Author's Note

I’M BACK FROM MY WRITING BREAK! LET’S HECKING DO THIS!!!!

Chapter 7

Luster Dawn ran through the streets of Canterlot, running past many bystanders, “Out of the way!” All Luster could yell at anyone in her path. Thoughts racing in her head, listening to the letter on loop, repeating it over and over and over again,

“Dear Luster Dawn,

“It has come to my attention that the past 3 days has been incredibly stressful for you, and that your judgement may have been clouded. However, I cannot blame you for your worries.

“I am summoning you back to Canterlot at once so we can discuss this case pony to pony.

“Your teacher,

“Princess Twilight Sparkle”

Luster could hear the letter in the princess’ voice, over and over and over again. What could she mean? Luster wasn’t stressed. She was on the brink of solving the case! She just needed more time. Luster ran through the white and gold gates, through the palace halls, and barged into the throne room, “Princess Twilight! I came as fast as I…” Luster’s sentence trailed off when she saw the room was empty, aside from the two guards that stood guard of the throne. Luster walks up to them, “Excuse me, sirs? Where’s the princess?”

“Oh, uh… She’s in the kitchen.”

“The kitchen? Well uh… Thanks.” Luster trots through the castle, looking for the kitchen. Why would the Princess be in the kitchen? Luster couldn’t help but wonder this. After asking several maid’s staff about where the heck this kitchen was, Luster finally opens the door and find the most unusual of sights: The Princess of Friendship, still in royal attire, covered in flour and other ingredients of baking, mixing bowl, all while the oven is cooking something else. Twilight looks over to see Luster standing in the doorway, confused.

“Oh! Luster! There you are! Take a seat, take a seat!” Luster just places her bag aside and sits at the foot of the long table. Twilight brings out several small tarts, all appearing to be of different fruits, “I made 50 tarts for us to try!” Luster never heard the Princess use that tone of voice with her before, “I made banana, strawberry, kiwi, dragonfruit, that one was Spike’s idea. Coconut, pineapple, oranges, lemon!” Twilight took a moment to breathe, “And my favorite: The Surprise Tart.” She holds up a rainbow colored tart.

“Uh… Dare I ask what the surprise tart is made of?”

“That’s the best part! I closed my eyes and picked a random fruit! Now we have to eat it to figure it out!” Twilight split the mystery tart in two.

“Princess, I don’t think-” Luster was cut off when Twilight shoved one half of the tart into her mouth, as she took a bite of her half. Luster tasted something she never had before. Something incredibly sweet, “what…?” Is all she could say with a full mouth.

“Ooooh! Zap Apple! And they weren’t even in season! Isn’t that amazing?”

Luster swallowed her treat and pounded the table, “Princess what is the meaning of this?!” Twilight took a step back, slightly shocked, “Ponies are dying out there and you pulled me away from my work for tarts!?” A few guards and staff poked their heads into the door to listen, “The Cutie Mark Ripper is out there, preying on powerful and magic oriented ponies of all tribes, feeding off of their magic, slowly growing stronger, under the radar of even Discord! And you summoned me here, right when I was about to solve this case, and you brought me here for desserts!?” Luster could feel her mane and tail going up in flames for how heated she felt. When she finally stopped seeing red, she looked up and saw the bewildered face of her mentor, quietly putting away the tarts, “wha- No no Princess! I didn’t mean-“

“No, I don’t blame you Luster. When I got the scroll from you on the train, I panicked and sent guards to find this Jokes Kard. But when they reported no Kirin on the train, or Changelings, I thought that, maybe you were imagining things.”

“Maybe, now I think about it… I wasn’t in the best of head spaces…”

“Hmmmm… And after your visit to Discord, he came straight to me and told me what he had found. I realize at that point that I had a choice to make: Let you continue looking for the ripper under threat of becoming a target. Or summon you back behind the walls of the castle, and let the royal guard find the murderer. Oh… It took me a while weighting my opinions, Luster.”

“But you chose my safety above all else.”

“Please forgive me, Luster.”

“No no… I do forgive you Princess. You just want to protect me. I’m sorry for blowing up on you.”

“It’s ok. It’s ok.” There’s a moment of silence between the two. Not one of awkwardness or anger, but rather them winding down after all that had happened. Luster took her bag off the floor and spilled it’s contents on the table, “Did you find anything new out?”

“No… What you know is what I know. Magic stealing, the stealing of cutie marks, ponies for different tribes, and the victims all having a common destiny in magic, no matter the tribe. We don’t know who or what the ripper is… And It could be anyone. I’ve been so paranoid that practically every stanger I met I suspected to be the killer.”

“Well… Can I see your notes? Maybe I can figure something out.”

“Oh yeah sure.” Luster elevated her notebook off the table to the Princess, when she noticed something strange: A stray gemstone, a jet black stone that is, radiating black pulses. Luster lifted it up with magic, studying it, “Hey what’s this?” Luster got up from her seat and held the stone in her hoof. Suddenly, it let out a strong pulse Luster and Twilight felt. Before Twilight could react, several numbers and symbols appear around Luster, and a circle has been drawn; the teleportation circle.

“Luster!” Twilight ran forward and tried to reach for her student, but was pushed back to a dark aura around Luster. Both Luster and Twilight tried to use magic but the aurora blocked Twilight’s energy beam, and Luster couldn’t cast any magic. Luster could see the circle around her burning up, as she sunk into the floor.

“Princess!” Luster desperately tried to climb out of the burning sigil but it was no use, the dark aura pushed down on Luster, causing her to lose her grip on the edges of the sigil. Tears of fear stream down from her face, “Help me!” She loses her grip and falls into the void below, screaming the long way down.

On the Princess’ end, she watches through tears as the magical portal closes and the sigil stops burning, leaving a scorching mark of the circle in the place of where Luster once stood. Twilight could only cry in her hooves as the worst has just transpired. It would take an hour before the tears stopped and for Twilight to face reality.