Heavy Rain

by fatescanner

Ponyville, 8:37 p.m.

In contrast to the raging storm blowing outside, the atmosphere inside the Golden Oaks library was quite calm and relaxed. A warm, roaring fire had been lit in the library’s fireplace located in the small reading room area off the main atrium area. In front of the fire lay Twilight Sparkle. The purple unicorn was lying on a large comfy pillow, enjoying the heat of the fire, a book propped open on the floor in front of her, which she was reading through with considerable interest, his eyes tracing the words as she read them, only pausing as she used her magic to flip to the next page before resuming.

Spike, meanwhile, was busy upstairs, finishing up the task of lighting the candles that provided the library with its nightly illumination. It was a task delegated to him more on a personal safety basis to Twilight, due to one evening back when they were still living in the library at Canterlot-one of the first few nights after they had moved in there, in fact-when she had insisted on lighting the candles herself, with a lighting spell she had just read about and was itching to try out, that resulted in a part of the Canterlot library catching fire. It had taken a very hastily written and, in no uncertain terms, emphatic letter on Spike’s part to Princess Celestia to save the library from potentially burning down; Twilight certainly hadn’t been willing to consider it, insisting that she could put out the fire herself, looking frantically up and down the library’s shelves for a book with a water spell she could use. She was still continuing to do so when Princess Celestia showed up (incidentally, by bursting through the library’s big arched window no more than three minutes after Spike had sent the letter; the princess sure liked her big, dramatic entrances) and put the fire out with her own magic. After a very stern and imploring lecture, it was decided from then on that Spike would take care of lighting the candles at night.

Like most of the tasks delegated to him, Spike didn’t resent that he was the one who had to perform them. All in all, it was one of the easiest tasks he had to perform nightly, and seeing as it was usually the last chore he had to do, there was a sense of satisfaction in performing it, knowing that he could relax for the rest of the night before he went to bed, getting to spend some quiet time with Twilight. He greatly enjoyed those periods before Twilight would eventually shoo him off to bed, sitting with her, talking with her, or just quietly sharing company with her. Seeing as he had never knew his real mom, Twilight was really the closest thing to a mother he could consider, having taken care of him the majority of the time since he’d been hatched. He supposed that was why he treasured those moments so greatly. The thought brought a small smile to his face as he reached up and grabbed the last remaining unlit candle from the night desk next to Twilight’s bed, holding the unlit wick up to the already lit one of the candle he had with him, one of the mobile ones with the curved metal grip. It was his designated ‘lighting candle’, being the only one lit by himself, using his dragonfire. He found matches incredibly bothersome; they were small and always seemed to break when he pinched them between his sharp claws. He wondered to no end how ponies were able to manage them. Eventually, he had tossed the flimsy things away entirely; after all, he figured, why have need of matches when you have your own personal store of fire you can call upon much easier?

That being said, however, Spike most certainly did not use his breath to light every candle in the library. Doing that would most certainly result in setting the library on fire. Spike was not an idiot; he most certainly did not claim to be a master at controlling his fire; he was still essentially a baby, after all. Thus, the need of his trusty designated lighting candle. He would begin by lighting that candle, with the smallest burst of his flame he could manage, far away from any flammable materials, just to be safe. He would then proceed to light all the candles in the library, beginning in the main library area, then to the atrium, and then finally to the upstairs areas. While most of the candle sconces were within easy reaching distance, via the many movable ladders attached to the bookshelves within the library, there were a few troublesome ones here and there that proved difficult for him to reach. But that was what his rod was for, a long, lightweight pole made of brass, with a hooked end that he would slide through the grip on his lighting candle, and then hook it under one of the candle’s edges. He would then gently lift the candle up and guide it over to the unlit sconce. After a bit of skillful maneuvering, the candle would be lit. It was a process Spike had gotten very good at performing, over the years since he had started doing it.

As the wick in the candle started to catch fire, Spike brought it away and placed it back upon the night desk, sliding it back into its original position. The light from it, Spike’s candle, and the wall candle on the opposite side of the room cast his and Twilight’s shared bedroom into a reasonable amount of visibleness, save for the room’s corners, which were still cast in a small amount of flickering darkness. Rain pattered a constant, noisy rhythm against the bedroom window; Spike could see the branches of the tree the library was housed in swaying visibly outside through the window.

Spike wasn’t entirely alone in the room; on the other side of the bed from where Spike was, on a small roosting perch, sat the library’s resident owl and honorary second-hand assistant, Owlowiscious, who was currently at the moment staring at Spike with his small, beady, seemingly unblinking eyes, his head completely turned around one-eighty degrees.

“Who,” the bird of prey hooted by way of greeting.

“Dude, you know it creeps me out when you do that,” Spike remarked, pointing a claw at the owl with a suitably creeped-out look on his face.

“Who,” the nocturnal raptor replied simply, although there appeared to a twinkle of amusement running through the owl’s eyes as he said it.

Spike then turned his attention to the window as a bright flash of lightning came through it, lighting a portion of the room in stark whiteness for a brief moment before fading away.

“Yeesh,” Spike muttered irritably as he blinked hard a couple times, the brief, yet incredible brightness of the lightning having irritated his sensitive eyes. While the eyes of dragons held a number of advantages over those of ponies, they were still just as painfully susceptible to abrupt changes in light.

“What a lousy night,” Spike grumbled as he rubbed the back of his free claw against his closed eyes, alleviating the remaining soreness in them, then casting a glare out the window at the weather outside.

“Who-who,” Owlowiscious seemed to agree.

“Bet you’re glad you don’t have to be out in it, huh?” Spike asked with a wry smirk.

“Who-who,” the owl answered most heartily.

Spike chuckled. “Yeah, you really lucked out with getting a home here, didn’t ya, you old featherbag?” he ribbed good-naturedly.

In response, Owlowiscious tilted his head so that it appeared that his face was almost completely upside down, and gave Spike a look that just seemed to say, Wingless little lizard.

“Creepy puffed-up rodent-eater,” Spike said, sticking out his forked tongue at the raptor.

Pompous royal mailbag.

“Nurh malaivi mablik,” Spike growled.

At this, Owlowiscious turned his face right-side up and gave Spike a confused look.

It took a moment for Spike to realize that he didn’t know what he had just said, too. Blinking, the baby dragon brought a claw up to rub his throat, murmuring, “Huh. That was weird.”

It was like he had spoken in an entirely different voice. The unknown words had sounded harsh coming out of his mouth, with an almost hissing quality to them. He had no idea where the words had come from, they had simply come unbidden to his mouth. He made an attempt to try to recreate the words, but he failed miserably; he couldn’t seem to pronounce the words properly, nor could he seem to replicate the harsh, sibilant tone they had been spoken in. The ability to do so seemed to have left his mind like a breeze in the wind. So, he was left to ponder the strange words themselves and what they meant. For some reason, he had found the words oddly satisfying when he had said them; some deep, unknowable part of his inner being had found them appropriate for the back-and-forth verbal-nonverbal insult-fest between him and Owlowiscious.

“Who?” the owl queried.

“Hey, I’m as stumped as you are, buddy. Perhaps this is something I should ask Twi; maybe she’ll know what those words are.”

…

As Spike descended the stairs, the mysterious words still pounding in his skull, his eyes flickered across the numerous picture frames hanging along the staircase wall. A good deal of them were occupied by pictures of Twilight with her friends, taken by himself over the course of the past two years. However, there were a few that were occupied by pictures taken before that time, back in Canterlot when it had just been him and Twilight. A smile crossed his face as he beheld those pictures, fondly remembering those two years he and Twilight had spent operating the Canterlot library. Sure, they were nowhere near as eventful as the past two years here in Ponyville had been, but Spike had enjoyed them, all the same.

Reaching the bottom of the stairs, Spike then proceeded through the library into the reading room where Twilight was laying and poring over her book. Setting his candle down on a nearby table, Spike began, “Hey, Twi, I-”

“Oh, hey Spike, great timing! I wanted to tell you about something very interesting I just read about in this book,” Twilight said, turning to look at Spike, an excited look in her eye.

“Er, okay, but-” Spike attempted again, only to be interrupted yet again as Twilight rode over his words.

“See, I thought it would be interesting to read up on the history of Nightmare Night itself, find out about its origins and such, what with it coming up next week and all. Most of the tales told to us by our parents as fillies regarding our holidays and their origins never really go that in-depth into them. So, I found this book. It’s a written account on all the Equestrian holidays, their origins, meanings, practices and so forth, and it’s very detailed, indeed. I mean, did you know that October thirty-first was not always known as Nightmare Night?” Twilight asked.

“Uh, no, that’s news to me. What was it called?” Spike asked, deciding to hang on to his question for when Twilight was done.

“Well, in the YBB years, before Princess Luna was corrupted into Nightmare Moon and banished to the moon by Princess Celestia, the date of October thirty-first was known as Samhain,” Twilight explained, using her magic to flip to a page in the book that featured an intricate charcoal-rubbed depiction of what appeared to be a circle of ponies clad in long, flowing garments that covered their entire bodies gathered around a blazing bonfire that rose up into the night sky above. All of the ponies were balanced on their hind legs, with their front legs thrust upwards into the air towards the dark skies. Whoever had made the rubbing originally had been exceptionally talented, indeed.

“Samhain was regarded as ‘the festival of the dead’,” continued Twilight. “It was believed by ponies back then that on October thirty-first the veil that separated the living world from the afterlife would grow thin, allowing the spirits of the dead and departed to cross over into the land of the living and interact with the world once more.”

Spike shivered. “Creepy.”

“Most ponies didn’t see it that way, Spike,” Twilight said, shaking her head. “They saw it as a chance to once again interact with the spirits of their loved ones, their friends, their cherished household pets, to give them thanks for the lives they lived, and to celebrate their lives as a whole. That was what Samhain essentially was, a celebration held in honor of the dead, to give them respect and thanks while they walked the mortal plane before they were inevitably forced to return past the veil at the end of the day back into the afterlife.”

“Still sounds pretty creepy to me. Anything involving ghosts does, in my opinion. From what I’ve heard, they can be very dangerous when they’re mad. Better off not messing with them at all, I figure; let the dead lie and all that,” said Spike.

“True, today interacting with wild spirits is strongly discouraged, and unsanctioned spirit summonings are downright illegal, but you’ve got to understand, Spike, this was in the days when necromancy was still legal and a recognized and well-received form of magic. The time of Equestria’s battle against the Lord of Worms and his undead horde didn’t occur until around two-thirty YAB; it was only in the aftermath of that terrible conflict that Princess Celestia outlawed necromantic magic entirely and ordered all literature dealing with it to be burned, as well as… executing all captured followers of the Lord of Worms,” Twilight said uneasily, a frown creasing her features.

“Geez. I never took the Princess to be one to dole out executions,” Spike said, also frowning.

“Those were dark times, Spike,” Twilight said seriously. “The Lord of Worms and his minions were some of the greatest and most horrifying threats to Equestria. The war Equestria fought against them may not have lasted as long as the Great Pony-Griffin war, or the War of the Sun and Moon, but it definitely eclipsed those conflicts in regards to how dark and horrific it was. Ponies had to face down legions of rotting, shambling undead that were incredibly difficult to kill. Bodies of numerous species were raised to provide for the Lord’s legions; not just ponies, but also griffins, zebras, and even a few dragons!”

Spike shivered at that; he couldn’t begin to imagine how terrifying it must have been to face down a giant undead dragon.

“And if that wasn’t terrible enough,” Twilight continued, “the Lord used his dark magic to give birth to the first Shade, an amalgamation of evil spirits that were summoned and made to possess a living body, resulting in an abomination of pure evil that was incredibly strong, fast, and deadly with a hatred for all life, that could only be killed by a stab through the heart. The Lord of Worms created one and bent it to his will. This unicorn Shade named itself Morgoth, and it became one of the Lord’s most feared weapons, killing hundreds of soldiers on the battlefield before its eventual destruction at the blade of Celestia herself.

“And that was to say nothing of the Lord’s followers themselves. They too were capable practitioners of the black arts taught to them by their master, and were fanatically loyal to him. That was why Celestia had to execute the followers that had been captured; if she wanted to truly outlaw necromancy, she had to eliminate all knowledge of its practice, and she didn’t want to take a chance on one of the Lord’s followers eventually escaping while waiting for them to die in prison. The Lord’s followers were too far gone by that point, their delving into the black arts had turned them into monsters who would’ve been more than willing to continue their master’s campaign had they escaped. And, as unseemly the concept may be, Celestia needed to send a warning that necromancy was no longer to be practiced or tolerated. And so, the last public executions in Equestria’s history to this day took place in Canterlot Square, with the remaining followers of the Lord of Worms meeting their end at the gallows pole,” Twilight finished.

“Wow, you certainly like your dark Equestrian history, Twilight,” Spike joked, sitting down next to Twilight on the pillow. The dragon curled his knees up and folded his arms across them, enjoying the softness of the pillow underneath him and the company of his closest friend and parental figure. “Creepy ancient ghost festivals, warfare, and necromancy. Next I expect you’re going to dye your mane black and start wearing eyeliner and writing a story about how Equestria will one day be obliterated in a big nuclear war between the ponies and zebras that was supposedly started over coal consumption but was actually in fact caused by an ancient powerful evil from beyond the stars hidden underneath Hoofington or something crazy like that,” he snarked.

“Ahahahahaha!” Twilight laughed out loud.

“So, should I prepare a list of things for you to buy tomorrow to accommodate your new look?” Spike asked teasingly.

“Oh, quit it, you,” Twilight said lightly with a smile, reaching over with a hoof to give Spike a small playful shove.

But Spike wasn’t done with his fun yet. Raising a claw to his chin, Spike assumed a mock thoughtful expression and said, “You know, the more and more I think about it, the more I think a Goth look would look good on you, Twi. You could use a makeover, you know. Think of it: the new and improved Gothic Twilight Sparkle! And hey, with you moping and moaning and lying in your bed all the time, that would mean more free time for me, since you wouldn’t be in a state of mind to make me do the chores! Ooh, hey, you know what? You should totally dress as a Goth for Nightmare Night! It’s the perfect costume for you this year! I’m sure Rarity would have plenty of ideas…” At that point, however, his words trailed off, as he suddenly saw a dangerous smile form on Twilight’s lips, her eyes gleaming with playful malice.

“Oh, now you’re gonna get it, mister smartypants,” the lavender unicorn said in a low voice.

“Eep!” squeaked Spike, realizing he was in for it now. He had awakened the beast!

“Come here!” Twilight shouted, making a sudden lunge towards him from her spot on the pillow. Spike gave a cry of alarm and scrambled backwards off the edge of the pillow, just narrowly avoiding Twilight, who wound up doing a faceplant into the soft plush of the pillow in the spot Spike had just been.

From his position on the floor, Spike looked upwards as Twilight slowly raised her head from the pillow and looked down at him, her teeth bared in a wide, almost predatory smile.

“Aah!” Spike cried as he hurriedly scrambled to his feet and rushed out of the room as fast as his short legs could carry him.

Twilight wasn’t far behind as she nimbly got up off the pillow to her hooves before galloping after the giggling retreating baby dragon, shouting, “Come back here, you little wyrm!”

Spike only made it as far as the atrium before he was tackled from behind by a lunging Twilight Sparkle. Lying on her side, Twilight clasped both her forehooves around Spike’s midriff, pulling the squirming baby dragon close to her, while crowing triumphantly, “Haha, gotcha! Thought you could get away, huh? So, so foolish of you, Spike.” The lavender unicorn then brought her face close to Spike’s and said in a faux menacing voice, “Now, my cheeky little assistant, you know what it’s time for?”

“Ah! No, please, Twilight! Let me go!” Spike pleaded, still futilely struggling to work his way free from Twilight’s grasp. Despite all this, however, Spike was still giggling.

Spike’s protests fell on deaf ears, however, as Twilight said in a loud and overly dramatic voice, “That’s right! It’s time for your punishment!”

Twilight’s horn then lit up as she levitated her feathery writing quill up off the desk it had been lying on over at the side of the atrium.

As Twilight brought the feather closer, Spike’s eyes widened and his struggles increased in fervor, but Twilight’s grip was inescapable. “Ah! Nonono, not the Tickling Feather of Doom! Anything but that!” he cried, snorts of barely restrained laughter interspersing his words.

“Oh yes, that! You need to be taught a lesson, my little dragon! Mwahahahaha!” Twilight cackled as the feather came to within a few feet of Spike.

“Ah! N-no, please, have merc-aHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!” Spike laughed uproariously as the feather began to relentlessly tickle his unprotected feet, his struggles reaching a fever pitch.

“‘New and improved Twilight Sparkle’, huh? I’ll show you new and improved, you sassy little…!” Twilight growled out as she began tickling harder.

“AHAHAHAHAHA, oh Goddesses, please, sto-HAHAHAHAHA!” Spike pleaded.

“Ohohoho, I’m just getting started!” Twilight said, a wide grin plastered on her face.

BANGBANGBANGBANGBANG!!!

The sudden loud noise that reverberated throughout the library was almost as loud as the cracks of thunder from the storm. Twilight gave a loud gasp of surprise, the quill dropping from her magical grip as she snapped her head around towards the front door, from which the noise had originated.

“What on Earth?” Twilight voiced in shock.

BANGBANGBANG!! the loud knocking again filled the library.

“Twilight?” Spike asked, a trace of fear entering his voice.

“It’s okay, Spike,” Twilight said, giving the baby dragon a reassuring glance before turning her gaze back towards the door. Who in the world could that be, at this time and with the weather the way it is? she thought to herself before wincing as another series of loud knocks filled the library. I guess I’d better see who it is before they break down the door or something.

With that thought, Twilight got to her hooves before starting to make her way towards the door.

“Twilight?” Spike again queried worriedly from behind her.

Glancing over her shoulder, Twilight said, “Stay back, Spike,” before resuming her walk towards the door.

Twilight’s mind raced as she got closer. Okay, first, I’m going to call out and see who it is. If it’s somepony I know, I’ll let them in. If it’s not somepony I know, I’ll just leave the door locked and tell them to move on. Yeah. Ooh, but what if it’s a stranger who genuinely needs help? I can’t just leave them out there if they need my help! But it could just as easily be some freak intruder or something! What if it’s that serial ponynapper?! she thought with considerable alarm as the door was loudly banged upon once again.

I-I’ll just hear out their story first, and then I’ll judge whether to let them in or not. And if whoever it is turns out to have bad intentions if I do let them in, then I will force them to leave, she thought, narrowing her eyes as she stopped in front of the door.

As soon as she did, as another series of knocks sounded upon the door, sounding even louder now that she was standing right in front of it. The sound caused her to instinctively flinch. Gathering her courage, Twilight then called out, “Wh-who is it?”

The returning answer came to her almost immediately: “Twilight! Open up! It’s me, Rainbow Dash! Come on, please, hurry, let me in!” came the muffled, yet familiar voice of her pegasus friend from the other side of the door.

“Rainbow?” Twilight said in clear surprise. “Er, sure, one sec!”

Twilight used her magic to slide the deadbolt on the door out of place, and then turned the handle and began to open the door.

However, almost as soon as the door was opened a crack, it was thrown open by a charging Rainbow Dash. Almost immediately the cyan pegasus was up in Twilight’s face, causing Twilight to lean back as her friend began rambling in a loud voice.
“TwilightTwilightTwilightyougottahelpsomepony’sintroublesomebadponieskidnappedsomemareandA.J.wentafterthemshetoldmetogogethelpsoIcamehereasfastasIcouldpleaseyougottahelp-”

“Dash, Dash, Dash! Calm down, you’re not making any sense!” Twilight shouted over her friend’s words, getting the flustered pegasus to cease in her ramblings, although she still looked really antsy, if her hard panting and semi-erect wings were any indication. She also looked awful. Water was dripping considerably from her weather cloak, which had already collected into small puddles on the wood floor beneath her. Her hooves were caked in grime, and her mane was in a wet, messy disarray; multicolored strands of it were hanging off the sides of her head and also in front of her face.

Using her magic to close the open door before any more rain could get in, and shutting out the noise of the storm, Twilight then returned her gaze to Dash and said, “Now, just take a deep breath, and calmly tell me what happened.”

Doing as Twilight said, Dash closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, letting it out slowly before reopening her eyes and saying, “Right. Well, Twi, we’re a little short on time, here, so I’m just gonna give you the short version.”

Taking a moment to brush the loose strands of mane out of her eyes, Dash then continued. “See, it started at the tavern me and Applejack were in. We’re just talking, enjoying ourselves. Then A. J. got this crazy feeling in her all of a sudden that somepony was in danger. I don’t know where she got it from, but for some reason she was certain that this mare who had just left the tavern, I think her name was Berry Punch, was in danger, ‘cause there were two other ponies besides her and us that left almost as soon as she did.”

“Okay. So what did Applejack do?” inquired Twilight as Spike came over to listen beside her.

“Well, A. J. goes and gets the tavern owner to tell her where the mare lives, and me and A. J. ran over there to make sure she was alright. But she wasn’t, Twi! Berry Punch is being kidnapped!” Dash exclaimed.

“Kidnapped?! Oh Goddesses!” Twilight exclaimed in shock.

“Oh, no,” Spike breathed in fear.

“Yeah, me and A. J. got there just in time to see the creeps take her away,” Dash said, her eyes narrowing in anger. “We had to hide in a nearby alley so they wouldn’t see us.”

“How many of them were there?” asked Twilight, her eyes worried.

“Five of them, I think. Couldn’t see any of their faces, they were all wearing cloaks with their hoods up. Two of ‘em were carrying Berry Punch between them.” Dash answered.

“Do you think… do you think it might be the same group who have been kidnapping all the other missing ponies?” Twilight asked with a noticeable undertone of fear.

“Could be. Probably,” was all Dash could answer, shaking her head.

“Oh Goddesses, no! We have to do something!” Twilight exclaimed.

“That’s why I came to get you, Twilight. I need you to come with me and help me and A. J. in laying the smack down on those bas-err, bad ponies” she caught herself as she glanced over at Spike, “and rescue Berry Punch!”

To Twilight’s internal surprise, she found herself nodding without hesitation. “Right. I’m with you. Where are we headed?” she said, narrowing her eyes in determination. I guess two years spent fighting all manners of evil-doers in protection of Equestria has made me more accustomed to the idea of committing violence. I don’t know whether to be worried or impressed with myself for that… Eh, I’ll go with impressed, she thought to herself with a small mental smile.

Dash nodded, flashing Twilight a thankful smile before saying, “First, we gotta track down A. J. She headed off to follow the kidnappers while I went to come get you. She’s probably still hot on their trail right now.”

“How are we going to do that?” asked Twilight, raising an eyebrow.

“Well, she cut her leg with my hoofblade here,” Dash answered, holding up the forehoof with the gauntlet fitted over it. “She said the blood will act as a trail for us to follow.”

“What?! That’s not going to work!” shouted Twilight.

“It’s… not?” Dash asked in stupefaction.

“No! Not on a night like this! The rain will have washed away any blood as soon as it hit the ground!”

“Oh… oh no,” Dash breathed in horror as her hind end dropped from under her onto the floor. “No… oh, nononononono noooOOOO! Dammit, NO!” she cried out towards the ceiling in anguish, clutching both forehooves to her head.

“How could you possibly think that would’ve made a suitable trail to follow on a night like this?!” Twilight asked incredulously.

“Hey, it wasn’t my idea, okay, it was hers! And it’s not like we had a whole lot of options to choose from for leaving a trail, Twilight! I don’t keep a bag of beans or whatever on me at all times for the express purpose that I might need them to leave an effing trail for us to follow!” Dash angrily yelled, her eyes watering.

“Ohhhh, this is bad, this is really, really bad!” Twilight said in a panicked voice, turning around and walking a few steps away before beginning to pace back and forth across the floor of the atrium.

“You think I don’t know that?! One of my best friends is out there, Twilight! She’s out there alone, following those weirdos! She’s counting on me to come find her and help her! Now I can’t! I won’t be there to protect her! What if she gets captured now? Oh Goddesses, I can’t let that happen, Twilight, I just can’t!” Dash shouted over at the nervously pacing unicorn.

Think, think, think, Twilight! Twilight screamed mentally at herself as she paced. There’s got to be a solution to this, there just has to be! Come on, thiiink! You’re the princess’s protégé, dammit! You have to think of something that’ll work!

Standing in between the two ponies, Spike cast his gaze worriedly from one pony to the other. I’ve gotta do something. Rainbow Dash looks like she’s considering flying out and looking for A. J. even with no sense of direction to head on, and Twilight looks like she’s working herself up into a full-blown panic attack, he thought to himself. The baby dragon brought a claw up to his mouth in thought and scoured his brain trying to think of something to suggest. After a few moments, he came upon a possible suggestion. “Hey, Twi,” he called over to the pacing unicorn, drawing Dash’s attention to him, “aren’t there any tracking spells on the books that you can use?”

“There are individualized tracking spells, Spike, but they all need something of personal or biological import to the person you’re tracking. A cherished personal effect, a snippet of mane, blood…”

As she said that last word, however, Twilight stopped dead in her pacing, her eyes wide. “Blood…” she breathed quietly as realization dawned on her. She then snapped her head over towards Dash; more specifically, to the hoofblade gauntlet on her forehoof.

A wide grin split Twilight’s features as she exclaimed, “Blood! That’s it! Spike, you’re a genius!”

“I am?” Spike said, scratching his head in confusion.

“Dash, didn’t you say that Applejack cut herself on your hoofblade?” asked Twilight as she walked over towards Dash.

“Uh, yeah, why?”

“Applejack may have inadvertently given us another means of tracking her, an unorthodox method, for sure, but one that is just as viable,” explained Twilight as she stepped over to stand perpendicularly to Dash on her left side. Holding out her left hoof, she then asked, “Could you please give me your hoof, Dash?”

“Uh, okay,” Dash acquiesced, holding up her hoof with the hoofblade gauntlet on it and resting it on top of Twilight’s.

“Now, activate your hoofblade, please,” instructed Twilight.

Dash proceeded to do so, allowing the blade to slide out of its sheathe with a small, almost inaudible click as it snapped into position.

“Whoa,” breathed Spike in awe as he beheld the small, but nonetheless incredibly deadly-looking blade.

Immediately, Twilight brought her face close to the blade, her eyes scrutinizing the length of the blade. It wasn’t long before she found what she had been hoping to find. “Aha! Perfect! This is perfect!” she said excitedly.

“What is?” asked Dash curiously.

“Do you see that there, on the right edge of the blade there?” asked Twilight, gesturing with her horn to the area of the blade in question.

Dash brought her own head close to the blade. Almost immediately her eyes caught what Twilight’s had: along the edge of the blade’s right side, there was a distinctive coating of red, faintly dark against the steel of the blade.

“That’s… blood,” observed Dash in a low, stunned voice.

“Yep. And who’s blood exactly does that belong to?” asked a smirking Twilight.

“Applejack’s… It’s A. J.’s blood!” said Dash excitedly, her eyes shining with hope.

“Correct,” affirmed Twilight smugly with a nod of her head. “Spike, could you go get the…”

“Way ahead of you, Twi!” called Spike as he ran off into the library’s main area.

“So, we can use this blood to track A. J., Twi?” asked Dash.

“Yes, I’m almost a hundred percent certain we can,” Twilight said confidently as she returned her gaze to the bloodstain on Dash’s blade, closely inspecting and analyzing it. “It appears to still be fresh enough for use; it hasn’t dried or been degraded by water overmuch. Keeping it in its sheathe no doubt helped preserve the blood upon it, and there is just enough of it on there for the spell to be effective.”

“Awesome. So how does this tracking spell work, exactly?” queried Dash.

“Basically, its premise is similar to that of Rarity’s gem-finding spell, only its keyed to track ponies, not gemstones. The spell will lead me to Applejack, wherever she is. Doesn’t matter where she is in the world; even if she was in, say, Zebrica, the spell would lead me to her wherever she may be in that country.”

Dash whistled. “Wow, that is one nifty spell right there. You unicorns can do some pretty amazing things with those horns of yours.”

Blushing good-naturedly, Twilight gave a small chuckle and said, “Well, we are limited by how much magical ability we have individually. Not all of us can summon elementals or conjure fire or what have you. Some of us even struggle with basic levitation magic. It all depends on the unicorn and what magic comes naturally to them.”

Dash smiled and said, “Yeah, that may be the case for most other unicorns, maybe, but definitely not you, Twi. You can probably do all of that stuff you mentioned and more! There’s a reason why you’re the bearer of the Element of Magic, after all!”

Blushing again at the praise coming from her friend, Twilight said fondly, “Yes, well, it helps that I had the most terrific teacher in the world to learn magic from. I probably would’ve never became the bearer of Magic if I hadn’t had Princess Celestia there to instruct me in the use of it.”

At that point, Spike came rushing back into the atrium, a rather sizable tome being carried under one arm. “Found it, Twi!” he puffed as he came to a halt in front of the two ponies, panting slightly, but with a pleased grin upon his features as he held the cover of the book up for Twilight’s inspection.

“A Primer on the History, Workings, and Applications of Tracking and Locator Spells,” read Twilight. “Good work, Spike, this is just the book we need,” she said to Spike, making the baby dragon smile smugly and swell with pride at the praise. “Now, would you be so kind as to hold it up against you while I look through it for the spell I need?” asked Twilight.

“Sure thing, Twi. No problem,” said Spike, propping the book up on the floor and tilting it back slightly to better assist with Twilight’s angle of view while reading, holding the book firmly in place with both claws on the back cover.

Using her magic to flip open the front cover, Twilight skipped through the first couple pages reiterating the book’s title and listing the author’s acknowledgements, bringing herself to the book’s table of contents.

“Okay, where do we want to look here… hmm, not there… no, not there either… no, no, no, aha! There! Page two hundred and eight!”

Twilight then proceeded to flip through the pages at a rapid rate as she made her way towards the page number she had indicated. Dash almost thought the pages looked like small waves as they went from one side of the book to the other, undulating and folding in mesmerizing increments.

Finally, Twilight reached the page she wanted. “Okay, ‘how to perform a tracking spell’. Now just give me a minute here while I work in out.”

“Well, make it snappy, Twi! I don’t want to keep A. J. waiting out there alone much longer with those creeps!” said Dash irritably.

“Patience, Dash. I can’t very well perform the spell if I don’t understand the basic fundamentals of how to form it in my head,” chided Twilight.

Dash bit her lip and replied, “Well… then, just… read it as fast as you can while also being able to understand it!” She then paused for a moment before hanging her head and added in a quiet voice, “Please.”

Frowning in concern and sympathy, Twilight leaned over and gave her friend a brief comforting and reassuring nuzzle before turning her gaze back to the book and beginning to read.

A minute passed by in tense silence as Twilight continued to wordlessly read, her eyes scanning back and forth at a very fast pace. Indeed, the only sound that filled the wordless silence was the dry rasp of the book as Twilight turned to the next page, and the occasional muffled boom of thunder from the storm outside. Another minute passed by. Another. Dash began to get antsy again as the fourth minute passed by. Finally, just a little over the fifth minute mark, Twilight finally broke the silence as she said, “Okay. I believe I’ve got it.”

Dash sighed in relief. “Finally.”

“The basic formation of the spell seems simple enough. I just hope I get it right; this is my first time casting a tracking spell, after all.”

“Well, no time like now to wish for a little beginner’s luck, huh?” Dash said with a slightly uneasy chuckle. She then proceeded to beat herself up mentally; how could she be doubting Twilight Sparkle, of all unicorns? Hadn't she just told Twilight a couple minutes ago how confident she was that Twilight could perform any kind of magic she wanted to? If Twilight said she got the concept of how the spell worked, then she knew how the spell worked. She wouldn’t have said it otherwise. “Oh, Tartarus, what am I saying? Beginner’s luck? You don’t need no stinking beginner’s luck, Twilight. Not you, the smartest and most magical unicorn in all of Equestria! No, I know you got this, Twi; don’t you have any doubt about it, girl!” she said encouragingly.

Twilight smiled, touched by her pegasus friend’s confidence in her. “Thanks, Dash,” she said in sincere appreciation.

Smiling back, Dash then turned to gesture towards the bloodstained hoofblade. “Now come on, cast the spell already!”

“Just one more thing first,” said Twilight before she turned towards Spike. “Spike?”

“Yeah, Twi?” the baby dragon asked from over the book.

“Run upstairs and get my cloak out of the trunk in the bedroom. I’m going to need it.”

“Gotcha,” said Spike with a nod. He then closed the book and set it down on a nearby table before proceeding to rush upstairs.

“Okay, here we go,” said Twilight as she focused on the blade. She then closed her eyes and took a deep breath before delving mentally into her store of magical energy, or mana, as Princess Celestia had told her. The princess had taught her that when each unicorn prepared to cast a spell, they had to first call upon their innate stores of mana to fuel the spell itself. Each spell differed in the amount of mana it would take in order to cast it. Some spells would require little to almost no amount of mana to perform, while other, more complex spells would require a greater amount of mana. The spell that she was about to perform thankfully did not require too much; Twilight didn’t want to exhaust herself, especially given how eventful the coming events of the evening were sure to be.

One of the big cautionary rules in spell-casting, as told to Twilight by Celestia, was to always keep a mental account of your mana reserves. As spells are cast and a unicorn’s mana is depleted, physical and mental exhaustion will begin to set in, in a condition known as ‘mage’s fatigue’. If a unicorn continues to push their limits to the point that their mana reserves are exhausted, the resulting horn burnout will not only leave the unicorn feeling completely spent, but also unable to cast magic for up to a week or even longer. Thus, it was always an advisable rule of thumb for mage unicorns to conserve mana as much as possible for when it is needed the most.

Each unicorn’s mana stores differed from individual to individual, depending on the individual’s raw magical potential. Twilight, for her part, had an immense amount of mana to call upon. Frankly, the only individuals Twilight could think of that exceeded her in magical potential were the princesses themselves. She supposed that sounded a bit boastful, but then again, she was the bearer of the Element of Magic.

As Twilight gathered the required amount of mana needed, she then began to form the spell in her mind. It was a fairly simple affair to craft the tracking spell; the fundamentals to crafting it had been very thoroughly laid out in the book, to Twilight’s relief. As she finished crafting the spell in her mind, she then focused it into her horn, channeling it towards the very tip. She then opened her eyes and brought her glowing horn down onto the surface of the blade, the tip of her horn resting on the coating of blood along the blade’s edge, before releasing the spell.

As she brought her head back up, Twilight knew immediately that the spell had worked. In her mind she could feel a sort of invisible light tugging sensation, like a strand of string wrapped around her brain that was leading her to the pony tugging it at the other end.

“So, did it work?” asked Rainbow Dash curiously.

Giving Dash a wide smile, Twilight replied, “Oh yeah. It worked. I know right where to head to find her now.”

Giving an exuberant hoof pump, Dash whooped, “Yes! Awesome! I knew you could do it, Twi!”

“You managed to do it, Twi?” came the voice of Spike. Twilight turned around to see the baby dragon coming back down the stairs, holding a folded light blue bundle of fabric in between his claws.

“Yep,” replied Twilight simply, nodding as Spike came over to her.

“That’s good. Here’s your cloak,” Spike said, proffering the folded bundle up to her.

“Thanks, Spike,” said Twilight, taking the cloak in her levitation magic (this didn’t cancel the tracking spell, by no means. Sustained spells, like the tracking spell, once cast, can be sustained indefinitely (or at least, until the caster’s mana runs out. Twilight didn’t have to worry about that with the tracking spell, however; it only cost an inconsequential amount of mana to maintain; she could keep the spell going for weeks if she wanted) until the caster voluntarily dissipates the spell; any subsequent spells cast would have no negative impact on its stability) and unfolding it, before proceeding to place the cloak upon her figure.

“Hey, Twi?” asked Spike as he nervously wrung his tail.

“Yes, Spike?” replied Twilight as she set about adjusting the cloak’s position on her back with her magic. Behind Twilight, Dash returned the hoofblade to its sheathe.

“Erm, what should I do while you guys are out there?”

“Write a letter to Princess Celestia. Tell her the situation and what’s going on. Other than that, just stay here, keep the door locked, and don’t answer for anyone but myself, Dash, or Applejack,” instructed Twilight.

Spike bit his lip as he continued to wring his tail. Noticing her charge’s uncomfortable silence, Twilight asked gently, “Spike? What’s wrong?”

Closing his eyes, Spike then said in a quiet, strained voice, “Please take me with you.”

“What?” asked Twilight in confusion.

“P-please take me with you!” cried Spike, opening his eyes.

“Spike…” whispered Twilight in a stunned voice.

“I-I know I’m little, but I can help too, I just know it! I’ll roast those bad guys with my fire, I’ll bite their ears off, I’ll… I’ll slash their throats out with my own claws!” he yelled fervently, his slitted eyes narrowed, his small but still incredibly sharp-looking teeth bared, and his claws flexing agitatedly down at his sides.

Dash’s eyes widened considerably at Spike’s words. Whoa, where did that come from? Spike’s never said anything like that before! Goddesses, he threatened to kill those guys! I… oh Luna screw me sideways, is that smoke coming out of his nostrils?!

Indeed there was smoke curling out of Spike’s nostrils, which combined with his slitted narrowed eyes, bared teeth, and flexing claws made the baby dragon a fairly intimidating sight to behold.

For her part, though, Twilight didn’t seem scared by Spike’s behavior. Instead, she began walking towards him.

“Spike,” she said gently.

“I know I can help you guys! Please take me with you! I can help you rescue Berry Punch and help protect you!”

“Spike…”

“I can fight, I can hold myself, and I can prove it to you! Just let me go with you guys, please!” Spike yelled, clenching his eyes shut.

At that point, Twilight was standing right in front of Spike. Raising a hoof, Twilight brought it under Spike’s chin and gently raised it up to look at her, although Spike kept his eyes closed shut.

“Spike…”

At this, Spike opened his eyes, only now, there were tears forming in them. “Please… don’t leave me,” he whispered as they began rolling down his cheeks.

Twilight’s response was to gently pull Spike into a comforting hug, holding him against her chest.

“Don’t leave me…” Spike repeated as he sobbed into Twilight’s fur.

“I have to, Spike. Rainbow Dash and Applejack need my help. I’m sorry, but I have to go,” Twilight said softly, her eyes watering.

“Then why can’t you take me with you?” asked Spike plaintively.

“Because I don’t want to risk you getting hurt, Spike. I couldn’t bear to see you get hurt. I love you too much to allow that to happen,” answered Twilight, giving Spike an affectionate nuzzle.

“And because I’m too young, right?” sniffled Spike.

“Yes, that too. You’re too young to be getting into those kinds of battles, Spike.”

There was silence from Spike for a moment, then he said, “Promise you’ll come back.”

Pulling Spike away to look him in the eye, Twilight wiped a tear away from Spike’s cheek before saying, “I promise I’ll come back, Spike.”

“Pinkie Promise?”

Smiling, Twilight went through the appropriate motions: “Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.”

Spike smiled and said, “Good, ‘cause if you don’t come back, I’m gonna come after you myself, Sparkle, no matter how long it takes to find you, or how many bad guys I have to go through on the way. They’ll go to their graves wishing they hadn’t ticked me off. And if they kill you, then I won’t stop until they’re all dead at my feet, or they kill me.”

Bringing Spike in for another hug, Twilight said simply, “I know you will, Spike. I know you will.”

Author's Note:

The events of this chapter began at the same time the events of the previous chapter began, thus the reason for the same chapter headings. Sorry if there was any confusion there.

No, I do not think the Fallout: Equestria series is only read by depressed Goths. I love the original story and its four main spin-offs, Project Horizons, Heroes, Pink Eyes, and Murky Number Seven. So don't think I was seriously knocking on the series or anything like that back there. :)

And yeah, yeah, I know, another talking chapter?! Get to the action already, dammit! Well, don't worry, that's all coming up next chapter. ;)

So stay tuned! Next chapter, the faceoff between Twilight, Dash, and Applejack vs. Winter Star and his Evil Cult of Evilness! :P