Heir to a Silenced Blood

by Rock Slide

A mother's rage

Adagio blinked. Her ears had registered the words, but her brain had yet to make sense of them. Around her were a flurry of motion, two princesses and one prince getting up, either bolting from the room or sending quick fire scrolls.

Adagio registered that she was wobbling. Actually no, she was being wobbled. Sunset appeared before her face, her lips were moving, but she could hear no sound.

Her brain finally deciphered the words, and she screamed. Accidentally triggering her siren magic, her voice reached pitches beyond normal hearing and shattered every window in a hundred foot radius.

The sounds of the world came back to her, and she heard Sunset crying into her shoulder. This unnerved her as Sunset was usually the strong one. A glance around the room revealed that only Celestia was left, and she flicked her head in a ‘follow me’ motion, something Adagio was more than happy to oblige.

Hallways went by in a blur, and she pulled Sunset with her after Celestia, and they soon found themselves in the castle’s war-room. “Princess, what is going on?”

Celestia sighed. “From all accounts, a unicorn mare dressed as one of the castle maids was seen abducting both young Splendid and Sunny, and she vanished before the Guards could intervene.” There was a pregnant pause, and Sunny and Adagio hung onto each other, waiting for the rest of the bad news. “Furthermore, my son has since gone missing.”

With a renewed vigor, Sunset moved into her ex-mentors face. “Then why in Tartarus are we in here and not out there looking for them? Do you not care?”

Celestia sneered, and pushed her back with a hoof. “Do not even begin to question the love I have for my family, direct, expanded or otherwise.” She lowered her neck and nose to nose with Sunset. “I will turn this mountain upside down if I need to, but I'm not sure Canterlot‘s citizens would be too happy about me doing that. So as much as I would love to be out there myself, as Twilight is, I am here instead, coordinating the Royal Guard as we put the city on lockdown.”

Sunset backed down, her eyes splayed out sideways. “I'm sorry Princess, I just…”

Celestia silenced her by pulling her into a hug. “I know you're scared, I am too, but I have complete faith that we will find them.”

Adagio put a hoof on Celestia’s shoulder. “Is there anything we can do to help?”

“Neigh. Twilight is out over Canterlot, scanning with her magic, and Luna has gone to search the dream realm, should they be asleep. The Guard have shut the gates, and Prince Blueblood has gathered the Navy to watch the skies. I can’t think of anything else you could do, other than supporting each other, “Celestia sniffed a little, “and me.” She immediately found herself wrapped in two sets of hooves.

---

Well, Kept hefted the two fillies onto her back again. Each was bound and wearing a magic suppressor. She sneezed lightly as she made her way down the narrow passageway, and halted for a moment as she heard ponies go by on the other side of the wall.

The entrance was right where she had remembered it, but from the dust inside, she guessed that the passageway hadn’t seen use in years. Chances were, she had been the last soul to use them.

Even though she knew the way, it was slow going, she hadn’t actually considered the weight of two young foals. Taking another breather, she inspected what would to anyone else look like random marks, but to her was a map. Two lefts, a right, and three flights of stairs, and she would reach a room safe enough to hide her hostages. Taking a deep breath, she set out to finish the trip.

What felt like an hour later, she approached a heavy wooden door. It was locked, but she knew the magic to open it. She pushed it open, finding it in a similar condition to every other time she had been here; filthy, and filled with distasteful contraptions, but it would suit her purposes fine.

Brushing aside some of the items, she deposited the fillies in the corner and used her magic to light some of the torches. She regretted it immediately, the light too bright after spending so long in dark tunnels. Adjusting the brightness, she looked around the room. Every bench, table, Tartarus sent contraption brought back memories she thought long since forgotten - memories she would have preferred to stay forgotten.

Rather than burning everything like she wanted to, she used her magic to move everything not bolted down across the room and covered what she could with a tarp. Happy that the room was now usable, and as foal-friendly as one could make it, she reached for her saddlebags.

One to realise she hadn’t brought them. Groaning, she made her way out of the door, locked it, and headed back the way she had come.

In the corner of the room, the two fillies shifted, and a whisper was emitted; “Sunny… I think she’s gone.”