin’ style.”
Applejack suddenly sprang forward, whipping Winona in from the right. Rainbow tried to leap away, but found that she had inadvertently backed herself into a column. Her eyes focused on the hammer head as it arced toward her own. She ducked beneath the swing, which tore clean through the side of the pillar and showered the area off to the side with stone fragments. Rainbow tucked into a roll, getting back to her feet behind Applejack only to find that the cowgirl was already facing her with her guard up.
“‘Slipperiest fighters this side of Eternity’s Crossing’; that’s what my Pappy used to call you folk, and he weren’t no liar. I reckon you’re a lot more dangerous than those other two.”
Rainbow smirked, trying not to let the gaping hole in the column behind Applejack distract her. “Well well, it looks like you don’t just have the moves, you know your stuff too. Not bad for a backwater bumpkin.” The corner of Applejack’s mouth twitched slightly at the last word. “But if you know how awesome I am, why’d you send away your pals? They were probably the only chance you had!”
Dash darted in, veering ever so slightly to Applejack’s left and readying her right weapon for a mid-level swing. Applejack read her foe’s actions almost instantly and moved her hammer into a blocking position, but just as she did Rainbow set her right foot and spun, slashing her left blade at Applejack’s unguarded side, a wicked grin on her face.
Instead of the smooth sound of a sword slicing through flesh, there was a sharp, ringing clang.
Rainbow Dash’s blade grated against the metal plate on the outside of Applejack’s long glove, their arms quivering as they fought a minor contest of strength. Rainbow’s eyes widened as she recognized the similarity to the plates on her own legs. It was Applejack’s turn to smirk.
“I told ya, I’ve fought with Cloudsdalers before, an’ I picked up a few tricks to boot!” She kicked out and caught Rainbow in the abdomen, forcing the wind from her lungs and pushing her back several staggering paces. Rainbow nearly fell to one knee but righted herself quickly despite the pain lancing through her stomach. Applejack spun Winona in her hands and settled back into a fighting stance. “That was for Pinkie.”
“Oh, I get it now,” Rainbow coughed, “you made the others leave because you thought they’d just get in your way. You actually think you have what it takes to beat me?”
“Had my doubts at first,” Applejack replied with a shrug, “but at the moment I ain’t got no reason to think otherwise, now do I?”
Rainbow scowled and grit her teeth. She flashed forward, leaping into the air and swinging her blades down in an attempt to cleave Applejack’s head in twain, only to find both weapons blocked by Winona’s leather-wrapped steel handle. She twisted as she fell, sweeping around in a wide arc to slash at Applejack’s side, and again she was met with the metallic ring of steel on steel as her foe blocked with an armored forearm.
Rainbow Dash did not relent. She touched down and continued her attack without pause, her blades flashing through the air as she struck out again and again. Applejack worked her hammer and both forearms furiously to keep up with the onslaught, but nevertheless was forced to retreat. Rainbow pressed her advantage further, raining slash after slash down on the cowgirl’s defenses. Down, up, left and right, diagonally; she attacked from every conceivable angle. Not every attack was a true threat; a number were just feints intended to throw her off, but they all came on so fast Applejack could hardly tell the difference. The flurry of blades rang out against both armor and hammer as Applejack continued to backpedal. She spared a quick glance behind her to ensure that she was not about to repeat Rainbow’s earlier mistake by walking into a column.
Doing so was a mistake all in it’s own. As soon as Applejack’s attention shifted, Rainbow thrust her right blade straight out, the razor-sharp tip slicing a thin line along Applejack’s right cheek and severing a few stray strands of blonde hair. The cowgirl lashed out with Winona in a wide sweeping motion, forcing Rainbow to pull back and hop a short distance away. Momentarily free of Rainbow’s assault, Applejack wiped her face with one hand and stared at the blood-stained cloth of her gloves, her wide eyes and rapid breathing betraying her otherwise calm demeanor. Rainbow grinned and twirled her blades.
“How’s that for a reason?”
The dimly-lit study at the top of the tower was deathly silent, and low shadows cast by a smattering of candles strewn about the room danced across the cold stone walls. Like the chamber on the bottom floor this room was circular, but only about thirty feet across. A pair of windows, paned with wooden frames and clear glass, were the study’s only other distinguishing features apart from the door the trio had entered through. There were several tables of different sizes and styles, each filled with bubbling alchemical apparatuses, racks of vials containing ingredients and spell components, and in some cases devices that they couldn’t immediately identify. The space was thick with the smell of ozone and smoke. Spike hopped down from his master’s shoulder and clamped a claw over his snout upon entering.
“Ugh, it reeks like the labs back at the Academy, but way worse! This has to be the place, right Twilight?”
Twilight Sparkle wasn’t listening in the slightest. All her attention was focused on the stacks and stacks of books that filled nearly every open bit of floorspace. Piled on top of one another, shoved under tables, some propped open and others covered in dust; there were books everywhere. Twilight’s eyes brightened and a her face cracked into wide smile as a girly giggle escaped her throat. She swiftly swept over to the closest pile of literary treasure, all fatigue from her hurried ascent seemingly forgotten.
Spike release his nose and applied his claw to his forehead instead. “Oh boy, here we go.”
“Look Spike!” Twilight exclaimed as a blue-grey tome with gold inlay on its spine floated into the air wrapped in the magenta glow of her magic. “Felix Foresight’s Predictions and Prophecies! This was one of the first books I ever had you fetch for me! And look! Starswirl the Bearded’s Treatise on the Nature of Ambient Magical Forces! One of my personal favorites!” Twilight continued to flit between the stacks of books, her voice taking on an almost sing-song quality as she read the titles off one after another to no one in particular and laughed happily.
Pinkie raised an eyebrow as she watched the mage prance about. “Wow. She really likes books.”
“You have no idea,” Spike huffed as he clawed his way up a nearby table leg and sat down on the edge, crossing his tiny arms and puffing a bit of smoke out his nostrils. “Trust me, the safest bet is to just let her get it out of her system. With a room this size it should only take her a couple of minutes unless-”
“Sweet Celestia!” Twilight shouted suddenly. “Elmaxster‘s The Manual of Magical and Metaphysical Materials! First edition! I haven’t seen a copy this well-preserved since… well, I’ve never actually seen a first edition copy before!” She gently opened the cover, reverently flipping through the first few pages. She sucked in her breath. “It’s written in Elmaxster’s own hand… I’m holding Elmaxster’s handwriting!” She cradled the book to her chest and sighed happily.
“...Unless she finds a really rare one,” Spike finished with a glower.
“Ooh, shiny!” Pinkie said from across the room as she held up a pair of focusing crystals she had liberated from a table positioned beneath one of the windows.
“Aw, c’mon! You too?” Spike groused. He huffed again and looked away just as another focusing crystal on the table next to him caught his eye. After making sure that no one was looking, he snatched the crystal up and gave it an experimental sniff before biting it in half. His eyes lit up and he quickly crammed the rest into his mouth, fragments flying in all directions as he greedily crunched away.
“Oooh…. shiny…”
“I hurb you da fursh dime,” Spike said around a mouthful of crystal.
“No, really, really shiny!” Pinkie insisted, pointing. Spike followed her line of sight to a large device that looked reminiscent of a gyroscope Twilight had shown him once. Despite resting on the floor, the apparatus was almost as tall as the pink performer now inspecting it, with focusing crystals fixed at regular intervals to the slowly-rotating metal rings so that they all pointed towards the center, where a fist sized, round-cut pink gem was suspended in the air by some unseen magical force.
Spike quickly swallowed. “Is that it? The Heartstone?”
“Sure looks like an ancient magical artifact of untold power to me!” Pinkie confirmed with a smile as she swayed around the machine. “Maybe there’s a switch or something to turn off the spinny parts so we can grab it!”
“Hey, Twilight!” Spike called. He spotted Twilight across the room, nuzzling a book against her cheek and making soft cooing noises. He blew out a sigh accompanied by the usual wisp of smoke. “Nevermind.”
No sooner had Spike jumped down from his perch and started making his way over to Pinkie Pie than Twilight spotted a yellowed, leather-bound book laying open on a table all by itself. Curious, she stepped forward and peered at the displayed page, tilting her head to the side as she read words that had an oddly familiar ring to them. Her eyes shot open and her body suddenly went rigid. The book in her hands slipped free and fell to the floor, completely forgotten as she reached for the open tome.
“No,” she said under her breath. “No, that can’t be. It’s not possible!” She held the new book with quivering fingers as she flipped to the inside front cover. “I… I don’t believe it…”
“Hm, no buttons or switches or anything,” Pinkie said from across the room. “We’ll just have to do this the fun way!” Twilight’s attention was finally drawn back to her partners, and she spotted them both, along with the gyroscopic device, just as Pinkie darted her hand in between the moving parts to grab the glowing gemstone within.
“Pinkie, no!” Twilight shouted, but it was too late. The gem shimmered and vanished as Pinkie’s fingers touched it, and a rune circle on the ground - hidden partially beneath the piles of books - flared to life with a bright yellow light. Pinkie blanched and attempted to leap away, but crashed into a bubble-shaped, nearly invisible barrier and slid down to the floor. Twilight rushed over, still clutching the old book in one hand.
“Twilight, help!” Pinkie exclaimed as she pushed fruitlessly against the inner surface of her ethereal cage. Twilight placed her hand against the barrier, the magic crackling as it came in contact with her own arcane energy.
“Don’t worry Pinkie; I’ll have you out in no time!”
“I’m afraid I can’t allow you to do that, Miss Sparkle.”
Twilight stiffened at the lightly accented voice, and spun just in time to see one of the bigger piles of books on the far side of the room crumble into glowing motes of magical nothingness, revealing a seated man in set of long white robes with graying hair and cold, hazel eyes. Eyes that Twilight Sparkle had seen many times before. She swallowed in vain to try and remove the lump from her throat.
“Hello, Professor Spellbinder.”
Applejack ducked as one of Rainbow Dash’s blades sliced through the air, drawing a line of sparks from the column behind her and scoring a thin furrow into the stone. She swept her leg out, trying to trip the Cloudsdaler, but Rainbow leaped over it effortlessly and countered with a downward stab. Winona deflected the strike and gave Applejack the split second that she needed to reposition her other leg beneath her. She sprang up from a crouch, thrusting her hammer out ahead of her crosswise, and caught Rainbow in the chest with the shaft. It was a move meant to put some distance between them rather than inflict any real damage, and it worked. As Rainbow skipped back a few steps, Applejack regripped Winona and swung it down from above, but rather than letting it hit the floor she used the weapon’s own inertia carry it back up and over into a series of overhead strikes.
Rainbow handily sidestepped the first blow and swayed back the other direction to dodge the second, but just as the hammer came about for a third she felt the familiar cold stone of another column greet the exposed skin of her shoulderblade. Applejack’s grip shifted again as she pivoted, whipping Winona around her in a sudden horizontal swing. Rainbow leaped straight up into the air and kicked off from the column at the apex of her jump, vaulting herself up and over Applejack’s head a fraction of a second before her hammer blasted the pillar apart. As it collapsed the cowgirl jumped back to avoid the falling stone, glancing around to try and spot her nimble foe.
A few columns away, Rainbow let out a low whistle, though the settling cloud of dust concealed her exact location. “That’s one hell of a swing you got. You’re a lot stronger than you look.”
“And you’re harder to catch than a greased pig with one o’ them speed-boostin’ spells on it,” Applejack said. “Good thing for you too; I reckon ya couldn’t take but one straight hit and it’d all be over.”
“Ah dunno, but Ah shore dun took sumthin’ else!” Rainbow said in a gross parody of Applejack’s accent just as the dust cleared enough for the cowgirl to locate her. Applejack’s eyes immediately focused on the light brown Stetson that now resided on Rainbow’s grinning head. With a start she realized that it was hers, and her eyes narrowed dangerously.
“Give that back.”
“Hm,” Rainbow put a finger to her lips and looked off to one side in mock consideration. “Actually I think I’ll keep it. Looks pretty good on me after all, doesn’t it?” As she finished taunting, Rainbow leaped to the side, fully expecting Applejack to take a swing at her.
Instead, she found herself dodging out of the way of a projectile Winona, which sailed past head-first and punched through yet another column. As Rainbow touched back down she realized the hammer had just been a distraction, and that Applejack was already nearly on top of her. She slashed both her swords from the sides in a scissoring motion only to find them blocked by plated gloves. Applejack’s head snapped forward, her brow smacking against the bridge of Rainbow’s nose and causing stars to burst across the swordswoman’s vision. She fell back into a roll instinctively, but the sudden motion knocked the Stetson from her head and by the time she staggered back to her feet Applejack had already reclaimed it.
“Yeesh,” Rainbow said as she gently massaged her throbbing nose with the back of her hand, testing to see if anything had been broken. “Fine; have your stupid hat back.”
“It ain’t just a hat,” Applejack said as she walked to the rubble of the most recently collapsed pillar to retrieve her hammer, being careful to avoid turning her back to Rainbow. “This belonged to my Pappy. He trusted me with it, and I ain’t about to let him down.”
“That’s it?” Rainbow asked flatly. “Your dad gave it to you?”
Applejack frowned as she glanced down among the broken stones, spotting Winona’s handle protruding from beneath one. “It’s a family thing. He trusted a lot of things to me, and I ain’t done the best job of takin’ care of some of ‘em. Wouldn’t expect a cut-throat merc like you to understand.”
“You’re one to talk,” the swordswoman shot back. “I’ve heard of you before, y’know. A tough-as-nails, blonde hayseed who’s willing to take any job that pays. Don’t go acting all high and mighty with me when we’re in the same line of work!”
“That’s different,” Applejack said as she braced herself and lifted a decent-sized chunk of rock with one hand while pulling her weapon free with the other. “That money's for my family and puts food on the table, and if I had a choice I’d sure as hell find another way to do it, but like I said before I’ve seen plenty of your type.” She started walking back toward Rainbow as she continued. “You think you’re just about the best thing to ever happen to Equestria; Celestia’s gift to the rest of the world, right? Everythin’ is all about you and nobody else, and when the going gets tough you got no problem turnin' on folks.” She stopped a dozen paces from Rainbow, whose expression had fallen from an annoyed frown to a dark glower. “Family, friends…those words don’t mean nothin’ to people like you. There ain’t even an ounce of loyalty in your whole body.”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Applejack snorted. “Really. You don’t say?”
“No!” Rainbow shouted, her hands tightening about the hilts of her swords. “You don’t know anything about me, ok? The only reason I even left Cloudsdale was to find a friend who got lost! Nobody even cared that she’d gone missing, not even her own family! I gave up everything to try and find her!” She pointed a sword at Applejack, and the fire burning behind her purple eyes took the cowgirl by surprise. “Three years! I’ve spent the past three years traveling all over Equestria, and I’ll spend the rest of my life looking if I have to so don’t you dare talk to me about loyalty, ok?!”
There was a long moment of silence between them, broken only by Rainbow’s rapid, shallow breathing.
“Sorry.”
“What?” Rainbow said.
“I’m sorry for thinkin’ that you were just another Cloudsdaler out for yourself,” Applejack elaborated. “It sounds like we both have good reasons for what we’re doin’, but your friend ain’t up at the top of this here tower. Mine are.” She settled back into a combat stance and hefted Winona. “I ain’t backin’ down.”
Rainbow raised both blades and slipped into a fighting stance of her own. “Me either.”
There was another fleeting moment of calm before Rainbow sprang forward. Applejack deflected a pair of slashes that came in at her right side and reflexively raised her left arm to block an attack she felt was imminent. Instead of the edge of a sword Rainbow’s leg came whipping in, the metal shinguard crashing loudly against the plate on Applejack’s arm. The kick was much more powerful than she had anticipated, and the cowgirl found herself stumbling back several paces. She intercepted another flashing blade with Winona and grimaced as the other slipped past her defense and scored a hit along her upper arm. She barely saw the kick headed for her midsection before it thudded home against her leather cuirass, which did surprisingly little to cushion the impact.
Applejack’s feet left the ground as she sailed backwards, and a nearby column brought her movement to a painful halt before she could travel too far. She sucked in breath through clenched teeth to blot out the pain as a determined Rainbow Dash strode calmly toward her.
“Finally gettin’ serious, huh?” she said under her breath as she readied her hammer. “Now we’re talkin’.”
“You don’t seem terribly surprised to see me, Miss Sparkle,” Spellbinder said as he cocked an eyebrow at his student over the top of laced fingers. Twilight frowned and shook her head slightly as Pinkie Pie looked on from within her magical cage. She had just opened her mouth to speak when a low tremor shook the floor beneath their feet, just for an instant. Her thoughts drifted back downstairs to where Applejack’s battle was clearly still going strong, but she quickly pushed the distraction from her mind.
“I had a sneaking suspicion that one of the instructors might have been involved in the theft. Breaking into and escaping from the Academy without help or first-hand knowledge would be nearly impossible,” she explained in a somewhat shaky voice, “and I immediately thought of you when I saw the fake Guardsmen, and again at the spell concealing this tower. Of all the Academy instructors, you’re the only one adept enough with illusion magic to pull off either, but that still didn’t have me convinced.”
“Go on,” he requested, the practiced tones and intonations of an experienced teacher hanging on every word.
“There are plenty of skilled illusionist wizards outside of the Academy,” Twilight said as she gingerly slipped her backpack from her shoulders and set it on the ground in front of her, maintaining eye contact with the unnervingly calm mage the entire time. “It was entirely plausible that whoever was behind the theft had simply used a charming enchantment on a student or low-ranking assistant instructor so they could gain access to the Academy. I found that scenario to be far more likely than one of Celestia’s most trusted archmages betraying her… but then I saw this.” She held up the book she had found on the table so that Spellbinder could see it for himself. “The Elements of Harmony: a Reference Guide; author unknown. To the best of our knowledge, only three copies of this book have ever existed. One was lost at sea seventeen years ago when the Aurora Priory sank in a storm off the northern coast of Zebrica. The other two are kept at the Canterlot Archives. One is available to the public, but the other is in the restricted section… a section that only Celestia and her closest advisors have access to.” She flipped open the book’s front cover, revealing a red ink stamp on the lower left corner in the shape of a sun centered around a quill and a roll of parchment.
“I see,” Spellbinder said with a nod, “but just because the book has the Canterlot Archivists’ seal doesn’t mean it’s the copy from the restricted section.”
Twilight reached out her hand, using her magic to telekinetically open the flap of her backpack and lift out a book that was nearly identical to the one she already held.
“I checked the other copy out just last week,” she said with a wry smile, “for the research assignment you gave us on ancient Equestrian mythology, no less.”
Spellbinder smiled and a small chuckle issued forth from deep in his chest. “What a marvelous coincidence. Well done, Miss Sparkle; you truly are my brightest student.” He rose to his feet and took a moment to straighten his long robes; robes that still bore the golden emblem of the princess and signified his position as one of her advisors. The sight of it turned Twilight’s stomach a little. “Unfortunately, I’m afraid this is the last time I will be teaching you anything, so I suggest you pay attention!”
His right hand shot out, bathed in yellow light, and a glowing magic circle similar to the one that had trapped Pinkie appeared beneath Twilight’s feet. The young mage unceremoniously dropped the book she was holding and hastily jammed the glowing end of her staff into the ground, causing a shower of purple sparks to skitter across the floor. The sealing runes winked out before they could activate. The top of her staff glowed next as she thrust it toward Spellbinder, and a bright burst of lavender light leaped forth. It streaked across the room only to splinter harmlessly against another circle of yellow runes the older mage quickly conjured out of thin air with a wave of his left hand. Spellbinder smirked for a moment before a book, wrapped in a magenta aura, flung itself from one of the piles off to the side and smacked into his temple, followed by another to his opposite shoulder, and then dozens more from every angle.
Spellbinder grimaced, but managed to maintain the barrier in front of him. “Trying to prevent a superior opponent from casting by breaking their concentration and keeping them distracted,” he said between the annoying but relatively harmless strikes. “Whoever the teacher was for your Introductory Mage Combat class did a good job with the basics, at least.” The fingers of his right hand worked through a short but complex series of motions, and a brief pulse of yellow light surged around him. The magenta glow encasing the leather-bound projectiles shredded away and they fell to the ground harmlessly. Releasing his own barrier, Spellbinder’s eyes widened.
Twilight Sparkle was gone. She was nowhere to be seen, and her pink-haired friend had somehow vanished from inside the pulsating rune barrier.
“What?” he said to the apparently empty room. He strode forward, but as his third step touched down a bright ring of violet runes flared to life beneath his feet, drawing his gaze downward and encasing him in a sphere of shimmering magic energy just like the ones he had used against the girls.
“Gotcha!” Pinkie shouted. Spellbinder looked up just in time to see Pinkie reappear inside her cage as the basic invisibility spell that had been cast on her faded away. Off to his left, Twilight stood up from behind a particularly tall stack of books. Upon seeing Spellbinder in her trap, she exhaled a sigh of relief.
“Using my own sealing runes to ensnare me?” he asked.
“It’s the best magic-containment spell that I know,” she said with a small grin. “Besides, you were the one who taught it to me. I thought you’d appreciate the irony.”
“I do,” Spellbinder replied calmly as he extended the first and second fingers of his left hand, their tips shimmering with arcane energy, “and I also appreciate how easy you’re making this for me.” He touched the inside of the cage with his fingers and it popped just like the bubble it resembled.
Twilight’s eyes widened in horror. She tried to raise her staff but found it torn from her grip as Spellbinder took hold of it with his own telekinesis and sent the weapon flying far across the room.
“Let me show you a more interesting binding spell,” her former teacher said, weaving another set of intricate signs with his fingers. A slightly different circle of yellow runes appeared in the air above Twilight’s head and sprouted a series of glowing ethereal manacles that shot down and clamped themselves around her wrists and ankles before she could react. She gave a strangled gasp as a fifth, larger cuff snapped shut about her neck. The ‘chains’ retracted up into the circle, pulling her arms taut over her head and wrenching her neck painfully. Her feet no longer touched the ground, but the magic shackles felt like they weighed hundreds of pounds. Twilight's spine popped as the spell stretched her out, leaving her hanging in the air helplessly.
“Twilight!” Pinkie cried out. “Oooh, you let her go you big, mean… meany-pants!”
“Your friend is quite eloquent,” Spellbinder quipped as he stepped closer to the bound mage, causing Pinkie to stick her tongue out at him. “Regardless, I believe we’ve reached the end of our little game. I’d like you to know, Twilight, that I truly did enjoy this. You acquitted yourself exceptionally well, and I think that against a lesser opponent you would have emerged victorious.” He leaned in dangerously close to Twilight’s face, a sinister smile plastered on his own. “You get an ‘A’ for effort.”
“Why?” Twilight choked out, the collar making it difficult to breathe, let alone speak. “Why did you do it?”
“You mean why did I steal the Heartstone?” he asked, producing the pink gem in question from the sleeve of his robe and holding it up for Twilight to see. “I’m afraid that’s not something that concerns you. If you think I’m going to blurt out some sort of ‘villainous exposition’ now that I’ve won, then you’re mistaken. Now, as I’m sure you’ve guessed, I can’t let either of you live now that you’ve seen me. I suppose I’ll have to make sure that your other friend meets an abrupt end as well, assuming she hasn’t already. She may not know who I am but I can’t afford to take any chances.” His hand glowed once again and the collar around Twilight’s neck began to tighten. “I’m truly sorry about this, Miss Sparkle. If there’s one thing I hate it’s wasting potential.”
“Two more questions,” Twilight rasped, her voice barely a whisper as the magical manacle threatened to suffocate her and snap her neck all at once.
“Really? Two?” Spellbinder sighed, but the glow around his hand dimmed, the collar loosening considerably as a result. “Always trying to learn, even in death.”
She coughed and sucked in several desperate breaths. “You don’t have a familiar, do you?”
Spellbinder shook his head. “No, I never have, though I don’t see how that’s relevant now.”
“I thought not. It doesn’t seem like you’re used to dealing with them.”
The older mage narrowed his eyes. “What makes you say that?”
“That has to do with my next question,” Twilight said, her lips curling up into a weak smile. “Where’s mine?”
Spellbinder’s pupils shrank down even as his eyes flew open. He felt an unfamiliar magical surge behind him as he started to turn, and found himself face-to-snout with a towering, half-lizard, half-man monster. Thick muscles flexed and rolled beneath purple scales as the beast raised an arm tipped with gleaming, vicious claws, and an inhuman snarl leaped from its toothy maw as those claws came slashing down at the terrified mage’s face.
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I thought you had been kidnapped by the Spanish inquisition, no one would've expected that
3342949
I laugh but... stranger things have happened,
3342982
true, though i am glad your back this story is quite enjoyable.
3343013
Thanks, I'm glad you like it!
Ey, new chapter.
3348166
Indeed! And hopefully it won't be quite so long until the next new one this time,
Wow, really enjoying how this story is going. Can't wait to see more!
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R....RainbowBob... c-commented on my s-story...
fc08.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2012/110/5/8/mlp_pinkie_pie_and_rarity_in_shock__animated__by_mrhitmanwiecki-d4x1ni7.gif
I know that's nit-ptcking of the highest level, but I would have really really liked to see a sugarcube between me and you. Something to show that AJ sees Twi as a close friend and calls her with a nickname and all.
I dunno, why that irked me. XD
And yay for Spike warrior! Though I expected some kind of ritual. Like Spike had to drink some of his masters blood to use his full power since he is bound to her or something or that Twi needed to do something to get him become big like a commando or a spell or that when Spike is big it will cost his master/partner something in return.
Nice fight between RD and AJ, I wonder though how RD gonna join the gang now that she's an enemy.
Good to see that Twi is no push-over though I do hope she becomes much better and more awesome the more experience she gathers in fights so that one-day she can even face RD or AJ in a fast-paced battle with her magic. Looks to me like Shy gonna be the last one to join the gang as all but her had been mentioned and she had only been mentioned as RD's friend.
Wonder why the relationship between Shiny and his lil'sis isn't good though I guess that will come later. And we all can guess who the other missing student is, right?^^
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Yay, James is back! Thanks for the comment!
Oooh, you're right, that does sound better... I didn't consider it before for some reason but that fits very well; good call,
There'll be some more details on Spike's transformation in the next chapter; I know a bunch of people were looking forward to it so I wanted to give him a little 'moment of awesome' unspoiled by exposition,
Yes, big apologies to all the Fluttershy fans out there, but she won't technically be making an appearance until Part II,
In slightly better news, I think I may be able to wrap up Part I in just one more chapter, so nopony will have to wait for very long! 
It's totally Lyra,
As exciting and well paced as I remember it being. The fight continue to be thrilling and fun to read through and the plot, while a little generic, still manages to hit all the right notes.
I'm curious as to the relationship between Shining and Twilight as well. I guess there's no BBBFF in this world.
And what could that other student be up to?
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Thanks! Hopefully one or two of the things I have planned for down the road will be make the story a little more dynamic; I'm trying to start off slow so that I have room to build.
I had a lot of fun coming up with Twilight and Shining's backstory,
... problem is, it might be a little bit until we hear it, 
Wait, what student? Amethyst Star?
*Begins to read* Oh my Nuns I forgot Rainbow Crash was the villian thing!!! (nice update progresion) (Should I read the prolouge?)
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Hehe, yeah, sorry about that,
Of course you should read the prologue!
BananasPrologues are good!3362819I just read it.... Where mine. Is now the best line ive ever heard cause it has dpeth and meaning and usability in real life.... Also is this close to ending... Where's rarity???? Is she an assassin or is that der.... You know what you should add a Racke as a really powerfull enemy for the fun of it... I made up that word it's a conjuction of Rouge and drake. Uh... I assume rd is looking for flutters... Is this comment getting long.... So many questions... To many words for.... A 13 year old using internet explorer on an xbox.... End!
3351136 "pinkie pie and rarity in shock" Well thats not spoiling the gif
...
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You know, I'm not quite sure where Rarity is... she is rather sneaky, being a thief and all. I'm sure she'll turn up sooner or later,
This part of the story may be coming to a close soon, but there is a whole lot more to tell, believe you me!
3363279 Beleive you me?!?! Youre supp- *Falls over laughing* how can I criyisize (Or some word spelt simmaler) you when you need highly advanced space age crpytoligists to decipher any notes I write?
These one liners are awesome.