The earth pony trotted down the stairs and into the sparkling caverns underneath the city. Her yellow mane flickered occasionally as the stale, stagnant air escaped through her entrance into the castle above. Looking into a crystal, her green eyes glinted off the light of the torch cupped in her hoof. As a groan came from the depths of the caves, her orange fur bristled, and she gulped down her fears.
Applejack walked deeper into the caves, watching the purple crystals darken in colour, until even the torchlight couldn’t pick out anything in the darkness around her. The stone beneath her was the only source of colour, a pale gray in comparison to the walls and roof. The groaning began once more, and she turned to head down a cave, marking her path so she could find her way out. Turning another corner, she came to a stop in front of the source of the sound.
In front of Applejack was a light purple crystal at odds with the black crystals around her. In front of the crystal she could see black crystals encroaching onto it, causing a groaning as the two grinded slowly against each other. Walking closer she tapped the purple crystal gently, and stepped back as a purple energy pulsed along it’s surface. The black crystals retreated slightly at the pulse, so Applejack leaned in and tried to get a look at the shape hidden inside the crystal.
While it was hard to tell at first glance, Applejack was certain it was definitely a pony trapped inside there. Turning around, she began to canter back toward the palace to find somepony to help her. Whoever was inside there was in danger, those black crystals were growing at an unnatural pace, hindered only by the occasional pulse of that purple magic. Rising from the caverns, Applejack ran headfirst into a unicorn.
“I’m sorry your highness, please forgive my rudeness,” apologised Applejack, bowing before the white mare with purple hair and blue eyes. Raising her head slightly, she saw the Princess rub her forehead, and shake off the effects of running into Applejack. Turning on Applejack, she then dismissed the problem with a wave of her hoof.
“Oh it’s quite alright, I am sure you did not mean it darling. Are you one of the traders here from Earth? And please call me Princess Rarity, highness is too formal for a chance meeting in the storage room. Which leads me to my second question, what are you doing down here?” Princess Rarity looked down at Applejack, who slowly stood up, meeting the height of Princess Rarity, and gave a hesitant smile, which the Princess returned.
“Yes Princess Rarity, I come from Earth. Ah was sent ‘ere-Er I mean- I was sent here to gather some crystals to take back to Earth with me when I left, but I found something strange in the caverns. It looks like some kind of pony trapped in crystal.” Pointing to the stairs down, Applejack frowned as the Princess looked toward them with vivid interest.
“Really? This I simply must see, would you escort me?” Princess Platinum grabbed Applejack by the hoof and dragged her down into the caves before she had a chance to object. As soon as they were out of earshot of the storage area, three unicorn guards burst in and glanced around. They growled and bickered quietly to themselves.
“Queen Quartz is going to have our heads at this rate. Why does Princess Rarity have to run off all the time?” The three guards sighed, and looked to the crystal cavern entrance, open and inviting. Glancing to each other, they slowly made their way to the stairs, and descended into the cave, all three lighting their horns as they descended. As soon as they were a far enough distance in, they heard both the sound of voices, and a slow groaning.
“Unbelievable, I wonder if it's still alive. We need to find a way to get it out.” Following the Princess’s voice, the guards turned a corner and blinked in shock at the purple crystal before them, pulsing lightly in defiance to the black crystal slowly entombing it. Turning at the sound of their hoofsteps, the Princess and the earth pony turned, and the Princess did not look happy to see them.
“I told you to stand guard outside my royal toilet!” Rarity stamped her hoof, not noticing as her horn began to spark. Applejack took a few steps back, and tried to get Rarity’s attention. However the guards were quick to steal the limelight once more, arguing the point about being there to keep her safe.
“I don’t care what you THINK, you obey me at all costs do you understand? I am Princess Rarity, and you should treat my orders as if they are life or death. Do you hear me!” Accompanying every end of the sentence, Rarity stomped the ground, and her horn sent an arc of magic toward the purple crystal behind her, making it crack. The guards began to back away, and Applejack tried to shake Rarity, but backed away as she got shocked by the magic running over her, wincing in slight pain.
“I AM A PRINCESS! You will obey!” Rarity stomped once more and cried out in anger, before suddenly realising she could hear crackling behind her. Turning, she saw Applejack was already backing away as the purple crystal began to shatter outward, Rarity quickly followed suit. Each shard hovered in the air, splintering off and hitting any black crystals that were encroaching too far. With a high pitched sheening sound, it shattered and the two bodies inside tumbled to the floor in front of Rarity and Applejack.
Rarity leant down and gently held up the head of the pony in front of her, eyes wide and a gaping mouth. This unicorn mare had a lavender body and dark purple hair, with two purple highlights running through it. As her eyes flickered open for a moment, Amethyst eyes met Sapphire, before closing and letting a sigh escape the body. Rarity gently put the mare down, and ordered the guards to come and carry them to safety. Her eyes briefly went to the second body, before returning to the first one. On the purple unicorn’s chest, clutched by the front hooves, was a single, purple, feather.
Twilight opened her eyes slowly, looking at the white roof of her room. Giving a groan, she sat up and rubbed her forehead, glad to see everything was still in working order. Turning to look around her room, she realised she was in a simply furnished infirmary of some sort. There were a few empty beds perfectly aligned in a single row, and one door to exit. Looking to the desk next to her bed, she picked up the purple feather and narrowed her eyes at it, before tossing it toward the ground.
“Oh good, you’re awake.” Turning her head, she saw the two ponies walking into the room. The earth pony and unicorn were quick to give her a smile. Looking to the hooves of the earth pony, she saw a bag with what looked like some bread in it, her stomach growled. The unicorn was carrying a teapot and some cups in her light blue magic.
“Ahm-I am Applejack, and this is Princess Rarity. Mind if I ask what you name is?” Placing the bag down, Applejack pulled out the bread and offered it to Twilight, who took it and dug in greedily. Pausing briefly, she noticed the one named Rarity grimace at her behaviour, and slowed down her eating so as not to be as ‘uncouth.’
“I’m Twilight, one of the unicorn nomads.” Pausing after finishing the bread, she beamed them a smile and held out a hoof in greeting. She retracted it a moment later when she saw the two share a glance. Frowning, she opened her mouth to ask about it. However, a cup was shoved into her face, and she paused to take a few sips. It was jasmine tea, a favourite of hers.
“Soo, Twilight. Just a quick question if I may. Where were these unicorn nomads heading too?” Rarity glanced to Applejack, who was also frowning. A unicorn wasn’t that odd an occurrence in Unicornia, but a unicorn nomad? The last nomads had been thought dead a long time ago, seeing as they had all been wiped out while they slept one night, so they thought.
“We were heading to Pegasopolis, I know a pegasus there by the name of Private Pansy. We were planning on going to show them a better way of creating rainbows.” Twilight chucked as she thought of all the things she would have done with Private Pansy. If they were lucky, they would be able to sneak down to the surface and go for a swim together for an entire day before getting caught.
“Uh, well, I see…” Rarity and Applejack sighed, and rubbed their heads. Twilight finally decided it was time to speak up on their behaviour. Putting down the tea and cup, she moved her legs out from under the covers, ready to stand up if she needed too.
“You keep giving me those weird looks, what’s the problem?” Seeing both ponies jump, Twilight quickly grew impatient. Looking to each other, Rarity pointed to Applejack who sighed, giving a roll of her eyes, and turned to Twilight seriously.
“Mainly because the unicorn nomads are thought to be extinct. None have been seen for almost a thousand years.” Applejack watched as the emotion’s rolled across Twilight’s face. First her eyes widened, her mouth opening slightly. Then they narrowed into slits, her mouth downturned. After that she sighed and glanced toward the window, standing up to head toward it.
“That’s impossible, I left the main group not long ago, it couldn’t have been more than a few days.” Twilight opened the window and looked down upon the city of Unicornia, and her eyes widened. In the centre of the city sat a large part that was ruins. The worst part was, Twilight recognised the ruins as the once bustling city of the unicorns. Holding her head as a headache hit her, she fell to the floor.
“No, this can’t be right.” Twilight’s horn began to spark, and Applejack began to back toward the door. Rarity was quick to follow suit, both knew the signs of emotional magic explosions. Twilight held her head and continued repeating ‘no’ over and over again as the magic began to build. Her body began to emit a strange glow, and her hair began to ripple in an unknown breeze. Suddenly, her eyes turned pure white and she began to hover mid air, still repeating the same phrase.
“Twilight, stop!” Applejack spoke from the door, trying to reach Twilight through the gale starting to tear through the corridors around them. However as her own cries couldn’t be heard in her own ears, she gritted her teeth and began to try and crawl towards Twilight. It was only when the wind suddenly silenced for a moment, and she looked up, did she see the things coming out of her side.
A small shape dive bombed Twilight, and gently knocked her on the head, causing her to lose concentration and the spell to vanish completely. He was a small purple dragon with green spikes down his back. Twilight opened her eyes, and as she saw the dragon they filed with moisture, and she began to hug the baby dragon, breaking out into sobs between breaths.
“Spike,” she sobbed, to which the dragon gently patted her on the back. Applejack quietly left the room, and closed the door to join Rarity in the hallway. Rarity's hair had been completely messed up by the wind, but that seemed to be the least of her problems. Applejack picked up her hat, and placed it back on her head.
“Applejack my dear, tell me what Twilight looked like while casting that spell, and be honest with me.” Rarity locked eyes with Applejack, who gulped and glanced toward the door. As she thought about it, the feeling of dread she had felt was quickly turning into hope. What had been fear that Twilight might wipe out half the city, was replaced with the realisation of what she had seen signified. If her hunch was right, there may be hope for the land.
“Like an Alicorn.”
