Ch. 44 That Which Binds Us
Sunset was not a morning person. She could get herself up early when she needed to, but if given the choice she would sleep until noon without a second thought. That went double when one considers what she had to put up with that week. Every ten seconds, students came to her practically begging her for forgiveness. A minor inconvenience at first, but it quickly became a problem as the week progressed. If it wasn't for Lightning and Vinyl, she probably would've called upon her dragon fire to scare them off. An extreme reaction, sure, but one that seemed especially attractive when a small mob of students cornered her in a bathroom. As such, all she wanted to do was relax in her bed for a few hours and snuggle into her girlfriend's side.
Imagine her frustration when her phone refused to stop vibrating on her bedside table. By the tenth buzz, she let out a very unladylike snarl and grabbed the device. Without even looking at the caller ID, she unlocked her phone and brought it to her ear.
"This had better be good," she growled.
She quickly pulled her phone away from her head as Rarity's panicked voice ripped out of it.
"SWEETIE'S MISSING!!!"
All grogginess was effectively kicked out of Sunset's head as she set the phone to loud speaker mode.
"What? What do you mean?" she asked, setting the phone down on the nightstand.
"Just that!" she exclaimed, tears audible in her tone. "I-I went to get her for breakfast and she was gone!"
"Are you sure she's missing?" Sunset asked. "Maybe she's with her friends."
"That's what I thought at first," she sniffled. "So I called Applejack to see if she was with Applebloom, but she's gone too!"
Sunset's heart sank at that, but she refused to think that something like this was actually happening.
"What about Scootaloo? Is she okay?"
As if on cue, another call came in from Rainbow Dash. Sunset audibly gulped as she added the call to the one currently running.
"SCOOTS IS GONE!" Rainbow cried, solid fear occupying every fiber of her voice.
Sunset's blood turned into ice.
At that moment, Derpy took a seat at Sunset's side, eyes narrowed as she stared at the phone.
"What happened?" she asked, tone serious. "Tell me everything that you know."
"Derpy?" Rainbow asked. "Is that-"
"No time to explain," she said, a commanding edge in her tone as she glared at the phone. "The more you tell me, the better chances I have of helping you. Tell me everything that's going on. Every little detail, no matter how pointless it may seem."
Sunset stared wide-eyed at the commanding presence her girlfriend presented, then smiled as she watched her work her magic. The same magic that saved her life and made her love her all at the same time.
***
It wasn't uncommon for Derpy's house to get a little crowded on Sundays, what with her groups weekly game nights being hosted there. What was unusual was for the house to be packed so fully at ten in the morning with not a single game in sight. The atmosphere was also a lot less merry as every girl present held a heavy sense of dread in their features. As it stood, none of them had any good news to share. A quick trip to Equestria revealed to Sunset that Discord was unavailable at the moment and there was no telling when that would change. Attempting to track the missing girls through their phones GPS was rendered useless by the fact that they left their phones behind when they disappeared. A city wide alert was spread to every phone to send any relevant information to Canterlot PD, but with so little evidence to go off of it was treated like a runaway case with only the possibility of being a kidnapping.
As such, the living room was a scene of misery as eleven girls sat scattered across the room. Nerves, fear, and panic ran through their heads like frantic hamsters on wheels as they silently sat, not sure what else they could do. This went double for Rarity, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash as they paced nervously around the room. Sunset could see the stress in the girl's faces every time they passed her and she did not blame them. If something like this happened to Dinky, she would've burned the whole city to the ground if it meant bringing her back home. It was for that reason that each of them gave Derpy passing glances from where she sat at the kitchen table, her hands moving frantically across the keyboard of her laptop as she worked.
"Do you think she can find them?" Rainbow asked, staring at the gray girl.
"Given time, definitely," Lightning nodded. "Trust me. When Derpy wants to find something, she finds it."
"How can you be so sure?" Rarity asked, a slight edge coming into her tone as she glared at Lightning.
"Because love," Octavia frowned. "She was the one that found all of the evidence needed to get Vinyl out of her vampire of a mother's clutches."
"And saved Sweet Apple Acres from the Flim Flam Brothers," Bonbon added.
"And saved my life," Sunset added, a faint smile gracing her lips as she watched her girlfriend work.
All three siblings, both honorary and biological, gawked at that and gave the computer girl another look.
"She's Meme Queen?" Applejack asked, pointing at Derpy.
Everyone in the know nodded, Lightning and Vinyl showing a hint of pride as they did so.
"Well Ah'll be," the farm girl breathed, a newfound sense of respect filling her chest as she looked at the girl. "Remind me ta' thank her when this is all over."
"Will do," Lyra chuckled, happy to finally see a break in the uncomfortable silence.
A cold chill shot down everyone's back as a soft growl crept past Fluttershy's lips. That doubled when they looked at the girl. The shadow of her bangs hid her face from where she sat, her fingers digging aggressively into the soft leather of her seat as she stared at the floor.
"Uh, F-F-Fluttershy? You okay?" Rainbow asked, slowly backing away from her friend's chair.
"If someone hurts so much as a hair on their heads..."
A feral growl came out of her as she ponied-up, her red eyes burning with rage as her long hair shifted into a warrior's braid. Sunset's older friends jumped back with a yelp while her newer ones just nodded in agreement, each of them more familiar with the girl's more primal pony form then the others. A flash of mountains came to Lyra for a moment, an image that brought a smile to her face as she approached the hybrid.
"I think we should add some red to your deck when this is all over," she whispered. "Just a hunch."
***
A soft smile graced Lily's face as she sat on her throne, all three of her children sleeping peacefully on her lap. Gently, she stroked their heads and brushed stray hairs out of their faces. They looked so beautiful to her, the gray of their skin a perfect complement to the black summer dresses they wore. Her heart filled with warmth when one of them, Sweetie Belle, snuggled deeper into her with a small smile. A common belief among those that hunted them was that Wraiths were incapable of love, that they felt nothing and were ruled by cruelty. While that may have been true, for the most part, it did not extend to how Wraiths treated their children. To them, love was meant to be given to their young or each other. Everything else was just food to them, just simple cattle or fruit waiting to be harvested.
For that reason, a rare sense of tenderness filled the Archwraith as she held her children close, her love for them so strong that it almost hurt.
"My sweet little flowers," she cooed, gently kissing each of them on the foreheads. "Oh how I missed you three. You have no idea how painful it was for me to see you go. If only you saw me that whole week you three were gone. How I raged, promising your handlers that should you come back harmed, no pit in the fires of hell could hide them from me."
She nuzzled the top of their heads, black tears starting to form at the corners of her eyes.
"I wonder if this is what The Queen feels every time she has a child."
A sleepy yawn caught her attention as Sweetie started to stir, her black and gold eyes fluttering open as she awakened.
"Good morning my dear," Lily sweetly whispered. "Did you sleep well?"
She nodded, a small smile gracing her lips as she gave her mother a hug.
"Good," Lily chuckled, careful to not disturb Sweetie's sisters. "Are you ready for breakfast?"
Again she nodded, her smile now eager as she looked up at Lily with pleading eyes. The Archwraith giggled at that as she summoned a small black apple into her hand from the void. Sweetie watched in fascination as her mother worked and handed her the apple. Sweetie examined it for a few seconds before she took a small cautious nibble. Her eyes widened as an unbelievably sweet taste flooded her mouth. Eager for more, she savagely sank her teeth into the small fruit for another bite. Lily watched with mild amusement as the small Wraith tore into her prize. While not the greatest meal, fear and disappointment were the best kind of starter meals for any young Wraith. It was a lot easier to harvest and held a lot of nutrients needed to help them grow strong quickly.
Soon, Sweetie finished off her meal and let out a satisfied sigh as she leaned into her mother's side.
"I like this place," Sweetie sighed.
"And why is that?" Lily asked, a playful smile spreading across her face.
"You're here, my sisters are here, and I don't have to hide anymore," Sweetie frowned. "Way better than the other place beyond the portal."
"Portal?" Lily asked, then nodded in realization as she said, "The statue. Of course. I have seen humans moving through it a lot recently. Tell me dear, what is on the other side of this 'portal'."
Sweetie nodded and told her everything she knew.
What she heard certainly sounded rather hard to accept at first. A world ruled by talking horses full of magic? Preposterous, but she felt no lies in her daughter's words as she talked. As intriguing as this other world sounded, she knew that she would not want to go there if she could avoid it. According to Sweetie, there was very little food that she or her daughters would be able find, the only alternative being what they could drag out of ponies through forceful hunting. While she was proud of her daughters for finding a way to survive in such a harsh environment, it only solidified her resolve to not let them return.
"Listen well my dear," Lily cooed, gently holding Sweetie close her chest. "I will not let them take you or your sisters back to that place. No matter what."
"Thank you momma," Sweetie smiled, nuzzling affectionately into the Archwraith as she hugged her back. "I love you."
A warm smile graced Lily's lips as she kissed the top of Sweetie's head.
"I love you too."
***
Swirling colors of endless spectrums moved and bent in random patterns in an endless dance as it has sense time forgotten and always will long past the end of time. At the heart of all of this chaos stood eleven glowing figures, each bearing the colors and shapes of the teens they were bonded to, but lacked any details beyond that.
"This is very concerning," Acceptance mused, hand pressed to her chin in thought.
"Understatement of the decade," a teal and gold figure, Loyalty, said, her arms crossed as she glared into the void. "How did the dark one capture them?"
"How indeed," a blue and pink figure, Honesty, intoned, nonexistent eyes locked onto her three younger siblings.
"There was nothing we could do," Sacrifice said, her white and purple form drooping in shame.
"She's right," Responsibility sighed. "The dark one came for them with love. We can't reject that."
"It's part of our nature," Conviction spat, her cerulean form tense as a prismatic aura surrounded her. "You all know that."
"They're right," Forgiveness sighed, her pink and yellow form tense with frustration as she stared down into the chaotic void. "Had she come to them the same way she always did, they could've protected them."
"Exactly," Magic sighed, her mint and gray form pacing back and forth as she thought. "This was something we didn't know she was capable of. It isn't fair to be harsh on our younger siblings for something we couldn't prevent."
"Agreed," Acceptance nodded. "Though it doesn't make our current situation any less dire."
"What can be done to fix it?" Kindness asked, her gray and yellow form nervously shimmering. "My host is doing everything she can, but I don't know if it will be enough!"
"It may not be," sighed the gray and black form of Generosity. "This enemy is cold and calculating. I doubt she will do anything that will make her easy to spot."
"We can hope, right?" Laughter asked, her white and dual-blue form shrugging in the face of her sister's tension. "I mean, we all make mistakes every now and then. Maybe she'll get lucky."
"Maybe," Acceptance mused. "Though I doubt enough time will pass for such an opportunity to present itself to us."
"What do you mean?" Sacrifice asked.
A tense silence filled the atmosphere as all of the present elements waited for Acceptance to elaborate. When she did, her words held a weight to them that none of them were ready to hold.
"I fear that a great battle may be upon us soon. A battle far more difficult than any we have faced in this world."
"Well, that's not foreboding at all," Laughter snorted. "Any idea when this great battle is gonna take place?"
Acceptance shook her head and said, "Not specifically, no. I just know that it will be soon."
The elements traded looks, some showing concern while others showed a hint of excitement at the news.
"Do you think Freedom will make it?" Forgiveness asked nervously.
"Perhaps," Acceptance nodded. "She's just as reckless as her host, so I doubt she'll let anything stop her from coming to us."
"We can only hope," Generosity sighed. "If what you are saying is true, then we will need all of the help we can get."
All of the elements nodded at that, the gravity of the situation settling onto them like a press. There were so many things they didn't know about their enemy, far too many possible precautions to make that could be reliable given everything they knew. As it stood, they all came to the same conclusion; their was only so much they could do themselves.
"I think it is time we helped our hosts in a more direct sense," Acceptance said.
"How so?" Kindness asked.
"Aside from my host, none of our humans are familiar with their magic," Acceptance explained, placing a hand on her chest. "I think it would be a good idea if we found a way to change that."
"Sounds good to me," Responsibility shrugged. "Any ideas of how we go about doing that?"
"Yes, actually," Acceptance said, a smile audible in her tone as she stared at Loyalty. "When the dark one was trying to overwhelm us, Loyalty tried to make direct contact with her host in her dreams. The results were a bit... unsatisfactory, but it did show that such interactions were possible."
"I suppose that makes sense," Magic mused. "Dreams are linked to the subconscious and the Dream Realm, so it should be possible for us to communicate with them."
"Do you think our links are strong enough?" Conviction asked, a hint of nervousness coloring her tone. "I was only just born recently and I don't want to risk hurting my host. I can tell she's been through enough already."
Many of them nodded in agreement, turning to look at Acceptance for her response.
"There should be no threat to our hosts," she said. "In fact, I cannot see anything , but benefits for them."
As she said that, she walked confidently into the center of the group and continued.
"We all know that when our power comes together, no force of darkness can stand against us. Till know, the passive magic we shared with our hosts has been enough to deal with their enemies, but clearly that will not work against all threats. In doing this, we will make it so that our hosts will be better prepared for any and all threats that come their way. We will have a more direct means of assisting our hosts when the need arises, to be a guide should they seek us out. It is for that reason that I make a simple proposal."
She slowly looked at her fellow elements one by one before she continued.
"It is time that we move out of the shadows and teach our hosts how to wield the powers that reside in them. Let us show them the magic that they don't even know they hold."
Silence settled among them yet again as they mulled over what their sister said. To their surprise, A gray hand was the first to be raised, followed shortly by a yellow one.
"I agree!" Kindness cried.
"Me too!" Forgiveness said with a nod.
"Guess I'm in too," Laughter chuckled, raising a hand. "Can't wait to see Vinyl's face when I tell her what she can do."
"Quite," Generosity sighed raising her hand. "I just hope Octavia can keep the two of you under control when you do."
Sacrifice, Conviction, and Responsibility traded looks before nodding and raising their hands as one.
"Count me in too," Honesty chuckled, raising a hand.
"Do you even have to ask?" Loyalty scoffed, raising a hand.
Everyone paused then turned to face the last element present who hadn't voted. For a long moment, no one said anything as they waited for her to state her thoughts on the matter. Slowly, Magic shifted her gaze around to each of her sisters before settling on Acceptance. The two stared at each other for what felt like an eternity, before the indecisive element let out a defeated sigh.
"This is probably the craziest thing you have ever suggested."
With that, she raised her hand and said, "Let's bring that bitch down."
Three in a row! Good god am I on a roll! Don't get too used to it though. given my work schedule, I might end up going back to my usual one chapter a week arrangement soon. all the same, hope you're enjoying the story so far and are looking forward to all that I have in store for you all out there. 
Ciou!
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It has been quite the delicious chapter feast, to borrow from a theme of the last couple chapters.
Things are definitely picking up now. Looking forward to the next.
Lily is toast now.
Period.
No. Doubt.
And I can't wait to see it.
10188457
Toast implies she'll be recognizable after, I'm hoping for her to be turned into background radiation myself, cosmic background radiation even, the type we recognize as snow/static on a TV/radio.
10188546 Well, the same for me.
It just means she's done for by the time this is all over.
Whatever works for you is fine with us, hun.
"rabid fangirl drooling"
Don't mind the slobber, I do it with all my good reads
There's a part of me that feels a touch sorry upon seeing that Lily genuinely loves her 'kids'. The problem is, though, that these three have been through hell already and they're being dragged into a very dark future that they likely don't want underneath the brainwashing....or IS IT brainwashing? Are these the CMC or the three seeds from before, now hatched into their own entities? If that's the case, then the CMC are but hosts to three new Wraiths....
Blugh, this is gonna get complicated.....but I want to read it. I want to read it AAAAALLLLLLLLLLL
It was quite interesting to see the harmonies have a full-blown conversation like that.
Great job on this chapter, but I better not see another chapter tomorrow. I don't want the binge-read like hell just to catch up.
Wait, how would you know? Aren't they supposed to be in Equestria?
That, right there? That's going to cause problems.
10189183
The last chapter happened on a Saturday.
10189397
I, didn't get that at all. Apologies.
10190354
I can see Sacrifice and Responsibility being who you guessed... But I'm not sure I personally think Conviction and Freedom should be swapped.
Great theirs an even more powerful wraith. Probably an immortal one that started the whole species
wield
Meaning Wraiths are sociopaths. They care about those who matter to them, but only them.
Reminds me of a fanfic quote:
"For a Student of the Sun, you don't get up very early." "If I was meant to be a morning pony, I would have been named Sunrise Shimmer."