A Time of Twilight

Thanks again to SquareZack for the proof reading and also helping make AJ's lines.
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An uneasy silence followed the two of them as they flew on towards Ponyville. It was
finally broken as they encountered their first town. "Dash, land us by the train station."
Trixie told her companion.

"Why?" Dash asked in a toneless voice, seeming to ask out of habit and not actual
curiosity.

"There should be a telegraph office there; we need to send a message ahead to your
friends. They need to know what happened as soon as possible." Trixie explained.

Dash didn't bother responding, she just started a slow descent towards the city. She
landed them on the platform just as a train was coming in, "Wait here!" Trixie shouted
over the racket caused by the train. Dash stared at her blankly. Trixie gave an exasperated
sigh and decided to take that as an acknowledgement and headed over to a telegraph
clerk's window.

"Trixie needs to see-" Trixie stopped as she thought she heard a shout from behind her.

"Rainbow Dash! "Trixie turned and looked in amazement as AJ got off the train, yelling
in excitement at pegasus she had just spotted. Behind her came the others; Pinkie Pie,
Fluttershy, Rarity (with Spike on her back) and a contingent of the royal guard.

Heading straight to her friend, AJ was talking excitedly,"Dash you went the right way; ah was
hoping you'd made it somehow. Ah always knew you were clever as a cat, but this is somethin'
else. Th' night after you left, Princess Celestia came and told us everythin' she knew. Even though
somethin' was messin' up her magic, she got us a way to find Twi! She couldn't come with us
but sent these guys to help and Spike keeps us in contact with her to.....are you alright sugarcube?"

Her rapid fire talking trailed off as she finally got close enough to see the cyan pegasus and
how she had started shaking, eyes open and full of panic. The question seemed to knock
Rainbow out of her stupor and with a choked sob she ran and threw herself onto her startled
friend, knocking AJ on to her rump, as Dash buried her head onto AJ's shoulder, "I messed
up, i-i-its all my f-f-f-ault!" Dash managed to get out as the flood of emotions she'd been holding
in, gave out.

AJ gently moved her forelegs around her weeping friend and held her gently," There, there sugar,
it's gonna be alright, just tell me what happened."

"It's not gonna be alright." Dash moaned, "He told me to stop, but I just had to push him, I never
think so I kept coming and he, and he, and he..."

"Just calm down, who is he and what did he do?" AJ said, rubbing her friend's back comfortingly,
trying to calm her.

"I don't know who he is, but he killed Twilight!" Dash screamed then broke down into incoherent
sobs.

AJ stopped rubbing, stunned at what she was just told. The others had also just frozen on their
way over as they tried to comprehend what they had just heard.

Recovering first, AJ pulled Dash up till she look into her face, "Dash, listen to me, I need you to
tell me exactly what happened." She said in a quavering voice.

"Trixie doesn't think she can, but Trixie can, for the most part."

They all turned their heads in surprise as the blue unicorn approached, a few of the royal guards
moved to intercept her, but stopped as AJ gave them a quick wave that it was okay. "What are
you doing here, Trixie?" Applejack asked in surprise.

"Helping Rainbow Dash, she tracked me down and found me and I've been helping her find
Twilight ever since, but that's not important right now." And as they all listened Trixie explained
what had happened as gently as she could. When she finished, they all seemed shell shocked
as they quietly tried to cope with what they'd just been told.

"Ma'am I need you to lead us to the spot where they were." The captain of the royal guards said
as he stepped up to Trixie.

"Yeah, we need to see this for ourselves," AJ agreed as she gently got up, helping Dash up too.
The pegasus seemed to finally be calming down, but was still not quite back with them.

"Trixie can do better than that, just wait a minute." They all followed, then watched curiously as
she made her way off the platform and began inspecting an open piece of land, right off the main
street they had come off onto. AJ, starting to get a little impatient, was about to ask what Trixie
was doing, when the blue unicorn gave a satisfied sound and turned to them." Everypony gather
around Trixie as close as you can and don't move."

Puzzled, but not wanting to waste times with questions, they all pressed in around her, making
a basic circle. Trixie's horn started to glow and soon Twilight's friends noticed familiar sparks
jumping around them, until there was a loud static discharge and they all found themselves in a
meadow under a tree. Trixie let out a small victorious shout, then collapsed.

"Are you ok?" Fluttershy asked softly, kneeling down by Trixie, as the others started to spread
out and look around.

"Yes, Trixie just needs a few minutes, that took a lot out of me, the hill over there is where we
found Twilight." Trixie replied weakly, but managed to raise her leg enough to point out the spot.

"Jus' wait here and rest, we'll check it out." AJ told Trixie and started galloping for the hill, the
others following, except Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy.

On the hilltop they could find signs of ponies being there recently, but nothing else." Why would
he take the body? " AJ wondered out loud.

"I don't know, but if Trixie is right, then this has become too dangerous for me to risk you all
now, I need to ask you all to return to Ponyville, we can handle it from here." said the captain of
the guard in a commanding voice.

"Now hold on one apple bucking minute, we can take care of ourselves and whoever that varmint
is, he took our friend from us and has a world of hurt coming to him." AJ growled back.

Pinkie Pie and Rarity voiced their agreement with their friend's statement.

"No, you should listen to him." Trixie said, cutting off what the captain was about to say as she
wearily made her way up the hill. Fluttershy was coming up behind her, leading Rainbow Dash along.

"Why should we?" AJ demanded.

"Just trust Trixie," She said, then in a softer voice that only AJ could hear, "I need to get to Twilight's
library, it might answer an important question, that could change things. Please believe me when I
tell you that you'll be no more help here."

Applejack still looked hesitant, but seeing some truth in the unicorn's eyes, she backed down,
"awright but you better get him." AJ told the captain.

"You have my word miss Applejack, Spike I need you to come with us to keep us in contact with
the Princess."

"Yes sir!"

The mares watched as the guards galloped down the road and were soon lost in the distance.

"C;mon, I think I've recovered enough to take us back to the train stop, if we hurry we should be
able to catch it before it leaves again." Trixie said as she herded the now somber mares down to
the tree.
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Twilight's eyes shot open! disoriented, she started looking around her surroundings, trying
to figure out where she was and how she got there. Quick observations showed that she
seemed to be lying on a grassy hill, an attempt at getting up, revealed that she was being
held down by something. Unable to lift her head, she carefully looked back as far as she
could and saw in her peripheral vision, the black unicorn, his horn glowing a deep blue.
Well that explained why she couldn't move, but not why she was laying there in the first
place.

Slowly she began to recall what had happened, how Dash had shown up and tried to save
her, then she had seen a green glow and felt a shock pass through her body starting at her
nose, then the world had faded away. Wait! Dash had been here, where was she now? Her
eyes roved the area trying to spot her and caught sight of some colors by a tree in the
distance.

Making out a cyan pegasus, she sighed in relief that she was safe, but who was the other
blue pony? barely able to make things out that far, she thought she spotted a horn on the
pony. 'Is that......Trixie?' she thought in disbelief. It was all so confusing, why were they
over there? and why had Rainbow Dash left her? Soon she watched as Dash took off and
flew back around to scoop up the other pony and take off into the distance.

When they were completely out of sight, Twilight felt a pressure lift from her body and knew
she was no longer pinned down. Proving her assumption, she shakily got back up and stood
swaying a bit and turned her head to face the stallion.

"What just happened? why's Dash leaving?" Twilight asked, not expecting an answer.

He surprised her though with one, " If I'm lucky, I just ended your friend's search for you"

"What's that supposed to mean? what did you do?"

"I killed you."

For a moment she just stared at him in shock, both at his answer and the off hand tone he
said it in, "Wait, you killed me?"

"Essentially, I froze all your systems, it's a spell that puts your body in a state that is
extremely close to the same thing as being dead, it only lasts for a short time, then starts
up everything again."

"What possible use could there be to know a spell as horrible as that!" Twilight exclaimed
in horror.

"Well it convinced your friend Rainbow Dash you were dead, now she's off to tell her friends
and hopefully stop their search for you and delay them awhile in their grief, from coming for
the elements. Your friend truly is the element of loyalty, the way she kept clinging to you
and refused to leave, I was afraid the spell would wear off too soon, lucky me, now come
on we gotta go." He turned and headed down the hill, for a moment she looked after him in
disbelief, then hanging her head, followed quietly.

The silence stretched on till it was surprisingly broken by the stallion, "The elements really are
something, everything they come up against doesn't seem to stand a chance, who wouldn't
want that kind of power?"

"Is that why you took them, you think you can somehow use them for some crazy power
grab?" Twilight hissed.

"Me? no, I don't want them." Twilight looked up in surprise at his declaration, before she could
voice it though, he continued, "I was commissioned to keep them out of the way and out of
everypony's reach for awhile. Plans are being executed and I don't blame the perpetrator from
wanting that which, purified Nightmare Moon, turned Discord to stone and cast all of the
changelings and Chrysalis out of Canterlot, out of the way."

"The elements weren't used to cast out the changelings." Twilight corrected him.

He stopped and looked back at her, a look of confusion on his face, "They weren't?"

"No they weren't, we were caught and captured before we could reach them. It was my
brother Shining Armor and Princess Cadence who, cast out the changelings using my
brothers protection fueled by Cadence's love for him, you didn't know that?"

"No I hadn't heard that, but then why would......." His voice trailed off and he seemed to be
deep in thought until a look of resolve took over his face. "We need to go now, I need to
get in contact quick."

He started off at a fast walk that Twilight had to try hard to keep up with to keep up with,
due to her bindings. "Wait slow down! or untie me, where are we going? get in contact with
who?" Twilight managed to gasp out, as she struggled to keep up.

"In contact with the one who hired me." He yelled back.