Child Of Misery

by Nebula Star

Chapter 4: The Search

Child of Misery
By Nebula Star

Chapter 4: The Search
***

“It's not fair; why do we have to stay in the library?” Scootaloo grumbled shortly after their older siblings and friends left.

It hadn't taken Rarity and Applejack long to test the amplifiers. Upon returning, they had seemed to be almost in a state of shock and said simply that the amps would suffice to let them split up safely while searching the forest.

“They could at least let us go out crusading...”

“Well with the eclipse an' all, ah reckon they just thought it would be too dangerous for us to go crusadin'. We do tend to get ourselves hurt even when it ain't dark out,” Apple Bloom pointed out.

“I know, but why the library!?” Scootaloo complained throwing her hooves up dramatically and falling onto her back. “It's sooooo boring!”

“We were already here?” Apple Bloom provided though she didn't sound completely sure.

Sweetie Belle hardly paid attention to her friends' conversation. She was sitting at the library's front window looking out across the town to the line of trees that marked the edge of the Everfree forest. She'd watched her sister and all her friends as they'd left, heading into those shadowy trees, and the dangers that awaited them there. She use to think of such acts as a sign of bravery; but now she wasn't so sure. She knew she wasn't brave; and yet, she wanted to be there too, she wanted to help. She wanted to make sure that Achlys didn't get away with what she'd done. She wasn't brave. No, she was hurt, she was angry, and she wanted that alicorn to pay. But she also wasn't a fool.

She knew she couldn't help when it came to fighting the alicorn, and she knew it would come to a fight. So the best she could do was make sure and help those that could fight. Like Princess Celestia. That was what she wanted; she wanted to help.

“I can't stand it! I'm going to go crazy if we stay here!” Scootaloo groaned.

“We're not staying here,” Sweetie Belle said firmly, turning away from the window.

“But sis and the others told us we had to!” Apple Bloom objected seeming surprised that Sweetie Belle would suggest disobeying.

“I don't care. That evil alicorn killed Twilight! I want to make sure she pays!” Sweetie Belle declared, her voice cold despite its high pitch.

“Are you crazy!” Apple Bloom exclaimed. “We can't go after that alicorn! She captured Princess Celestia! What could we possibly do!?”

Scootaloo nodded in agreement. “Besides, we're not even sure Twilight is really dead.”

Sweetie Belle glared at her. “I know what I saw!” she growled, then turned her glare to Apple Bloom. “And I'm not stupid, Apple Bloom! I know we can't fight her, but we can still help! We can help find Princess Celestia!”

“But then we'd have to go into the Everfree Forest! That's almost as bad as fightin' the alicorn!” Apple bloom exclaimed.

“It's not that dangerous!” Sweetie Belle objected. “You go in the forest all the time!”

Apple Bloom shook her head. “That ain't the same! I only go on the path to Zecora's, and she uses magic and potions and stuff to keep the monsters away.”

“Rarity and the others are going out there by themselves.”

“But they're adults,” Scootaloo chimed in. “And they have those amp-lee-fire things.”

Apple Bloom nodded. “We're just three little fillies.”

Sweetie Belle gave them a smug grin as she walked over to the table where the jeweled box sat and jumping up on the table, then she levitated out the sixth amplifier necklace. “We're three little fillies with an amplifier!” She said triumphantly.

“We're still just fillies though,” Apple Bloom told her.

With a sudden flash of anger, Sweetie Belle slammed the lid of the box shut. “Well I'm going to help whether you're coming or not!” She almost shouted then resolutely put the necklace on. Immediately she felt a wave of strength run through her body as the necklace surged to life.

“Did you feel that?” Rarity's voice came from the necklace a moment later.

“Feel What?” Rainbow Dash's voice asked though she sounded distant.

“I don't know, it was like another surge of energy from the amplifiers.”

“I didn't feel anything; why do you have yours broadcasting anyway? We're all right here and it sounds kind of funny hearing your voice coming from all our necklaces.”

“Well I didn't even know it was broadcasting, darling, it's not like it's easy to tell. How do I turn it off again, Pinkie?”

“You just double-tap the diamond.” Pinkie's voice answered cheerfully.

“And Twice more to turn it back on, correct?”

“Yessirooni!”

After that the necklace fell silent. Curious, Sweetie Belle reached up and tapped the gem in the necklace twice. The glow brightened slightly as she did, then she tapped it twice more and the glow dimmed once more. She nodded satisfied that she understood how it worked, then turned and started for the door. “I'm going,” she said with finality and used her magic to open the door. She underestimated her amplified magic however and the door slammed into the wall. She just glanced at it though and continued outside.

Scootaloo and Apple Bloom looked at each other as Sweetie Belle stepped out of the library. They could tell how important this was to her. “Sweetie, wait!” Apple Bloom called galloping after her.

Scootaloo followed right on her tail. “We're coming!”

“We're not going to make ya go into that forest alone!” Apple Bloom told her with a nod.

“Yeah, even if you have that amp!” Scootaloo added.

“Amplifier,” Sweetie Belle corrected automatically.

“Amp is easier, dictionary,” Scootaloo said with a grin.

Slowly Sweetie Belle smiled. “Thanks girls.”

“Well it's obviously important to ya, and heck, we want that alicorn to pay for what she did to Twilight too,” Apple bloom said putting a hoof around her and giving her a squeeze.

“What else are friends for?” Scootaloo agreed. “Besides, we can cover more ground if I'm driving!” With that she grabbed her scooter and attached wagon from where they'd left it by the door. “So how bout it! Cutie mark crusader princess seekers!”

“Yay!” Apple Bloom and Scootaloo cheered together, though Sweetie Belle just smiled. “Let's go save Princess Celestia,” she said resolutely then climbed into the wagon with Apple Bloom, all three of them donning their helmets.

~~~

“So what are we looking for anyway?”

Rarity blinked at Rainbow's question. “You know, I'm not entirely certain. Sweetie said she called it a prison chamber. I imagine it must be underground, perhaps a cave of some sort, but it could just as easily be in some ruins lost somewhere in the forest.”

“Well if it's ruins, they'd have to be really old and completely overgrown,” Rainbow told her. “I've flown over most of the forest by now, and the only ruin I remember seeing is the old castle.”

“In that case, it's probably a cave, either natural or pony-made. But since it was used as a prison, even a natural cave would probably have something pony-made about it.”

“That's pretty vague,” Rainbow pointed out. “There's probably a lot of caves out here and some of them are home to some pretty nasty stuff.”

“I know, darling, but it's all we have to go on. So, Rainbow, you and Fluttershy fly a search pattern, you'll be able to cover the most ground that way. I'll take the path towards the castle through the center of the forest. Applejack you search north from there, and Pinkie, you head south. Now I should be able to detect Celestia's magic if I get close enough; she is an alicorn after all. So rather than going in and exploring any caves you find, tell me and I'll come to see if I can detect Celestia nearby.”

“How are ya'll going to find us when we find something, sugarcube?” Applejack asked.

“My gem finding spell, of course. I've often used it to find specific gems, and the diamonds in these necklaces will do nicely in that regard,” Rarity explained.

“Works for me,” Rainbow said with a shrug, then jumped up hovering in front of them. Or she tried to hover, her enhanced wings instead sent her upwards a ways before she was able to adjust for the greater strength. “Woah, he he, bit more than I'm use to; this is so awesome! Come on Fluttershy, let's get searching!”

“Um, okay...” Fluttershy responded and opened her wings.

“EEEP!” She cried out as the first flap of her wings sent her rocketing skyward. Everypony stared, their jaws agape as Fluttershy then zipped past at speeds usually attributed to Rainbow Dash. “Ohmygoodnessohmygoodnessohmygoodness!”

Rainbow was the first to recover. “What the hay! Flying's not Fluttershy's talent! Why is the amplifier boosting it!?”

“The AA amps enhance your natural abilities, silly. Not just your talent,” Pinkie answered.

“HEADS UP!”

“EEEP!”

“Fluttershy still has the ability to fly even if it isn't her talent.” Pinkie went on as if Fluttershy hadn't just about crashed into all of them.

“But... I feel stronger, but not that much! Why is fluttershy's flying so much more enhanced than mine?”

“That's because it's exponential! You're already so good, it takes a lot more to improve just a little, but since Fluttershy is usually not that strong of a flier, it only takes a little to improve a lot!” Pinkie told her then looked up to where Fluttershy was speeding back and forth overhead, looking barely in control. “It will probably take her a bit to get use to it,” she said tapping her chin.

Rainbow looked up as well realizing pinkie was right. “Hey, Fluttershy, just try to tone it down, flap your wings really really softly!” She called out.

“I-I-I ca-a-an't!” She cried speeding past the once more.

“Alright, hang on, Flutters!” Rainbow leaped into action, quickly setting a parallel course to Fluttershy's and carefully maneuvered in closer until she was able to wrap her fore-hooves around her. “Whoa! Calm those wings down there Flutters!” Rainbow said as she used her own wings to drag them to a stop. Finally Fluttershy stopped her wings, letting Rainbow hold her. It was then that Rainbow realized she was trembling.

“Hey now, it's alright Fluttershy, you're okay,” Rainbow said gently as she slowly lower them to the ground. As soon as they touched down Fluttershy spun around the threw her hooves around Rainbow.

“I was so scared!” She whimpered crying into Rainbow's shoulder.

Rainbow held Fluttershy a moment more then looked over at the others. “Go ahead and get started, I'm going to help Fluttershy get use to her stronger flying.”

“Okie dokie lokie!” Pinkie cheered the bounced off toward the forest.

“Take your time, darling.” Rarity told Fluttershy gently then started down the path to the castle ruins herself.

“If ya'll need anything, just holler over the necklaces. Speakin' of which, I guess we should turn them things on now.” Applejack reached up and tapped her necklace twice. “Funny thing talkin' when there ain't nopony there,” she said as she started off into the forest as well.

Rainbow then turned back to Fluttershy. “Don't worry, Flutters, I'm sure we can get you up and flying safely in no time.”

~~~

Rarity was not enjoying herself. With the half light of the eclipse, the forest was dark as night. What was worse, was that it seemed to have rained the night before and much of the trail was muddy. Try as she might, she just couldn't keep it all off her hooves. But she wasn't going to complain. No, she knew that all of Equestria depended on them finding the princess. Still if she had to walk through one more mud puddle...

“Rares, I found a cave, looks like a big one. You wanna come scan for the princess?” Applejack's voice came over the necklaces.

Rarity lit her horn activating her modified gem finder spell. She'd 'tagged' the diamonds in each of their necklaces so it was an easy matter to locate Applejack's.

“Alright, darling, I'm on my way, you're a couple miles from me so it may take some time.”

“Why don't you just teleport?” Pinkie suggested. “Then you would be there in a jiffy!”

“I'm afraid that won't work,” Rarity told her starting off in Applejack's direction. Much to her dismay there weren't any clear trails so she'd have to forge her own.

“Why not? Didn't Twilight teach you how?”

“She did, darling, but I don't have Twilight's ability; I've never been able to teleport more than two feet.”

“But, well, I mean, shouldn't you be able to teleport much better now with the amplifiers?” Fluttershy asked. She and Rainbow were still working on getting her use to her enhanced flying abilities but had joined the search flying together until Fluttershy was more comfortable on her own.

“Yeah! Like Fluttershy's flying!” Pinkie agreed.

Rarity blinked, she hadn't really thought of that. “Well I suppose I could give it a try,” she said and picked a spot near where she could sense Applejack's diamond.

To overcome the dangers of blind teleportation, the most commonly used spell had certain safety measures built in, one of which made sure the caster would reappear in an open space. This meant that even if she picked a target location that happened to be inside a tree, she would instead appear next to the tree. The spell's range was also limited by the amount of magic the pony could safely channel and would not allow them to overextend themselves. It did not, however, keep them from using too much energy which would usually end up singeing the teleporter or anypony they were teleporting with them.

Charging up her horn, Rarity cast the spell using the spot near Applejack as her target. She disappeared with a flash feeling the strange sensation of momentarily being without a body, then with another flash she reappeared.

Directly above a small pond.

“Whaaaah!” Was all she managed before she splashed down in the cutie-mark-deep, murky water.

“Bwa-hahahahaha!” Rainbow Dash's laughter erupted from the necklaces as Rarity, grumbling, started toward the water's edge where she spotted Applejack.

“You okay, sugarcube?” Applejack asked, offering a hoof to help her out of the water.

“Oh, I'm just fine, darling,” Rarity grumbled. “But next time I'm going to ask about a good landing spot before I jump blindly.” She tossed her head flinging water out of her mane, but knew it wasn't much use trying to fix it out here. “So where's this cave you found.”

“Right over here.” Applejack led the way to a small cliff with a dark opening not far from the pond where Rarity had arrived. “There ain't nothin' unnatural about it, but it's a big one and I figure we'd better check everywhere.”

“Yes, and it will only take me a moment to check the area,” Rarity agreed and lit her horn again with a magic detection spell, looking for any strong sources of magic. There was plenty of magic around in the Everfree forest of course, but even here an alicorn's magic would be easily detected. After a few moments Rarity shook her head. “Unless this cave extends more than half a mile from here, I'm afraid she's not here.”

“Well then we keep lookin',” Applejack said optimistically.

Rarity nodded. “At least I have a way to quickly check anything the rest of you find now.”

“Good cause Fluttershy is feeling up to going solo now, so we're going to split up and cover more ground.” Rainbow told them.

“Good ta hear!”

“So Pinkie, what kind of range do you think we'll get from these things?”

“Well... Twilight's equation was based on how strong the bond between friends is. And since we're all super duper friends, I bet we'll get at least thirty miles out of these babies, even in the Everfree!” Pinkie answered.

“Why would being in the Everfree matter?” Rainbow asked sounding confused.

“Because of all the magic in the forest, of course. Ever since Celestia and Nightmare Moon fought, the forest's ley lines are all tangled and put off a lot of energy. This ambient magic causes interference that disrupts the flow of all other magic in the area and makes any long range magic harder. All unicorns knows that.”

There was a pause then Rainbow spoke again. “Uh, Pinkie, you're an earth pony, not a unicorn.”

“Oh yeah.”

~~~

Rarity reappeared back on the trail to the ancient castle after checking a third cave, this one found by Pinkie Pie. Still no sign of the princess. She sighed realizing they may have underestimated just how large the Everfree was, that the task may be more than they could handle on their own.

Suddenly five consecutive explosions shook the entire forest causing her to stumble and almost fall. She looked up wondering what it was, just in time to see the multi-hued shockwaves of several sonic rainbooms sweep across the sky.

“YEAH!” Rainbow's voice yelled from her necklace even as Rarity registered what she was seeing.

“Rainbow! We're suppose to be searchin' for the princess!” Applejack scolded before Rarity could say anything.

“Calm down, AJ, I always see everything when I fly, no matter how fast I'm going.”

“And just how are you gunna spot any caves if they're beneath the forest canopy?” Applejack countered.

There was a pause that suggested Rainbow hadn't considered that. “Hey, you're right! I guess it's time for some agility training!”

Rarity rolled her eyes though nopony was around to see.

“Umm, I don't think I can fly beneath the trees just yet... Sorry,” Fluttershy said apologetically.

“That's okay, Fluttershy, you've got me on the ground! I'll find those sneaky caves hiding under the trees!” Pinkie Pie chimed in.

“Yes, you just keep flying your search pattern Fluttershy, we know you're still getting use to flying fast and wouldn't want you to hurt yourself,” Rarity agreed. “Celestia knows, Rainbow does it often enough.”

“I heard that!”

“Good for you, darling.”

“AAAAHHH!” The scream echoed through the forest from somewhere nearby startling Rarity and freezing her blood. She knew that voice. Suddenly a new voice came through the necklaces.

“Rarity! Help!” Sweetie Belle's cry was frantic and was followed by heavy breathing and the sound of two others crying out in fright.

Rarity didn't hesitate. With her gem finding spell she located the only diamond nearby that she hadn't already tagged with her magic and charged through the trees. She heard more screams as she drew closer, both from the necklace and from somewhere not far ahead. She was dimly aware of Applejack and Rainbow Dash shouting in concern for the other crusaders, but She was too focused on reaching the fillies before it was too late.

She burst into a clearing, and there they were, all wearing their helmets, thought their usual mode of transportation was nowhere to be seen, and surrounded by a pack of timber wolves. Her horn lighting with power, Rarity cast several bolts of a spell she'd learned years ago for self-defense. It didn't burn, shock, or explode. It was simply a blast of kinetic energy. She knew at her normal magic strength, the bolts would hit with the impact strength of a hard buck. With the amplifiers however, the impact strength was increased considerably.

The first wolf the bolts hit was thrown across the clearing to slam into a large tree and was soon followed by two others. With one direction cleared of timber wolves. Rarity leaped past the crusaders to face the rest.

“Don't you touch them you ruffians!” She shouted her horn glowing brightly.

They didn't seem afraid.

Two leaped at her with hardly a pause and Rarity was forced to fire two more bolts to keep them off of her, then leap back as a third tried to take advantage of her distraction. It's thorn claws barely scraped her coat, but her heart was racing all the same. Before she could counter attack though, two more wolves leaped in, going for the kill. In desperation Rarity cast another spell she'd learned from the same self-defense course: a simple repulsion wave.

The wave erupted outwards in an arc, catching all three wolves with the blast. Normally it would have only been strong enough to stop them, maybe push them back a little. Instead they were thrown away from her with nearly as much force as the bolts from the first spell.

Several more timber wolves closed in, but she didn't wait for them to attack. Several more bolts flew from Rarity's horn. Some finding their mark while others blasted trenches in the forest floor or blew apart small bushes along the edges of the clearing.

The wolves she missed continued to close in, still not afraid despite the fate of their kin.

“LOOK OUT!” Sweetie Belle screamed behind her and Rarity risked turning, afraid that she'd find one of the fillies being mauled by a wolf that had attacked from behind. Instead she found three confused looking timber wolves floating in the emerald magic of a simple levitation spell. But to not only levitate, but also restrain three timber wolves at once, each larger than a full grown pony, would take a tremendous amount of energy. Then she saw Sweetie Belle, her horn lit like a beacon, her eyes glowing pure white as she channeled more magic than any filly her age could possibly manage on their own, and the amplifier necklace around her neck aglow with magic as well.

“Aaahh!” She yelled out as she threw the three wolves off into the forest, far enough that Rarity didn't even see where they landed.

She'd let herself be distracted for too long however and one of the remaining wolves pounced, knocking her to the ground, it's claws digging into her side as its jaws snapped at her throat.

“ENOUGH!” Rarity cried casting another repulsion wave with so much magic that for a moment her eyes glowed just as Sweetie Belle's had. The resulting wave filled the clearing, blasting away all the remaining timber wolves and throwing the wolf that had pinned her down up into the sky, well above the forest canopy.

Finally though they were safe. The last of the timber wolves were gone.

“Rarity!” Sweetie Belle cried, running over to her side in worry.

“I'm okay, Sweetie. Just a few scratches.” Rarity told her trying to hide a wince as the pain hit her. Pushherself herself up onto her hooves, she took a deep breath trying to calm her racing heart. “Are all of you okay?” She asked looking them over. They seemed a little ragged and dirty, but otherwise uninjured.

They all nodded.

“Is everypony okay!?” Applejack demanded through the necklaces. “Apple Bloom?”

“Yeah, Scoot's too!? Is she alright!?” Rainbow demanded as well.

“Yes, they're all just fine,” Rarity told them.

“Yeah, we're all okay,” Sweetie Belle assured them as well.

“Sweetie Belle!? Are you wearin' the last amp!?” Applejack asked sounding surprised.

“Yes, she is,” Rarity answered for her. “Now, you three,” She said looking down at the three crusaders. “What in Celestia's name are you doing out here!?”

“Uh...”

“Well, you see...” Apple Bloom and Scootaloo both started to answer but then Sweetie Belle cut in.

“It was my idea.”

Rarity looked down at her little sister in surprise. “Sweetie, why on Equis would you put yourself and your friends in danger like that!?”

“She didn't drag us into it,” Apple Bloom defended stepping in front of Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo nodded in agreement.

Rarity looked past them to her sister. “Sweetie?”

Sweetie Belle lowered her eyes. “I... I just didn't want to stay behind. I just stood by and watched... Princess Celestia, Twilight, I just watched.” She shook her head and looked up at Rarity, her eyes determined. “I can't just watch from the sidelines anymore! I want to help!”

Slowly Rarity nodded. “Okay, well, since you're already out here, I guess we might as well let you help. But you stay with me, no running off on your own, and you follow my orders, understand?”

Looking excited all three of them nodded.

“Alright, Apple Bloom, if you can hear me, you listen to Rarity, ya hear?” Applejack's voice came through the necklaces.

“You too, Scoots. Your mom would kill me if anything happened to you!” Rainbow added.

“We will!” both fillies yelled together making Rarity wince at the volume.

~~~

“Everypony, I think we may have to call it a night,” Applejack said a few hours later as the dim half-light of the eclipse was fading toward sunset. It was still more than an hour away from the horizon, but even in normal daylight it was never very bright in the depths of the forest. Now it might as well have been the dead of night. Honestly she was beginning to feel the whole endeavor was foolhardy. In the hours they'd been searching, Applejack figured they'd covered only a small sliver of the entire forest. She shook her head. She'd have to mention it to the others when they got back.

“I'm afraid I have to agree. It is already dreadfully dark in here,” Rarity agreed. “Why if I didn't have my magic, the crusaders and I wouldn't be able to see a thing.”

“But what about the princess!?” Rainbow objected. “We can't just give up!”

“We're not giving up, darling. But we can't continue searching in this darkness. Who knows how many possible caves we may have missed already. We'll just have to continue searching tomorrow when we have at least some light, minimal as it may be.”

“I can keep searching!” Rainbow insisted.

“Rainbow, you can't see no better in the dark than I can,” Applejack told her.

“Yeah, you're not a nocturne, silly.” Pinkie added.

“But... fine.” Rainbow finally conceded, realizing they were right.

“Alright then, everypony let's meet up back at the edge of the forest. I think we may need a new plan anyway. This doesn't seem terribly efficient.”

“I was thinking the same thing,” Applejack put in as she started back in the direction of Ponyville, or at least where she believed Ponyville to be. “We've only really searched a tiny sliver of the forest so far. At this rate it may take weeks for us to find the cave the princess is trapped in and by then it may be too late.”

“Um... if you'd like, I could ask my animal friends to help us search tomorrow. If that's okay...” Fluttershy suggested meekly.

“Fluttershy! Why didn't you suggest that earlier!?” Rainbow exclaimed.

“Oh, well, it's just... you all seemed so excited to search for the princess on our own, I didn't think you'd want me to...”

There was the sound of somepony's hoof impacting against their forehead clearly audible over the necklaces.

“I'm sorry...”

“It's quite alright, darling. We can have your friends help us tomorrow. In fact, why don't you ask some of your nocturnal friends to search during the night and tell us in the morning if they find something,” Rarity suggested.

“I can do that,” Fluttershy agreed eagerly. “I'm sure Mister Fangs and his friends would be glad to help!”

“Mister Fangs?” Applejack asked, not sure if she really wanted an answer.

“Yes, Mister Fangs the fruit bat!”

Applejack shook her head. She still didn't understand how Fluttershy could stand the creatures.

“I'm sure you're friends will be a great help,” Rarity told her. “For now though, the rest of us should head back. If anypony gets lost, don't hesitate to speak up and I should be able to point you in the right direction.”

“Yeah, like that will happen,” Rainbow said with her typical cocky confidence.

It ended up taking Applejack and Pinkie Pie the longest to make it back out of the forest, but even so, the eclipsed sun still hadn't set by the time they reached the rest of the group.

Applejack immediately went to Apple Bloom and gave her a hug. “Ah'm not angry, Bloom, but don't ya ever scare me like that again, ya hear?”

“I'm sorry, sis. We just wanted to help,” Apple Bloom told her returning the hug.

“I know, an' we should have realized that. But coming into the forest on yer own wasn't the best choice.”

“Especially since you didn't tell anyone where you were.” Rainbow added. “Scoots, you're mom's got to be worried sick about you!”

“Nah, I told her I would be with the crusaders all day,” Scootaloo said dismissively.

“But don't ya think think she would have come looking for ya when this unnatural eclipse started to make sure you were alright?” Applejack asked her and Scootaloo's eyes went wide. She hadn't thought of that.

Applejack sighed seeing she was right. “Come on, let's go find 'er and we'll tell her you've been with Apple Bloom, it's the truth after all.” She said gesturing for Scootaloo to go with them.

“Applejack, we'll meet here by eight o-clock tomorrow morning, alright?” Rarity called after her. “Use the necklace if you need to contact us for anything.”

“Will do, Rares. Right convenient, that.”

“Quite.” Rarity agreed then turned back to the others. “Well, Fluttershy, if you're going to talk to your animal friends about helping us search, I suppose now is the time.”

“Oh, I already have talked to a few of them. I think I'll talk to a few more on my way home though.”

“Sounds good, darling.” Rarity said with a smile. “In that case I shall bid you all goodnight as well. Come, Sweetie Belle, you can stay at my boutique tonight,” she said then with a wave to Rainbow, Fluttershy, and Pinkie, the two sisters headed back into town.

~~~

“I suppose you two still want to help us search tomorrow?” Applejack asked the two fillies walking alongside her.

Apple Bloom looked up seeming surprised and hopeful as she nodded. Applejack sighed. “Well I suppose ya'll will be safe enough so long as you're with one of us. If ya really want, and if yer mom is alright with ya spending the day with us, Scoots, ya'll can come with tomorrow. Since I know you'll just follow again if we try to make ya stay behind.

Apple Bloom and Scootaloo looked at each other excitedly, then Apple Bloom jumped up, throwing her hooves around Applejack's neck. “Thanks, sis!”

~~~

“Sweetie, I'm a little disappointed in you. Not only did you disobey me, but you also dragged your friends into a situation that you knew would be dangerous.”

Sweetie Belle looked down at the floor as she entered the boutique. They'd already stopped by their parent's house to make sure they knew where Sweetie Belle was. “I'm sorry, sis...” She said softly, tears coming to her eyes. “I just wanted to help. I... I watched that alicorn do horrible things. I just stood there, I just stood there and watched. I watched her send Celestia away! I... I watched her kill Twilight. I just... I can't just stand by and watch anymore. I just can't.”

Suddenly she felt herself pulled into her elder sister's hooves as Rarity hugged her gently. Sweetie Belle didn't hesitate to bury her face against Rarity's shoulder as she began to cry once more.

“I know Sweetie, I know.” Rarity assured her as she sobbed, soaking her fur with her tears. “I just wish you'd said something, rather than sneaking out on your own,” she said as she gently rubbed Sweetie Belle's back. “I am glad though, that you at least thought to wear the amplifier. You made quite impressive use of its power. Twilight would have been proud.”

Sweetie Belle sniffed once more then looked up at Rarity. “You... you think so?”

Rarity smiled proudly. “The way you picked up those timber wolves and tossed them halfway across the forest! I'm certain of it!”

Sweetie Belle smiled sadly and hugged her sister tightly once more. Rarity returned the gesture then pat her back then got up and started toward the bedroom Sweetie Belle usually stayed in. “Now come along, we have some time before we need to get to bed and if you're going to come along with us tomorrow, I suppose I should teach you the magic detection spell so you can really help out.”

Sweetie Belle's eyes widened with surprise. “Really! You'll still let me come with you tomorrow?”

Rarity smiled back at her. “Of course. Because I know you'll just follow anyway if I left you behind. At least this way I'll know that you're safe and you can really help us search, just like you want.”

Excited, Sweetie Belle ran over and hugged her again. “Thanks, sis.”

“Well, let's see if I can teach you this spell. I'm afraid I'm not as good of a teacher as Twilight, but I think we can still manage.”

Sweetie Belle smiled up at her and nodded. Then hugged her briefly, once more. “You're the best, Rarity!”

Comments

[Voidedstory]

"good ta here!"

"Good ta hear!"

Sweetie got a magic boost!

[Nectarina]

If you don't bring Twilight back I will magically transform into a giant with a giant modified plasma rifle that can destroy planets and put it up to your head and FORCE you to make a chapter and bring Twilight back.

[krazykidfannumber2]

Well... Things aren't getting worse right now...