Could you show restraint? Should you show remorse for your actions if you felt they were justified?
Twilight has never truly discovered the extent of just how powerful she is as the Element of Magic. Her lessons of friendship were the guidelines she set her life on; to help and understand those around her.
So what happens when someone she holds closer to her heart than anything else is ripped from her without mercy? Can she abide to the lessons she has learnt in the past? Or would she go to any lengths to see that someone safe, if she believed she was their only chance for salvation?
A glorious moon glistened brightly in the gloom of the night sky, surrounded by a tapestry of stars that seemed to swirl around each other, only separated by the deepest black. The princess had truly outdone herself, and her work was not lost on the eyes of a purple unicorn, who gazed intently up at the marvellous scene above her.
The long walk back from Sweet Apple Acres was something Twilight was used to by now and she didn't mind walking on nights like this, even when her friend Applejack insisted that she stay and eat enough apple-based food to feed a fully grown dragon for a week. That was something the baby dragon, now sulking on her back, wouldn't have minded at all.
"Come on Spike, it's getting dark and you know we couldn't have stayed there all night. It's the harvest season and we'd be up with the sun anyway" Twilight told him, glancing back over her shoulder at the grouchy purple dragon. "Do you even know what a sunrise looks like?".
"Oh har har har" Spike said sarcastically, glaring at the back of Twilight's head. "I just can't believe you passed up on all that free food! I thought you were supposed to be smart?".
A low grumbling from Spike's Stomach only added to his unamusement.
Pretending to trip over a branch in along the dusty road, Twilight stumbled slightly, causing Spike to stop sulking and grab hold her mane so he didn't fall face first into the floor. She carried on down the path towards Ponyville with Spike now clutching to her, mumbling something under his breath about gemstones and probably about how he thought Rarity wouldn't have made fun of him. She would have thanked him for all his hard work with the biggest, most tastiest gemstone in her boutique and maybe even given him that kiss he sought after for so long.
Lights from the town glimmered in the distance, still quite a while away. She could see her home from here, the huge library in the shape of a tree. It was beckoning her toward it, promising a warm bed, a crackling fire and the chance to read through Rainy Sky the Science Pegasi again. It was funny and educational, something the huge, dusty tomes that she usually read cover to cover in a day or two often didn't offer. Though she did enjoy the 600 CR - National Historical Archive, and it's 3000 pages. Maybe she could read it again in a few days, she mused.
"Okay," Twilight snapped, "maybe the idea wasn't that great, I could really use a bed right now."
Her and Spike had been helping Applejack harvest what she could of her orchard, something the farm pony was more than happy for them to do after last years little show of stubbornness. That had taken all day and most of the evening, now it was getting late and a chill was starting to set in, making her shiver slightly and up her pace.
Not used to being up so late, the little dragon had started to doze off on her back, the sound of snores replacing the rumbles from his hunger when she stopped suddenly, jerking him awake.
"What the? Twilight? What did you do that for? The joke wasn't tha-"
"Shhh Spike! Can you hear that?"
Spike stopped, focusing his hearing on the area around him. The countryside around Ponyville was, as it had always been, serenely quiet. This was a small town and lacked the hustle and bustle of the bigger cities like Canterlot or Manehatten. There were no carts filled to the brim with goods constantly coming and going, no trains passing by from every corner of Equestria and no laughing and jeering of ponies on a night out.
There was just the wind, the musical sounds of insects and the occasional Owl hooting his presence before taking flight on silent wings to begin the nights hunt.
Then, breaching the cool night’s silence came a muffled cry for help, someway off the right of the dirt road. Twilights ears flicked towards the sound, and again the cry came. It sounded like a young colt.
"Let's go Spike! Somepony's in trouble!"
Spike barely had a moment to grab Twilight's mane again before she galloped up and over the fence towards the timid voice. Again the cry for help came, sounding slightly clearer as they rushed towards its source as fast as Twilight's tired legs could take them.
The area around them started to grow thick with foliage and trees, casting strange shadows across the ground in between the glints of moonlight that struggled to permeate the leaves above. Twilight had to slow down, careful not to catch herself and trip over the twisting of branches and roots that were scattered across the ground. Her horn glowed, lighting up the way and allowing her to find the easiest path through the littered foliage.
"I don't like this, Twi. Who in their right mind would be out here at this time of night?" said Spike nervously.
"Well we're gonna find out soon! We're nearly there! Hold on!" Twilight shouted into the darkness ahead of them, still galloping towards where the cry was coming from.
"Help! Please! Anypony!" the small voice called out in desperation. It was just ahead now, Twilight burst through the tree line with her horn still glowing brightly.
"We’re... Here?"
Twilight looked around, confused, her horn fading. The area they had ran too was a small clearing, surrounded by the tall trees on either side. The moon shone down brightly above them, illuminating her violet coat and glistening off of Spike's iridescent purple and green scales.
"Um... Hello?" she called out into the clearing, only to be met with silence.
"I really don't like this Twi..."
"Shh Spike! Hellooo? Is anybody there?". Twilight called out again but was met with no response. She was sure the voice had been from here, so where was it now?
Admittedly, Twilight started to grow weary of the calmness of her surroundings, and the lack of any immediate danger.
That was until a muted, bemused chuckle from behind caused them to snap around, frantically eyeing the trees they had recently burst through. Only they found nothing there.
"Who's there! This isn't funny!" Spike growled, standing tall on Twilight's back, puffing his chest out of his small frame and surveying the trees. Another stifled laugh came from the left of them this time, causing Spike's intimidating posture to slightly deflate. He pressed closer to Twilight's head, quivering a little, telling himself that it was just because of the cool night air and his sudden shaking wasn't because he was afraid. He had to be strong for Twilight. After all, he was the man here.
"Okay, maybe you're right. We should just- Ow!"
Twilight felt a sting in the back of her neck. Reaching round with her magic, she pulled loose a small tube tipped with a sharp point. A small dart floated beside her, glowing in her purple aura. She pulled it around to her face to inspect it more closely.
"Huh? Where did this come fro..."
Twilight leaned forward, her eyes struggling to stay open as she fell straight on her face. The dart fell to the ground beside her and rolled behind her foreleg. Just short of being thrown forward onto his back, Spike immediately jumped down off of her back and in front of Twilight. He turned to face her, looking worried and began mouthing words that she just couldn't make out. A tingling numbness started spread down her body, causing her to lose any energy she had left after a gruelling day of work. Wow was she tired! The scene around her started to blur together and slow down. Spike's frantic waving in front of her made funny purple streaks through the air. Everything could wait. Now, it was time to sleep and the grass in front of her was looking pretty comfortable.
No wait. What was that?
Another figure had emerged from the tree line in front of her, a pony, who was making their way towards Spike. Her mind panicked, the little pony in her head screaming at her to get up; to warn Spike.
"Ss-pike. Ru-"
Try as she might, she couldn't get the words out. More figures joined the first, quietly making their way towards the frantic dragon, who had resorted to trying to trying to lift his incapacitated friend to her feet desperately, managing to help her unresponsive body sit upright.
"Spike p-please... L-look out" Twilight mumbled, sounding out of breath. Her consciousness was drifting away, threatening to give out.
The encroaching ponies were covered in black jackets that hid most of their body, including their mouths and flanks, concealing their cutie marks from sight. The closest pony, an earth pony stallion, attempted to grab a hold of Spike from behind, wrapping a foreleg around him and attempting to wrench him away from his fallen companion. This wasn't a very good idea on his behalf.
Though still a baby, Spike was pretty strong and this was something this pony definitely hadn't anticipated when the young dragon suddenly threw his head back, hitting his assailant square in the jaw. A crunch of bone sounded and well as a muffled gasp of pain from behind the mask on the stallion's face. Blood started to drip from his muzzle and he fell backwards, glaring at him and cursing under his staggered breath. He got back up and joined the ranks of approaching ponies; a few snickered at him as he passed. Around five or six of them walked menacingly towards the pair, attempting to surround them.
Through tired eyes, Twilight noticed two more ponies circling the area from above, barely visible against the dark of the clear night sky. She also noticed that all of the ponies on the ground weren't using any magic. As a dragon, Spike was naturally resilient to magic, even at such a young age. Though that didn't mean they couldn't remove him in other ways, they were simply circling the two of them, holding back for an opportunity.
Spike turned, trembling with fear but still standing between them and Twilight, a filly who had been like a sister- no, a mother since he'd hatched. He wasn't going to let them get her so easily. A few spurts of fire from his mouth pushed back those who were growing confident with their increasing numbers, but he couldn't keep this up for long. . The last time he had to use so much fire in a day was before Discord was defeated. Celestia had seen fit to remind her student of the friendship she shared by sending back all over her reports at the expense of Spike's stomach. He didn't move for a week after that. Though of course he didn't mind. Anything he could do to help out he enjoyed, especially helping Twilight to fight back the crazed Draconequus. That was more than worth a sore stomach.
"S-stay back! I'm warning you!"
Spike glared at the group of strangers, but his eyes and voice betrayed any courage he was trying to muster. His innocent eyes that watched countless sunsets, that had seen his closest friends grow closer, eyes that stood vigilant against anybody who would try and come between them now held only fear and desperation.
Watching his defiance, Twilight grew angry, her mind ordering her to retaliate, to protect her number one assistant - her closest friend - from any harm.
How dare they? How dare they!?
She wasn't about to just sit here and do nothing. Twilight's horn glowed its purple aura and intensified as several layers more of magic enveloped around her horn. She'd bested Nightmare Moon, Discord the Spirit of Chaos and removed a rampaging Ursa Minor from Ponyville. She was the Element of Magic for a reason and wasn't about to let some strange ponies hurt her Spike.
A whip of violet light lashed out from the tip of Twilight's horn, smashing away one of the encroaching strangers. He slammed into one of the surrounding trees, sliding down slowly and staying there. Her horn glowed again as another was lifted off of the ground and driven, forcefully, back down again. Twilight cringed as she swore she heard a snap from the impact. Her magnificent light now continued as her horn once again became enveloped in layers of magic, promising to release another powerful spell.
Even when incapacitated, Twilight was no push over with her magical abilities.
"Put her out now!" roared one of the ponies in black, in a deep voice that vibrated through the air.
A shock wave of energy emanated from Twilight's horn, the sudden blast sending the nearby ponies hurtling towards the far end of the clearing. She would not be put down so easily, not with Spike in danger. She struggled to her feet, eyes starting to burn with white fire as she took aim at the apparent leader of these strangers, the one who had ordered she be put down. Again, her horn shone brightly with magic. Arcs of electricity that leapt from her horn dissipated, crackling and whipping at the air around her in a shocking aura as she stamped her hoof on the ground, causing the chilled earth beneath to crack and shudder beneath her newly found strength.
"Leave. Us. Alone!"
More of the darts ripped through the air from the attackers towards Twilight and Spike.
Another series of stings hit Twilight, sinking deep into her coat. She was unable to hold back a pained moan that escaped her lips. Again she reached around with her magic to remove the darts, only to have it now falter. The darts dropped lazily next to her and her eyes grew heavier. Exasperated breathing followed as whatever toxin the darts were coated with coursed through her veins and shut down parts of her body. Her glowing horn vanished and her legs collapsed underneath her.
Hearing his friend hit the floor, Spike turned to see her fighting to keep her eyes open, a tear slowly creeping its way down her soft cheek to the floor below.
This was all the distraction they needed. The pony who ordered Twilight be sedated grabbed hold of Spike, careful not to fall to the same bruising fate as his companion by pushing Spike down into the ground hard. He wasn't nearly careful enough. Enraged by the sight of his closest friend, Spike thrashed and scratched with all his might, managing to tear away parts of his clothing and leave large gashes in the side of his assailant from his claws. The tattered pieces of dark cloth, including part that was covering his flank, now lay shredded amongst the grass of the clearing. It revealed his cutie mark.
With the last of her willpower, Twilight focused in on this, burning the image into her mind. It was a strange sight and it took a few moments for Twilight to figure out what it was. A wheel, tilted to an angle to show the inside with red and black segments covering it. Wait, she'd seen one before! It was one of those gambling tables where you throw the ball in when it spins. A roulette wheel!
Memories flooded in of Rainbow Dash's last birthday, with a trip to Las Pegasus for all the girls. The city itself was a sight to behold, lights and adverts everywhere. Ponies walking the streets dressed up in dapper gambling suits as well as the occasional guard, ponies clad in the golden armour of Celestia's royal regiment, who looked like they'd seen everything the city had to offer. As with most nights for many in the bright city, that night ended up in the loss of a lot of bits in the casinos and an insane hangover the next morning most of the group.
Namely for Dash, Pinkie and AJ. Herself, Rarity and Fluttershy had lost track of them for nearly two days whilst the two unicorns and the timid pegasi panicked, then calmed down in a spa. Only to finish in the spa, panic again and have to reuse the spa's services, much to the delight of the attending ponies. When the girls eventually met up, the excuses they had were crazy! Something about a foal, a zebra who they owed money to and a pro wrestlers pet tiger. They also asked to leave. Immediately. Before anybody went to check on one of the hotel rooms. It was a completely ridiculous story.
But it helped. That image was sunk into her mind as the pony turned and bucked Spike right in the face. His scales were as hard as solid rock and could resist magma, but the force of this kick right to the head put the baby dragon out like a light. Spike lay sprawled along the floor, just inches from Twilight's face.
Smirking, the stallion who had bucked Spike trotted gently over to her and patted her softly on the head.
"Thanks, we'll take this from here.”
The last thing she saw was her number one assistant, her dragon and her brother, placed carefully into a bag and carried off between the trees.
Twilight couldn't fight it any longer. Her body had given up, even though her mind raged with anger. The toxin of the darts was just too much for her. She closed her eyes and unwillingly fell into a deep, deep sleep.
Spike rolled onto his side, rubbing his head gently and wincing as a sudden sharp burst of pain swept across his brow.
"Arrrghhh! Wait! What the-"
He leaned to one side, only to hit something cold and solid, making him instinctively recoil his hand. Stretching out again slowly, still not used to the darkness of his surroundings, he came into contact with the same obstacle. Cautiously, this time he felt around it. It was a metal wall.
He followed the smooth texture up and above his head. It gave him barely enough room to stand in. His reptilian eyes adjusted quickly to the darkness, meaning he could now see his claws in front of him. Puzzled for a moment and still trying to ignore the pain in his head that had dulled to a throbbing, he snapped his head round to find a small gap in what he now believed was a cage.
It was just above his eye line where a flicker of light passed through, just enough to light a small portion of the ice cold, grey wall that surrounded him. He returned to his claws, realising that something felt different. Hoisting them up into the meagre light, he inspected them closely. They were encrusted with a deep crimson substance.
Spike shouted in surprise, realising what he was covered with. He quickly took to peeling away at the dried blood, keeping his face as far away as he possibly could in the cramped confinement.
"Urgh."
He drooped down again, resting the back of his head on the hard wall and letting his arms fall to his side in defeat. His stomach growled at him, the sound reverberating around his little metal box in protest, reminding his that as he hadn't eaten anything this morning at that a ruby or two certainly wouldn't go amiss. Was it only the next morning? He wasn't even sure.
How long have I been here? What happened?, he mused to himself, lifting his claws again and running them over each other, feeling for any specks of red he had missed.
Spike sighed, closed his eyes and tried to focus on what had happened before this. Breathing in and out deeply, his head continued to throb as he concentrated. Strange images flashed before his mind's eye.
ooooOOOOooooOOOOoooo
"Leave. Us. Alone!" Twilight roared behind him as arcs of electricity flared from her horn. Spike heard her cry, only it wasn't her voice. It sounded like 4 different ponies had all called out at once in perfect unison. The way it resonated around the small clearing was... unnerving. Their attackers stopped in their tracks momentarily, unsure of what to do about the sudden change in scenario.
Even Spike cowered slightly at the sight of his closest friend with her eyes glowing white and body emanating power. He knew she was powerful, she was Princess Celestia's personal student, but this was very different to anything he'd seen from his friend before. The burning white of her eyes, more piercing than staring at the sun on a summer's day, held only malice and fury. It was a paralysing sight to behold, and something he definitely hadn't expected to witness from the usually friendly unicorn.
He ducked out of the way as a burning flash shot from the tip of her horn and hit an encroaching earth pony right in the chest, sending him smoking and flying towards the other end of the clearing. Spike watched in horrified awe as another was lifted helplessly from the ground, legs flailing beneath him, only to be smashed back down. Hard. He didn't get back up.
He didn't move at all.
Spike simply stared at the body of the broken pony, completely motionless. His eyes widened in horror and realisation at what had happened. He was dead. He lay, unmoving and fractured as his companions regrouped, seemingly ignoring him.
Twilight, the pony who had cared for him for as long as he could remember, who had read him bedtimes stories long into the night, well after he had fallen asleep and who he had shared his best memories with had killed another pony.
He couldn't look away from the chilling sight, even as a the ground shook violently beneath him and a deep voice screamed over the sound of crackling from her horn. She had killed somepony. Spike stood as still as the dead body, ignoring the noise continuing around him. Until it suddenly ended.
He turned to his friend, tears in his eyes he hadn't realised had begun, to see her fall limply to one side. Her eyes rolling back in her head as more of those nasty spikey-things stuck out of her shoulder and forelegs. He snapped out of his dreamlike state and tried to catch her.
Then, nothing.
ooooOOOOooooOOOOoooo
Spike opened his eyes and returned to the cold dark that was reality. The tiny metal cage he was in seemed to press down on him even more, like it was determined to crush any hope he had left.
"Twilight... how could-" He shook his head violently and stood upright again, fighting back the oppression of the metal walls.
"No. She was protecting me! They were gonna get me!" He slammed his fist into the side of his metal prison in anger. He was tired and he knew that this wasn't fair. Spike had no idea what they'd done to deserve being ambushed like that, he'd fought back as hard as he could to protect Twilight, but his best wasn't good enough. At the moment, the little dragon just didn't have any more fight left in him. He slid down the side of the cage to sit again, staring at the darkness of the floor.
The tears had returned.
"Let's just go home, Twi..."
ooooOOOOooooOOOOoooo
A monotonous beeping brought Twilight back to her senses.
He eyes strained against the excessive white light that surrounded her. She closed them again, her studious mind deciding to take note of her surroundings by what she could feel and smell.
Matress, comfy but worn. Small indentation at the centre, just below the back. Could be used to fold the bed in some way. A fold away mattress? A bunk? No, feels like I'm elevated off the ground, it would be on the floor. Two pillows behind my head, soft, but thin, could use a bit of fluffing. What are those? Bars? She shifted slightly, brushing a hoof against a cold metal bar, rewarded with a quiet 'ding'. Getting more comfortable, she sighed before continuing.
Okay, bars. Smells, what can I smell?
She tilted her back into the pillow, positioning her muzzle in the air.
Sanitizer, too strong to be for cosmetic use, maybe for cleaning? Have I smelt that before? Yes, Lysol, after Applebloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo attempted to be 'Cutie Mark Crusaders Artists! YAY!' in my precious library. I was still trying to get the stains out days later, silly fillies. Could it be Lysol? Usually used to clean...
She started to add the clues together in her mind. Her subconscious piecing together a picture that might have been her surroundings.
Thin pillows, mattress with movable points beneath, metal bars along the side of the bed, just tolerable smell of cleaning chemicals... hospital?
Twilight squinted her eyes open, taking in the light again, but this time, waiting for her eyes to settle before risking them to any more exposure. She was right. A small sterile room surrounded her. There were things she was surprised she hadn't noticed at first. A long, thin tube protruded from her right foreleg, rising and making its way up to a dialysis machine, slowly pumping fluids down the tube and into her arm. On the other side, quietly beeping away, was an ECG, attached to her by pads down her coat.
A small window covered most of the right wall, but the curtains were closed to keep out the intense sun that lay just beyond. However, it must have been open as occasionally a breeze would move the light blue drapes apart and small rays of sunlight would flutter in between the gap, reaching out with warm tendrils to touch her cheek before retreating away again behind the cover of the curtains.
Observing the area just next to her bed, she saw bare white tables with a nary a colourful flower to contrast the stark likeness of the rest of the room. In fact, there was nothing colourful in the room other than her and the curtains. No 'Get Well Soon' cards, no bunches of flowers. Not even a few pictures on the walls.
Either she hadn't been here very long, or none of her friends realised she was in hospital.
Twilight wondered what her friends were thinking, if they even noticed she was gone. She had no idea how long it had been. A small clock on the wall had stop ticking a long time ago, and was stuck at 11:43.
Would Rarity bring her tons of gifts over? Would Pinkie Pie burst through the door at any moment, a new song ready to serenade her and make her feel better? What about Spike? Would he be able to watch the li-
Spike.
"Spike!"
Twilight jumped up in her bed, frantically looking around for the little purple dragon who usually stood so vigilant at her side. The ECG next to her increased its rate of beeping dramatically.
"Spike! I gotta... I gotta save him Spike!"
The sudden outburst of noise from Twilight had attracted the attention of several passing nurses, who rushed in and tried to stop her from tearing the tubes out of her arm and try to calm her.
"Stop it! I've got to find him, he needs me! They... they..."
The nurses ignored her continued outbursts as the tried to hold her down. She was starting to thrash underneath their struggling hold.
"Stop it! Let go!" Twilight screamed again, kicking out against the nurses surrounding her. Energy started to build up inside of her again, a similar feeling. A level of power she had felt recently.
"Get off of me!”
Twilight screamed again, but not in her own voice. A wave of force pushed away the nurses and equipment next to her, ripping the tube out of her arm and leaving it to dangle uselessly, the machine still pumping fluid out onto the floor.
Some of the nurses screamed in horror as the violet unicorn thrashed in her bed, fighting with the sheets covering her still that clung to the undersides of the mattress in a last ditch attempt to restrain her. Twilight's eyes glowed white hot again, dark tendrils of electricity flaring off of her horn, twisting and scorching the pristine white walls.
“Spike!” called the voices again, in pain and in anger. She would find him. She would find those who took him away from her and they would regret the day they ever imagined removing him from her side.
"Twilight Sparkle. Stop."
An elegant voice suppressed the noise from Twilight's uncontrolled outburst, but fiercely fiery eyes glared at the source of the voice.
A tall, regal alicorn with a coat more pristinely white than the walls that surrounded her, a flowing multi-hued mane and a blazing sun marking her flank, stared back into the burning eyes. Her expression was stern, but those gentle orbs held years of understanding and pity.
"Twilight, please. Control yourself. You're better than this."
Twilight continued to glare daggers at the majestic figure, pain and hatred still flaring inside of her for anybody who would stand in her way. Then her eyes met those of the glorious alicorn. Deep, caring eyes that revealed more hurt and love than Twilight could ever comprehend emanated love that Twilight had felt more than anybody in her brief lifetime, being nurtured under the princess' wing.
"I-"
Twilight collapsed back into the mattress, the powerful aura dissipating from around her, replaced by shaking as the young violet unicorn curled up and started to sob into her forelegs quietly. The nurses who had entered to help stared on in disbelief, unsure of what to do next.
"Please, leave us."
They didn't need to be told twice. They bowed quickly and scurried out of the door behind the princess.
Celestia took in her surroundings. The white walls were now littered with black scorch marks and papers had been flung about the room in Twilight's fit of rage. Lifeless equipment was tossed to one side.
Her expression remained unfaltering, as it had been for many years. But her heart was gripped with sorrow for the pony who lay on the bed in front of her. Her student, a pony she had treated like a daughter since she took her under her wing.
Her demeanour cracked slightly as the Sun Princess fought to hold back tears of her own. 'Not now,' she thought. Right now, Twilight needed her to be strong for her sake, someone who her student could look up to.
"Twilight..." Celestia spoke compassionately as she approached, draping a wing over the sobbing form of her student. Twilight shuddered at the touch and continued to sob.
"Twilight, look at me."
Celestia brought her head down to nuzzle her student as Twilight lifted hers slowly. Her eyes were red and puffy. She sniffed and stifled tears once again as she gazed into the understanding eyes of Princess Celestia.
"Princess, I-I'm so sorry. I-"
"Hush, Twilight." The princess nuzzled her student again affectionately, causing Twilight to whimper slightly before wholeheartedly throwing her legs around her mentor and crying into her neck.
"Twilight, tell me what happened."
Twilight held the hug for a little while longer before she removed her legs from the comforting embrace and fell back onto her haunches, looking solemn but holding back any more tears. She retold her story to the princess as best she could remember, starting with her day at Sweet Apple Acres to where she tried to respond to the cry for help.
She continued until she got to the point where she had tried to fight back.
"It was just like now, but this time I lost control and ended up hurting them. Badly." Twilight resisted the urge to break down once more before she spoke again.
"They were going to hurt him, and I couldn't let them happen. I-I got angry. I picked one of them up with my telekinesis, but it was much, much stronger I-"
Twilight looked away from the Princess's eyes this time, before almost whispering out her next words.
"I-I think I killed him."
A pregnant silence coated the room as Twilight waited for a reaction from her mentor. When none came, she continued.
Twilight hurriedly finished her tale including her remembrance of the stallion's roulette cutie mark, her waking up here and the princess eventually calming her down. The princess however, simply stood and listened, her beautiful features unchanged.
"Do you remember anything else?"
"No, that's all."
The princess sighed deeply, drawing herself down to eye level with her student.
"Twilight, listen to me carefully. We will find Spike. I promise you. For now though, I need you to remain here."
"But Princess! I-"
The princess flared her wings, cutting Twilight's objection off immediately. She had known this was coming. Before continuing once more, she returned her wings to her sides and looked down with a saddened expression.
"No. I know how close you and Spike are, but you need to rest. That amount of magic exerted in one go is dangerous, you could simply faint if you tried to use any more."
"Then I won't! I can just go without! I don't need to use ma-"
"No, Twilight. Please, I'm asking you to stay here."
The princess's face changed to a stern look once again.
"We will find Spike. I'll have my best guards on it right away, but I need you to stay here. If you were to get hurt again..." the princess pleaded with Twilight.
The unicorn turned her gaze up towards her mentor again. "Okay... I'll stay here for now..." There was no conviction in Twilight's response.
"Thank you, my faithful student, I knew you'd understand." Celestia nuzzled her cheek gently before moving towards the door of the small, cluttered room. "I'll inform your friends of your whereabouts, but please, do not mention this to them. I don't want anybody else dragged into this and I'm afraid they will charge head-first into a rescue mission without knowing any solid details."
Celestia smiled at her student as she began to close the door behind her. "I'll return to see you soon, and I'm sure my sister will want to check on you before the day is out."
Twilight sighed heavily, collapsing back into the soft bed and almost returning to tears.
"Oh Spike... what have they done to you?"
Twilight lay back in the now slightly charred mattress, staring at the ceiling above her. What could she do? She had tried her best to fight back, but Spike was still lost. They wouldn't have been able to handle her like that if it wasn't for those blasted darts.
Wait... The darts!
Twilight shot up in her bed again.
"They're still on the grass! If I can find them... maybe I can find out where they're from!" She clopped her forehooves together excitedly.
She stopped however. She'd told the princess that she'd remain here to rest. Her friends were surely going to rush over once they'd learned of her hospitalisation. She'd love to see them, but if they'd found out what she'd done...
Now there was no way she could stay here. She had a chance -however small -to find the terrible ponies who had stolen Spike from her.
Furious anger started to rise again inside Twilight, spreading to all of her body as at once, she had a single goal. She hopped down off of the bed and moved towards the window, brushing aside scattered papers and medical equipment as she pulled open the curtains.
"I'll make them pay..."
A flash of purple light illuminated the room briefly, before Twilight appeared outside on the ground. She glanced around to make sure she hadn't been noticed before she began galloping towards to dirt road leading out of town.
A small breeze moved the drapes on the window apart and small rays of sunlight crept in between the gap. Reaching out with warmth once more, they fell upon a blackened, empty bed before retreating once more behind the cover of the now slightly seared light blue curtains.
Nighttime in Canterlot Castle was vastly different in comparison to the day. The long, spacious hallways featured amazing feats of artistic talent, from tapestries created by artists long past, to statues carved delicately and masterfully from the smoothest stone. During the night however, to the untrained it was a confusing labyrinth of twisting halls and strange, sometimes barely audible noises.
Torches along the wall didn't reach to the deepest corners where the dark seemed to shy away. They simply cast flickers of light and caused shadows to dance amongst the statues that now seemed eerily lifelike. It would play with your mind, walking alone down these halls. You'd think that the statues watched as you trotted by, simply waiting for you to turn your back...
Although none of this affected the princess of the night, who walked along merrily, high in spirit and energy after a delightful rest during the day. She couldn't help but notice a statue of her and her sister, rearing up to hold aloft a sun and moon. It was certainly flattering in it's design. Especially she thought, for her sister.
The lines in the stone were cut exquisitely to show off a graceful but powerful figure in the both of them, with solidified manes flowing out and down to one side. They even added the jewelry she had grown accustomed to wearing since her return from the moon, her small tiara, crystal shoes and a black breast plate adorned with the crescent moon she sported on her flank.
But, flattering as they were to her, they were all in a light grey, with only the sun and moon containing any colour at all in the form of gold lining for Celestia's sun, and a glimmering, decisively better (in her opinion) silver, lining the edges of her moon.
Luna looked over her shoulder at her own figure. While smaller than her sister, she still walked with the same grace and composure expected from one of the Royal Sisters. She agreed that her time in banishment had not been bad at all on her and whilst not quite the approbative manner of the statue, she thought that her body, notably her flanks, were in impeccable condition.
Unlike Celestia's that had only continued to grow larger over time due to a lot of sitting around on her throne and the over-zealous comfort eating of cake. The statues certainly didn't show that. Had the artist chose to include it, they may very well have been banished from Equestria, or thrown in a dungeon. Maybe banished from Equestria and then thrown in a dungeon in the place they were banished too.
Luna giggled inwardly at her thoughts as she continued down the corridor. She does love her cake.
The approach to Celestia's chambers was one of her favourite parts of the castle. The hallway was open on one side, instead brandishing tall white marble pillars that surrounded a garden, blooming with flowers of blue, purple, red and yellow. At the centre stood a small white tree, it's bark a pale white meant to portray the surface of the moon. Beneath it, cast in the shadow of the branches was a plaque that read:
'Planted upon her return. Forever the Guardian of the Night, Princess Luna'
This also made her chuckle. It wasn't that she wasn't greatful for the thought, but she didn't like the fact that it made her sound heroic. She wasn't the 'guardian' of the night. She didn't actually stand and watch, making sure that all of her and her sisters little ponies were sleeping well. She was the night. She was the weaver of dreams and beautiful starry skies. It fell to her to make sure that her night came and passed, just as her sister did for the day. The passing day and night was in perfect harmony once more and it was one that she was glad to have regained her place in. It was now when she felt at her best, full of vigour, surrounded by all this darkness and being able to bask in her moon's splendid light.
Luna wasn't alone in the castle corridor though. The slitted eyes of two magically enhanced Royal Nightguard watched her approach closely, donned in their purple armour. They flared their bat-like wings and bowed low as the princess passed them, acknowledging their gesture with a kind smile and a graceful nod.
The entrance to Celestia's tower was a heavy oak double door, emblazoned with a large golden sun, the same as Celestia's magnificent ('though still less eloquent than her own', Luna thought) cutie mark. Surrounded by a glowing blue aura, the door easily pushed open, revealing a wide staircase, enough for the two sisters to walk up side by side.
Well, maybe not with Celestia's flanks...
They hadn't been walked in a while, as usually they would both simply fly up to Celestia's balcony. It was far more convenient. This time however, Luna had noticed something troubling her sister when she returned from visiting her protégé, Twilight Sparkle, and did not want to simply fly in unexpectedly if she didn't really feel like company.
Luna reached another, smaller door at the top of the stairwell, knocking gently with her hoof.
"Come in."
The door nudged open, revealing Celestia's cosy study, largely covered by a scarlet rug and scatterings of comfy pillows. A closed glass door led out onto her usual entrance, and a darker room off to the right housed her sleeping chambers. Celestia herself sat atop one of the cushions beside a crackling fireplace, looking slightly downcast as she read over scrolls floating in front of her in a shimmering yellow aura.
"Sister, pardon the intrusion, I simply wanted to check if you were alright. You looked a little upset when you returned."
Luna stood at the end of the rug, unsure of whether her company would be appreciated right now.
"Lulu please, you don't have to be so formal. Come sit with me."
Celestia motioned towards an opposite cushion with her hoof, folding away the scroll she was reading and placing it beside her amongst others. Luna sat down, shifting as she got comfortable.
"You were reading..?"
"Friendship reports from Twilight. I like to look back on her progress, let's me know just how far she's come from her secluded life here. Now I receive them from all of her friends when they learn something new of the magic of friendship."
Luna noticed the sadness in her sister's voice as she spoke of her student.
"Celly, I know you better than anyone else. What's troubling you? Has something happened?"
Celestia sighed as she shifted on the cushion, tucking her forelegs beneath her.
"I went to see Twilight today, in the hospital. She had been attacked."
The shock on Luna's face was clearly visible, even with half covered by shadow as the fire burned brightly to one side of her.
"What happened? Is she alright!?"
"She's fine physically. Mentally? She's very upset. She wasn't alone when she was ambushed. Spike, her assistant, was with her. We've not seen him since the attack."
Again, Luna could sense that something was wrong. Her sister looked worried as she spoke, glancing to the side, or staring at the fire.
"What happened, Celly? You look concerned."
Celestia turned to look her sister in the eyes before looking away again, down at the scarlet rug between them.
"She... had an outburst when she awoke. I had just arrived to see nurses trying to hold her down as she thrashed around in her bed, but then she screamed. Her eyes grew to a burning white and dark arcs of magic burst off of her and seared the walls. When she spoke, it wasn't her voice. The last time I witnessed such a powerful outburst was when-"
Celestia stopped suddenly, eyes growing wide in shock as she turned to her sister sitting just across from her, her blue coat reflecting the orange glow from the fire.
"It's alright. I don't mind us talking about that. It's in the past now and I'm glad to be rid of it. Please, continue."
Celestia physically relaxed. Her banishment been a sensitive subject with her sister after a misunderstanding on this year's Nightmare Night, where residents of Ponyville still believed she was the harbinger of the eternal night. Hearing her sister say she was okay with it lifted a weight off of Celestia's shoulders.
"I hadn't seen that much power since the night of your transformation. I was scared, Lulu. I knew Twilight was a powerful wielder of her magic and the corresponding element, but this was uncontrolled. I fear she may have seriously hurt others had I not intervened."
"That is cause for concern. What of her assistant? Do we have any trace of him at all?"
"I've dispatched some of my best guards to scour the area they were attacked, they should arrive there shortly. Other than that, currently we have no idea of his whereabouts."
Luna closed her eyes for a moment in thought.
"Then I propose we tackle this one problem at a time. Allow me to watch over Twilight, to ensure that no one else comes to harm whilst the search for Spike is ongoing. You can continue to deal with the nobles and the citizens in your court." Luna said that last part with a small smile.
"You'll have to find her first."
Luna looked confused by this statement.
"Find her? She's no longer in the hospital? If the outburst was as severe as you say, then she should remain there for several days at least to regain her strength."
"I said the same thing to her not too long ago. But she was distant. She was thinking of ways to rescue Spike, even as I told her to stay put. I'm not angry with her, I could see she was distant, but said nothing. Once she sets herself a goal, she is single mindedly determined to see that goal through to best of her ability, I don't recall ever seeing her level of academic drive in another pony."
Luna stood, making her way towards the door and away from the comforting warmth of the fire, casting her figure into darkness. Her starry mane stood out much more clearly. Celestia struggled to see where it ended and her sister's body began in the black backdrop.
"Then I'll return to the site of her attack. I believe that's where she'll go first. I'll just watch her from afar when I find her. I'll make sure she's on the right track and that no one will come to harm in her path. For now, Celly, please get some rest. Even your mane is looking tired, and these things never stop billowing."
Celestia giggled and sighed contently. "I will Lulu, I just have one more scroll to finish. Goodnight, dearest sister and I wish you a safe journey."
"Goodnight Celly, sleep well."
The door shut quiet behind the princess of the night. Celestia turned and gazed into the fire, her eyes taking in the soft glow before turning to a nearby scroll and lifting it with her magic. Unfurling it in front of her, she began to read.
The darkness of Spike's cage was no longer oppressive, it was a small haven of shadow, a place he could hide his emotions in for no one else to see. His eyes were no longer streaming tears, but the stinging remained. The small purple dragon sat in the corner, his head resting upon his arms and grasping his knees.
His thoughts veered towards his friends and his life back home.
It was a Tuesday, he thought, so his day would have been spent as a much appreciated moving pin-cushion under the complete enthralment of the most magnificently beautiful pony to have ever graced Equestria, Rarity. After his heart slowed down and he recovered from being love-struck, he could head to Sugarcube corner with the Cutie Mark Crusaders and play Applebloom at 'Who can eat 5 cupcakes the fastest' and he would win. Again. It was much to the dislike of his stomach, but that was usually future Spike's problem.
Then, after a long day of pointed objects and a lot of cake, he would make his way back to his home at the library. He would sleepily drag himself up the stairs, giving a small 'goodnight' as he past the studious unicorn and climbed into his basket.
But before he dozed off, a purple aura would tuck his blanket around him, and a small kiss would be planted on his head, before Twilight turned and trotted back to her reading.
The bitter sting strengthened. Spike rocked gently in the darkened corner of his cage, threatening to break down again. But this time he was interrupted by the sound of somebody else's tears.
Spike stood up and moved towards his small gap, his claws reaching and pulling his small form up.
"Hello?"
The crying stopped, and Spike could hear shuffling not too far away from him, but he couldn't see the source. So he called again, not knowing if he was simply imagining the sounds after however long he'd spent in confinement. Despite his doubts, a timid filly's voice answered back.
"H-hello..? Who's there?"
"I'm Spike, what's your name?"
There was a moment of pause before the voice spoke again. "I-I'm Snowdrop. Snowy."
More whimpers emerged from the source of Snowy's voice, Spike knew all too well what she was going through.
"Hey Snowy, please don't cry! You're gonna make me cry again and I've got to try and be manly now I know somebody else is here!"
This drew a small giggle from Snowy, but it was still covered beneath sadness.
"Where are you from, Snowy?"
"Cirrus H-Heights. It's near the border with the Gryphon Aeries." Snowy wiped away sniffles from her nose. "How about you?"
"Me? I'm from a lovely little town called Ponyville. It's close to Canterlot, but lacks the same kind of awesomeness-ness. Still, it's home. I make do."
This earned him another laugh, noticeably not covered by tears this time.
"Haha, Ponyville? That's a funny name."
"Yeah I know, not very original. Nothing I can do about it. I mean, if I was gonna name it, I'd probably name it something like Spikesville, add a little spice to it."
There was no response this time to his attempts at comedy. Trying to pull himself up closer to the gap to see out. Another cage lay across from his, but the gap was facing away.
"Are you okay Snowy?"
The sounds of sniffles returned. "I wanna go home, Spike. I miss my parents. I just wanna go home..."
Sensing the coming heartbreak, Spike quickly changed the subject.
"Tell me about your parents, Snow."
The shuffling of hooves and a dejected sigh followed, before she continued again.
"My dads name is Whirlwind, he helps to manage the weather and stuff".
Talking about her parents a little seemed to raise her spirits, he voice chirped up over the eerie silence that otherwise filled wherever they were.
"My mom's called Chill Breeze and she's the prettiest pony ever! She's really good at cooking and stuff, she even has a resta... A restorro... Um, she serves food to ponies and they pay her for it."
Her confusion made Spike smile a little to himself.
"What about your parents?"
"--"
The young dragon deflated a little at her question. Pulling away from the gap of his cage, returning to the cold floor of the cage. He leaned his head backwards and stared at the ceiling of his cage. He closed his eyes and sighed.
"Um... I don't know my real parents. I can't remember ever being told about them. No one knows who they are."
"I'm sorry Spike, I... I didn't know I..."
"It's okay, real jerks right? I wouldn't trade who I got instead for anything in the world ever. Her names Twilight, and she's the most magical unicorn in all of Equestria and don't let anyone tell you otherwise!"
Spike stood again, placing a clenched fist on his chest and posing with pride.
"What makes her so magical?"
Spike staggered back a little at that remark, clearly hurt by the lack of belief.
"You ever heard of an Ursa Minor?"
"Yea! They're big and scary and have huge teeth and they're big and I think they look like big blue bears or something!"
"Yea well, she drove one out of Ponyville singlehoofedly. Well actually, she lulled it to sleep and carried it in her magic all the way back to it's cave after these two idiots I know made it mad and it followed them into town."
"No way! Those things are really big and scary! There's no way anybody could carry that thing! Not even the princesses!"
"Haha, it's all true, I swear! Carried all the way to its cave and brushed it off like it was nothing. She's totally super magical! She... she um... she gave me a mustache! I didn't need to be any more awesome and attractive but she did it anyway! And a top hat! And a cane! I looked so awesome..."
"Wow, a mustache? That does sound pretty magical."
"--"
"I miss her..."
The both of them sat in silence for a little while. The realization of their situation hit home a little more, but there were no tears. Not this time. Now they both had the beginnings of a friendship, and that was all they really needed.
"Thanks Spike, for talking to me. Can we be friends?"
"Sure Snowy, I'd love to be your friend."
"Awesome..."
Their newly blossoming friendship moment was cut short by the approaching sound of hooves and talking.
"Be careful with that one, that thing on the bosses side looked pretty deep."
"Don't worry Fix, I'll be able to handle one kid. Just make sure he doesn't try and run. That other one shouldn't be a problem."
The click of a lock and the removal of heavy chains vibrated across the top of his box, before the front with the gap started to lift away. Spike backed into the corner, watching as the encroaching light crept up his body until it reached his eyes. Assaulted by the sudden bright light, spike hid behind his arms before dropping them slowly and allowing his sensitive sight to adjust.
A cold metal clamp tightened around his neck. He was dragged out into the brutal light, the scales on his knees scraping along the base of the box to face two large earth ponies, clad in the same black from the night he was taken. Spike looked down at the collar around his neck, a metal clamp attached to two prongs and held by one of the gruff ponies. Spike tried to pull it away with his claws, scratching away at the metallic surface.
"Now don't do anything stupid, or..."
The clamps grasp tightened around Spike's neck, making him to gasp as his breath was stolen from him.
"...else."
The other pony was opening Snowy's box. He stomped his hoof hard on the floor and told her to move.
Out stepped a small pegasus filly with her eyes closed, wings tucked tightly to her sides and a pristine white coat, one that would give Celestia a run for her money. Pale blue and grey hair was tied back over her shoulder in a braid, the two colours interlacing and complimenting each other perfectly in a matching, flowing tail. She was yet to earn a cutie mark.
Then she opened her eyes.
Her eyes flaunted an icy blue that ironically, when she glanced Spike's way, caused the young dragon to melt.
"You... You're a dragon!?"
"You're..."
Spike was lost for words. He stared at the filly for a few moments, mouth pretty obviously agape.
"No talking! Move!"
Spike was pulled away by the collar again, heading towards an opening in the small room they had emerged into.
'Smooth, Spike. Real smooth.'
The opening in the wall led into a larger room. The walls and ceiling were made of a light brown rock with a couple stalactites hanging down precariously. Torches, scattered at various places along the walls illuminated the room rather poorly. Large double doors stood at the far end, flanked by two guards; one either side. Also in the room stood a number of other fillies and colts in two separate lines and all surrounded by guards who looked down their noses at the children, batons in their teeth. Spike was released and joined the back of his line, glaring daggers at the stallion who temporarily made him into his unruly pet. Snow Drop shuffled over to the back of her own.
A flood of noise entered the room, followed by a tall, slender earth pony. The guards parted as he approached the group of children. He was dressed in a well fitting suit jacket, stretching down to his foreleg fetlocks. A crimson coat was groomed and shining as he walked closer, accompanied by jade coloured eyes and a black and white mane, combed and pushed back to flair behind his ears. He adjusted a small green bowtie around his neck before he cleared his throat.
"Ahehehehehem! Fillies, gentlecolts, welcome to your new home for as long as I see fit! These are the Pits! I'm Roulette, gambling aficionado and the boss of this loooovely establishment!" he leaned towards a small red filly at the front of her line, winking. "Hey, how you doin'? Love the coat, great colour."
The small filly drew back, visibly shaken by the apparent compliment.
"Anywho... I'm the boss, so what I say, goes. Failure to comply with my wishes might upset me and when you upset me, there may be-"
He was interrupted by the doors behind him bursting open, again flooding the room with the drunken cheers and jeers of ponies on the other side. The squeaky wheels of a movable table were rushed past the group. Upon it lay a blue unicorn colt, eyes wide but unmoving. A trickle of blood ran down the side of his face. A much bigger one ran down the side of his body and dripped to the floor next to the lines.
"...dire, consequences."
Roulette turned to circle the group, the surrounding guards pressing backwards to give him room. A large, recently stitched slice was clearly visible along the side of his body, almost reaching his roulette table cutie mark.
He turned away, punching a guard in the shoulder playfully. "Haha! Wasn't that great! I didn't even plan for that! But somepony will have to clean that up."
"Yes sir, fantastic." the guard answered back, clearly a rehearsed response.
The children didn't share his enthusiasm. Most simply looked away, shivering and holding back tears. Snowy on the other hand, allowed hers to flow freely.
Roulette zeroed in on her immediately, walking slowly towards her. "Hey! Stop crying! I hate it when kids cry!"
"Please, I-I just wanna..."
Roulette reached her, gently placing a hoof beneath her chin.
"Hey hey hey hey now..." he said softly, bringing her head up to face his, he smiled compassionately to her.
"What did I just say?"
His expression suddenly changed to one of anger. He dropped his hoof from her chin to bring up another, driving it into the side of her delicate white face. "STOP. CRYING!"
"DON'T YOU TOUCH HER!"
Spike dove between Snowy and Roulette, arms stretched wide and fangs glaring. His reptilian eyes had shrunken to acute slits and his brow arched furiously. If looks could make people explode, Roulette would have exploded. Twice.
"Ahhh, the little dragon! Don't I have you to thank for my trip to Bonesaw? I do, don't I! Ohhhohoho! I've already got my eye on you little guy. You don't want me to take any more notice of you." Roulette glared back down at the white filly's guardian, his own eyes narrowing in anger.
Two guards appeared at Spike's sides, pressing his arms together and forcing him back into line.
"Get this lot to their new 'accommodation'. Oh and please make sure that those two stay together for now, wouldn't wanna be the one who has to break up the lovely couple."
Roulette grinned slyly at Spike before making his way back through the double doors.
Once back at the line, Spike turned to look at Snowy, struggling to return to her feet with the help of two other fillies. A small cut adorned the side of her head and her face was sodden with tears. With lips still trembling, she returned the look.
Luna glanced up at her starless night from her solitary cloud floating above the small town of Ponyville. A deep, black galaxy the like of polished obsidian returned her gaze. She had no time for theatrics with her skyward canvas tonight, but it still saddened her to see it looking so bare. In truth, she probably could have whipped together a few constellations for the avid stargazers and lovers who liked to spend a studious or romantic night out under her stars, but looking down at the tree house library in the centre of the town with it's flickering dim light reminded her of her current task.
Spreading her wings and gliding down off of her perch, the dark alicorn landed on the upstairs balcony of the large tree, causing the old oak branches holding it aloft to creak slightly under her apparently modest weight. Frowning, she approached the small door leading into the library and peeked inside. The interior of the upstairs was pitch black and deserted as far as Luna could see.
She must be up studying or doing tests. Does that filly ever sleep?
Luna didn't hold anything against Twilight and her unusual sleeping hours. More than once had Luna joined Twilight on her balcony as she sat at her telescope, completely entranced by the glistening wonder of the night sky. They had shared stories of times out under the stars. They had laughed at their own stories of Celestia and remembered times long past, right up until the dawn when the first slithers of light crept and stretched out from the horizon and painted the land with the golden glow of her sister's dawn.
Obviously, Luna had far more stories to share. Twilight sat and took in all of her tales, never once seeming uninterested with her reflections of memories. In all honesty, Luna was more than happy to sit and tell them. She'd had a lot of time to sit and mull over her thoughts whilst banished on the moon. Her memories and the stories she read before her transformation helped to preserve what little was left of the princess of the night inside that twisted, dark monstrosity. Twilight was the pony who (with the help of her closest friends) released the dark grip on her heart and mind from Nightmare Moon. She was the one pony who didn't run and hide from her on her first venture out of the comfort of the palace to Ponyville when her knowledge of modern mannerisms was... less defined.
She owed so much to this young, talented unicorn and was more than happy to watch over her when she needed a guardian the most. She knew her sister would have liked to do it personally, but the sudden disappearance of the Princess of the Sun probably wouldn't sit too well with the population. Besides, Luna thought, espionage isn't Celly's forté, not with those flanks. I'll make a much better guardian.
Silent guardian, Luna reminded herself as she easily blinked to the inside of the library's upper level. A waning light gently flickered away downstairs, drawing the alicorn to investigate. Carefully peeking her head down the first few steps, keeping her ears forward to listen for any signs of movement, Luna descended the flight to the lower level.
The small light came from a single candle burning away on a clustered desk in the middle of the large downstairs room. In this darkness, it barely cast enough light to reach the towering bookshelves surrounding the majority of the open foyer. On the desk lay various scrolls and opened books. A large map of Equestria lay sprawled across one the middle of the desk, held down in its corners by more paperweights. An unfurled scroll and quill sat silently near the edge. From her vantage, Luna could make out intricate and beautifully stylised writing on the scroll. She was too far away to make out any words.
Of course, with her head planted firmly in her latest read, her mane covering the better half of her face and snoring away quietly like a newborn filly was Twilight. She looked adorable as she slept, her steady breathing blowing stray strands of her mane up and down at the side of her muzzle as she used her book as a pillow.
Confident that she wasn't going to be detected, the night princess continued the rest of the way down the steps and approached the explosion of papers and books that covered the desk. In a nearby room, Luna could see used chemical equipment scattered about in apparent organised chaos. She drew her attention to the large map.
Equestria was a glorious land indeed. Stretching far and housing numerous climates to challenge pony ingenuity from the frozen reaches and snow-capped mountains of the Frozen North, to the sprawling wastes and searingly hot plains of the Badlands to the south, all surrounded by glorious seas, glistening with life of all sizes and shapes. Luna longed for the day when the ponies of Equestria dived into the depths of the undiscovered seas. Who knows what kind of life was down there? What treasures they could unearth right on their doorstep?
The study of the oceanic realm was one that fascinated the dark alicorn, she always felt soothed having the cool ocean breeze flowing through her ethereal mane and she would often sit and see if she count her own stars in the reflection of the waves as they danced and lapped over one another. She had recommended her sister try it once in awhile, to join her for a midnight flight along the shores to the east where in the distance and across the water the light from the peaks of the Gryphon Aeries could be seen.
What drew her attention on this map however, was a large red cross painted over a small section of the San Palamino desert to the south, just before the border with the Badlands. Not much existed out that way past the growing settler towns of Appleloosa and Dodge Junction and the sprawling stampede grounds of the numerous Buffalo herds in the desert. Only another single town existed that far south, acting as the gateway and last stop for any adventurous types wanting the brave the dangers of the Badlands. A mining colony town called Ironside Hills.
It was a moderately big town, infamous for its trade in iron and coal to the rest of Equestria from its rich mines. In the past, it drew many a pony to indulge in more seditious activities, far from the watchful gaze of Canterlot and it's elite guard. It became a place for the working pony to eat, drink and gamble their bits away from the high end society and flashy casinos of Las Pegasus... Or so Luna was informed on her return and on her own inquiries into the changed and expanded territories that now constituted as part of her joint monarchy with her sister. She knew she couldn't keep and eye on all of the activities of her little ponies, they had needs and wants just like any other creatures and often gave into temptation. As long as they didn't come complain to her of being robbed of their bits in the casinos there, Celly usual paid the small town no mind other than to confirm every now and then that coal and iron production was going as smoothly as usual.
Luna mused to herself as she looked back over the sleeping form of Twilight. So innocent and naive in her upbringing. Being sheltered at a young age by the Princess of the Sun and given all the books she could read probably hadn't given her the social mannerisms to interact with the gambling, working class ponies of Ironside Hills. If this was where her journey was going to lead her, then Luna was glad she chose to keep and eye on her sister's student.
It looked like Twilight was nearly ready to leave too. Next to the door lay a saddle bag, holding a few necessities for travelling (as well as more than a few books, of course) and a small pouch filled with bits. Draped over the corner of a bookcase was a hooded cloak, only big enough to cover a ponies back. It would still reveal her cutie mark.
Luna could understand the need for the hood. Concealment would be the best idea for the shy unicorn to keep away prying eyes. News of her heroic exploits have no doubt spread across the province. Though, maybe a slightly longer cloak would have been preferable, not many ponies have a six-pointed star as a cutie mark.
Before returning to the balcony and back to the night, Luna grasped the unfurled scroll off of the desk next to Twilight. In the fading light of the dying candle, she read over what appeared to be a letter.
She was anxious at what she saw. The beautiful scripture didn't reflect the dark, macabre tone in the letter at all.
She set the scroll back down next to the sleeping form of the Twilight, still fast asleep with her head buried in her book. Sunlight once more started to rise over the horizon slowly, throwing specks of light through the small windows around the library. Before leaving, Luna stroked her hoof through Twilight's violet mane gently and whispered to her softly.
"This is a dangerous path, young Twilight Sparkle. I hope you are ready for what may lie ahead."
Twilight slowly rose from her hard-back pillow, rubbing her eyes gently with her hooves and flicking her mane out of her face as the first rays of light spread a warmth across the open floor of the library. Groggily getting to her hooves and blowing out the small flame of the candle next to her, she folded the book and floated it back to its resting nook amongst the hundreds of others nestled between the huge folds of the bookcases.
ooooOOOOooooOOOOoooo
Spike ducked under the blow of another pegasi that swirled above him, lashing out with their hooves the distract him from the charging ponies in black bearing towards him across the opening between the trees. A quick burst of green flame quickly deterred the flying pest and left a nice smoking hole in the pegasi’s robe. Smirking, Spike turned his attention back towards the oncoming wave of hooves and cloaks. He puffed out his chest, brushed back the spines on his head and picked up his trusty lance before adjusting the position of the plate chest-piece adorning his heavily muscled pectorals.
He didn't really need it's protection, his scales were as hard as the side of a mountain and as polished as Dash's ego, but he couldn't have all the damsels he was going to rescue swoon and collapse from the sight of his body whilst he was singleclawedly fighting off masses of evil pony dudes.
Showing a fanged grin, Spike charged back towards the oncoming horde that was seemingly getting larger by the second, with his lance at full extension. The ground around him erupted in noise as he closed the gap on the front line, the claws of his feet kicking up dust and dirt behind him. This was going to hurt them a lot more than it was going to hurt him.
Yea! Whack! Boooooom arrgghhhh! N-No! Please! Have mercy! Arrrgghhhhhh...
Spike looked down at the crude drawings he had etched in the rock on the floor with his claws. Creativity never really was his strong suit. His interpretation of himself carved into cold stone floor was less than spectacularly lifelike. Far less. At least, he hoped so. He kinda looked like a spiky sheep with a pole coming out of somewhere near his mouth. A fearsome creature indeed.
A single torch burned next to the bolted door of his cell, casting a flickering light across the meagre room. Whilst he was glad to be out of the cage, the accommodations were far from welcoming. He watched as the smoke from the torch swirled and escaped through a grate in the centre of the ceiling. He had to wonder; just how were they keeping this place ventilated underground so well? Not that he wanted to be particularly picky about it. It was going somewhere that wasn't here, so that was good. Him being able to breath just fine sat well with Spike.
In the back left corner of his cell sat a huge pile of broken wood of various sizes that took up most of the back wall, save for a large bed in the right corner that sported a dusty and hard mattress, a few roughly quilted blankets and one pristinely white sleeping filly. There was only the one bed, and easily enough room on in to fit a filly and a young dragon. At first, Spike felt strangely uncomfortable sharing it with Snow Drop. He'd only ever shared a bed with Twilight when he was much younger but soon realised that it may be better to be slightly uncomfortable sleeping next to a pony you didn't know than to be shivering alone at the other side of the mattress. He wasn't all that tired at the moment anyway, just bored.
Spike was sat on the floor at the edge of the bed playing with his claws. With his epic adventure and amazing artistic skills on hold, he had a little time to think to himself again. He leaned back his head to rest on the side of the dusty mattress and thought back to the previous night.
ooooOOOOooooOOOOoooo
After sharing a lousy meal of bread and water with Snow Drop in relative silence, they both decided it would be best to try and get some sleep after the day's events. The cold grey walls of the cell didn't exactly offer much in the way of warmth, so both Snowdrop and Spike had curled up in the blankets, albeit at opposite ends of the large bed. However, after a while of tossing and turning, trying to get comfortable on the hard mattress, Spike heard Snowdrop. She was sobbing quietly with her back turned away from him. The first day had been harder on her than anyone else, and Spike really only blamed himself for that.
After being politely escorted to their cell, one in a long stone corridor of many, one of the guards turned to Spike with an evil grin. Apparently, one of his friends had died when they tried to capture him from Twilight. He wanted a little payback. After another gruesome buck to the chest and a face to face encounter with the wall, Snowdrop tried to stop the guard. Another large bruise along her side now accompanied the one off of Roulette. My scales could take it. Snow Drop couldn't.
He couldn't just leave her there to cry like that, not after what Roulette and that piece of scum guard had put her through that day. Spike crawled up the bed slowly and placed a claw on Snowy's shoulder. She turned quickly to hug him, shoving her face deep into his scaly chest before flinching slightly at the pain the movement brought her. It was lucky she didn't break anything, but the guard was more interested in hurting him than her.
Lucky him.
Spike simply held her for a while before she calmed down enough for him to try and talk to her. He pulled away from her gently, still holding her, and looked down at her piercing blue eyes. He promised he would protect her from Roulette, that if he tried to lay another hoof on her, he would 'tear him another hole'. He thanked her for stopping the guard, saying how brave he thought she was for standing up to him like that.
Snowy just smiled weakly at this, pressing her head back into him and groaning slightly once more.
Thank you again, Spike. I don't know what I'd do if you weren't here...
ooooOOOOooooOOOOoooo
Spike sighed as he came back to reality with a question on the forefront of his mind. What would she have done if I hadn't been there to help her? What would Roulette have done to her? If the guard hadn't had me to take his anger out on, would he have hurt her? Or just left her alone completely? Was it my fault she got hurt?
Spike looked back over at the sleeping form of Snowy, to tucked away under a rough blanket. She had shifted around to face him. A large, purple bruise covered one side of her youthful face and a wing draped over the other.
"I'll get him back, Snowy. For you. For everyone. Just you watch."
He could use his claws to slice him into little pieces, or breath fire onto his smug little face! Or he could... He could...
Spike hesitated.
The returned his gaze to Snowy, who had started shivering in her sleep. Spike crawled up the bed once more, dragging over another blanket and placing it over her. Hopping off the bed, he pulled a few pieces of the broken wood into the centre of the room, underneath the grate in the ceiling. Stacking them into a makeshift pile, Spike set them alight with his green flame. He sat down next to the fire as it started to grow and consume the wood that twisted and deformed as it fed the flames.
He could try and get back at Roulette for hurting Snowy. The sleeping filly had stopped shaking. A small smile crept along her features. Spike slouched down next to the fire, warming his claws as an inviting green glow covered the room. He sighed dejectedly.
It wouldn't be me who gets punished for fighting back.
Deciding the floor wasn't as comfortable as the mattress, Spike climbed back onto the bed and snuggled up into one of the blankets, like he used to in his blanket back in Ponyville. The warmth from the fire soothed his spirits slightly as he closed his eyes and fell asleep next to Snow Drop. Spike was going to be her armour and he would destroy anyone who would try to bring her harm.
ooooOOOOooooOOOOoooo
The library was far bigger than Twilight remembered it during the day. Dust had started to settle along the shelves of the numerous bookcases. The interior seemed to have lost a little colour, replaced by a dulling grey tinge that she just couldn't remove despite the warm light pouring in through the windows.
Floating over a cup of her favourite tea and the remnants of a crisp daisy sandwich, Twilight took her seat at the huge desk in the middle of the room. Her joints ached slightly from the previous night, having decided that the desk looked far more tempting to sleep on rather than make the substantial journey up the fifteen or so steps to her comfy, welcoming bed.
Twilight scanned the map in front of her, reciting her planned course to her final destination, a small mining town just north of the border into the Badlands called Ironside Hills. After frantically searching the site of Spike's kidnapping, Twilight recovered one of the small darts that had fallen to the ground next to her. It contained remnants of the toxin used to eventually bring her down.
A night of vigorous chemical tests revealed one of the higher concentrations of the ingredients was extract from a particular flower that only grows in a very small area of the San Palamino called the Clouded Lily, named for it's white flowers and for it's use as an natural anaesthetic. Apparently, a pretty powerful anaesthetic if put into heavily concentrated doses. Ironside Hills was the only settlement remotely close to where it grows, so Twilight assumed that it would be a good place to start.
A train goes there from Appleloosa, the place where she helped to settle a local dispute between the colonising ponies and a herd of buffalo with her friends who-
Her friends.
It wasn't often nowadays that Twilight wanted to be alone instead of surrounded by her closest friends. They had shared so many adventures together in the few short years they had known each other. Twilight had grown to love each and every one of them, from Fluttershy's timid curiosity with the natural world, Rainbow's spectacular feats of aerial manoeuvrability and boasting, Rarity's simple generosity, Applejack's determined hard work and Pinkie Pie's... being Pinkie Pie. But she couldn't ask them to be a part of this. Yes, Spike was their friend too and she knew they would do everything they could to help save him, but that wasn't what Twilight was worried about. She had no doubts about that.
What she did doubt, was herself. Ever since that night when Spike was taken, the night when she had taken the life of another pony, even the next morning when her dangerous outburst threatened the lives of ponies just trying to help her; she had questioned herself. What am I willing to do?
Twilight had spent more than two years now, studying the magic of friendship and writing her reports (more recently along with her friends) to Princess Celestia. Her studies helped her to understand the harmony of life around them, from the smallest insect to the biggest dragon. It helped her to understand the importance of elements of harmony that she and her friends embodied. But could she keep to those lessons? Could she show kindness, generosity and honesty in the face of those who took Spike from her? Laughter was out of the question, this was nothing to laugh about. Her loyalty to Spike couldn't be denied, she would find him, no matter what it took.
What about her own element?
Had she lost control her element and brought harm to other ponies in a raw and primal display of pure power. It was in self defence and in the defence of a loved one, but did that make it okay? The nurses in the hospital certainly weren't trying to harm her, but she had thought they were stopping her from reaching Spike. She, a usually harmless and carefree librarian, had taken the life of that pony and would quickly have to decide whether or not she would be prepared to do so again if it came to it. She knew she couldn't involve her friends in that. She couldn't let them see what she was willing to do, and just how powerful she could be when the life of those closest to her were part of the equation.
Twilight felt sick to her stomach.
The library suddenly seemed much bigger and emptier than it had in months and for now, it would have to stay like that. Floating the map over to her bag next to the door and tucking it in gently, Twilight brought over the cloak hanging nearby and set it over her back and head, covering her face in a dark shadow. Glancing up, her purple aura clicked open the lock on a window on the second floor, allowing Owlicious entry and exit as he saw fit.
She levitated over her bags and strapped them into under her cloak. Before turning to leave, Twilight grasped the letter sitting idly on the desk in her telekinesis. She added a final sentence to the bottom of the scroll. A quick scan and an angry glare accompanied a glow of her horn and a faint pop before the scroll wrapped up and disappeared into thin air. Twilight didn't want to get Spike into any trouble, wherever he was, but she had to send that. She had to warn those who held him what would be in store should they not release him and any other captives and that they would regret it. Heavily. They would see just how adept she could be at using her raw, primal power.
Again armed with single minded determination, Twilight stepped outside into the warm morning air and clicked the lock behind her and flipping the opentoclosed. Twilight began a light trot towards the train station. This was the last time she would be home for a little while.
ooooOOOOooooOOOOoooo
"...and then, when we were falling, and both of us were crying and smiling at each other, bam! In flies Rainbow Dash and snatches us out of the sky! It was so awesome!"
"It sounds awesome! But, what about the Wonderbolts? What happened to them?"
"Oh, we got them out of the side of the mountain eventually. Took a fair bit of magic to shift the top of that water tower. They thanked everyone and said they couldn't stay before bolting off again. I don't really blame them, they didn't really do much."
Spike and Snowdrop sat huddled next to the luminous green flames dancing away atop a dwindling pile of splintered wood. They were sharing stories. Snowy had told Spike about when she flew for the first time and how it had started snowing whilst she glided between the rooftops of her mountainside home in Cirrus Heights. Spike noticed the sparkling in her eyes when she spoke of the sparkling white flakes drifting lazily down from the clouds. He bet that if it snowed and she closed her eyes, she'd disappear.
Speaking about her town, her past and the snow lifted her spirits. She was smiling and laughing as she retold her story, and listened to Spike's after persuading him to share one of his more embarrassing moments. It didn't take long at all. Snow Drop only had to bat her eyelashes and pout a little. Spike melted once again under that icy gaze. It would seem that it was a talent that most fillies and mares could play whenever they wanted their way and it worked all too well.
Spike didn't mind sharing the story of his tantrum rampage across Ponyville. Anything that got Snowy to smile was completely worth it. He mentioned Rarity, and how he thought she was the most beautiful unicorn he'd ever laid eyes on. He also mentioned how Snowy reminded him so much of her, minus the horn. At this comment, a bright red blush spread along the filly's cheeks, one she quickly tried to hide behind a wing.
She looks adorable when she's being shy.
Spike chastised his own thoughts, a blush spreading across his own scaly features. The two sat and chatted for a little while longer, enjoying the company and warmth of the fire before a noise at the door interrupted them. The sound of bolts being undone was followed by a cautious push on the door as it crept backwards, causing a cool breeze from the outside corridor buffeting the green blaze. Two guards appeared behind the door, one of them stepping inside and looking down at Spike. Spike’s eyes narrowed to slits and he reflexively brandished his claws.
"You, dragon, the boss wants to see you. Now."
After his previous thoughts of what retaliation might mean for Snowy, Spike resigned, dipping his head and pushing himself up off of the blankets on the floor before walking towards the open door.
"I'll be back soon. Keep the fire going if you start getting cold."
"I'll be here."
The echo from the door resounded down the tight corridor as Spike trudged along in front of the two guards, garbed in their black hooded cloaks. Identical doors lined each side of the corridor every few feet or so. Spike could only imagine how many of the doors hid other colts and fillies behind them, many who didn't have him to stand up for them.
He was led into the room where they had lined up the previous night, the torches still flicking away and lighting the dark corners of the light brown cave. This time however, Spike was marched towards the double doors at the far end, flanked by two more guards. A nod from those behind caused the two next to the doors to bow slightly, before grasping hold and pulling the door open.
The next room was slightly smaller than the previous, a few scattered torches barely lit the surroundings, leaving the room in a hushed obscurity. Spike's eyes again adapted to the low levels of light. Surrounding the majority of the room where wooden stands, stacked up and behind each other, looking over a huge pit in the middle of the floor. Spike quickly skidded over to look down into the pit.
A dirt floor with outcroppings of small rocks lay at the bottom of the bit, surrounded by the same light brown walls of the cave. Small smears of blood lay strewn across the floor, seeming to congregate the closer you got the the edges. At opposing ends of pit stood two iron grate doors.
"Don't worry about that, you'll have plenty of time to inspect it in more detail."
One of the guards smirked towards the other before leading Spike away and towards another small wooden door hiding between a gap in the stands.
This corridor was exquisitely furnished compared with the bare grey of the cell corridor. Polished wood lined the floor with a deep purple carpet running the length straight down the middle. Along the walls lay framed pictures of apparently famous guests and local newspaper articles. Spike couldn't read the headlines as he was rushed toward another door at the end bearing a golden plaque with the word administrator engraved in bold black letters. A guard moved forward to knock on the door. The voice that replied immediately agitated Spike.
"Yea, come on in!"
The door opened up into a small office. The floor was covered in the same purple carpet and more framed pictures lined the walls of ponies gambling, drinking and smiling for the camera. In the centre sat a large desk, littered with papers and pouches of bits except for a small picture frame, showing a young Roulette and a light blue coated earth pony. The picture looked pretty old. Two wooden seats sat in front of the desk. Behind, a large framed picture of a building, gleaming with a sparkling sign that read The Rigged Roulette. Sat down in front of it, spinning around in an executive leather chair, was Roulette.
"Spike! Heya buddy! Come in, come in, take a seat!" He pointed towards one of the seats. The two guards stood alert next to the door as Spike climbed up and folded his arms, not wanting to make eye contact with the cunning red stallion.
"Sorry about the conditions, this old girl has seen better days, but we gotta make do with what we got, eh?" Roulette said, a playful smile stretched across his face.
"Now, I know we got of on the wrong hoof-"
This elicited a sharp snort from Spike, who glared up at Roulette a blew smoke out of his nostrils but otherwise stayed silent.
"Now now, I know we got off on the wrong hoof, or claw, or whatever but I've got a deal I wanna throw your way. A deal I don't think you'll want to turn down."
Roulette hopped down off of his swivel chair and pushed it to one side, revealing the large picture behind the desk to a clearer few.
"Beauty, isn't she? That was taken on the day before I opened her up! Must have been about 15 years ago now." Roulette turned and pointed a hoof at a small figure next to the door of the building. "That's me."
Spike glanced up at the picture, arms still crossed and still silent.
"Now, ponies around here like to gamble. They work hard all day, and they like having an establishment to come to where they can spend a little money, have a drink and watch a show. Our shows are pretty popular 'round these parts. My show, my 'gift' to this town is the pit. And that, my friend, is where you and all your little friends come in."
Roulette leaned on a hoof on his desk. "We pit you guys and gals against some of the kids who've been here, doing it for a while and my adoring crowd bets their bits on how long they think you will last before you just can't fight back no more."
"Now, these other kids that we bring in to have a go in the pit... They lack backbone, shall we say. I mean, your's is carrying reinforced scales, got a taste of them when ya started thrashing about. Kinda hurt, thanks for that."
Spike grinned at that. You deserved it.
Roulette suddenly changed his tone again. He stood up, walked around to Spike's side of the desk and took on a serious look.
"Here's that deal you can't afford to turn down. Now I know that you got a little bit of a crush on that pretty little filly. What's her name? Sno-"
"Don't you talk about her." Spike bared his claws again, but stayed in his seat.
Roulette's toned didn't shift. "I want you to fight in my pits. I want you to play by my rules and do as I say, spice things up a little for my audiences. In return, I'll spare your filly friend from joining you in there."
Spike was at an impasse. If he says yes, Roulette gets exactly what he wants. If he says no... Spike didn't even want to think about what the fighters in the pit would do to her. Not after seeing that colt being rushed passed on the table.
"Fine."
"Sorry? What was that? Didn't quite catch you."
"Fine! I'll do it."
"Excellent! Let's shake on it!" Roulette chirped with happiness, holding out a hoof.
Spike tensed up slightly, before extending a claw and (digging his claws in a little) shaking Roulette's hoof, immediately followed by a loud belch and a small pop.
"What the bu-?!”
A jet of green flame erupted out of Spike's mouth before forming into a tightly sealed scroll that landed squarely on the desk next to the both of them.
"What do we have here?"
"Hey wait! Do- oooft!"
The two guards had rushed forward and held Spike back, keeping him from grasping the scroll. He couldn't retaliate, he simply glared with slitted eyes at his pony restraints.
"Take him back to his cell. I'll take a look at this and organise his first show. You're gonna be a star in this place kid! Well, you'd better be, or it'll be her turn to show us what she's got."
The two guards marched Spike back out and down the corridor. Roulette took a seat back on his executive swivel leather chair and grasped the scroll between his hooves, unfurling it. He kicked back in the chair with his hind legs resting on the expensive looking table. He began to read.
To whom it may concern,
You've taken someone close to me. Forcibly taken someone close to me. You have no idea what you've done.
Half of my normal life is as a simple librarian in the town you stole Spike from me. It had it's fair share of adventures and challenges. Challenges that I've learned a lot from.
My other half is as the protégée of Princess Celestia of Equestria and the bearer of the element of magic. You've seen what I can do with my magic, even when your thugs tried to bring me down.
You stole Spike from me. You've made me angry. If you release him and any other ponies you are holding captive, then I will not look for you after I have Spike back.
If you ignore me, or if I find a scale out of place anywhere on him... I will hunt you down.
Twilight shot up from the table of the carriage she occupied alone. A small tear trickled down the side of her cheek before meeting an abrupt end on the surface of a slightly embarrassed and slightly shaking hoof.
Twilight calmed herself down and slouched back in the seats lining one of the walls. A small dripping alerted her to the shattered ceramic tea cup now covering multiple parts of the simple wooden table with her bag sitting quietly underneath in the centre of the plainly designed room. Her hooded cloak lay strewn next to her. Usually, Twilight shared these long journeys with her friends, and would be kept smiling and awake by the ever-entertaining Pinkie Pie, or by hearing stories of Rarity’s newest and best line of clothing that apparently Fluttershy would look absolutely darling in. Comments like that made Twilight a little jealous of the timid pegasus. She was undoubtedly the cutest thing ever when she blushed, but it wasn’t like she was even trying.
Twilight ran a hoof through her mane softly, thinking. I may not be as naturally pretty as her, but I take care of myself. She washed regularly and carefully brushed her mane to just the way she liked it; straight and simple. It wasn’t as soft and bouncy as Rarity’s, as colourful as Rainbow Dash’s or even voluminous as Pinkie Pie’s (which even looked good when she got it wet and it went uncharacteristically straight), but it felt nice, smelt of her favourite lavender shampoo and suited her perfectly. She was the Ponyville librarian and her mane was simple, organised impeccably and straight to the point.
Twilight sat up slightly in the seat to catch the reflection of her body in the small window. She admitted that she didn’t have defined muscle of Rainbow or Applejack; reading books over bucking trees or flying didn’t help. She admitted she didn’t have as many elegant curves as Rarity or Fluttershy’s long legs but she was by no means fat. Of course, the girls had complimented her on her simple beauty in the past. Rarity always offered to spruce her up a little so they could spend more time together. Sitting back and sighing however, Twilight couldn’t help but feel a little envious of the rest of the girls’ perfections. The only thing Twilight assumed she offered to the group was intellect. Oh, and every now and then her big... crown... thingy when they needed to save the world from certain destruction. Yea, there was that too.
She just assumed it was right of her to be a little jealous. None of them were as good as magic as she was (four of them by no fault of their own), but then again, nobody was. Unicorn magic anyway. Alicorns don’t count, though I could maybe give them a run for their bits. Twilight was Celestia’s personal student, but did that really matter if she was bound to spend the rest of her life alone because she wasn’t pretty, toned or even energetic and fun enough for any stallion? Without her friends here to distract her, her mind had wandered onto her future and doubts had sprung and dug in like weeds in her mind.
Without their friendship here to support her, her mind had tormented her in her dreams with Spike’s cries for help.
Unhooking the small window from its latch, Twilight surrounded the remains of the tea in the glow of her horn and into a liquid snake, letting it slither out of the window and disappearing out of sight as the train trudged along on the tracks. Using her magic like that was beautiful to Twilight, letting the liquid twist and slide through the air as if it was being guided by an invisible mould, again something she was quite proud of.
She could make it into any shape she wanted. In the past, she’d impressed Spike by forming a complete, smiling replica of him from a few buckets of water. Twilight had even added a water-moustache, much to the delight of the ever insistent young dragon. It was really impressive until Spike had run and clutched her tightly in a hug to show his appreciation. It also broke her concentration, leaving a very wet library floor for her number one assistant to wipe up.
Twilight was proficient in all trades of magic, theoretical and practical, and was well on her way to becoming a master at them too at such a young age. It would take other unicorns lifetimes to master the types of magic she could casually conjure up. Teleportation, for example, was as easy as expanding her mind and travelling along the magical connections that linked every place and every object together, magically breaking apart her body at a molecular level and reforming it instantaneously in a different location. Simple.
Outside, Twilight could see vast desert plains of dusty orange, red and yellow, with the occasional dot of green standing defiant against the scorching landscape and the potentially brutal waves of sunlight attacking from all around . These trees weren't giving up however. Generations of braving the intense heat of the desert sun has produced life perfectly adapted to surviving here, even in the most arid conditions. These trees stood as testament to the will and tenacity of life to grow and expand something that the first colonists of Appleloosa would have looked upon for inspiration when first they settled.
Far off in the distance, mountains of orange, battered and sculpted by the wind, watched the sun’s light stretch across endless seas of cracked ground, thirsting for water. And above, a cloudless sky gleaming bright blue cascaded just within reach of the peaks of the mountains. If you could flip the scene, a deep clear blue ocean would tuck itself away beyond the horizon beneath the sleepy orange hue of a rising dawn.
Twilight stole back her focus from the window and to the table. She brushed the scattered fragments of the destroyed tea cup into a not-so-neat pile at the centre of the table. She must have had another outburst of magic when she woke up; shattering the closest thing to her when she cried out.
It shouldn’t be long before the train reached Appleloosa, maybe an hour or so, Twilight mused. She wondered why none of the usually helpful ponies who inhabit this land had come to see what her outburst was about. She was certainly loud enough and the walls of the trains weren’t very thick. Definitely not thick enough to drown out the sounds of a snoring Rainbow Dash as Twilight had discovered on more than one occasion. Even without the scream, the shattered cup would have at least attracted a nosy mother or curious child wanting to see the crazy lady with a hood who couldn't hold a cup properly, something unicorn foals were taught to do at a very early age. As Princess Celestia’s protégé, Twilight was even a little better at just floating a cup than anypony else.
The train was, in fact, eerily quiet. A considerable difference considering the amount of ponies she’d seen getting on at the various stops to journey to Appleloosa. Twilight stood and moved to the sliding door of the carriage, edging it to one side and gingerly poking her head out into the corridor, first looking to her left.
“Hello?”
No response. Turning her head to the right, she tried calling again, louder.
“Helloooo?”
Her horn instinctively lit up and a small object was immediately halted just inches from her face, causing her to flinch. Focusing in on the object and moving it a little further out of her sight so she could see it better, it started to take the shape of a small dart. A dart she was pretty familiar already, except this one had a dark green liquid sloshing around in the tube at its back.
Twilight’s eyes quickly shot up to scan the rest of the supposedly deserted corridor. At the far end stood a unicorn, garbed in the black hooded robe and levitating at least five more of the darts.
Oh, great.
Noise to her left brought to view an earth pony, heavily clad in a padded black robe. Between his teeth sat the hilt of a slightly curved dagger. It wasn’t extravagantly artistic. It didn’t have an intricate design flowing from the tip, twisting and turning down the gleaming blade, but it looked pretty sharp, if a bit dirty.
Breaking eye contact with the earth pony and jumping backwards into the carriage, Twilight slammed shut the sliding door, holding it tightly in place with her magic. A green stallions muzzle with a stepped up to the glass on the door. His breath steamed up little pane before he gently wiped it away with a hoof. The momentary quiet was broken by the door shaking violently as he tried to overpower Twilight’s magical grasp on the door. Twilight studied his face. Deep hazel eyes gazed past her towards the window and a small smile crept between his lips as the pretty pointy looking dagger was held steady between his teeth.
His grin brought chilling streaks racing down Twilight’s spine. Cautiously, she turned towards the still open window. Outside, pumping her wings to keep up with the train was a teal pegasus mare, also garbed in the telltale black robes and grasping the same sharp blade as the earth pony in her mouth. Her wings turned as she banked towards the window, drawing enough speed to break the glass. At the door, the green earth pony had taken to the idea of his feathered counterpart and took to bashing the hilt of the dagger through the glass of the sliding door.
Ohhhhh buck...
With the pegasus closing in from the outside and the earth pony at the door, Twilight’s chances of survival were narrowing quickly. Twilight panicked. The train rocked violently as the sliding door was ripped off of its hinges and flung towards the window, bathed in a purple glow. The weightless door smashed its way through the wood and glass interior, showering the encroaching pegasus outside with shards of glass and splinters of broken wood. Immediately the mare regretted getting so close. Dropping the dagger and turning her head away to try and shield herself with her wing, the mare screamed out in pain as the shards of glass ripped through the sensitive flesh on her wing like sword slicing through fruit.
The mare tumbled down and onto the unforgiving ground, colliding harshly with the parched ground and kicking up blood stained dust. The rest of the debris from the wall tumbled away into the landscape, leaving one side of seating and a table sitting unaffected; ceramic shards still in a cluttered pile.
Twilight turned her head slowly to face the earth pony that was on the other side of the door. With the dagger still clutched between his teeth, the stallion stood with his eyes wide, staring confused and bewildered at Twilight, who stared back, shocked at her own strength.
The moment didn’t last and the earth pony reacted first. Suddenly lunging towards Twilight, he slammed her backwards onto the remaining seats, pinning her down with his hooves and bringing the dagger to her face. Twilight’s horn glowed fiercely as she fought back against the stallion’s brute force, kicking her legs uselessly against his. “Help! Somebody, please!” Twilight screamed as her power started to fade beneath his strength and determination. She couldn’t let this happen, not now. Spike was still counting on her to come and get her! She didn’t know if he knew that the letter he received was from her, but he had to know that she wouldn’t abandon him. She wouldn’t! She won’t. “No...”
ooooOOOOooooOOOOoooo
Green Leaf inched his curved dagger down towards the unicorns face.
He’d passed by the carriage before, making sure she hadn't jumped without the knowledge of Splitstream, who was probably preening her feathers atop the train. Green Leaf couldn't risk trying to attack her until Whistler had finished putting the new toxin in the darts, in case she woke up.
He admired this mare a little. He’d heard the story about how she’d fought off the first group to bring her dragon in for Roulette and didn’t really know any of the ponies who’d fell to her. However, watching her snooze gently on the table, snoring quietly away, he couldn’t imagine her being able to lift a few heavy books, never mind being able to throw a pony across a clearing and kill him on impact.
This was going to be easy, there’s no way this mare could fight the 5 of them off in these confined spaces. He’d bring back the proof of her death, get his pay and have enough money to feed his wife and beautiful newborn foal for years to come without the need to do any more work. His son would have the best start in life he could give him in the small town of Ironside Hills. Maybe he could put some of the money aside, save for him to go to on to a bigger, better school in the city when he was old enough.
Green Leaf smiled to himself. He could treat his wife, buy her something nice. Ask Waterstone to watch the baby for a day or two whilst they head to the best restaurant in the nearest city. Make a weekend of it.
Yea, she’d like that. Maybe she might do that thing for me again with her-
He could feel her kick uselessly against his back legs, hoping to land a lucky blow that might give her some more breathing room. He glared down at her face and felt a little bit bad about having to slice it up, she was really pretty. He pushed down harder, battering away at her efforts to delay her death. She must have been really scared, because she started shaking. She turned to look him right in the eyes, right before he took her life.
“No...”
ooooOOOOooooOOOOoooo
“No!” Twilight’s eyes suddenly burst into white hot balls of flame, as if staring at them for too long would simply set your own alight. Above her, the stallion’s eyes widened in shock and fear. The dagger started to push back into his mouth, lifting him away from the glaring mare with the burning eyes.
“Get off of me!”
Twilight’s voice twisted once more, assaulting her assailants’ ears as four forces screamed in unison. Her horn glowed brighter as she pushed back at the stallion, his eyes growing wider as he was pushed away violently.
The shattered remains of the tea cup began to shake violently as they were lifted from their broken pile, turning slowly to face the green stallion. Suddenly, breaking her previous outburst, Twilight began to giggle. It was a little disturbing to her four different voices all giggling childishly and coming from the same unicorn who simply lay back on the seat in the ruined carriage cart. In the centre of the room, the ceramic shards of the teacup floated, shaking in a purple glow and pointed at the earth pony. The stallion backed away slowly out of the hole where the door had once stood.
Twilight stopped abruptly, snapping her attention to him as he quivered and continued trying to back off into the corridor. His legs weren’t responding. Twilight was smiling.
A small gust of wind swept across the corridor accompanied by a hiss of air and a flash of violet light. Twilight disappeared.
Another small gust of air beside the stallion caused him to tremble. The giggling returned. He didn’t dare turn his head. He could feel the heat radiating off of Twilight.
“Hehehe...”
Twilight’s breath whispered on his ear, making it twitch in reflex. “You should have run.”
The glowing shards whizzed at the stallion from the centre of the room, fast enough to carve the air in two. A small, pitiful moan escaped his lips as the ceramic bullets ripped past his neck, slicing it open and leaving a glistening trail of blood dripping from the wound. He choked for breath, sputtering more of the sickly red fluid from his mouth before dropping to his knees and suffocating on the rocking floor of the trains’ corridor.
Twilight looked up ahead to the two other unicorns to the right before glancing back over her shoulder at the unicorn left down the corridor.
“You know, this won’t end as badly if you just tell me where you’re keeping him.”
Several more darts launched down the confined space from in front and behind her. Twilight’s horn glowed a little and the darts disintegrated in mid air as they hit her hastily erected shield, fizzing and breaking apart as remnants of the toxic darts pushed gently past the barrier before disappearing from existence, leaving nought but ashes that glided away off towards the hole in the side of the train.
Twilight let loose an uncharacteristically primal scream, encasing the dead stallion’s body in her purple aura and flinging it down corridor at the two unicorns. Their horns were powerless to stop such force and the body sent them sprawling to the floor. Behind her, the unicorn mares horn glowed bright orange as a twisting ball of flame ignited atop her horn. The flaming ball was let loose, burning a trail down the corridor towards her.
Twilight had read all about combat magic. Conjuring electricity and flames to fight off dangerous creatures was all well and good, but it was never something she needed to practice in her town. Yes, occasionally a creature would go rampaging through the town from the Everfree Forest like a cranky baby ursa, stray timberwolf or sometimes even small hydra who were looking for an easy meal, but Twilight’s telekinesis and Pinkie’s conveniently placed secret stashes were usually enough to chase them off. Twilight wasn’t even sure how Pinkie could fit a firework rocket that big inside a mailbox.
The answer was usually as simple as it’s just Pinkie Pie being... Well, Pinkie Pie.
The fireball streaked towards Twilight before dying helplessly against her shield. She’d never tried to cast a fireball before. Maybe now was a great time to try. The unicorn’s grin dropped slowly into shock as the realised her fireball had no effect whatsoever.
A searing orange and yellow mass ignited to life above Twilight’s horn, growing bigger and brighter before a miniature sun sat atop her forehead, licking flames across the walls of the corridor and leaving scorch marks.
“Try catching this!” Twilight screamed at the mare before unleashing the writhing flame off down the corridor. The mares’ horn glowered uselessly as the colossal fireball torn through her weak telekinetic grasp and smashed into her face. She was sent flying, flailing, screaming and burning through the end wall of the corridor, bursting through the wall and again scattering train debris across the dusty plains of the desert outside. Her screams faded into nothing as the sound of the train bouncing over the tracks drowned her out.
Smirking, Twilight turned around to face the two other unicorns; a mare and stallion. She quickly dived to the floor as the dagger from the earth pony, wrapped in a white glow, was hurled at her head, missing by an inch and lodging itself. The two unicorns had recovered from being buried beneath their dead friend’s body and were inching away down the corridor, attempting to keep Twilight suppressed by hurling whatever object they could find littered on the floor.
Twilight snarled and reached out with her telekinesis, grabbing the stallion and launching him upwards into the ceiling of the corridor, pinning his limbs against the cold metal surface. Her horn flared once more as he came crashing down to the floor again with bone-crunching force. An audible snap caused the other mare to flinch before she tried to turn and run, realising she was hopelessly outmatched.
“Ahhh-ah!” the mare gasped as she was lifted slowly from the floor surrounded by the violet glow of Twilight’s horn. Her legs flailed in the air as she tried to break the hold pulling her back up the corridor. Twilight twisted her around in midair to face her. Her eyes kindled a barely held rage.
“I like your mane, it really suits you.”
The unicorn mare’s mouth hung open in amazement. “W-what?”
“Your mane. It suits you really well, brings out the pink in your eyes,” Twilight replied calmly, admiring the way the unicorn mare’s rose-coloured mane curled down on both sides, twisting and flipping outwards in one and draping over the back of her shoulder on the other. Twilight was still holding the mare aloft.
“Thanks?” the mare managed to gasp out in shock before blinking and shaking her head. “You’re crazy!”
“I’m crazy? I’m not the one who tried to attack a mare that’s the princess’s personal student, Element of Magic and really, really ticked off due to a recent kidnapping of a baby dragon. No,-” Twilight placed a hoof on the mares nose, “-you’re the crazy one.” Twilight laughed as she span the mare upside down in her aura before levelling her again. “And on a train too?” Twilight shook her head gently. “You didn’t really have anywhere to run to. You didn’t think this through at all.”
The mare didn’t answer at this. Instead, she turned her gaze away from Twilight’s searing white eyes, ignoring her and mumbling under her breath. “Go buck yourself.”
Twilight’s voice lowered and returned to her usual tone, but her eyes still burned as she stared down the unicorn mare with the pretty mane. “Where is my dragon?”
The mare turned and snorted a laugh. “I said go buck yourself, I’m not giving you anything.”
Twilight sighed; she was hoping the mare would be a little bit more compliant, seeing as how quickly she’d literally burned through her friends. She didn’t have time for this, and this mare obviously wasn’t going to be of much use. She already knew where to start looking and when she got there, anyone else who stood in her way would meet the same end as the broken bodies lying strewn down the corridor. They started it.
“That’s a shame. I already know where to look. I just wanted to know how much you valued your life.” Twilight shook her head again, closing her eyes. “Obviously less than however much you’re being paid.” Her horn began to flare slightly.
“No, wait! Don-”
Her neck snapped backwards. With a dismissive shrug, Twilight let her body drop uselessly to the floor.
Twilight shivered as the clenched her eyes shut, bringing a forehoof to the side of her head. Her eyes simmered out and returned to the beautiful natural violet. She simply stood and stared at the scene in front of her for a minute or so, not being able to fully understand it.
Levitating her hooded cloak over her back and snapping her saddle bags into place, Twilight sighed and pulled the hood up over her ears, blanketing her face in a mysterious shadow. She stepped over the bodies and debris as she headed for the exit, floating up the remaining shards of the ceramic teacup and placing them in a bin next to the door as the train pulled into the station.
Bewildered ponies gasped, mouths agape as the train rolled into its dock with a huge hole decorating the side. The back of the train looked like it had simply exploded. There had to be debris littering the tracks that some poor pony would have the clear up. Ponies poured off the far front end of the train, obviously eager to find out why they’d be forced to relocate their families by a few hooded ponies threatening to kill them if they didn’t move.
Stepping out onto the platform and staring back, they all wore the same expression as those who stood and watched as the train rolled in.
A single hooded figure carrying a saddle bag hopped of behind the families with her head down. Everypony was too shocked to notice as she slipped away into the centre of town, leaving the wreckage of her journey behind her. She didn’t plan to stay long, but she would leave when the next train came in the morning. For now, she trotted towards the centre of town to look for a place to spend the night.
Her stomach rumbling loudly in protest at the lack of food it had received as she trotted along.
Somewhere to eat and sleep would be nice. Maybe they make the same kind of tea?
The calm demeanor she walked from the station with didn’t reflect the ache in her chest as Twilight fought to hold back tears.
The roar of the voices increased as Spike was marched towards the double doors at the end of the cave’s hall, flanked on either side by two burly earth ponies garbed in their padded black clothes. The faces of other fillies and colts watched him walk by with his claws in iron manacles. Some were terrified of the guards, some were worried for Spike. Others were downright relieved that this dragon that they didn’t know was being thrust through those doors and they were not.
The cheering of ponies on the far side grew loader. The muted, but still annoyingly audible voice of Roulette boomed above the crowd, exciting and no doubt coaxing the rowdy spectators into betting just a little bit more on the main event; an event Spike was about to partake in. The torches either side of the huge wooden doors shook in time with the thumping of hooves from beyond.
A wave of sound blasted Spike’s spines backwards as the doors swung open and he was led into the blindingly bright room beyond. Before even his reptilian eyes could adjust to the sudden change in light intensity from the dreary cave, Spike was dragged off to the side and down some carved cave stone steps into a dark hallway. This one was lit by a single torch flickering away and barely casting its glow along the bare walls.
Two heavily set iron gates created a small cage at the end. One to lock him in, the other to let him loose into the arena. His entourage of earth ponies pushed him toward the first of the gates, one of them unshackling a chain from it and leading Spike inside before unlocking his manacles. Spike painfully rubbed his wrists and neglected to stare at anywhere other than the floor.
“Good luck kid” said one of the earth ponies, snickering under his breath. “You’ll need it.”
The iron gate slid closed behind him and the chain was locked around the gate and the bar next to it, once again condemning him to a metal prison. This time however, there was one chance for escape to somewhere a little less... Cagey.
The end of the hall smelled a little of stale urine. It was unsettling to think that younger colts and fillies had stood in this same spot and were unable to hold in their own terror at what lay before them. Spike couldn’t really blame them either. His own heart was ready to beat out of his chest.
Now he was next to the arena proper, the thudding and banging of hooves above made the iron bars shake vigorously. The shouts and cries of entertainment deprived ponies from above was oppressing, almost physically driving Spike to curl up on the floor.
Spike wasn’t really sure that agreeing to this was such a good idea after all. Sure, he could probably just tear open the bars and try and sneak out, but a cruel voice in his mind reminded him of what the consequences could be should he not play by the rules.
Come on Spike, you’ve got this! Think about what Rainbow Dash would do! Rarity would be so impressed! Maybe next time I could actually save her from diamond dogs when she gets in trouble! I have to go through with this; I have to at least try! I mean, Twilight would tell me to be strong and not give in and she... She’s coming to get me, I know it. I need to be strong until then.
Spike lifted his head up to stare at the ceiling of his new cage, hoping that somewhere out there, she was searching for him.
I need to be strong for her.
Spike closed his eyes and smiled a little, remembering his friends back in Ponyville. Another thought struck him as stood. He stared out of the gate to the grimy arena floor just meters away. A beautiful white pegasus, depending on him to come back, to look after her flooded the forefront of his mind.
I need to be strong for Snowy.
That was all the encouragement he needed right now. Spike clutched his claws together tightly and brought them to his chest, breathing in deeply.
He had been talking himself into this moment for the last two days and now it was finally here. He’d spent the time pacing his cell, wearing a small groove into the stone floor whilst a worried Snow Drop looked on from the bed, trying desperately to comfort him but to no avail. He knew he was tough; dragon scales were one of the hardest substances in Equestria, even on a baby dragon. He could take a lot of punishment and still be okay afterwards. Hell, he can swim in lava. However, as he started to pace in the small cage, just moments away from being thrown snout-first into this foreign arena, the thought of him getting hurt wasn’t his main concern.
It was for whoever he would be facing.
Spike had only ever hurt anything to defend himself or his friends. Would he even have to defend himself here? What if Roulette was so cruel and put some lowly, terrified filly or colt who was in the same position he was in? Some of the captured ponies barely had their cutie marks.
There were rumours amongst the captured that there were ponies who had been fighting here for years. Rumours that they learned how to survive the trials of countless arena opponents and that they live a slightly more luxurious life than the rest of the arenas so-called possible gladiators because of it. Roulette obviously takes good care of his most profitable assets. He had even apparently taken some of them under his wing to join his merry band of foal snatchers as a few colt and fillies were seen strutting around in the same black armour of the guards.
This worried Spike more than anything. More than the likelihood of his rescue or than Snow Drop. He could help protect her by doing what Roulette wants and fighting in this arena for booze-driven entertainment, but he couldn’t protect his opponent from what might happen if Spike had to defend himself. He couldn’t just submit.
Roulette had warned Spike that he had to give the audience a ‘good show’ and not just stand there and be a pint-sized dragon bucking bag for whoever he came up against. Of course, if the rumours were true, then the older colt or filly he went up against might actually have a chance to beat him, fair and square by bucking the living daylights out of him.
That was a small comfort, and one Spike clung too desperately as the iron gate in front of him slid down into the cave floor below and granted him entrance to the dusty arena.
ooooOOOOooooOOOOoooo
The bleak brown walls of the arena shook momentarily again.
“Ooooft!”
Spike groaned in pain again as he slid down the wall of the arena for the third time in the short time since the gate slid open and he stepped into the arena.
When his eyes had adjusted to the beaming lights and he stopped gawking upward at the riotous crowd above, his opponent revealed themselves to deafening applause. A colt, probably a few years older than the Cutie Mark Crusaders and garbed in the same padded black armour that the guards were rigged out in trotted into the crumbling arena floor. His coat was a teal green, with the back of the armour hiding his cutie mark from sight. His face was visible and his charcoal mane was slicked back stylishly. A small scar reached down from his bright green eyes to his left cheek. He surveyed the arena for a moment, drinking in the crowd before settling on Spike.
The colt chuckled.
Spike definitely didn’t have to worry about hurting this colt. The young dragon’s hide had been bucked into the wall or stomped into the floor so many times in the few minutes, he actually thought this colt was trying to decorate the dull brown hole in the floor with a lovely crimson red. It was seemingly to lighten the place up a bit because he chuckled and giggled to himself every time Spike was sent hurtling towards the wall.
At least he’s having fun.
The rules were simple really. The fight continues until one of the contenders submits or is unable to carry on, then the winner is given a bit of a bonus and the loser is wheeled off through the double doors to see the resident doctor.
The colt was obviously a crowd favourite. The booming cheers for him and insults for Spike were muted as Spike’s head rang with the aftermath of his latest impact. His shook his head violently, giving his vision some much needed clarity with a headache to boot.
Above all the jeers at his expense, Spike was sure he heard a “come on dragon! Show him what you’re made of!” He wasn’t really sure if it was support, or if the few who weren’t being offensive were bored of him getting his scales kicked around so much.
Fine. They want me to fight back? I’ll give them a fight!
Spike staggered back to his feet and flexed his claws menacingly. A few sarcastic “oooo”’s broke the cheering, followed quickly by bellowing laughter. Spike snorted, ignoring the crowd and blowing a few green flames from his nose. Now he was focused on his opponent.
The colt had taken to flaunting about a bit, rearing up on his hind legs and cheering along with the crowd. He’d apparently done this before. Show off. He wasn’t fast, but he hit very hard and so far, Spike had been pulling his punches. Well, not anymore. He wanted this to end now, so he could get out of this pit and get back to Snow Drop.
Spike charged towards the colt, using his front and back claws to give speed and momentum. This caught the colt off guard as Spike smashed into the side of him, sending him crashing against the side of the arena. Even with the padded armour on, the sudden impact dazed the colt who was surprised his opponent had decided to fight back and that he had hit him with the power of a freight train.
The match was on.
The crowd screamed and cheered again as the battle heated up proper. The colt was wheezing a little, but attempted to turn and buck Spike again into the wall; but he was ready this time. As he shot his legs out, Spike quickly jumped to the side on all fours and again smashed into the colt’s side. He dropped to the floor and rolled away, back onto his hooves. He staggered, clutching his side. Spike worried that he may have broken one or two of the colt’s ribs.
The two circled each other, waiting for the other to make the next move. Spike did, diving forward again with all four claws pushing him on. The colt wasn’t stupid, he jumped out of the way and spun, bringing a forehoof smashing into Spike’s head. The collision itself didn’t hurt, but it threw Spike off-balance, making him crash face first into the hard arena floor.
The teal colt wasted no time. Spike turned over to face upwards but before he could recover, the colt was stood over him, relentlessly smashing his hooves into the dragon’s scaled stomach.
“Submit!” the colt cried at him in between hoof slams.
This was hurting now. Every slam reverberated through Spike’s body and up to his head, his vision was getting hazy with a tinge of red.
Get off.
Spike’s heart was racing as he shielded his face from the colt. His breathing was becoming increasingly erratic.
Get off!
Spike’s muscles tensed. His temper raged and his claws flexed out. His reptilian eyes narrowed to deadly slits.
“Get off of me!” Spike roared, screaming a burst of emerald flame into the colt’s underside. The colt screamed in pain as the heat from the blast melted his padded robe and burned through to his stomach. Spike leapt away turning to face the colt.
He wasn’t finished. He jumped to his feet and again dived at the colt, this time with seething anger and claws outstretched. He tore into the colt’s side, ignoring the screams from the colt as his armour was shredded away in a frenzy of slices, followed swiftly by parts of his teal coat.
A magical aura quickly lifted Spike away from the heavily bleeding colt. Unicorns around the arena were stationed to prevent any continuation after one of the contenders had been deemed unfit or had given in.
Spike hadn’t heard the terrified screams of the colt, the bloodthirsty cheers of the crowd or the gates on either side swinging open and unicorns rush in to apprehend him. He only saw the one who had been hurting him, this young colt who was mercilessly stomping his scales into the floor. This nameless young colt who might have been stolen from those who loved him, just like he was.
This nameless young colt who now lay on his side in a filthy hole in the ground in a small pool of his own blood that was seeping from large gashes in his hide.
His body relaxed again. His slitted eyes returned to their normal roundness and his heart rate slowed. As a unicorn lifted him away, Spike glimpsed what he’d done; what he’d managed to do to his opponent.
It frightened him.
He didn’t thrash inside the bubble of telekinesis, he was all too used to being hoisted around by Twilight’s magic back at the library, he just stared with tired eyes at the bloody scene before him as the colt was quickly lifted onto a wheeled table and carted off away from the cesspool of blood sport, drinking and gambling.
The roar from the crowd and the dull brown of the arena faded from view. Exhausted from his sudden exertion, Spike slipped into a fitful sleep.
Above the arena, seated in a special announcers box with a good view over the floor was Roulette. His jade eyes gleamed with greed as he grinned sadistically.
This little guy is gonna make me a lot of money!
His jade eyes flashed and changed. For a moment, deep chilling blue irises glared at the crowd in front of him before snapping back. Roulette staggered and held a hoof to head for a moment, shaking his mind clear before trotting back down to his office with a smile.
ooooOOOOooooOOOOoooo
“Urrgghhh... My head.”
Spike came to on the hard mattress of his cell and tried to roll over to his side.
He flinched painfully. “Ow. I feel like I didn’t get out of the way of a stampede...” he groaned, clutching his stomach as he sat up gently. His stubby legs dangled limply off the end of the bed before he was hit suddenly by a blurry white flying ball.
“Spike! You’re okay! I was so worried when they brought you back!”
Snow Drop fluttered away down the bed to give him a little bit of space after seeing him wince at her enthusiasm. She smiled bashfully and dropped her head, letting strands of her pale blue-grey mane drop shyly over her right eye.
“It’s okay, Snow. It’s good to see you too.” Spike stood up on the bed and stretched out, popping his aching joints and sighing in content. His eyes came back to the white filly with serious concern. “Are you okay? They didn’t hurt you while I was out, did they?”
Snow Drop lifted her gaze gently to look at him with her icy blue orbs. “No, they just dumped you in here and told me you’d be fine, just a bit sore when you woke up. I didn’t really believe them. You were tossing and turning a bit when you were unconscious. I was really worried about you.” She let her tone drop slightly and moved closer to Spike. “So, what happened?”
She knew immediately it was a painful question. Spike tensed up suddenly as images of the teal green colt jumped around in his head; the kicks, the stomping and Spike’s sudden rage. The blood.
Spike slumped back down to the bed, sitting on the edge again, shaking.
“I-I didn’t mean to, I mean, he was hurting me and-”
Snow Drop cut him off. The angelic pegasus had thrown her forelegs around the dragon, then tried to wrap her tiny wings around them as well. Spike was still shaking, but he enjoyed the embrace and relaxed slightly.
“Spike, tell me. What happened?” the innocent filly cooed in her little voice, not letting go.
The young dragon sighed deeply.
“I don’t really know Snow. I remember the colt was winning. The crowd were shouting at me to fight back, so I tried but it didn’t work. The colt pinned me to the floor.”
Snow Drop could feel Spike’s heart start to beat faster through his chest and she held him tighter, stretching her wings as far they would go to wrap him up on the end of the hard bed in the monotonous grey of their cell.
Spike continued, again relaxing slighty at Snowy’s efforts. “He was slamming his hooves into me over and over, screaming at me to give in.” Spike’s expression abruptly changed to one of confusion. “Then I just kinda saw red. I mean, I don’t really know what happened.”
He turned to face Snowy, letting the embrace soften a little but still stayed close to her. “I remember feeling full of energy, b-but I was angry too. Angrier than i’d ever felt. Even more than when Discord turned all my friends against each other.”
A tear carved it’s way down Spike’s scaled face, dripping from his chin onto Snow Drop’s foreleg. “T-There was a lot of blood Snow. He was just lying there, I-I didn’t know what to do! I couldn’t do anything, the unicorn... They dragged me away so I wouldn’t hurt him anymore and I just didn’t feel like me anymore. I was so angry Snow. So, so angry...”
Spike started to shake again, burying his head in the comforting embrace of Snow Drop’s wings and legs. She brought a hoof to his chin and lifted his head up to face her.
“Now you just stop it” she said flatly, looking into Spike’s forest green eyes. Snow Drop loosened her embrace and lay with him on the side of the bed with her forelegs handing off of the edge. She looked down dejectedly, thinking of how best to put her thoughts into words.
“Ever since I was taken from my - ever since we were taken, you’ve been the only one who’s looked out for me. All the colts and fillies in here are scared, Spike. We’re all terrified, but you gave us hope.”
Spike looked down on the filly as she stared at the floor, her young face twisted into thought. “You stood up to Roulette on the first day, for me, in front of everypony in that big stupid hall. When he hurt me and you saved me, you helped to save a little bit of everypony who’d been taken.” Her face looked sullen now as she continued to think.
“Every single one of us is clinging to the hope that somepony is going to come rescue us or somepony -or dragon- is going to lead us out of here so we can see our families again. When you stood up to Roulette, that little bit of hope inside all of us grew.”
Snowy turned to face Spike, tears of her own now strewn down her soft white cheeks. Spike brought a claw to her and rubbed them away. She didn’t stop. She had to say this to him.
“We need you, Spike. We all need you to be strong for us, because we’re not. We need you to keep being the green light that we can all follow out of this dark place because we’re not strong enough to do it.”
Spike wrapped her up into a tight hug, gently brushing the top of her mane with his right claw. Snow Drop buried her face into his warm scales, rubbing her nose into his chest.
“I’ll try Snow. I really will. I just want you to be safe.”
Snow Drop wriggled out of his embrace and stood on the bed, eye level with Spike as he kneeled next to her.
“We need you to stay strong for us Spike. Thank you.” She leant down and kissed him on the cheek before fluttering away to the other end of the bed nearest to the fire, still burning away in the corner and curled up into a ball.
Spike’s cheeks flushed red as he watched her fly over. He stared down into the fire, his green eyes reflecting the glowing and flickering emerald flame.
He whispered to the kindling fire. “Thank you, Snowy.”
The usually bustling market town of Appleloosa was eerily calm. It was a night of cloudless skies that stretched out endlessly across the open desert, the pale light of the moon lulled all beneath it into a peaceful sleep. This was a time of night for recuperating. It was for getting ready for the next day of selling your wares or expanding the town with the help of the local buffalo herds. It was for dreaming of your future and the joys of your favourite things; the ones you love and your most treasured memories.
At least, it was meant to be.
Luna’s own thoughts plagued her mind that night, as she approached her destination after returning from the castle. She had believed Twilight to be safe once she boarded the train to Appleloosa and so returned to Canterlot to speak with her sister.
Celetia was worried, and that did not sit well for Luna. Her sister’s usually calm demeanor remained stoic in front of her subjects, but was cracking at the foundations ever so slightly whenever the two were not surrounded by servants or guards.
Tensions with the gryphon kingdom to the east had begun to stir. The foalnapping of Spike in front of Twilight Sparkle was not an isolated case. Foals had been disappearing from the towns and villages that were closest to the neighbouring gryphon aeries in the east and the ponies there were naturally blaming the gryphons for it. It had yet to escalate to violence between the towns as extra guards from both the Royal Military and the Gryphon Clans had eased tensions and kept any would be troublemakers at bay. The two forces were working together with swift execution and brilliant efficiency, despite any thoughts both might harbour for one another.
Both Celestia and Luna were having talks with the leaders of the gryphon clans near the borders, who denied any knowledge of foalnapping from any of their aeries and even offered to dispatch elite trackers to help search for any leads into the whereabouts of the missing foals. Both princesses graciously accepted their offer on the grounds that Luna’s own Nightguard be dispatched along side the trackers to aid them. This was also graciously accepted by the gryphons.
There had been peace between the ponies and gryphons for hundreds of years now, with many of both species migrating to live in the neighbouring kingdom. The gryphons gained nothing from stealing foals and angering their allies, and any activity that even approached that would have been stamped out. Harshly. Such would be their response to anyone caught to be in possession of the missing foals. This was why Luna had offered to dispatch her guard along with the gryphons. Gryphon justice was swift and absolute, but whoever was taking the children needed to be apprehended and questioned before being brought to justice; something she fervently explained to her loyal Nightguard.
The search and the compliance of the gryphons to help brought a small amount of comfort to Celestia and Luna, but a bigger problem still remained. Whoever was taking these foals was evading the ever alert gaze of both of the princesses. This was happening right underneath their own noses and there was nary a foul stench to go on.
As a result, Luna had taken leave to continue to watch Twilight Sparkle in her search as she seemed to be onto something. Her case also confused the two sisters. Twilight lived in Ponyville, far from the borders with the gryphons. Her town was in viewing distance of the palace in Canterlot. So why her?
Why were Twilight Sparkle and her dragon assistant, Spike, targeted? Were the cases unrelated, and whoever had taken Spike had nothing to do with the disappearance of the foals from the border towns?
Luna had discussed this with her sister. That was the only explanation they could come to without it being something more sinister. Twilight was Celestia’s student and the Element of Magic, but who would specifically target her and her young companion? Who had the kind of power or resources to target her?
With no feasible explanation, Luna had chosen to return to watching Twilight. On her return however, she had witnessed the aftermath of her sister’s faithful student’s most recent outburst of power and its destructive consequences.
Whilst Luna was still to learn the story of what had happened to cause such destruction, as it was unlikely that Twilight simply decided to destroy part of a train, the small town of Appleloosa had definitely not been ready to receive a mostly-destroyed train carriage with the remains of masked ponies buried beneath the rubble. The town had panicked, and Luna had immediately requested the dispatch of guards to calm the populace and take charge of the station for the time being whilst an investigation into what exactly happened took place.
Luna snapped her thoughts back to the present moment. She had a pretty good idea of what could have happened and was going to find out. She glided gently between the houses and shacks of Appleloosa, her eyes shining with an ethereal white glow. She was the Princess of the Night, or a ‘guardian’ as the plaque under the white tree in the palace read. It fell to her to safeguard the dreams of her little ponies from nightmares and other dark, terrible things that can lurk within their minds. Luna could sense those who were without peace within their dreams. Their minds cried out to her, something only she could sense.
One mind in the small town was screaming.
Luna flew swiftly towards an open window on the side of one of the larger buildings in the dusty town, a plain inn apparently called ‘The Watering Hole’. The window was far too small for Luna to simply fly through. Without a thought, the princess’s horn flashed blue, and reappeared on the far side in the dark room.
The room was bland, with only the basics needed to house a pony for a few nights along with any necessities they might have brought along with them. A small bathtub lay behind a curtain in the corner of the room along with a sink and a toilet. A large rugged rug covered most of the floor, stopping the recently laid wooden floorboards beneath from creaking at every movement. A single candle flickered upon a bedside table next to a single bed in another corner of the room, furthest from the window. Twilight lay curled up beneath thin covers, her gentle face twisted into pain. Beads of sweat crept down her brow as she muttered quietly, tossing and turning.
Luna took a seat next to the bed, folding her legs beneath her and let her mind drift away. A trance-like state overcame her as her horn gently illuminated the side of the bed and Twilight’s face, bathing her features in a soft azure light. Her eyes shone like the pale white of her moon. The rest of her body relaxed, the world around her faded into darkness.
Luna awoke in her dreamscape, the world she used to travel between the mind of ponies as they slept. Her own body sat quietly, motionless next to her as she looked around, only her eyes and horn glowing. In front of her on the bed, a lavender outline pulsed quickly. The ghostly light was incredibly bright, but yet did not light up the room. It was a beacon in a dark sea and Twilight’s cry for help in the night. Luna was going to come to her rescue. She took a deep breath and plunged herself into the lavander light. Luna was forced to close own eyes as the world around her was overcome with white.
ooooOOOOooooOOOOoooo
A howling wind ripped through Luna’s ears and mane as she stepped into the mind of Twilight Sparkle. Surrounding her across the dreamscape were islands, torn from the earth and flung into the sky, broken and being battered by a storm of wind and rain. Lighting danced angrily across the sky, flashing and illuminating the islands in a blinding flash for a split second, before giving way to the deep roar of thunder.
Luna shook slightly. She couldn’t be hurt in this place; she knew it wasn’t real. But it might be to Twilight, and the thought of her being alone somewhere in this devastated land worried her.
“Ahhh! Please... Stop!”
Luna’s ears twitched and turned to hear the sound. A whimpering cry in between the booms of thunder and hissing of rain. There was another flash, but Luna didn’t see the lightning, nor was it followed by thunder.
She bolted up above the landscape, unaffected by the conditions lashing at her. In the distance on another floating isle stood a purple dome. From beneath it, cries of help ripped through the air to the princess. “Please! It hurts! Plea-Ahhhhh!”
Twilight’s voice screamed out in pain. Luna rushed towards the floating island, calling out her name. As she drew closer, other voices boomed, laced with malice.
“Hahahahahah.. You’re weak!” Another flash of light flashed. “Pitiful! Why don’t you just give in?”
As Luna drew closer, another figure came into view. The twisting visage of a pony, cloaked in shadow stood outside of the dome. Dark tendrils of shadow whipped about it’s body as it laughed maniacally and lashed out at Twilight’s dome with one of the tendrils. It rebounded off the surface, causing the outline of the dome to ripple and crack slightly. It also flashed brightly, being desperately reinforced by Twilight on the inside.
“Twilight!” Luna roared at the dome. “Are you alright?”
A weak voice answered back from inside. “Please... Make it stop...”
The shadow cackled madly. Luna felt an all too familiar chill creep down her spine, something that shouldn’t have been possible inside Twilight’s mind.
“Oh look... It’s the whelp of a princess. Come to aid the pitiful, crying pony?” The shadow pony turned to stare at Luna, eyes burning with fury. “You couldn’t even save yourself from me!”
The shadow started to bulge, swelling up into a larger form. The shadow cloak that formed the dark ponies body contorted and formed a swirling mass of dark cloud. Dark, sinuous wings sprouted from it’s side. Instead of feathers, parts of the shadow cascaded down from the crooked wing bones. A large black horn emerged out of it’s head, ending in a razor sharp point. It’s cruel smile bared keen fangs that lined a hungry maw. The rest of it’s body started to settle, the shroud of shadow dissipating from its form. Then, it turned its gaze to Luna once more.
The princess stood shocked, mouth agape. The dark form had taken on the form of Nightmare Moon. It’s eyes still burned white with anger as it stared down the smaller princess.
“It took that insolent whelp and her idiotic friends to save you from me last time, little Luna, and big sister isn’t here to hold your hoof this time either!-” dark tendrils started to emerge from the nightmare’s body once more, “-and they won’t save you this time!” it screamed.
Luna snapped back to attention and laughed softly. “This is my domain, Nightmare. I am the Princess of the Night for a reason. You can’t hurt me, ever again.”
The Nightmare screamed and lashed out with jagged tendrils towards the princess, who laughed as they went straight through her, leaving her unharmed.
“No! Arrrghhh!” the dark alicorn screamed, again lashing out with the tendrils at Luna. This continued for a minute or so, with no ill effect, until the nightmare started to laugh again.
“Fine. If I can’t hurt you...” more dark tendrils sprouted from the shadow, and a swirling ball of dark magical energy blazed to life above her horn. “I’ll take it out on her!”
“No!” Luna screamed in realisation as the dark alicorn released a merciless barrage against Twilight’s weakening dome.
Twilight wailed in pain from inside. “Please! I-It hurts! Stop!”
The dark from continued, full of malice and fury. There was nothing else in its eyes but burning hatred for this unicorn.
Luna galloped up to the dome and placed her forehooves onto its side. “Twilight! Listen to me, it’s Luna!”
The screaming from inside continued as the nightmare restlessly lashed at the shield, causing blinding flashes of light every time she struck. The dome was cracking under the pressure and it was taking all of Twilight’s effort just to keep it materialized.
“Luna? Please h-help me! Argh! I can’t... I can’t...”
“Twilight listen to me. This is not real, you’re dreaming! I need you to believe me when I say that this thing cannot harm you! This is all in your head!”
Another whimpering cry emerged from the dome. “Princess I-It hurts! I can’t take it down, she’ll kill me!”
Luna’s voice turned stern. “Twilight Sparkle, listen to me. I am not my sister. I was not there to see you grow into the powerful mare you have become. I was not there to see you become one of the most powerful unicorns in Equestria’s history, but the time I have spent with you was more than enough to prove to me that you do not give in!”
The princesses expression dropped, replaced by tears and a desperate tone as the nightmare continued to smash at the shield, cackling madly.
“Give in, pathetic mare. I promise i’ll make your death quick.”
“Twilight, please. I let this happen to me once before... I was weak and I gave in. I was jealous of my sister and let anger and hatred overcome me.Y-You can fight back! This is your mind, and in here, it cannot harm you! Do not give in, you cannot let the same happen to you! This is not the way to save Spike!”
Only one word escaped the dome this time. Spike.
The dome shimmered and exploded, blasting a wave of force and light outwards towards both of the alicorns. Luna staggered back, unaffected by the force but momentarily dazed by the light. The nightmare was flung back into the air, screaming and cursing before her crooked wings spread and halted her ascension.
Twilight stood at the centre of the explosion, shaking and looking weary. She turned to face Luna.
“This is my mind, and she can’t hurt me.”
“No!” the nightmare roared, diving towards Twilight headfirst, her razor horn primed to pierce her chest.
“This is my mind...” Twilight said again, raising her volume as a purple glow enveloped her own horn. “And, you!” she screamed, immediately turning to face the charging alicorn, her own eyes burning white with anger. Tears were streaming down her cheeks. Magical energy started to build above Twilight’s horn, shining and shifting into a lavender ball lightning.
“Can’t hurt me!”
The dark alicorn had tried to pull up, but it was too late. The ball shot from Twilight’s horn and ripped right through the shadow form of the nightmare, shattering and tearing her into shreds as she screamed in pain. The alicorn was replaced by a dazzlingly bright white light that engulfed the entire dreamscape, reaching out and beating back the howling wind and soaking rain. One by one, the islands disappeared until the wave of light reached the one occupied by Luna and Twilight.
Both turned to look at each other as the wave washed over them, slowly bringing them both back to reality. Both smiled at each other.
The world faded into white.
ooooOOOOooooOOOOoooo
Luna rose slowly as she came to, slowly tilting her neck until it gave out a satisfactory crack. She turned her gaze to the bed, where Twilight sat up, staring at her. The unicorn’s shocked expression quickly turned to one of relief as she recognised the regal blue alicorn sitting on the floor next to her.
“Princess Luna!” Twilight cried out, throwing herself from the bed and wrapping her forelegs around the larger alicorn’s neck in a tight hug. Luna returned the gesture wholeheartedly, glad to see that Twilight had recovered.
“It is good to see you are alright, Twilight. I was worried about you.”
Twilight released her bear-hug and sat back on her haunches on the bed, sighing deeply.
“Thank you Princess, if you hadn’t-” Luna cut her off with a raised hoof.
“Twilight, please. Firstly, just call me Luna, you’ve known me long enough and I don’t mind if you do. Secondly, you just needed a push in the right direction. I didn’t do anything but provide it. That manifestation was defeated by you and you alone.”
Twilight huffed, but smiled gratefully at the princess, before turning more serious. “What that thing actually... I mean, was that Nightmare Moon?”
Luna considered this for a moment, before replying. “No I don’t believe it was. Or, not all of her.”
Twilight looked confused; and rightly so. Luna wasn’t even sure if what she was about to say was true, but it made sense.
“I believe that was just a part of her that was attached to you. As to how it came to be attached to you, I would imagine it was when you cleansed me of her using the Elements of Harmony.” Luna sat up onto her haunches and glanced up and to her left, thinking and speaking aloud.
“When you cleansed me it ripped apart the entity known as Nightmare Moon, fragmenting her. I believe that different parts of her tried desperately to hold on, to seek out new hosts. Nightmare Moon was immensely powerful. Even when she was ripped apart, her emotions may have spread out across Equestria, thrown apart by the power of the Elements. It is uncertain, but it seems that a part of her latched onto you, Twilight.”
Twilight nodded once in understanding. “Anger. So that’s why I’ve been having these outbursts? Where I feel like I’m not me?”
Luna nodded too.
“But, how come it’s happening now? I’ve been angry in the past, and it’s been awhile since that night in the Everfree Forest.”
“Spike,” Luna stated simply. “When Spike was taken from you, did you have an outburst of anger?”
Twilight looked solemnly down at the covers on her bed. “Yes, that was the first time it happened.”
“Then that was a sufficient enough source of anger for that part of Nightmare Moon to briefly surface and take a foothold in your mind. Since then, the anger within you had been festering, growing and becoming more powerful until it culminated into what we just witnessed; an attempted takeover.”
Twilight glanced up at the princess, looking downhearted but understanding of what she was saying. “Then, is it gone? I won’t have any more outbursts like the one on the train?”
Luna smirked, “oh, so that was you! You made quite a mess of that carriage. You should have seen the mayor of the town’s face when that pulled up to the station! It was priceless, even at my age, a fully grown stallion sweating and panicking is still funny.”
Both of the mares giggled and Luna nuzzled the side of Twilight’s neck. “But yes, I believe that part of Nightmare is now gone and should no longer affect you or your emotions.”
Twilight let out a breath she didn’t realise she was holding, making the dark blue alicorn giggle again before standing up and walking towards the window she entered though.
“I will return to the castle and explain to my sister what has happened, no doubt she is still very worried about you,” Luna said, glancing back over her shoulder. “She will be happy to know that you are alright, as I am.”
“Prin-Luna,” Twilight said, shuffling nervously over to her side and nuzzling her cheek with a deep blush, “thank you. For helping me out I mean.”
A small blush spread across Luna’s azure features as she draped a wing over Twilight and pulled her close for one last hug goodbye. “Anytime, Twilight,” Luna winked, before teleporting out the window and taking to the cool night air outside.
Twilight lazily strolled back over to her bed after watching Luna fly towards Canterlot for a minute or two; long after she could no longer see her shimmering outline against the pale, soothing light of the moon. She climbed up into her bed for the night and shuffled round in the sheets, getting as comfortable as she could before drifting off soundly to sleep.
The candle on the bedside table glimmered one last rebellious light against the darkness of the room before smoking and flickering out. The gentle glow of orange that lit the dim corner of the room faded and the peacefulness of the moons light once again, took hold.
