In the inky darkness on the outskirts of Ponyville, a shapeless, black form slunk up the hill overlooking the town like a monster from some horrible bog. It had just crested the hill when a weight shifted on its back, forcing it to a stop.
“Sis,” A voice husky from sleep asked“Why are we outside? It’s dark.”
“Jade?”
There was more shifting. The entity craned its neck to meet the sleepy green eyes of a unicorn filly and as gently as she could she eased the filly off her back.
“Jade, you have to be quiet and follow your big sister, okay?”
Jade groaned and arched her back, stretching forward along the grass. “What for?”
“I’ll explain later, just trust me, okay?”
Jade nodded and mimicked her sister as she slipped the shawl over her head and they melted into the darkness.
The pair were like ghosts as they made their way into the town, ducking under the branches of a low-hanging tree and across several yards with nary a sound between them. Jade’s sister halted her at the corner of one of the houses and stood peering at something off in the distance.
“What?” Jade asked.
“Right there,” she stared up at the massive crystalline structure looming over the town like some great testament to ponykind. “That’s where we’re going.”
“It’s huge,” Jade said, stepping out from behind the house in wonder only to be pulled back roughly by her sister.
“Jade,” she hissed. “Stay in the shadows, we don’t want anypony seeing us.”
“Sorry,” Jade whispered as she took up rank behind her sister again.
“Okay, when I say run, run to that house over there.”
Jade peeked out from behind her sister’s leg and across the thoroughfare to the row of giant corrugated buildings that stretched on until they were swallowed up by the oppressive darkness beyond.
“Okay.” The word came out soft as the breeze through the trees.
The breeze stopped dead still.
Jade looked up at her sister who studied the sky with incredible focus. She felt her sister tense up the exact moment the light of the moon was erased by the clouds. She barely heard the word “now” before her sister tore off for the shade of the adjacent building leaving Jade scrambling behind her.
Like rats, the sisters scampered around buildings, through alleys and into the shadow of one of the houses neighboring their destination.
“Alright, this is close enough.”
The mare peeled back the hood of her shawl and her horn sparked to life with vibrant, blood red energy. As the magic began to swell, the breeze began to pick up, stronger and stronger until it began to suck the very darkness from the air as though they were at the center of a vacuum.
“Hold on, Jade.”
The energy peaked. The mare’s horn shone brilliantly. There was a single, mighty gust of wind, a flash, a puff of black smoke, and the breeze was once again still.
Jade squeezed her eyes shut as they were enveloped by blackness. There was a moment of nothingness — like floating weightless in water before her stomach dropped, then the sensation of falling.
It seemed to go on forever, but the feeling eventually stopped and gave way to clarity.
Jade opened her eyes, felt ground under her hooves and gave a small sigh of relief.
“I still don’t like-”
A hoof to the muzzle cut her off. Her sister need only look at her for Jade to grasp the urgency of the situation. Her sister removed her hoof and Jade fell in silently behind her.
They came upon the first door and eased it open. Jade tried to peer around her sister’s leg, but it was too dark for her to see anything.
“Is anyone in there?” Jade whispered.
Her sister hissed sharply at Jade over her shoulder, stared into the darkness for a moment and then shut the door.
“No, It’s just a library.”
“Who are we even looking for anyway?”
Jade was shushed again. Her sister gestured off to their left and Jade silently obeyed. They crept cravenly down the hallway, the first two doors they tried hiding depressingly empty rooms behind them. Their third pick seemed similarly empty at first until the sound of snoring hit Jade’s ears just before the door was closed.
“Sis!”
For the third time, Jade was shushed.
“Stay here,” Prism whispered, pulling on the hood of her shawl and disappearing into the darkness. Jade flinched when the door creaked open slightly. She sat helplessly in the hallway for what felt like forever before the door creaked again and her sister reappeared.
“It’s some kind of little lizard thing-”
Jade gasped. “I wanna see.” The excited filly stepped not one hoof into the room before she was pulled away and the door was shut in her face.
“Jade,” Prism hissed. “We didn’t come here to sightsee, we came to get help.”
“Sorry.”
“Just come on, and be quiet.”
Jade nodded and zipped her muzzle shut with an imaginary zipper and the two continued to comb through the rooms until they came upon a massive set of double doors.
“This has to be it.” Prism stood staring at the doors for a few seconds and then turned to Jade. “We’re gonna have to teleport again. You ready?”
Jade nodded. Prism lit her her horn and Jade had to will a mote of bile back down into her stomach as the wind began to pick up. A strong gust surged through the castle and down the hall, knocking Jade into her sister’s rear leg. Jade held on for dear life just as the darkness enveloped them. There was the nothingness, and then the falling feeling hit and it was all Jade could do to keep down her dinner until solid ground graced her hooves again.
Very slowly, Jade opened her eyes and everything was spinning. The darkness surrounding them gently peeled away like morning fog and Jade had to reign in a gasp at the mare sleeping soundly not ten feet from where they stood.
As expected, Prism demanded silence and the two crept toward the bed, Prism taking up the head while Jade cowered behind her leg. Quiet as mice, they reached the bedside. The sisters shared a look and a nod before Prism reached a hoof out and brought it to the sleeping mare’s shoulder.
“Princess Twilight?”
Twilight shifted subtly under Prism’s touch but remained otherwise undisturbed.
“Princess Twilight,” she tried again, shaking the princess more urgently this time.
There was a groan from the sleeping princess as her eyelids fluttered open. Prism’s eyes met hers. There was a moment of stillness akin to the calm before war and in a blinding purple flash, Twilight was across the room, her horn poised and glowing.
“Who are you? What do you want?”
Calmly, Prism cleared her throat. “I’m Prism. This-” Prism gestured to the little pink filly cowering behind her. “-is my little sister, Jade.”
“What do you want?” Twilight repeated, bowing her head so that her horn was aimed directly between Prism’s eyes.
“Hold on. We didn’t come here to fight.” Prism took a breath. “We actually need your help.”
“How do I know you really need my help? How do I know you didn’t just come here to kidnap me or something?”
Prism turned to Jade and rested a hoof on the filly’s head.
“Jade, can you wake up Twister for me, please?”
Jade nodded, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. Twilight watched hawkishly as the Filly’s head lolled to the side as though she had fallen asleep before roughly jerking back upward.
“Where am I?” A voice slurred; a different voice, one that sounded notably more male in tone. Like lightning, the filly rounded on her sister, her earlier skittishness seeming to have all but vanished. “Where’d you take me you pedo?”
Prism sighed. “And this absolutely charming gentlecolt, is Twister.”
Twilight’s head ping-ponged between Prism and the filly standing next to her. “Wait, I’m confused.”
Twister’s head snapped to Twilight. “Who’s she?”
“Twister!” Prism quickly stepped between the colt and the princess. “Sorry about that, your highness.”
“Wait,” Twister started. “You’re a queen?”
“Princess,” Prism corrected. “And you’re being rude.”
Twister gave the purple mare before him a long look. “If you’re really a princess, where’s your crown?”
“Twister!” Prism rounded on the colt just in time for Twister to see the dangerous fire flickering behind her eyes.“Just...go sit over there while the grown-ups talk, okay?”
Prism shooed Twister to a desk in the corner of the room. Twister scowled at her and hobbled off.
“Excuse him-” Prism started before she was cut off by the ungodly screech of table legs being dragged across the floor. Prism growled low in her throat and rounded on the colt.
Twister sneered at her, balanced precariously on the hind legs of the chair.
“You’re gonna fall,” Prism warned as she turned back to Twilight. “Sorry. He’s been even more of a pain in the flank ever since this whole ‘thing started.”
“What happened exactly?”
“I wish I knew. I didn’t but I was out getting grocieres one morning and when I came back I found Twister’s body on the floor and Jade locked in her room.”
“Like they are right now?” Twilight ventured.
“Yeah.”
“You think maybe Jade did it?”
“Oh, I know she did it. But every time I try to ask her about it, she refuses to tell me anything.”
“Where’s Twister’s body now?”
“On the couch in our apartment.”
Twilight looked past Prism and watched silently Twister dug around in the desk-drawer.
“Come on.” She started toward the door, waving Prism along with a hoof. I’ve got a lab in the basement. I want to run a few tests.”
