The Society of Shepherds

Pain shot through Twilight Sparkle’s body. In fact that was all the unicorn could remember from yesterday. ‘was that yesterday?’ She thought to herself. Her head spun in a disorienting fashion as she slowly attempted to stand. Her efforts were useless as she slumped back onto her hindquarters. She noticed the room was as cold as ever, ‘was this cell ever warm?’ She rolled over and caught the gaze of Rainbow Dash. The look of sadness in Rainbow’s eyes made Twilight’s gut twist. “Dashie, I’m so sorry.”

Rainbow sat up as far as she was able and looked Twilight directly in the eyes before blurting out, “None of this is your fault, Twi. We would have been found at some point anyway. Although I am gonna miss these wings.” Tears began flooding both of their eyes as Rainbow failed to flex her wings.

“Yeah, I know the feeling.” Twilight sighed as she massaged her forehead where her horn used to be, she recalled the aching sadness she felt as she watched helplessly as they clipped Rainbow’s wings in front of her. Then the jarring feeling of the saw scrapping her only source of magical expression off of her forever. “It was only a matter of time before the Keeper’s lackies caught us.” Twilight finished in defeat as she managed to get onto her feet. Twilight  slowly walked over to Rainbow and sat gently next to her before resting her head on her shoulder.

    “How long do you think we have left before they take you away from me?”

    “I don’t want to think about my life without you, Twi.” Rainbow Choke back tears as she spoke.

    “I will find you, no matter what it takes. Ever since I met you I’ve been meaning to tell you -- “ Twilight was interrupted by the sound of the cell door being opened from below. The two ponies held each other shaking in fear as they heard hooves beating their way up the stairs. Slowly out of the darkness emerged a menacing form. A jet black mare with a strange sceptre-like cutie mark. Her mane was a flowing black fog. The sight of her made all of the life pour back into Twilight as she stood in between Rainbow Dash and the approaching threat shielding her friend with her own body. “Don’t you dare touch her, Keeper!”

The obsidian pony laughed maliciously under her breath while moving the bangs from covering her blood red eyes. They eerily matched her mane and tail. The horn atop the evil pony’s head began to shine a sickly brown, like the siding of the abandoned houses of Ponyville. Twilight’s pupils shrank in horror as her entire body was engulfed in the putrid brown aura. Muscles in places only her and doctor ponies would know about immediately seized to the point that Twilight was unable to move. ‘If only I had my magic!’ Twilight screamed in her head. The evil mare holding Twilight snapped her head to the side in a jerking motion causing Twilight to skid across the ground. She collided with the nearby wall taking all of the wind out of her in the process. The Keeper, with a satisfied grin, unfurled her wings and approached Rainbow Dash preparing to escort her to her new owner.

Twilight struggled to move to Rainbow, but when she tried the spell locking her in place set her core ablaze in pain. She cried out in terror, unable to brace herself, her eyes forced themselves open only adding to the torture. Twilight lay motionless as the Keeper inched closer to Rainbow. The scene didn’t feel right to Twilight, time seemed to be flowing sporadically. Soon no sounds could be heard not even the grizzly crackle of the aura around her body. Soon enough the only sound coming out of the cold night now was a ringing in her ears. Twilight began to drift in and out of consciousness hardly able to make out the dark ponies hoof extending towards Rainbow Dash who was now floating inches from the Keeper, her eyes glowing the purest white.

Twilight looked on helplessly waiting for her turn. Rainbow’s eyes shut and she went limp in the Keeper’s hold. Twilight feared she just witnessed her friend die. Suddenly the Keeper vanished into nothing, and Rainbow dropped to the floor. The aura around Twilight vanished, but the blurry vision and ringing perpetuated. Rainbow, a collapsed heap on the dirty ground, did not move. Twilight’s resolve crumbled at the thought of what might have just happened. She mustered her strength and began to crawl towards the faded cyan pony.

Twilight was mere inches away before she stopped to inhale deeply, “please be okay, Dash…” she hesitated before clutching the mare’s forehoof. Suddenly the fluid drained in Twilight’s ears, and the flow of time restored to normal. Rainbow lay motionless underneath Twilight as she poked, prodded, shook, and cradled her. “I am so stupid! Why did I have to drag you into rescuing our friends!? I could have handled the risks myself… and the worst part is I never got to say this,” Twilight sobbed heavily as she leaned in to Rainbow Dash’s lips, “I love you Rainbow Dash, I always have and I always will.” She gently kissed the pegasus before cradling her once more. Twilight simply laid there with her dear Rainbow, unable to speak, unable to move, only able to clutch to the one she loved more than life itself. All hope faded out of the Purple ponies eyes as she hung her head once more.

“Twi-Twilight?” Rainbow said as her eyes lazily opened halfway. She looked up to see Twilight stroking her mane. Joy was apparent on Twilight’s face as she violently squeezed Rainbow harder than she had ever before.

“Rainbow… I am so glad you’re okay. I am so sorry-” she was interrupted by a passionate kiss and a warm embrace from the rainbow mare. The two separated and held each other in tears of both sadness and joy. The thoughts began to race through Twilight's mind about the scene that had just unfolded. 'She feels the same way as I do!/Soon the two mares stood together, and looked each other in the eyes.

    “Where do you think she went?” Twilight said as she dusted herself off. She looked around the room, and noticed something she hadn’t the last week they were being held in the cell. “Wait what is that?” She finished gesturing towards the corpse of another prisoner left carelessly in the opposite corner of the room. They both knew of the presence of the corpse already, they were reminded of it every day because of the smell starting to emanate from the remains. She was instead pointing to the hoof of the victim. Inside was a piece of paper clutched as if it was the only thing the poor pony held dear to itself in their final hours.

Twilight walked over to the corpse and began prying the paper from the ponies hoof. Her mind was racing with questions as to why she hadn’t noticed this before. She finally managed to wrench the paper away from the rigid hoof. ‘The answer lies in the cabin with a single candle flame.’ That was all that was written on the piece of paper. Neither Twilight nor Rainbow Dash could make any sense of the message.

Twilight threw the slip of paper down and glanced out of the window she was now beside. She could see the streets of Canterlot below them, it was fairly easy since they were being held in the tallest citadel of the Canterlot dungeons. The streets seemed to weave amongst each other like a torched wicker basket as the Keeper’s destruction could be seen smoldering in the fog.

The complex aromas wafting into her nostrils from the rotting corpse forced her to snap back into reality. “Let’s go downstairs and see if she left the door open.” Twilight announced as Rainbow nodded in agreement. They plunged through the layer of fog left in the wake of their captor, down into the abyss. Their one hope was that the door was left unlocked so that they may escape into the hectic metropolis that awaited them. Continuing down the spiraling leviathan Twilight feared what would be waiting for them when they reached the mouth of the beast. After the long descent the door was discovered to be locked from the other side. Hope was once again taken from them.

“No way out, now what?” Rainbow Dash said behind Twilight who was now pacing in a circle outside of the cell door.

“I haven’t got the slightest clue.” Twilight replied back “but there must be a way out of this citadel.” A loud crack rang out from the room above them causing both of them to freeze in fear. Slowly they crept their way back up the staircase. Taking caution around every corner as they went on to investigate what the sound was. There was a strange chill in the air as they silently nudged forward. As they reached the top it felt icy.

“Look!” shouted Rainbow Dash. Twilight sharply gazed up from watching the patter of her hooves to find the corpse had gone and its effervescent aroma had floated away. “It must have gone missing just after we left.” Rainbow finished.

Twilight had a bad feeling as to who took it. She noticed something shimmering in the center of the room and trotted up to it. A spider made out of crystal was lying there glistening in the moonlight. There was no sign as to how it arrived there on the ground. “Take a look at it.” Twilight said in a moment of examination. Rainbow walked, slowly, over to the emblem on the floor. The pony hastily picked it up. “Hey, look at this, Twi!” she said as she gestured a hoof to the back of the figure. When Twilight looked down at the spider she noticed a very obvious mechanism on the under belly.

“Press it.” Twilight choke out nervously. Rainbow hovered a forehoof over the device for some time before quickly jabbing the button. A loud popping sound forced her to drop the insect like apparatus in fear that it may inflict harm. The button activated a spring forcing out what looked like a crudely constructed key. “That’s convenient.” Twilight chortled nervously. The atmosphere was thick and nearly suffocating.

“Maybe too convenient.” Rainbow said in her usual confident demeanor. They were relieved but anxious and hesitant to trust this discovery at the same time.

Twilight picked up the key and gripped it tightly. The two mares locked eyes for what seemed like forever. “Are you ready?” They both seemed to ask at the same time, and each knew the answer. Down the spiraling staircase they went again. Each window slit they passed they could see the darkness of night outside with the occasional fire glowing down below. They reached the door much faster than they had on their previous trip down the staircase. The noisy sound of water dripping from the pipes echoed through the walls and pounded in Twilight’s ears as if her brain was robbed of blood.

Twilight slipped the key into the lock. As she twisted it she could feel the tumblers shifting. As Twilight reached the end of her stroke she heard one last loud click. Her eyes slammed shut and fear poured through her body. She took one final glance over Rainbow, and felt confidence rise back into her being. Gripping the handle she turned it, and charged through the door and off into the night. Rainbow happily at her side.