Amulet

It was dark. Suffocating so. The box the frustratingly resistant zebra had locked them in allowed no light to reach inside. The soft life energy of surrounding flora and fauna gave them some way of navigation this damnable forest, and the path to the old castle was familiar enough to recognize even without the telltale hum of old magic that surrounded the place, but unfortunately they had passed by the palace without stopping, continuing on to more unfamiliar grounds before coming to a stop far enough away from it to escape the reach of the hum.

Not that knowing their location would be of any use, though, as without a host they were completely helpless. The occasional passing animal was dominated easily enough, but wherever they had been placed was obviously inaccessible to the unintelligent beasts. They could claw at walls and ceilings all they wanted, but it would never lead to the object they were tricked into so desperately desiring.

It was maddening. They were to be traded, stolen or gifted, not locked in some box and forgotten. Their gifts were useless here. They could destroy armies, raze cities, create almost anything imaginable with but a thought, but they needed a host to do any of it. They needed a host to even think.

The sentience they had gained from Trixie was fading by the day, and there was nothing they could do about it. Soon enough, they would become nothing more than a lifeless trinket, doomed to sit in this accursed box till the end of time.

A sudden burst of pegasi magic at the edge of their perception pulled them from their thoughts. It was weak, the pegasus in question obviously not very talented at flying. A child, perhaps? Another burst of pegasi magic, this one much stronger, followed the weaker signature as they grew closer. The weaker signal briefly grew stronger as the pegasus in question pushed themselves to move faster. They were being pursued. Interesting. As the weaker signal grew closer, they realized the pegasus was being driven directly towards them. Very interesting.

The weaker soon grew close enough that their life energy was discernible. Not a child, but instead a young adult, aura tinted with fear. Why was their magic so weak? Was their talent not suited to flying?

The weak pegasus sheltered itself in the boughs of a large tree, burying themselves in the branches until they would have been covered completely. Their pursuer arrived shortly after, an older pegasus whose malice and anger was so strong as to be practically suffocating, softly muttering an angry diatribe to himself. The younger's fear spiked in intensity as the older began to roam around the area, occasionally shifting around the foliage in an attempt to search for his quarry. He steadily grew closer and closer to the younger, until a burst of panic confirmed that they had been discovered.

There was a sharp crack, and the younger cried out in pain. There was a flash of flight magic as the younger tried to escape their attacker, inadvertently drawing closer to where the box was hidden when they fell. The older followed, chasing the younger down from the tree and landing a few feet from them. The younger started scrabbling away, close enough that surface thoughts began to become perceptible.

I'm going to die, he's going to kill me, I shouldn't have tried to run, this is my fault-

Rapid, panicked, pained. The younger soon reached the void in their perception marking the wall separating them from the box. Only a scant few feet separating them from freedom. The older drew closer slowly, anger bubbling even more fiercely than before.

"You little bitch. You got a free room and free food. Was that not good enough for you? I could throw you out on the streets, you know. You're an adult now. I'm not responsible for you anymore. I don't have to spend my money supporting a whore."

A parent then. An unacceptable parent. The younger suddenly fell, a dull thud marking the wall between them opening, triggered by some unknown mechanism. Sounds of surprise came from both parties. The younger recovered quickly, pulling herself away from their tormentor fleeing and into the room. In her haste, she knocked over whatever the box had been resting on, causing it to fly open.

The light was blinding. It took a few moments for them to adjust. The room they were in was empty, save for a toppled pedestal where the box they had been trapped in for who knows how long had presumably rested. A fine layer of dust coated everything, only disturbed by the room's only breathing occupant.

The pegasus was extremely thin, ribs visible through her cream coloured coat. Their mane was light blue, tangled and uncared for. Her wings were atrophied and had markings where they had to have been bound, and she was covered in bruises. Her cutie mark was a musical note.

Beyond the entrance, standing among the lush foliage that surrounded whatever structure they were in, stood a pony that had to be her father. He shared her colouration, but was far taller and much more muscular, his cutie mark a rain cloud. His wings were held level to his body as he stalked closer, sleek and shiny. His mane was lightly dishevelled from his search, but had none of the markings of neglect held by his daughter.

The daughter who inadvertently brushed the amulet that had flown from the box.

Hello.

She jumped backwards, only to collide with the wall behind her. From what they had gleaned during the brief contact, her name was Blue Sky, and the stallion in front of her, Moody Blue, was indeed her father.

Moody paused, glancing between Blue and the amulet.

"Were you hiding this from me? Did you steal it and hide it here so you could pawn it after you ran away?" Moody was shouting now. He stomped forward and snatched the amulet off the ground with his mouth.

Moody collapsed immediately as burning pain engulfed his entire body. He screamed, dropping the piece of jewellery as if it were a hot coal. It landed next to Blue Sky, who was still staring at her father. He was writhing on the ground, still cocooned by waves of pain. He slowly grew still, his breathing erratic.

Blue Sky eventually turned her gaze to the amulet on the floor beside her. After some time, she reached out to touch it again, tentatively prodding it with her hoof, as if expecting it to jump out and bite her.

Hello.

She started, but didn't try to jump back again.

"Did... did you do that to him?" Blue glanced at her father again.

Yes.

"Is he going to die?" They could feel both hope and guilt from Blue as she asked.

Probably.

Blue didn't respond, instead withdrawing her hoof and curling into a ball, very deliberately not looking at the dying form of her father.

Twilight woke with a start. She leapt from her bed and galloped out of her room and down the hall towards her study. She sent papers flying as the door slammed open, scattering her well-organized notes across the room as she frantically pulled open the drawers of her desk until she found the one containing the amulet. Breathing heavily, she relaxed.

"Of course. It's not like it could sprout legs and walk off. It was just a dream." Twilight chuckled to herself. She began to gather and reorganize the notes she had scattered in her abrupt entrance.

"What's going on?" A tired Starlight appeared at the door, mane frazzled and bags under her eyes.

"Oh, nothing. I just had a bad dream." Twilight responded.

"Oh. Huh. You should-" Starlight yawned. "You should talk to Luna about that."

"And we should probably go back to bed," Twilight responded after a yawn of her own.

Wings spread in the corner of Twilight's eye. She whipped around, horn blazing, only to find the amulet sitting in its drawer.

"Are you okay?" Starlight asked, slightly more awake and much more concerned.

"Oh, yes. I'm just fine. No need to worry. I'll just clean up around here and head back to bed." Twilight rapidly replied. Violet magic started to levitate loose papers back into organized piles.

"I can help if you want." Starlight said tentatively as she picked up a few papers with her own magic.

"No, no, I'm fine! You can head back to bed Starlight, I can clean this up on my own." Twilight snatched the papers from Starlight and pushed her out of the door before closing it a bit too forcefully.

Twilight took a deep breath. She wasn't going to get back to sleep tonight, so she may as well be productive. She grabbed a few loose papers and a quill before drawing the amulet out of its drawer, glaring at it.

"What are you?”