Chaos Theory

by Rose Quill

Chapter Eleven - Futility

I landed on the roof to Crystal Prep Academy, closing my eyes and willing the Daydream form away. This was the closest thing to the center of town that I could land on that wouldn’t have security details coming up to check on me. What I was about to do required a lot of focus.

I sat down and crossed my legs so I was in the lotus position. Closing my eyes, I powered up my horn, pouring all of my mana into it. Then I released it slowly, inwardly, pouring it all into the bond I shared with Twilight. This tracking spell was something that I was creating on the fly, extrapolating from a spell used to find minor items.

You have no idea how many times it had helped me find my keys before I left Equestria.

I kept my breathing slow, magic seeking the other end of the mental link. I knew she had to be nearby because Acerak’s source of power was the portal, it was what filled him with all his massive power. Twilight couldn’t be far.

My mana slowly drained into the link, reaching out, grasping, finding…

Nothing. I stood, looking out over the city. From here I should be able to be sense Twilight at least dimly. That meant either he had found a way to block the link, had hidden her beyond my range, or…

No. I wouldn’t go down that route. She was ok, I was certain I would have felt it if something had happened to her.

I stared hard towards the slowly sinking moon, wishing that I would suddenly get a flash of insight as to where my love was hidden.

The moon vanished, seemingly mocking my desires.

I still couldn’t see. Despite the fact that my eyes had adjusted to the dim lighting of the building I was in, my astigmatism rendered me mostly helpless. I closed my eyes, listening. I could hear the hiss of tires on wet asphalt. The highway, I was near the highway.

I stood, squinting. I made my way over to a rectangular shaped spot of light, slowly. I stumbled over a few items that were too small for my handicapped sight to spot, but there were no major obstacles. I stepped through the door, finding myself standing in the field of tall grass, the highway in the distance. I started taking slow steps towards the highway, hoping that from there I would be to pinpoint my location.

“Twilight!” I heard someone cry. I turned, my heart leaping when I heard that alto voice.

“Sunny!” I cried, seeing the yellow streaked blur that topped my fiancé’s head. As she got closer, I could make out her features perfectly, her green eyes flashing as they passed under one of the highway lamps. The relief was evident on her face as she rushed up to me.

Wait…

I had astigmatism, but everything about Sunset was in sharp focus. I then realized none of the minor imperfections we all had were evident, the small scar on the base of her neck from a spell gone wrong as a filly, the slightly larger left earlobe. Not even the streak of blonde in her copper tresses held the right shade.

She moved to hug me, and I stepped back.

“Who are you?” I asked, holding a hand out to block her advance.

“Twilight, it’s me!” Sunset said, a confused look on her face.

“What is my nickname?” I said, matching each move she made with a mirrored step.

“Twilight, this is silly,” she said. “You know it’s me.”

“What,” I said, trying to inject some steel into my voice. “Did you call me when we were at your sisters’ for Christmas?”

The Sunset in front of me smiled but was not the sweet smile I knew. It was filled with malice and madness. The landscape around me snapped into focus as she started to laugh, the voice slowly morphing away from Sunset’s voice.

“Ah, I should have known you wouldn’t fall for that," she said as the area around her eyes lit up, Sunset’s image fading to reveal Midnight Sparkle. The landscape returned to the disaster-ridden planescape it had been when I last had seen my alter ego.

“You are more perceptive than he gives you credit for, I’ll admit,” she continued, strutting around me. “But then, no one knows you as I do.” She smiled at me again, and I shivered at the predatory look on the face that was identical to mine. “But he offered to let me rule your body, and that was tempting enough to accept.” She reached out and trailed a sharp nail down my cheek.

I shivered. “I won’t let you do that,” I said. “I beat you once, I’ll do it again.”

Her laugh only made the pit in my stomach colder. I forced what magic I had into the bond, sending out a single thought.

Sunset, hurry up already!.

I stopped on my way back to my apartment, a momentary glimmer stabbing into my mind.

Sunset…

I tried to focus on the source, but nothing more came and the flash was gone before I could determine a location.

I hovered in the air for a moment, then started back on my trek to my apartment. I landed and saw that AJ had started repairing the door.

“Did ya find her?” she asked as she fastened the door back to the hinges.

I shook my head, reaching up to remove my Element, the sudden rush of exhaustion hitting me. The ruby that had fused to the front of my pendant detached itself, falling to the ground. I picked it up and set it on the table.

Adagio came over and picked it up, turning it over in her hands.

“It’s so familiar,” she whispered. “It’s like staring at an image of a dimly remembered past, a power barely remembered.”

“Adagio?” Fluttershy whispered.

The Siren closed her eyes and set the gemstone down. “It’s ok,” she said, reaching up to touch her choker. “I don’t need anything like that anymore.”

Rarity set a cup of tea down in front of me, gentle steam wafting from it. I sipped it, still staring into space silently.

“Sunset, dear,” the fashionista said quietly. “Are you going to be ok?”

The room grew silent after the question.

“No, I’m not,” I said finally, dully. “I couldn’t find Twilight. As far as my magic can tell, she’s not anywhere in town.”

Fluttershy set a hand on my shoulder. “Maybe she’s being jammed,” she said.

I looked up at her. “What do you mean?”

“Well, that is,” she stuttered for a second. “Acerak has managed to infiltrate your dreams and your mind. What’s stopping him from blocking her magic from being detected?”

“Possibly,” I said. A buzzing and thumping from my cabinet drew my attention to the communication books. Specifically, the one that connected me with Twilight. I stood and pulled it out, setting it on the table to read the message.

It was a little fuzzy but understandable. Twilight wanted to know if there had been any breakthroughs. I closed my eyes and went to pick up a pen to reply.

But no words came to my mind. I couldn’t think of anything to say.

Applejack took the pen from my hand. “It’s ok, sugarcube,” she said. “We’ll fill the princess in. You go ’n get some rest.”

The walk to the bedroom was robotic, as though I wasn’t guiding myself. I didn’t even bother undressing, just laying on top of the blanket in the dark.

I don’t know when the tears started falling, but I do remember sobbing suddenly, my pillow already soaked.

Twilight…

“Enough!” I shouted, blasting another phantasm of one of my friends away with my magic. My clothes were ratty and torn from my captivity. I had become accustomed to the blurry world that had become my life, and the continued inundation that had been Midnight Sparkle’s attempts to lure me into a false sense of security had slowly gotten more and more subtle.

I spun around as the landscape returned. “Haven’t you had enough?” I screamed to the void. “How many more times are you going to fail until you realize you can’t win?”

A chuckle slowly filtered through the air, but it wasn’t Midnight’s. Acerak slowly formed, his mist-like form floating forward.

“You are a strong one,” he said. “However, even a brick will shatter if beaten enough.” He sighed. “But this pitiful display bores me.”

A sphere of yellow light formed in his hand. He gazed at it for a moment, then pressed it against my forehead, the light slowly sinking in.

I felt my magic return, not quite fully, but I recognized it’s warm glow.

Acerak smiled. “Next time,” he said. “Give it your all.” He started to fade back into a mist.

“If you don’t,” the voice said. “I’ll have no further use for you.”

I sank to the ground, sniffling as I fought off sleep. For a second, I thought I heard Sunset’s voice sob out my name, but after weeks of such tricks, I ignored it.

Sunset, where are you? I thought as I fell asleep.

I sat up suddenly as I heard Twilight’s voice, knowing it was her’s from the way it filtered through the bond.

“Twilight,” I breathed, leaping from the bed and rushing out the door.

The girls looked at me as I came out, not caring about the streaks of dried tears or puffy eyes.

“I think I know where she is, now,” I said. “We’re going to go get her.”

“We?” said Adagio.

“I’m not going alone,” I said. “And there are some preparations to make first.”

Comments

[Autumn Colors Fall]

I'm not sure how to feel about Acerak. He feels just a little bit... generic to me right now. He comes off as the type of villain who grandstands and puts on a show while also taking himself a bit too seriously. A part of me wants him to just get on with his plan and stop beating around the bush.

I know we don't have the fully story yet, but I don't understand why he is toying with them so much: why he keeps hurting the girls and then letting them heal. He's essentially egging them on when he might have broken free easier by staying under wraps, or by immediately eliminating them one by one when they weren't all together. I'm guessing that he needs them to help break the seal and is manipulating them, but I'm just not finding myself particularly enthralled by this villain at the moment. We'll see if that changes going forward.

[MySisterBroughtMeHere]

T R A P. Not that that would stop Sunset anyway.

[Rose Quill]

8016497

Was going to put this in a comment but I'll make it a blog instead. You're not the only person mentioning this.

[Charlemane]

image tag is broken on this chapter (11), it looks like first part of it is a little jumbled, it should read http or https, not httphttps

[ScisetShimmerEvan]

Feel bad for what Sci twi & Sunset are going through