Swords and Magic

by Shadow Watcher

Chapter 14

She stumbled back from the door, blinking her eyes. Why were her arms heavy?

She held the boy closer to her, as she heard voices approaching her. Her friends gathered around her, several of them seemingly talking. She saw their lips move, she heard the echoes of their voices, but she just couldn’t understand them through the fog that clouded her mind.

Fluttershy stepped into her vision. She made no attempt to speak, but rather she mimed our actions. Breathing. In. Out. In. And out. Slow. Measured.

Her pulse returning to normal, she kept up the breathing. The others had all gone quiet, content with letting Fluttershy take control.

“Better?” Rainbow could only nod, holding onto the boy in her arms. “Now, can you tell me what happened? We’ve been very worried.”

“I...I’m not...I don’t know. But it...I just knew he was here.” Rainbow finally managed, gesturing to Spike, still asleep. “It was like...a call. Something...someone...called me here. And suddenly, I knew how to get here. To get him.” She turned back to the door. “This...it’s like...it was...some sort of portal. To...this other place. But...it’s so strange. I...It was all so familiar.” She shook her head. “I think...I can get us to the surface now.” A quick glance at her hand revealed her rune to have faded away once more.

”Do not linger, Rainbow. Go. Now.”

She shuddered, then gently handed Spike off into Fluttershy’s arms, where he snuggled back down. Rainbow gently pulled her along, falling over her shoulder. “Come on! We need to get out of here! I’ll try to explain as we go.”

“Doesn’t sound like you’ve got much more to say, though.” Applejack muttered, climbing into the gunner’s seat, while Rarity took the seat next to the driver. “Why exactly are we still in such a hurry? You’re not still possessed, are you?”

“I wasn’t possessed, AJ. I just...knew I had to retrieve him. He was in danger. He’s still in danger.” Rainbow replied, turning the Howzer back down the path they came before shooting off into one of the other tunnels.

“You also mentioned his name was Spike. Was there someone else....over there?” Rarity asked, examining him as he nestled in Fluttershy’s arms. A pair of green eyes blinked at her.

“No. Just...a voice. I think it was a message. Left by his mother. Though why he was left there...I’d really like to know the answer to that.” Rainbow replied as she drove on. “All questions and no answers.”

**********

Robes softly dragged across the floor as the group stopped before the door. Their leader partially raised a hand before letting it fall back to his side.

“It is as we feared. The Abomination got here before we could.”

One of the woman scoffed. “Impossible. Even with its companions, there is no way it could have done this alone. Check the door again.”

“No need. I too can feel that it has closed.” Another spoke up. “But I can just barely feel the echoes. It was closed only recently.”

“Still,” another spoke, “it’s traveling in that contraption. And if it has received outside help...we must alert the High Priestess. If the Abomination is beginning to reawaken, she must be alerted. At once.”

“Agreed.” Their leader spoke again. He pulled a gem out of his robes, and a ring from his finger, handing them both to a subordinate. “You know what needs be said. The rest of us will withdraw. We have no reason to tarry here.”

The first woman shook her head, her lips in a firm line. “Such misfortune. The High Priestess will not be pleased.”

“No, but she will be understanding. It was not in the predictions that the Abomination would become unshackled so early.” Their leader paused in thought. “This does not bode well. We need to reconfigure our predictions and reassess. If we were wrong about this, who knows what else could be off. We retreat to the Temple, warn the other groups.”

The group turned and slipped back into the darkness, unaware of the carved dragon’s glowing eyes watching them.

************

Rainbow stretched as she breathed in the cool night air.

Applejack and Twilight were studying the stars some distance away, trying to verify just where they were.

Spike had not left Fluttershy’s lap, choosing to sit and stare at Rarity as he sucked on his fingers.

Rarity took it all in stride, pausing to coo over him every now and then, causing the little one to grin and gurgle.

Pinkie sat on the ground just outside the Howzer, stifling a series of yawns.

“Hmm, I think you’re right, Twi. Which makes us still about a day and half from the Confederacy border.” She shook her head, looking over a rough map they had. “I don’t like it any better, though. For all we know, we could be in the middle of hostile territory.”

“It’s not like we have much choice, AJ.” Twilight responded softly. She next turned to Rainbow. “Can we stop here for the night, or do we need to press further on?”

Rainbow frowned for a moment before shaking her head. “Nah, we can rest. I’m not feeling that sense of urgency right now. I mean, sure there’s still this vague feeling of...something, but it’s nothin like the urgency I felt at the door.”

“Excellent.” Twilight said, rolling up the map. “I will take first watch.” She pointedly looked at Rainbow. “You get on to bed. You could really use some rest after everything that’s happened.”

Applejack gave out a loud yawn. “Wake me in a few hours and I’ll take over. Till then, night ya’ll.” Pinkie let out a loud snore in response.

Rainbow slowly sank down next to Pinkie. Everything just felt heavy all of a sudden. Even as she settled into a somewhat comfortable position, her eyelids began to fall. Releasing a small yawn, she relinquished consciousness for the bliss of sleep.