In the Footsteps of a Giant

Three older unicorns dressed in elaborate robes slowly examined Lyra's bedroom. Occasionally, a horn would glow and notes were scribbled. The chalk outline Lyra had used for her spell was being painstakingly recreated, a methodical process, to say the least. Down in the living room of her house, Lyra sat with her head hung low in guilt. Before her were the Princess Celestia, two unfamiliar unicorns dressed similarly to the ones in her room, Rarity and Spike.

Rarity broke the uncomfortable silence. "Rainbow Dash was a dear and volunteered to tell the others about our situation. They should be here soon."

Lyra looked up in panic. "They're coming here? They- they'll hate me! I made Twilight disappear!"

The princess lay a hoof on the minty mare's shoulder as Spike glared at her from behind Rarity's leg. "You didn't do it on purpose, I'm sure they'll understand. Besides, my best mages are hard at work right now, we'll have her back in no time and you can put this whole situation behind you."

"Wh-what about the book? You said we both broke the law! Are you going to banish us?"

Celestia cringed in regret at mentioning legal precedent earlier. "I think you both learned your lesson, a letter of apology and a promise to never try such a spell again should more than suffice." Honestly, where did these ponies get the whole banishment thing?

A knock at the front door interrupted the Princess's reverie. A guard opened the door and let Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy into the house. As they filed in, looks of concern weighed on their faces.

The blonde earth pony removed her hat. "Howdy, Princess, sorry to be frank; but what in the hay is goin' on? Dash wouldn't tell us anythin'."

The blue pegasus flapped her wings and rose a hoof into the air in her own defense. "I didn't want to worry you guys, besides, something may have changed while I was getting you. I didn't want to give you the wrong information."

Pinkie contributed as well. "You don't have to apologize, I think Frank is a nice name for you!"

The Princess took this opportunity to break in. "Right now we still don't know where Twilight is. I have my best mages recreating the spell that transported her to wherever she is. We'll have a portal open to that location, and hopefully get Twilight back, very soon."

"So Twilight messed up a spell?" Applejack asked. "That ain't like her. And why are we in Lyra and Bon-Bon's house?"

Lyra cringed before answering. "T- Twilight didn't mess up a spell... I did."

Rainbow Dash pointed a hoof at the guilty unicorn. "So it's your fault Twi's missing?"

"Hey now, Dashie, pointin' hooves ain't gonna bring Twilight back. We just gotta be patient."

Lyra withered under the accusatory hoof, overwhelmed with regret. "I didn't mean to... I'm sorry... I'm so sorry!"

Fluttershy lay her wing across Lyra's back. "Oh, it's okay Lyra, we know you didn't mean to. And the Princess is here, so everything is going to be okay, I just know it."

The green unicorn wiped the tears from her eyes. "You- you promise?"

The yellow pegasus nodded confidently. "I promise!"

Just then hoofsteps could be heard coming down the stairs. One of the mages made his way to the Princess and whispered in her ear. Celestia spoke back loud enough for the others to hear.

"So it's complete?... Excellent, and the probe spells?..." She visibly relaxed at what she heard and breathed a sigh of relief. "So she ended up somewhere in Equis, thank goodness. Go ahead back up and begin preparations." The other two unicorn mages followed the third up to Lyra's room. "Doppler Ganger has just informed me that they were able to successfully trace the spell to it's end point. Once they open a portal, I will go through and assess the situation, and if able, retrieve Twilight Sparkle."

"So, you know where Twilight is now? You can get her back?" Spike spoke hopefully.

"Yes, Spike, with any luck, Twilight hasn't wandered too far from where the spell dropped her off and I can have her here in a few minutes."

"But what if she did wander off?" Dash spoke up, drawing a few looks from the others.

"If that's the case, it may take a little longer to find her, that's all." Celestia reassured. "Why don't we head up? The portal should be just about ready."

As the group filed up the staircase, Lyra taking up the rear, they noticed a blue glow emanating from the bedroom doorway. The portal swirled with light and dark blue waves of power, picking up speed as the herd entered the crowded room. Lyra stared in wonder as the navy blue magic coalesced into the edges of the circular portal, revealing an azure sky beyond. A salty breeze blew into the room, causing some papers in the corner to stir.

"Alright, everypony, I'm going to take a look. I'll be back in a moment." Celestia stated.

"Princess, wait!" Rainbow Dash moved to block her way. "You can't go first! What if something dangerous is on the other side?"

"The mages already scanned for any dangerous beings and nothing came up. It's okay, my little pony, I'll be fine." Gently she moved the pegasus aside. Taking a deep breath, she leapt gracefully through the portal to the other side.

Instantly her wings spread open. She was a few dozen hooves above the waves and she didn't feel like getting wet. Wait... waves? Flying higher the Princess looked around in every direction. Her heart sank as the situation became clear. The spell had deposited Twilight in the middle of an ocean. No... not the middle, there was land in the distance, a few miles off but still. Celestia flew to the beach, scanning the cliffs and sand for several miles to no avail. She briefly concentrated on the volcano in the distance, but found only Diamond Dogs. She felt a familiar pang of sadness as she accepted the truth. Twilight's life sign was no more, one more mortal life whisked away from her, and so young! The purple mare had held so much promise, so much potential. She would have made a fine mage, perhaps even ranked among the best! But now... because of some foolish unicorn with some idea about so called 'humans'... Celestia fought back her anger, it would do no good to take it out on the pony. Revenge didn't bring ponies back from the dead, she had learned that lesson long ago.

The princess neatly folded her wings as she flew back through the portal. The hopeful faces of so many ponies made the news that much harder to bring. She averted her gaze, unable to look at them any longer. "... I'm sorry."

Spike's voice quavered. "Y-you didn't find her? Can't you keep looking, she's there, right? You said she'd be there, you promised!"

"Spike, I'm sorry, but I didn't promise anything... the portal opens into the middle of the ocean, and Twilight disappeared two nights ago..."

Picking up on the line of thought, Rainbow Dash interjected. "And... she always was more of an egghead than an athlete..."

Rarity gasped. "You can't mean..."

"Yes, Rarity... everypony, I'm so sorry, but... Twilight Sparkle is dead." The princess bowed her head, the statement hurt her just as much as it had the others.

Lyra stared in shock, slowly shaking her head, as if denying reality could bring Twilight back. She backed out of the room and turned, running off unnoticed.

Dash sagged to the floor. She would never be able to ask Twilight if a book was 'cool' or not again. She could never help with calculating whether a stunt would work ahead of time... she was just... gone.

Pinkie's hair deflated... "Oh... oh Twilight..." So much for the birthday party she had planned... Twilight wouldn't have any more birthdays.

Applejack shuddered, drowning in the middle of an ocean, what a terrible way to go! Looking around, she knew the others were taking it hard, real hard. The pain the blonde earth pony felt was familiar to her, though, all too familiar. She knew it would never go away, but the first few days were the worst, she would have to be there for her friends, to help them carry on. Oh, Twilight, why did you have to go?

Fluttershy whimpered, tears starting to form. She had seen many of her animal friends pass, but never by drowning. And this was different somehow, a deeper sadness than she had felt for her animals when they departed. Still, she had seen death before, and knew everypony died eventually. She asked the impossible question. "Was... was there a body?"

"I'm afraid not, the sea has most likely claimed it by now." Celestia managed.

Fluttershy knew what that meant, but decided to spare her friends. Whatever sea life fed on decaying flesh had probably consumed her body. No body... no closure... just nothing left.

Rarity was doing her best to hold it together. She worried over Spike, who hadn't moved since the news, a blank expression on his face. She couldn't imagine what was going through his mind. Tears ran down her cheeks as she sniffed, holding the little dragon tight.

Twilight, she was there when he was born... she had hatched him! She was his ever present mentor and friend, always there for him. Not only his best friend, but like a mother as well. A mother! Spike thought back to the day he had mumbled something about her not being his mommy, but she was, really. He regretted saying it, but he'd never worked up the nerve to apologize, to tell her she was his mother, to him. Now he would never get the chance... he imagined himself running after her, calling to her. Yelling apologies and telling her she was his mom... she was... but she just kept running. Gone... forever.

Tim looked around at his new home, well, cell really. The bars were as thick as his thumb, not enough to hold him forever, but plenty to let the guards dispatch him before he got out. They had piled a few dozen bales of fresh hay in one corner as a bed, presumably. In the other corner was a large tub, too small for bathing... its purpose was best left unsaid. His attention was redirected as he heard voices approaching.

"I don't care if you've got another Thunder Lizard, Ingot, today is an Arena day and I need my sleep!"

"Oh this is no mere Thunder Lizard, my liege! You will be glad I awakened you, right doctor?"

"I must concur with the runt on this one, sire, you will be quite pleased."

The Emperor's curiosity was piqued. "Well, Dr. Topaz and Ingot agreeing on something is cause enough to wake me, let's see what you've got!"

Rounding the corner, the trio, followed by a few dozen guards, finally came into view of the creature. The Emperor froze in shock.

"Great Canis! Is that... a Titan?"

"All my historical documents align perfectly with his physical description, sire. And he is quite immune to magic, as well."

The Emperor looked over his new prize in wonder. "Immune? Completely?"

"Yes sire, he will be completely unaffected by magical attacks. Unfortunately, that means magical healing, as well."

"He'll need some armor. We can't have something like this getting killed right away. Ingot, see to it, price is no object!"

"Yes sir!" Ingot was glowing, it was all happening exactly as he had pictured! He was set for life, rich beyond his wildest dreams!

"You were right to wake me, he will participate in the first fight of the morning, the citizens won't know what hit them!"

"Sire, it may not be wise to use him right away, he's showing signs of sleep deprivation and hunger."

"You haven't fed him? Why not?"

Ingot answered nervously. "Well.. we don't know what he eats... and the first thing we did was to wake you..."

"Guards, bring me food, lots of it and all kinds! Meat, vegetables, fruit, bread.... everything!" With a smart salute, four guards broke off and ran for the kitchens.

After a surprisingly short wait, the guards returned with six kitchen workers with platters piled high with foods of all kinds. Positioning themselves between the cell and the Emperor, the smaller, dog sized gate was opened and the kitchen staff nervously deposited their wares at the Titan's feet. After the last platter was set down, and the last dog exited the cell, the door was closed and locked once again. The dogs stared at Tim expectantly... he didn't want to indulge them, but he was very hungry, and the food looked really good.

The Emperor smiled as the Titan began to eat the roast pig. "Ah, a carnivore, like us!" But the smile faded a bit as Tim started to eat some carrots, as well. "Oh... um..." Soon the bread, fruit and vegetable trays were empty, all that remained was some hay, the raw meat platter, and some berries. "Well... it doesn't eat hay."

"I believe the term is 'Omnivore' sire. Apparently, Titans eat a variety of food, including fruits, vegetables, processed grains and cooked meat."

"How odd... well at least he likes meat."

"Pardon me, my liege, but there's more." The small pug relished the moment.

"More? Ingot, you're well on your way to becoming a General... what more could there possibly be?"

"A unicorn mare, sire, found traveling with the Titan."

"Ha! Marvelous! It sounds like the start to a bad joke! Show me to her, this Titan is boring me now."

Tim watched as the pack of dogs moved away, the excitable one seemed to be in charge, somehow. He didn't like the looks they had given him... greed, hunger... he saw something else in their eyes, but he couldn't quite place it.

Twilight slowly awoke as the sound of voices grew nearer. Despite her best efforts, after a hot bath and a hay dinner, her body had betrayed her and she had fallen asleep. So much for staying up to plan their escape. A group of dogs approached her cell, well outfitted for a dungeon. There was a thin but clean mattress on one wall, a porcelain pot in the corner, and a scented candle provided soft light and relief from any untoward smells.

"Ah, here we are, this is the unicorn, sire."

"Thank you Doctor. What a find! So healthy, and no scars as far as I can tell. You've been well treated, haven't you?"

Twilight spoke up. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Talking back, even? Oh ho ho! You are a catch, somedoggy's going to enjoy breaking you!"

Backing up into her cell, Twilight's ears flattened. "B-break? Wh- who are you? What do you want?"

The Emperor spread his arms wide in a dramatic gesture. "I am the Emperor of the Canine Empire, Lord Canis Caligula the first! And I want you to be a prize in my games!"