1 - A Secret Once Hidden
The sun was shining above the pristine marble of Canterlot Castle, the birds were chirping and all seemed to be right in Equestria. Yet for one frantic purple unicorn, things were not alright. In fact, things could not have been any worse.
Spike, who had been with Twilight since he had been hatched, was well adjusted to the frantic tendencies of his sister, so all he could muster pertaining to expression was a tired, flat face of boredom as he was carried down the castle halls in Twilight’s magenta magical aura. Not for the first time, he tried to reason with his wayward sibling, not really expecting anything different from the previous three attempts.
“Twilight,” he tried to muster some force in his tone, although given he had been dragged out of his basket long before he usually awoke, it wasn’t easy, “I’m sure the Princess won’t be mad if you are only a few minutes later getting to the throne room.”
Twilight didn’t seem to hear him at first, teleporting past a few cleaning staff who just happened to walk out of a side room, startling the maid as she jumped into the front hooves of the hoofman next to her. This resulted in all of the clean sheets she had been carrying to fall to the ground, the duo blushing at their predicament, all while Twilight continued her blind sprint towards the throne room.
“Sorry Featherduster! Sorry Clean Plate!” Spike called out as Twilight carried him around a corner, leaving the two bewildered ponies in their wake to slowly untangle themselves.
Finally, Twilight and her unwilling sibling arrived at the double doors that led to Celestia’s public audience chamber, the two unicorn guards stationed at either side barely bothering to roll their eyes as they opened the door ahead of the speeding unicorn. Spike knew that they were only trying to prevent another head-on collision with the gold-plated doors, given Twilight had done so many times in her fillyhood before she learned that the doors were magically locked. Given her current mental state, she probably wouldn’t have remembered, assuming she didn’t try to teleport through the door and end up getting thrown out on her head by the protective barriers.
The doors opened with a mighty creak, announcing the duo before Twilight’s frantic hoofbeats could do so. Princess Celestia looked up from the paperwork that was floating in her golden aura and smiled at them, her motherly tone echoing through the grand space as Twilight and Spike came to a stop at the base of the dais.
“Twilight, my faithful student, I’m glad you came so quickly,” she noted that Spike was still held captive in Twilight’s magic, “although you didn’t need to wake Spike up this early in the morning.”
“I’m so sorry Princess!” Twilight finally blurted out as she bowed her head low, Spike being pressed into the floor by her magic as the unicorn grovelled while apologizing profusely. “I knew I should have studied more for that test you gave me last week! I’ll try better in the future, I promise! I won’t ever get a ninety-nine percent ever again! Please don’t send me back to Magic Kindergarten! I knew that my answer to question twenty-three wasn’t thorough enough! What about question number six, was my three page essay not sufficient? Please don’t take Spike back!!”
Celestia giggled softly behind a hoof as she freed Spike from his pancaked position on the floor, “You have nothing to worry about Twilight. I don’t expect anypony to be perfect. Your test was a stunning example of why you are my most prized pupil,” the alabaster alicorn’s face suddenly fell, “although there is something important I wanted to speak with you about.”
“What is it Princess?” Twilight had temporarily gotten over her manic terror. Spike gave it about five minutes before she had another episode as he dusted off his scales.
“Come with me.” Celestia stated cryptically, “there is something that you must see.”
The Princess led the two siblings out of the throne room and through several long hallways, winding their way up the side of one of the castle’s towers until they finally came to a stop at two large doors, emblazoned with gold inlays of the shining sun. Twilight and Spike knew these doors well, as they had been here many times before when they were both a lot younger.
This was the entrance to Celestia’s personal chambers.
The doors were unlocked as Celestia’ golden magic infused directly into the gold inlays, allowing them past the multitudes of magical protections that surrounded the most private of places. The familiar chamber decor was spread out before them as the doors closed behind them, leaving the two ponies and dragon all alone. The bed with its sweeping white curtains was on the right, while a small regalia stand was on their left next to a large standing mirror. Paintings of Celestia’s favorite vistas were all over the walls, but it was one in particular that drew the siblings’ attention as Celestia walked over to a small picture that was hanging next to the bed.
Twilight gasped as she looked up at the small painting, faded with untold age and yet still recognisable as two alicorn fillies. One was a pearly white with bright bubblegum pink for her mane and tail, while the other was a deep midnight blue with soft sky blue for her mane and tail. The white one was leaning over and hugging the smaller blue filly, who was sticking out her tongue in mock disgust, although Twilight also noticed that the blue filly’s hooves were wrapped around her companion anyway.
“Who are they, Princess?” Twilight asked as she looked up at her mentor.
Celestia let out a wistful sigh, the first either of them had ever heard, “They were sisters, long ago, and the first rulers of Equestria.”
“What happened to them?” Spike asked, his voice shaking slightly with nerves.
“They drifted apart,” Celestia stated plainly, “and now there is only the eldest.” The great alicorn shook her head as if to rid herself of the mood that had set in, “But that is not what I have brought you here to see, but rather what is behind it.”
Much to Twilight’s amazement, the picture was affixed to a swinging panel, which swung out to the left to reveal a combination safe, hidden until that moment by powerful illusion spells. Celestia cranked the knob so fast that Twilight couldn’t see the numbers, before taking the handle in her aura and opening the door.
Twilight expected some great treasure, perhaps an artifact or a prized possession. What she was not expecting was a worn pair of saddlebags, so threadbare that they were nearly falling apart and covered in stains to the point she couldn’t see the original colors.
Celestia pulled out the saddlebags with almost reverent care, setting them on the bed before closing the safe once more. She gestured to them with a single hoof and smiled as Twilight walked up to them. Carefully, with only her hoof to open the flap, Twilight did as she was instructed and looked inside, only to gasp as her eyes beheld something that she had only read about in the most ancient of texts.
Twilight looked over her shoulder, her eyes the size of dinner plates and her mouth trying to form words. Celestia simply nodded while Spike walked up and looked inside the saddlebags for himself.
“What’s so important about a bunch of carved gems?” The drake asked, much to Celestia’s delight and Twilight’s horror.
“Spike!” Twilight nearly screamed as she got muzzle-to-nose with her younger brother, “These aren’t just ordinary gems, these are the fabled Elements of Harmony! They are the most powerful magical artifacts in the world and are tied directly to the Tree of Harmony! How could you not know this? I told you about it when I was reading Sacred Script’s Equestria’s Prophecies and Ancient Legends last month! Princess Celestia herself made it a required reading assignment!”
Spike simply rolled his eyes while Celestia pulled the artifacts out of the saddlebags and laid them out in a semicircle before the trio, “And it is for a very specific reason I included those legends as a part of your learning. Do you remember your entrance examination back in your fillyhood?”
“How could I ever forget? It was when I first hatched Spike from his egg, and the day I got my cutie mark.” Twilight recited, “But what does that have to do with the Elements of Harmony?”
“On that day, I was here in my chambers when you had your flare, and I saw the Element of Magic react, as if somepony was calling out to it.” Celestia’s gaze leveled with Twilight’s in a hard stare, “I soon figured out that it was you who had summoned its power, and it is because of that reason that I took you under my wing as my student.”
“So what does all of that mean, exactly?” Spike asked, his gaze travelling over the gems placed before them.
“It means that something very important has been put into motion,” Celestia said, “and an old foe of mine is soon to return.”
“Who is returning?” Twilight asked.
“Nightmare Moon,” the name sent shivers up and down the siblings’ spines as Celestia’s eyes hardened in anger, “an alicorn of darkness that threatened to destroy the word, and took away somepony who was very close to me.” Celestia’s gaze softened again as she turned back to Twilight, “As the new Bearer of Magic, you must find the other Bearers and work together to stop Nightmare Moon. I used the Elements long ago to seal her in the moon, but that seal is weakening. In six moons’ time, when the largest moon of the year lines up with several powerful stars, she will escape and I will not be able to stop her by myself.”
“But you used the Elements before,” Twilight stated, “can’t you use them again to seal her away once more?”
Celestia shook her head, “I cannot. When I used them to banish Nightmare Moon, my connection with them was severed, leaving them inert until you awakened them once again. Now it is up to you to find the other Bearers, and to stop Nightmare Moon before she can bring about eternal night.”
“But how will I find them?” Twilight’s mane started to frazzle as her nerves got the better of her, “Is there some kind of book I can read or chart I can follow?”
Spike’s hand impacted with his face as Celestia shook her head, “Unfortunately there is no easy way to do this. The Elements themselves will guide you to their respective Bearers, and only together can you muster the power that will be needed to stop Nightmare Moon. I have a feeling that things will get easier along the way, but you must act quickly. You only have six moons until the seal is broken.”
“We won’t fail you, Princess!” Twilight’s head lifted and she smiled at her mentor as she turned to Spike, “Spike, take a note. We’re going to need a lot of supplies if we’re going to find five Bearers in six moons.”
They only made it a few steps towards the Elements when Celestia interrupted them, “I’m sorry, but Spike cannot help you. He has his own mission to undertake.”
Both siblings gaped at the Princess as she averted her gaze, “I’m sorry, but an old ally has called for Spike, and I’m afraid it is out of my hooves. Spike will journey to the lands of Lord Blaze to undergo the Trials of Dragonhood.”
“The trials of dragonhood?” Spike’s expression was the very definition of confused, “What’s that?”
“It is a rite of passage that every dragon must undergo once they come of age. I would have let you go once you were a little bit older, but Lord Blaze has demanded that you return and undergo training before taking the trials.”
“And who is this Lord Blaze to demand that Spike go anywhere?” Twilight countered, “I’ve never even heard of him.”
“She,” Celestia corrected, “is the leader of the Firebrand Clan, and also the one who laid Spike’s egg. She is also one of the leading members of the Council of Lords, which rule over all of the clans that make up dragon society.”
That stopped both of them in their tracks, Twilight’s jaw dropping to the floor while Spike started to sway on his feet. Celestia caught him in her magic as the small drake fainted, shaking her head slowly as she placed him on her bed.
“Wait a minute,” Twilight’s brain had regained enough power to speak apparently, “are you saying that Spike is dragon royalty?!”
“Nobility, technically,” Celestia countered, “but yes, he is a member of one of the noble bloodlines. Much like your own family to be honest.”
“But my parents don’t do anything in the court.” Twilight tried to argue, “All they do is work in the observatory and write books.”
“But what about your grandmother?” Celestia continued, “Haven’t you ever spoken to your parents about why Duchess Nova Sparkle is one of the most respected members of the Noble Council?”
“Well my parents never really talk about my grandparents all that much, I mean I knew that Nova Sparkle was my grandmother, and that she was a Duchess, but we never have much to do with noble things. My mother goes on cruises and bungee jumps in her free time. My father runs the Royal Astronomy Guild here in Canterlot for fun. We’ve never even stepped hoof in a meeting with other nobles.”
“And that is because your grandmother didn’t want you to be a part of the nobility until she thought you were ready.” Celestia stated plainly, “She knew how corrupting the noble households can be on young minds, and wanted to spare you from that fate if she could. As it stands, it seems that Harmony has more important things in mind for you both.”
“Does that mean I have to go find the other Bearers by myself?” Twilight’s voice had gotten very small, and she shrunk into herself as she glanced over at Spike.
Celestia sighed as she draped a wing over Twilight’s back, “I’m afraid so, my faithful student. Spike has his own path to travel, and it will most likely be some time before you can see each other again.”
Tears began to fall from Twilight’s eyes as she buried her muzzle in Celestia’s chest, “I’m going to miss him. I’ll miss all of you while I’m gone.”
“It won’t be forever, Twilight. You will see Spike and your family again.” Her wing slowly retracted as she lifted Twilight’s face with one hoof, “But right now you must go. Time is short and you have a long way to go before your journey is complete.”
Twilight broke down even harder as she wrapped her hooves around Celestia’s foreleg, “I’m sorry. It’s just I’m so confused. I don’t know where to even start.”
“I may be able to help a little, to get you started.” Twilight looked up with hope in her bloodshot eyes, “There was a time when I visited a little town just south of Canterlot. There weren’t any ponies there that reacted to the Elements, but one of them did start to glow slightly when I was flying in and out of the village. You might be able to find clues if you start your search there.”
“Which Element was it?” Twilight asked.
“Generosity.”
“What was the name of the village?” Twilight was smiling now as she wiped her tears with a fetlock.
“Ponyville.” Celestia’s own lips had curled into a smile now, her magic gathering the Elements and placing them back in the saddlebags, “Now go, there is no time to lose.”
Twilight placed the bags over her barrel and nodded, “You can count on me, Princess. I’ll just stop by the Canterlot Library and - ”
“I’m afraid I’ve closed all of the libraries around Canterlot.” Celestia interrupted Twilight, “because I know you and how your mind works. I’m afraid you don’t have time to research anything and must simply work with what you already know. I am sorry, Twilight, but the answers you seek cannot be found in any book.”
Twilight’s mane started to frizz, but she took a deep breath and let it out slowly, holding a hoof to her chest and pushing it away as she did so, “You’re right. I can do this. I will find the other Bearers. Nightmare Moon won’t win while I have a say about it.”
As Twilight turned to leave, Celestia’s voice caught up with her, “Oh, and Twilight,” the unicorn turned around to see Celestia holding a small bag of bits in her magic, “you might need some money to buy things while on the road.”
Twilight sheepishly grabbed the bag with her own magic and smiled at her teacher, “Thank you, Princess.”
“You can thank me once you return.” Celestia smiled, “I shall tell Spike your farewells once he wakes up. You have a train to catch if I am not mistaken.”
Twilight glanced at the clock hanging on the wall and gasped as she realized what time it was, “Eleven-thirty-three! Oh my gosh, I have twelve minutes to get to the train station!”
In a flash of teleportation magic, she was gone, not seeing Celestia’s face fall as she glanced at the still out cold dragon on the bed, “Goodbye, my faithful student, and good luck.”
Author's Note
Hello everypony, just wanted to say hi and welcome to my very first book. As you may have noticed, this story goes very far off the beaten path where the show normally goes. This is an example of how all of the chapters are going to go. Strap in and sit back, this is going to be a wild ride.
I also would like to say thank you to my coauthor and editor, Shadow Quill for all of the help she has given in writing this first chapter. Given my broken collarbone, her help typing has been invaluable.
Other than that, have a good one and we hope to see you next chapter,
Conna-Stella, Herald of the Stars.
The train ride was uneventful all the way to Ponyville, leaving Twilight with little to do other than ponder what exactly it was she had concerning a plan. Other than the little hint Princess Celestia was able to give her, she had no idea where the other Bearers might be, or how to find them. It was all so frustrating, and not for the first time she wished that Spike could have come with her. He was always there to talk to and to help her with advice when she needed it. And now, he was going to be spending the next several years living halfway around the world with his mother. A shiver ran up her spine at the very idea. She had no delusions of being the little drake’s mother in her own mind, but there was still a bond between them that she had thought was unbreakable. Now she wasn’t so sure as she watched the rolling hills pass by the window.
Her arrival in Ponyville was met without fanfare, the passengers of the train disembarking around her as Twilight stepped onto the platform. Ponies walked to and fro along the small village’s central road, and Twilight hoped that one of them might turn out to be the Bearer she was searching for. Yet even after several hours of talking to ponies, walking into shop after shop and even pressing the Element of Generosity up against several ponies’ flanks, there was still no reaction from the large purple gem. Her search took her through the majority of the town and over the course of most of the day, leaving her with nothing more than frustration and sore hooves as the sun began to set.
It was with a heavy heart, low spirits and a heaping helping of frustration that the unicorn made her way towards the local inn with the hopes of getting a good night’s sleep before trying again in the morning. And yet, right as she was lifting her hoof to push open the front door to the small, thatch-roofed building, hope came back to the distraught mare as a soft glow began to shine from within her saddlebags.
Without needing her magic to carry it, the Element of Generosity lifted itself from the pouch on her left and began to hover in front of her muzzle. It waited for just a moment, as if checking to make sure Twilight was paying attention, before quickly flying through the air down the street.
“Finally!” Twilight cried, chasing after the floating jewel at a rapid pace.
The Element led the frantic unicorn down several streets before coming to an abrupt stop in the middle of the road just on the edge of town. Twilight slid to a halt before the gem, her eyes turning this way and that in a desperate search for the Bearer. Yet there was nothing to be seen other than rolling hills and gently swaying grass on either side of the cobblestone path.
Twilight turned her attention back to the Element, her frustration growing to a fever pitch as she reared up on her hind legs, “Oh come on!”
The unicorn was contemplating on how to destroy the seemingly faulty artifact when her hooves came back to the ground, the force of which cracked the dirt and loose cobblestone around her. The integrity of the ground barely held long enough for Twilight to realize that something was wrong, before it all fell away, plunging both the mare and the Element into darkness as the jewel lost its magic glow.
Thankfully, the drop was not a long one, leaving the disoriented mare with little more than a sore stomach for her troubles, her hooves finding ready purchase on the cavern floor as her horn lit up with a lavender glow. Much to her misfortune, there didn’t seem to be any way to climb out of the pit she had inadvertently dug for herself, and with the Element no longer glowing, she was left with nothing to guide her other than the various tunnels that disappeared into the darkness on either side.
Levitating the Element back into her saddlebags, Twilight picked a direction with careful precision, in other words, used einie, meanie, miney mo, before slowly trotting into the tunnel on her left.
Working her way through the tunnel’s depths, the disoriented mare slowly began to realize that it might have been a better idea to try and climb out of the cave-in, given the tunnel she had been following showed no signs of returning to the surface anytime soon. In fact, it seemed that the slope of the tunnel had slowly been taking her deeper, if the cooler temperature and slight angle under her hooves were any indication.
Forced to accept that she had taken a wrong turn, Twilight paused at the entrance to several side tunnels as she debated where to go next. However, her musings were interrupted by the loud and rapid approach of something from behind her. She was barely given enough time to turn around before the unicorn was unceremoniously clubbed upside the head with something akin to a tree branch, her horn light going out as her head impacted the side of the tunnel. Her ears picked up the rough growls of something that was certainly not a pony as large limbs picked her and her saddlebags up, her mind fogged over from the pain of being hit as she was slung over the creature’s back like luggage. Her addled brain tried to formulate a coherent thought through the pain, but without being able to see her attacker or focus her mind enough to cast, she was given no choice but to allow herself to be carried deeper into the caverns. The gentle clinking of the Elements and the thumps of the creature’s legs the only sound to mark their passage as they disappeared into the black.
It was some time later that Twilight woke up, her head still slightly spinning from whatever it was that had hit her upside the head, although at least at that point she could get her horn to light up so she could see where she was. As her eyes adjusted to the gloom, the disoriented mare was able to make out several grey, vertical lines directly in front of her, her brain quickly deducing that they were in fact made of metal, and were secured to the ceiling/floor of the cavern. It took a moment for her to realize it, but once it clicked in her brain, Twilight realized that she was in a cell of some sort, a quick look around revealing that the Elements, along with her saddlebags, were gone.
“Oh nonononononononono!” Twilight scrambled to her hooves as she looked around, confirming that she was truly in a bare cell, and that her belongings were nowhere to be seen, “Oh, buck me sideways! Princess Celestia is going to kill me for losing the Elements!”
A quick burst of magic against the bars did far less than expected, as the metal somehow absorbed the energy from her horn, leaving the flabbergasted mare with even more frayed nerves as she began pacing back and forth in the confined space. Twilight mumbled under her breath as horrifying scenarios played through her mind, terrible punishments like being sent back to Magic Kindergarten, or worse!
It was several hours later that a sign of life finally appeared in the distance, a warm glow of torchlight as something approached from the right tunnel. At that point, Twilight had nearly worked herself into a panic attack, only to snap out of it as the wielder of said torch revealed themselves.
Twilight’s eyes widened in shock as she beheld the bipedal canine that walked up to the front of her cell, its long, ape-like arms rippling with muscles as the stubby hind legs struggled to keep up with its forward momentum. Its coat was a dusty grey, matted and clumped in several places where its torn vest didn’t cover it up with slightly-less-dirty brown cloth. Its head was blocky, with small ears and narrow eyes that glared down at her from almost twice her height. Twilight cowered under that penetrating gaze for a moment, the brute simply bending one of the bars out of the way and beckoning her with a claw.
“Pony come see boss.” Its voice sounded like it had been gargling sand for a week to Twilight’s ears, her hooves refusing to move until the hulking creature grabbed her by the back of her neck and dragged her out of the cell. “Pony see boss now.”
Twilight tried to fight against the dog’s grip, but it was like trying to fight a mountain. All she could do was drag her hooves against the tunnel floor as the hulking mutt directed her down the tunnel. At first she had been fearing the loss of the Elements, now she was more afraid of what was going to happen to her once she was brought before this thing’s boss.
They had only gone through a couple of intersections before Twilight spotted something that seemed familiar. Her heart soared as she realized that her saddlebags were resting on a pile of gems and pieces of raw precious metals, the Elements spread out next to the open flaps with the rest of her belongings as the mutt walked them right past the seeming storage area.
Twilight contemplated how she could get out of the dog’s grip without getting her next broken, but was interrupted before she could come up with anything by a distinctly feminine voice from directly in front of them.
“Unhand that mare, you brute!” Twilight’s head spun around and her jaw dropped in awe as she beheld the second dog that had appeared from the tunnel to the left.
While the dog that held her neck was seemingly part canine and part ape, this dog was cut from a much purer cloth. Her fur was long and at least somewhat clean, with white interspersed with patches of dusty gold along her limbs and on the left side of her face. Her body was much more symmetrical, with proportionate lengths between her torso and limbs and a long, feathered tail that hovered just above the ground. Her eyes were a bright sapphire blue, while her ears were folded at the halfway point on top of her narrower head. To top it all off, the dusty rags that her captor was wearing was replaced with a long yet simple dress that was a smooth grey with only a patch or two to mar its surface along the hem. All and all, the female before them was a far more appealing specimen of her species, and from the tone of her voice, willing to help Twilight instead of harm her.
“But pony is prisoner.” The brute holding Twilight’s neck responded.
“I don’t care if she is a prisoner,” the female countered, “she is also a guest, and what have we talked about when it comes to our behavior concerning guests?”
“Umm.” The brute actually stopped to scratch his head in confusion.
The female sighed, rolling her eyes before responding in slow words, “Guests are to be treated with generosity and courtesy, remember? We treat them the same way we would wish to be treated.”
The mutt still didn’t seem to get it, but while the dogs were talking, Twilight’s eyes had been drawn over to the cavern containing the Elements, specifically, the now-glowing Element of Generosity. Her eyes widened as the purple gem lifted off the ground, floating over to the female and interrupting her rant against her compatriot.
“Oh what a lovely gem,” she carefully lifted her paw to touch the jewel, before the Element flared with light and zipped up to her neck. In an instant, the gem transformed into a silver collar, inlaid with a smaller version of the Element in the center, directly over the female’s throat.
The mutt was so shocked and frightened by what he had seen, that he dropped Twilight and ran off into the tunnels beyond, leaving the two of them alone as the female inspected her new collar in a mirror that had been stashed in the cavern next to Twilight’s saddlebags.
“I say, what a lovely piece,” the female gushed as she turned back to Twilight, “but why would you give something like this to a Diamond Dog like myself?”
Twilight was still trying to wrap her head around the fact that the Element Bearer in front of her wasn’t a pony, although her musings were interrupted as pounding paws approached from where the mutt had run off to, announcing the arrival of several other large brutes as they guided in the largest mutt of them all.
The bruiser that walked behind his crew was a good head taller than the others, and carried a crude broadsword on his back that was nearly as long as Twilight was tall. The unicorn gulped as the hulking mutt took one look at her and her companion, before splitting his jowls in a cruel grin.
“So pony brought pretty gems for Diamond Dogs.” His voice was even rougher and deeper than the last mutt, his gaze travelling over to the female as his massive arm drew the sword from his back, “And we just hear from messenger dog that there big bounty on your head, pretty bitch. You worth lot of gold if we bring back to family. You and pony both be prisoners now, or else we not be so nice.”
Twilight’s mind was spinning like a top as the group moved to surround the two of them, her brain trying to comprehend all of the information that it was receiving. All she knew was that the female next to her was one of the Element Bearers, and that they were both going to be in trouble if they didn’t get out of there fast.
Her horn ignited as she teleported the saddlebags and remaining Elements onto her haunches, her voice a harsh whisper as she stepped in front of her companion, “When I give the signal, run.”
The female glanced down at her in confusion, “What?”
Twilight formed a bubble of magic around them, forcing it out with enough speed to knock the other dogs onto their backs or against the tunnel walls, “Run!”
Twilight took off back the way they had come, her companion keeping pace as she dropped onto all fours. Twilight’s shorter legs quickly started to cost them valuable speed as the mutts from before picked themselves up and chased after them, up until the female picked Twilight up by the withers with her mouth and deposited her between the larger creature’s shoulders. Twilight held on as best as she could as they sped down tunnel after tunnel, breaking through the entrance of a cavern before rocketing out of another tunnel and into open air. Twilight’s lungs drank in the cool night air as the female continued to carry her further and further from the Diamond Dog caves, although she noticed that the dog’s tongue was hanging and her breaths were coming in ragged pants.
Finally, after another ten minutes of nonstop running, they came to a stop at the edge of a small lake, her companion slowing to a halt before unceremoniously dropping onto her belly before dumping Twilight onto the dirt. Twilight managed to pull herself up as the Diamond Dog stood up and walked over to the lake’s edge, bending down to drink deeply from the cool water before turning back to face the unicorn.
“Apologies for the rather rough reception. Had I known those brutes would have acted in such a manner then I never would have allowed them to tunnel so close to pony towns.” The Diamond Dog sighed as she wiped her muzzle with the hem of her dress, her expression turning into one of disgust as she held up the dirty fabric in the moonlight, “I really do need to get some better fabric, though.” She started and spun around to face Twilight, her expression changing once again to that of exasperation, “Oh, but where are my manners.” She bowed while pulling the hem of her dress to the sides with her front paws, “My name is Rarity, charmed to meet your acquaintance.”
Twilight sputtered for a moment before she found her voice, “Uh, my name is Twilight, Twilight Sparkle.”
Rarity nodded, “Twilight Sparkle, an apt name for a unicorn I suppose.” She turned her head back the way they had come from and sighed, “I think we’re far enough away that they won’t find us. Those Mutts don’t like to leave their tunnels unless they absolutely have too. Let us hope we are not enough of a prize to warrant such an act.”
Twilight was about to ask a rather glaring question, when Rarity’s jaws split in a huge yawn, revealing her rather sharp teeth, “Oh my, it does seem to be getting rather late. You wouldn’t happen to have some blankets in those, um, charming bags of yours?”
Twilight decided to save her questions for later, levitating her sleeping blankets from the saddlebags and passing one over to the Diamond Dog.
“Thank you, darling.” Rarity whispered, laying down the cloth under a nearby tree before spinning in a couple circles, lying down and curling up in a ball while folding her tail over her nose. “Terribly sorry for running and then not taking the time to talk, but it has been a rather long day and I could really use my beauty sleep.”
“Oh, um, that’s fine, I guess.” Twilight replied, placing her own blanket close to the same tree, “We can talk more in the morning, if you feel like it.”
“Certainly, darling. I will look forward to it.” Rarity smiled softly before closing her eyes, her sides rapidly falling into an even rhythm as the Diamond Dog fell asleep.
Twilight wanted to stay up, she really did, but after all of the excitement and using so much magic, she was just as exhausted as her new companion. Her own eyes dropped lower and lower, before she finally gave up her battle with sleep and fell into the black abyss of unconsciousness.
Author's Note
Sorry for the long space between updates I was dealing with lots of things and couldn't find the time to write this chapter. The word bitch in the Diamond Dog culture is a description of a female and not a curse. Those we will hear at a later date. Just wanted to let you know to clear up any confusion. As always a big thanks to my co-Author and Editor Shadow Quill. It would also be a big motivation and help to me to hear your comments in the section below. As I am a new author I could also use some followers if you have enjoyed this book so far. Thank you all very much for taking the time and being patient with me I look forward to hearing what you think of our work.
Hope to see you next chapter,
Conna-Stella, Herald of the Stars
