1001 (part iv, I guess)

Hey, Twilight, it's Sunset.

Knowing you, you're probably freaking out about your missing journal, asking how in Tartarus it could be missing when it's supposed to be in a pocket dimension. Or maybe you haven't checked yet and are just confused about the new entry you didn't write.

Well to answer your question either way I kind of... borrowed your pocket dimension for a bit. I can explain the 'how' once you get back to Canterlot from your big important mission—it's the 'why' that you need to hear right now.

I'll start off by saying I'm frankly hurt that you never mentioned anything about your little draconic friend (or would 'son' be a better fit?) and the special 'link' you two share. I'm only kidding of course (mostly) but I am serious when I say that this Spike is a little troublemaker. How do I know about all of this you ask? Well, I'm currently wandering an abandoned mine somewhere deep below the castle with the little guy in tow.

I don't mean to imply that I foalnapped him (drakenapped?), it's more like we found each other, and things just kind of worked out that way.

Okay so it's like this:

I was out on a bit of a... we'll call it a midnight stroll around the castle when I just so happened to spot who else but a little purple dragon with creepy glowing eyes skulking around the castle courtyard. Now I don't know too much about dragons, but I did know their eyes didn't glow in the dark like that. I also knew they weren't too commonly seen in Equestria to begin with.

My first thought, naturally, was what was this dragon doing here and how did it get past the night watch? Even if it was just a tiny drakeling, the Guard wouldn't have missed something like a dragon walking around the castle. I mean I like to sneak out every so often, but I know this place like the bottom of my hoof and how not to get caught, but a dragon? Even—no, especially a baby dragon?

Something just wasn't adding up, and I was beginning to suspect this little intrusion had 'agency business' written all over it. Wasn't sure which agency was involved, and I probably shouldn't have gotten myself involved, but you know me. I couldn't leave something so interesting alone so I decided to get involved anyway.

I cast a cloaking spell and watched him for a bit and from what I saw, it seemed like he was searching for something. He spent a good half hour looking in bushes and behind statues and would occasionally stop and cock his head like he was listening to something or somepony I couldn't hear. I think he was just about ready to give up after a while when we both heard some very urgent and very professional sounding voices coming from past the gates leading into the courtyard.

The little guy panicked and what happened next... I don't even know. It defied everything I know about both dragons and magic. Hay, I kind of have an idea of how it happened, and having seen it and gotten a plausible explanation I still don't believe it. As I watched, right before my eyes, Spike's eyes flashed and he just... disappeared. Vanished. Poofed right out of existence in a purple flash.

He just up and teleported away.

The dragon teleported away, Twilight.

I don't think I need to tell you how insane that sounds, and that's not even the craziest thing I found out. The moment he teleported, a bunch of suits burst through the gates and started swarming the place. I wasn't about to get caught up in that mess so I tried following Spike's thaumic signature to teleport to where he'd gone, figuring if he could teleport then he should've left one behind, and yeah, he'd left one behind alright.

It wasn't his own unique thaumic signature I felt though, it was yours.

Fancy that, huh?

A dragon that could not only use magic but was using magic that wasn't even his own. You know, when I really stop to think about it, I'm not even surprised that it's your magic. Finding that out answered a few questions I'd had about your tight-lipped attitude lately, but it raised a whole bunch more. At that point, I didn't care if I got caught by the suits or Celestia, now I really couldn't leave well enough alone.

I followed Spike's—well, your thaumic trail, and it led me to... I don't even know where. From what I can tell, I'm pretty sure I'm in some kind of underground cavern. There's a bunch of crystals everywhere and after looking around a bit, it seems like the cavern is connected to series of tunnels that lead to who-knows-where.

I found some old railroad tracks leading deeper into the cave I'm in so I think it might be safe to say that this is or was a mine and a massive one at that. It was probably built to mine all the crystals here, but I think it's been abandoned for a while now—years or centuries possibly. I can't begin to understand why or how the drake wound up teleporting here of all places, but thankfully it didn't take me too long to find him down here.

Well actually, he was the one that found me, and what made it weird was that he didn't seem all that surprised to see me. In fact, he already knew who I was and that I knew you. We talked for a while and it was a bit awkward at first. He sounded like he wasn't used to talking at all, but as we talked he got better at it and I was eventually able to get most of the story about you two, at least from his perspective.

I'm not gonna lie, Twilight, I was really thankful he found me when he did. I would never admit this to anypony but you, but... this place really gives me the creeps. Seriously, I think I might've started to freak out a bit if Spike hadn't shown up then.

The way he tells it, Spike woke up earlier because he heard your voice desperately calling out for help. Apparently, that's been a regular occurrence for him lately, but he says it was different this time—like you knew exactly where he was and were talking directly to him through your mutual psychic link. You pleaded with him to save you, said that you were being held prisoner somewhere beneath the castle by Celestia.

Okay, so when Spike told me this part that raised a red flag in my mind. Spike says he was convinced it was you before, but now he has his doubts just like I do. See, when he mentioned that you'd been sent on a mission to the Crystal Mountain you told him that was a lie and that it was all a setup by Celestia to capture you.

We both know this can't be true because 1) Spike could feel you moving further away from the castle through your link and not below it, and 2) I have your journal and having read through your last few entries (sorry about that by the way, but I kind of had to given the circumstances) I know you're nowhere near Canterlot. The problem is that when Spike concentrates, he can also faintly feel the bond between you below that castle and he doesn't have a connection with anypony else.

With all this in mind, Spike and I have both come to the conclusion that it's not you he's hearing, but another Twilight—specifically the alicorn you ran into back then. I mean, that's the only thing that really makes sense, right? You told me that you don't know what happened to her after RIDES captured her, so maybe Celestia really did hide her somewhere below the castle and these crystal mines seem like a pretty good place to hide a secret like that.

One thing that was still bothering me though was that even though Spike had already suspected it wasn't actually you calling for help, he still broke out of the agency and came searching. I brought it up with him and... wait, Spike wants me to let him explain so I'll let him take it from here I guess.

Hey, Twilight, this is Spike.

I know it hasn't been that long, but I really miss you. I kind of wish I knew how to do the trick Sunset used to take your journal so I could write to you more often, but as things stand, all I really know how to do is teleport, and even that I sort of learned by accident. I still don't have full control over where I end up, but it seems like if I focus on your thaumic signature I can teleport closer to where you are, or at least that's my working theory anyway.

I think that's how I was able to find my way down here in these caves. I definitely didn't mean to teleport down here, but here I am. Sunset followed after me, but I don't think she likes this place as much as I do. I mean yeah it's dark and quiet and, to be fair, it is pretty eerie, but as far as I'm concerned, this place is practically an endless treasure trove of food.

Seriously, with all these crystals I'd never go hungry!

But to get back to the actual topic, I know now that it wasn't you who was calling out to me, but that other Twilight you told me about. I had to concentrate really hard to feel the link, but it was there somewhere really deep beneath the ground—even deeper than the labs at the agency. It was strange because I know I felt you getting farther away from Canterlot and if you were taken below ground I still would've just barely sensed you.

The only reason I didn't sense the other Twilight right away I think is because I was focused on you and she was just far enough away that I wouldn't have noticed without concentrating. So I know it wasn't you, but I decided to escape and find that other Twilight anyway because, well... I feel kind of bad for her. Based on what you told me about her, it seems like something terrible happened to her.

I know you'd probably tell me to ignore her and that nothing good would come of listening to her—Sunset basically said the same thing when I told her—but neither of you could hear her, not like I could. That pain and grief in her voice wasn't an act. She's really suffering down here, and I want to help her get back home or at least free her from this place so she can find her own way back.

I know she lied to me, but she's desperate, and I'm sure you or Sunset would've done the same if either of you were in her position. So yeah, I decided to find a way to escape the lab so I could help her escape her prison. I remembered you and the other researchers talking about the possibility that I might be able to harness your magic as if I was a pony and I know the basic principles of teleportation so that's what I tried.

It didn't work the first few times, probably because I was trying to use a catalyst I didn't have to channel the magic—namely a unicorn horn. So after a few failures, I chose to ditch the idea of using a catalyst altogether just focused on releasing the magic in one big burst and poof! I was out of my room. I half expected some kind of alarm to go off or some magic blocking shield to activate or something, but nothing happened and I was able to escape no problem.

At first I found myself in what I think was the castle's kitchen. I remember the pictures you and the others back in the lab showed me of what the castle looked like and I knew that wasn't where I needed to be so I tried again a few more times and after freaking a few ponies out, I wound up in the courtyard. The other Twilight had told me that there was a way to get to where she was through the courtyard but didn't exactly know how, so I figured there might've been some kind of secret passage or something. That's what I was looking for.

When I didn't find anything I got the idea to focus on the link we shared and use that to teleport straight to her, but just as I was about to try and teleport again, a bunch of ponies from POUT showed up. I panicked, released the spell, and ended up down here in this giant crystal cave. I didn't know Sunset was following me, but it wasn't too hard to find her with her calling out like a lost little filly and we've been wandering around trying to find the other Twilight ever since.

Sunset wanted us to find a way back to the castle, but I told her I'm not leaving until I find the other Twilight. We argued for a bit, but I guess she realized how serious I am about this and decided to help me instead. I appreciate it because, if I'm being honest, I wasn't sure if I could've done this on my own. I still would've tried don't get me wrong, but I wasn't sure about what would've happened, y'know?

It's weird though.

We've been down here for a while now and I can feel the link to the other Twilight getting stronger, but I haven't heard her voice in my mind since I arrived here. I tried calling her through the link, but... nothing. Not even a peep. Honestly, I'm starting to get a little worried that something might've happened but... wait, I think Sunset found something stran—

It's Sunset again.

Sorry to cut the written reunion short, but we've got a problem.

I think I just found the place where the other Twilight is being held, but we're not alone. Not anymore at least. I figured if these mines really were where the alicorn version of you was being held, then there'd be some kind of security and I was prepared for that. I also figured it would only be a matter of time before the suits followed mine and Spike's thaumic trail and found their way down here and I was also prepared for that.

What I wasn't expecting was to walk into a barrier trap with an anti-teleportation field and a thaumic tracking spell woven into it. As things stand, it's only a matter of time before Spike and I get caught and face who knows what sort of punishment. Even as I write this I'm trying to dispel the barrier, but whoever set it up really knows what they're doing.

I want to say that there should've been no way I could've fallen for a trap like this, but I didn't notice anything was wrong until it was right on top of us. I would've been impressed with the spellwork if I weren't so furious at having been caught so easily. At this point though, I think we might be screwed, but I should still be able to get the journal back to you so you'll know what happened at lea—

Hello, Twilight Sparkle.

I'm terribly sorry for intruding upon your privacy like this—and I assure you that I will look no further than what has been written by my dearly beloved, if somewhat troublesome, protege—but I must insist on capitalizing upon this opportunity to reach out to you. I'm sure you have your hooves full with the task I've given you, and even once you've read this, if you haven't finished yet, I'd like you to continue focusing on that task.

That said, once you return there are some things I'd like to discuss with you—several things in fact. I'm not so blind as to not notice my student's growing suspicions of me about quite a few things and I know that you feel the same to some extent. Sunset is a clever mare, but her sleuthing skills are... somewhat lacking. Still, I feel I have nopony to blame but myself for the suspicions you both carry.

I realize now that I haven't been as subtle as I'd like to believe either. If I had, neither of you would've been so wary of me in the first place. Given what's happened here, I suppose I must admit that you two are not entirely wrong to be suspicious of me but rest assured I've had my reasons for the secrecy. You may take solace in the fact that I have no intention of punishing any of you—not Sunset, not Spike, nor yourself.

I will even overlook the fact that you've been keeping a journal and will continue to do so, so long as it remains undiscovered by anypony other than myself, Sunset, and the Chief. Yes, your boss also knows about the journal and we've already discussed the matter at length. As I said, you are free to continue your 'unofficial records' so long as their contents are not made public to unauthorized eyes.

Sunset and Spike are another matter, one we will all discuss once you've finished your mission. But know you this, Twilight Sparkle, if another creature other than yourself or Sunset lay their eyes upon even a single page, we will know, and there will be consequences. But beyond that, I'd like to talk to you all—that is, you, Sunset, and Spike—and clear the air a bit so to speak.

I'd like to explain myself properly and there are also a few things I'd like to ask about you and Spike. If you'd like an explanation about the Red Crystal, well... I'm sure you'll have figured it out by the time you come back to Canterlot, or maybe even by the time you read this, but if you still have any questions remaining I'll also be happy to answer them for you.

Until then, I'll return this journal back to its rightful owner and will be praying for your own safe return back to Canterlot.

~Celestia

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The Unofficial Records of a Mare in Black - the7Saviors

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