In the Princess's Grip

A Tense Discovery

Twilight was in the library’s living room, surrounded by her friends. The girls were staring at her, waiting for her orders. What was she supposed to tell them? That she had already found the solution a long time ago? She couldn’t even mention it now; she had managed to hide the book she was carrying.

Maybe she could keep them occupied a little longer. Once they left, she would have the chance to talk to King Sombra about the book and, more importantly, about her feelings. If this was going to be the last time they saw each other, she wanted to confess everything in person.

Her face reflected a mix of nervousness and determination as she prepared to speak.

“Girls, I’ve been researching intensely to try to return King Sombra to his world, but…” she paused, swallowing nervously, “I haven’t found anything that works.”

Her friends looked at her with concern. Rainbow Dash was the first to speak.

“Are you sure you’ve checked all the books? Maybe there’s a text you haven’t read,” she suggested, with a tone that was both hopeful and skeptical.

Fluttershy, who had been listening silently, spoke up softly.

“What if you ask Discord for help? Maybe he could know something you don’t.”

Twilight frowned, her expression thoughtful. Discord? Oh no, that wouldn’t be easy.

“I don’t think he’d want to help me. I don’t see him being willing to cooperate with something so serious,” she said, her voice heavy with discouragement. “Besides, whenever we ask for his help, things usually end up worse. Remember what happened with Tirek?”

“He will if I ask him!” Fluttershy insisted, with a calm confidence. “Trust me.”

Twilight nodded slowly, knowing that Fluttershy was right that Discord might change his mind if asked directly. But deep down, Twilight already had the book secured and didn’t want anyone else finding it.

“Alright, I’ll try,” Twilight said, relieved. “In the meantime, let’s keep searching the books. Maybe there’s something we missed.”

Fluttershy got up and, with an encouraging smile, left the library to find Discord. Her mission would take her to the chaotic spirit’s dimension.

Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Rarity headed to the shelves filled with books, starting to examine the texts with renewed fervor.

The silence in the library was filled with the sound of pages turning and murmurs of frustration, as each of them immersed themselves in the search for a clue that could help.

Twilight was nervous. She had managed to hide the book under a bookshelf, thinking no one would be able to find it without moving it, but it was heavy and hard to move.

Suddenly, Sombra’s voice startled her.

“Sparkle…” Sombra said, with a concerned tone. “Are you alright? You don’t seem very happy.”

“Happy? Me?” Twilight replied, forcing an even wider smile. “I’m happy that everyone is here helping…”

Sombra noticed that something wasn’t right. Since the morning, it seemed like Twilight wanted to say something to him but always stopped.

“And about the thing you wanted to tell me today…” Sombra began, but was interrupted by a loud noise.

Applejack had accidentally knocked over a piece of furniture while searching. The book she had found, which was blue, fell to the ground.

“Girls, I found a blue book!” Applejack said as she picked it up.

Twilight panicked and ran to her before she could do anything. With a flash of magic, she snatched the book from Applejack’s hooves.

“Not that book!” Twilight exclaimed as the book floated toward her with a magical aura.

Everyone stared at her, surprised. Including Sombra, who watched her with a mix of worry and confusion.

“Uh, sugarcube, are you alright?” Applejack asked, genuinely concerned.

Twilight, still trembling, tried to compose herself as Sombra stared at her, clearly confused. Her body began to break out in a cold sweat as she desperately searched for an excuse.

“This… this book, it’s not useful,” she said, trying to sound convincing but failing.

“Not useful? Well, I see it as quite functional,” Rainbow Dash commented, even more confused.

Rarity approached from behind Twilight to examine the book.

“And the book says ‘Space-Time Distortion’. Isn’t that what you needed?” Rarity concluded, frowning.

“Yes, yes, but…” Twilight was at a loss for words, her mind clouded by anxiety.

“What?” Sombra’s voice resonated in the room, causing everyone to turn towards him, including Twilight.

Sombra looked at her in surprise, as if he couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

“Sparkle, didn’t you tell me you hadn’t found anything about this?” Sombra said, his voice firm and filled with disappointment. The girls straightened up, sensing the tension in the air.

Twilight became nervous, avoiding eye contact, and all signs of her behavior indicated she wasn’t telling the truth.

“Well, I…” Twilight murmured, unsure of what to say.

A silence fell over the room as the two stared at each other. The girls noticed the growing tension and, without a word, began to slowly withdraw.

“Uh, we’ll leave you two alone to talk,” Applejack said, guiding the rest of the friends out of the room.

The atmosphere grew heavy as the doors closed behind them, leaving Twilight and Sombra alone to face the truth.