• Published 19th Feb 2018
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The Ties that Bind - the7Saviors



This is the story of a bond forged between three fillies and the many trials and tribulations that strengthen that bond as they grow older. Friendship, secrets, and a dark journey awaits.

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A Practical Application

Afternoon eventually gave way to late evening as the three fillies continued their studies.

It had been somewhat cold that night, so the fireplace was lit and a softly glowing blaze illuminated the main room.Trixie had managed to catch up to the other two fillies in her studies and despite not having taken Ancient Scroll's exam yet, all three of them had decided to move on from their beginner textbooks and into more advanced lessons.

Whenever she thought she could get away with it, Twilight had excused herself to do a bit of extra reading. It was during these times that she was especially thankful she was a speed reader, as she had not only managed to read through the various spells she had been interested in, but a bit more as well.

As it turned out, she found Blood Magic just as interesting as Shadow Magic if not more so.

Trixie meanwhile, had a harder time getting any extra reading done and had just opted to wait until the others were asleep. Sunset had ended up finding some other new materials to read and had taken a renewed interest in Earth Magic.

She had found some books on two variations of Earth Magic which included Crystal and Metal Magic. In her search for more information she had also found out about an entire empire made of crystal that existed over a thousand years ago to the far north.

She shared the knowledge with the other two fillies, but as interesting as it was -- and as curious as they were about what had happened to the empire and its ponies -- it ultimately wasn't as important as their studies.

Since Trixie wasn't allowed to remove any books from the study, all three of them had decided to work there instead of at the table were they usually sat. They were all getting ready to finish for the night when Trixie suddenly spoke up.

"Trixie didn't say anything earlier because she thought it might've been her imagination, but..." she looked about the study nervously, "does anypony else... feel like they're being watched?"

Twilight and Sunset looked at each with matching frowns and turned back to Trixie.

"You know what?" Sunset replied, "I kinda do now that you mention it."

"Yeah," Twilight agreed sweeping her own gaze around the room, "in fact, I think I've been feeling that way for awhile now. I couldn't place the feeling earlier, but that might've been it."

"Well, if we're all feeling it," Sunset deduced as she stood up, "then it can't be a coincidence."

"Should... should we investigate?" Twilight suggested hesitantly, "I mean, if there really is somepony watching us from somewhere, they might try to break in."

"Trixie suggests we stay in the study instead," the azure filly responded.

"Somehow I don't think that'll help, Trixie," Sunset replied with a single shake of her head, "we can all feel the sensation of being watched even in here."

"Okay fine," Trixie snapped, "then what do you suggest we do, Sunset Shimmer? Trixie's already almost died once and she'd rather not repeat the experience!"

"Trixie, calm down," Twilight said as she trotted over and put a reassuring hoof on the azure filly's shoulder, "freaking out won't get us anywhere."

Trixie was about to argue, but stopped as Twilight's hoof made contact.

She was shaking like a leaf.

It was only then that Trixie remembered that she wasn't the only one who had a brush with death. Granted she wasn't severely wounded like Trixie was and her attackers wanted her alive, the experience was still a nightmarish one.

Trixie looked into Twilight's eyes and under her forced calm, the fear was clear as day. The azure filly sighed and looked away.

"You're right, Twilight Sparkle," Trixie conceded quietly, "so what do we do then?"

The three of them were silent as they contemplated the situation -- that ever-present sensation of being watched looming over them and making them shiver.

"Well," Sunset finally said, "I don't think we should just waltz out into the main room if there is somepony out there."

"R-Right," Twilight agreed with a nod, "should... one of us take a peek outside?"

They all looked at each other, silently begging one another to volunteer. After a moment, Sunset groaned and trotted to the door. She took one more look back to the others who had unconsciously huddled next to each other. Twilight and Trixie stared back at Sunset nervously and the orange filly turned back to the door with a quiet sigh.

As her red aura enveloped the door handle, Twilight suddenly called out in an urgent whisper.

"Sunset, wait a minute, I think I might be able to help."

Sunset turned to Twilight just in time to see her grit her teeth, clench her eyes shut, and light up her horn. Her eyes widened in surprise when the aura around Twilight's horn changed from a softly glowing magenta to a bubbling dark violet to an inky black froth.

Trixie backed away nervously and Sunset eyed the lavender filly warily. She wanted to say something, but decided to trust that Twilight knew what she was doing instead.

For a few heartbeats, nothing happened.

Then Trixie cried out in surprise as Sunset's body began to fade further and further out of existence until there was nothing left but a barely visible silhouette. Sunset looked down at herself at Trixie's outburst before looking back to Twilight.

"Don't say anything or use any magic," Twilight whisper quickly as the glow from her horn died down, "my Shadow Cloaking spell isn't that powerful yet, so speaking or using magic while cloaked will break it."

Twilight and Trixie couldn't see any of Sunset's features, but the orange filly nodded and turned back to the door. She quietly pulled the door open wih a hoof and stepped out of the room.

The first thing Sunset noticed was that the fire had gone out, leaving the main room all but shrouded in darkness.

This brought an odd mix of both fear and relief.

Twilight's spell had not only rendered her nearly invisible, but also had the added effect of masking her hoofsteps. The already dark room had made her more or less completely invisible.

A quick scan of the darkened living room revealed nothing out of the ordinary, and Sunset breathed a quiet sigh of relief. She went to check the bedroom and stopped. Her ear twitched and she turned back towards the fireplace.


Somepony was standing in the middle of the room.


Somehow, Sunset barely managed to stifle a scream as she took several panicked, but still silent, steps backwards. Her breathing picked up and she was sure her pounding heart would give her away, but the pony shaped shadow didn't seem to notice her -- or if it did, it didn't react.

She couldn't make out its exact features in the dark, but they seemed to be looking around, as if searching for something. Sunset stood frozen near the bedroom door -- her mind racing with questions.

Who was this pony?

How did they get in?

What did they want?

Both Sunset and the stranger suddenly stiffened as they heard two voices coming from behind the door to the study. The voices were quiet, but in the absolute silence, Twilight and Trixie may as well have been shouting.

"Do you think Sunset found anything?"

"I don't know, Trixie, but she has been out there for awhile..."

"...What if she does find something... or somepony?"

Sunset didn't hear a response, but she did see the intruder turn towards the door to the study.

The orange filly's mind went into overdrive as the intruder quietly made their way to the door. She didn't know what they wanted, but she was certain it couldn't be anything good.

She couldn't let them get a hold of Twilight or Trixie.

She had to do something.

She had to act now.

Her heart hammering loudly in her chest, Sunset quickly sorted through the list of spells she had learned trying to find one that would help her incapacitate the intruder. She'd be exposing herself to the stranger, but she felt she didn't have a choice and there was no way she was going to hide while the intruder attacked her friends.

Still hoping the darkness would hide her, Sunset lit up her horn and prayed.

The mysterious pony froze.

After a moment they looked about frantically -- their breathing becoming heavier and heavier. Eventually they fell to the floor as they desperately gasped for air. Unfortunately they found little to none, as a certain orange filly was rapidly thinning the air around them.

It wasn't Sunset's intent to kill the pony, but rather render them -- her if the sound of the breathing was anything to go by -- unconscious. As the intruder tried to rise to their hooves, the door to the study slammed open and smashed her in the face. The blow sent her stumbling backward and she fell to the floor once again.

"Sunset!" Twilight cried, "are you -- who is that?!"

Trixie yelped in surprise as the lavender filly backpedaled directly into her and they both fell in a heap.

"Trixie! Twilight!" Sunset yelled as she kept up her spell, "one of you get the lights!"

Twilight and Trixie just lay on the floor staring at the wheezing pony in stunned silence.

"GET THE LIGHTS!"

Twilight scrambled to her hooves and fumbled around in the dark until she found the light switch. She hit the switch and the main room was bathed in a soft amber light from the lamps.

They all stared at the unmoving pony on the floor. Sunset instantly cut off her magic and rushed over to the pony in a panic.

The mysterious pony turned out to be an earth pony mare.

"Nononono," she muttered as she looked the mare over, "please tell me I didn't--"

The pony twitched.

Sunset let out a sigh of relief and trotted over to the others. She sat next to the two and together they all stared at the mare in shocked silence. Each of their hearts trying to return to a normal pace.

"She's suffering from asphyxiation," Sunset observed, "she won't take long to recover, we need to do something before she wakes up."

Twilight nodded absently, but it was Trixie who stepped forward. The other two fillies watched in confusion as Trixie lit her horn and touched it the mare's forehead.

The azure filly's horn flashed and she stumbled back in surprise as the mare's eyes snapped open and she inhaled sharply. After a second the mare relaxed and her eyes slowly closed once more. From the steady rise and fall of her chest, they could tell she was breathing normally again.

"W-What did you do?" Twilight asked as Trixie trotted back over to the other two.

"Deep Sleep spell," Trixie muttered, "Trixie picked it up during her studies because she thought it would help with the nightmares."

"You can't cast that spell on yourself, Trixie," Sunset added, "it won't work."

"Trixie knows that now, Sunset Shimmer."

As they spoke, none of them took their eyes off the sleeping mare in front of them. They had all calmed down enough to take stock of their current situation. An earth pony mare had somehow gotten into the house unheard with the front door and all the windows locked.

As they all sat there trying to understand how this had all happened, Trixie suddenly spoke up.

"Hey," she said, as she frowned at the unconscious mare in bemusement, "is it just Trixie, or does this pony look familiar?"

"You know what?" Sunset replied furrowing her brow, "she kinda does now that you mention it."

"Yeah," Twilight said, her eyes widening in realization, "in fact, I do recognize this mare!"

Sunset and Trixie turned to Twilight with a questioning look before turning back to the lime green earth pony mare.

"Wait..." Sunset muttered, "isn't she--"

"It's the nag!" Trixie cried in both anger and confusion, "why is she here? Why -- how did she even break in?!"

"I don't know how she got in, Trixie," Sunset responded before turning a worried frown in Twilight's direction, "but I'm pretty sure I know what she was after."

Twilight stared at Flibberty Gibbets' sleeping form with wide eyes and slowly shook her head -- a chill running down her spine.

"She was after me."

Author's Note:

This was fun to write. :pinkiesmile:

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