He trotted through the dark forest. Carefully, suspiciously. Throwing glances around, trying to look through the compact darkness, listen through the deafening silence. He couldn’t sense another soul nearby.
- “I’m here,” he proclaimed loudly into the nothingness. “Just like you wanted me to.”
He listened for a reply. Nothing happened.
- “Nopony knows I’m here,” he continued. “Not so far, at least. What business do you have with me? You should better show yourself before someone notices I’ve gone missing.”
No answer still. He took a few sneaking steps further into the forest, trying to peer through the shadows, trying to catch maybe even the slightest hint of noise that would reveal the position of whatever was waiting for him.
- “Hey!” he said, louder this time, beginning to get somewhat frustrated. “I’m not leaving until you show yourself!”
Crack, rustle. He spun around, perking all his senses towards where the sound came from. Sweat was trickling down his chest, his heart was beating harder.
- “...stop your incessant whinnying...!”
Something long, something sharp, suddenly shot out from the bushes behind him. The moment he had to react wasn’t enough; before he managed to turn around, it burrowed deep into his hind leg, plowing right through it and attaching itself like a grappling hook. He let out a cry of pain, stumbling forwards a step before he crashed down into the ground, the sudden pain having temporarily robbed him of his stability. He then felt whatever had buried into his leg starting to tug at him; it was apparently fixed to a rope or a chain of sorts, which was now pulling him across the ground, in towards the rustling bushes.
“You...is that you...!?” he hissed through gnashing teeth, still somewhat disabled from the pain. “Is this what you wanted from me!?”
“I can only thank you for so willingly cooperating with me.” The voice he heard was raspy, almost metallic, and yet fleeting; he could almost not determine if he had actually heard it or merely...sensed it.
“Damn it! DAMN IT!” He rolled over on the ground, attempting to reach whatever held him stuck, and finally managed to lock it between his jaws; he noted it to be a harpoon or something similar that was stuck right through his leg. Pulling at it proved ineffective; it only served to intensify his pain and the blood pouring out through both ends, and he soon had to stop, growing too weak to continue fighting at it.
The pulling came to a halt. He could suddenly feel...something, above him, surveying him.
- “That keen to live, are we?” the voice said again, with a hint of amazement. “Why is this? Everything dies. We as well, eventually. Would you not appreciate your body serving a higher purpose?”
He couldn’t answer. His head fell to the side as he lay quietly on the ground for a moment, trying to put the agony out of his mind, with tears of pain welling down his face and teeth grit shut. A numbing feeling was slowly spreading up through his leg; it would appear that the spike stuck into him had been coated with something.
“...you’ll promise me,” he finally said.
“Hm?”
“Promise me...that you’ll keep your end of the deal.”
“So you give yourself up?”
“Not willingly,” he grunted. “I wasn’t aware it was me you wanted. I still have so much to do, so many to say goodbye to...but I will. I will give myself up...if you PROMISE ME you will keep your end.”
“Certainly,” the voice hissed. “I would not have caught such a prime specimen, hadn’t it been for that...I shall uphold my part of the bargain. For now.”
“...For now!? What the hell is that supposed to-“
“You are in no position to make demands, Mr...hold on...oh, that is just golden. You creatures have such funny names, did you know that? I suppose it fits your occupation quite well though, does it not?”
“You PROMISED!” he roared into the darkness, towards where he thought he was hearing the voice from. He tried to get up on his hooves, but whatever had been injected into him was spreading rapidly and had already numbed out most of his body; he crashed down again with a muffled whine. “YOU WILL NOT TOUCH-“
“I did no such thing,” the raspy voice continued, seemingly annoyed; every syllable now felt like it was carving into his flesh, down into his bones. “I asked you to come here or face the consequences. I never claimed the consequences would be void if you did what I told you.”
“They’ll find me!” he roared. “You know who I am! They’ll find me, and they’ll find YOU, and they’ll put a stop to this!”
“Haha! Oh, believe me. This will be over quickly. And once it is...do not worry. I’m very certain SOMEONE will eventually find you.”
“...?”
“Ah, my most sincere apologies,” the voice hissed, now rather amusedly. “That would be ‘somepony’ in your savage language, wouldn’t it?”
“...Savage...?” he uttered meekly, now almost too exhausted to even speak. He could feel the harpoon tugging at him, once again dragging him across the forest floor. “...You’re doing...something like this to me...and you’re calling me...the savage...?”
“It is a shame. Such a capable, intelligent, kind breed of creatures...and so far down on the infinite scale of life. You did not honestly think you were the most intelligent beings around, did you?
There was no further answer. The anesthetic had reached his brain, and he had laid down on the ground, eyes rolled back, tongue hanging outside. The only sounds he made were the low wheezes of his heavy breathing.
- “It appears that he passed out already,” the voice concluded. “I should get to work.”
Rarity examined her creation from every angle. It was perfect. There was simply nothing else to say. Five and a half days of intense, careful work had finally paid off properly. The fringes around the flank border were cut with millimeter precision, the seamwork had been processed to ensure both comfort and style, and the azure gemstones adorning the chest complimented the gradient blue color of the rest of the cloth magnificently.
Twilight would absolutely love this.
With a flick of her horn, a very compact suitcase opened up before her, from the looks of it made out of air, and the sparkling dress folded up neatly and packaged itself inside the air pocket, which vanished with a low sizzling sound. She had discovered this new spell only days prior, allowing her to tuck items into a parallel universe; it was a splendid alternative to lugging heavy stuff around during longer trips.
It would be the preferable method if THAT ever happened again, she thought, slightly embarrassed, as she momentarily remembered the incident with Discord.
She pushed the door to the house open.
Lingering at the door, she turned around, seeing Sweetie Belle anxiously trotting in place as she noticed her sister leaving.
“You’re not staying to play with me today?” the filly remarked, pouting slightly. Rarity sighed, giving her a gentle smile.
“I’m going over to Twilight to show her my new masterpiece,” she said, perfectly containing her excitement so as to not seem too giddy in front of her sister. “Aren’t you joining your friends today?”
“No...Applebloom is busy helping her family down at the farm, and Scootaloo had some sort of mischief going yesterday so she’s been grounded for today,” she replied with another pout. “Isn’t there anything I could help you with? I’m bored out of my miiiiiind!”
“Oh...hmm...” Rarity rubbed her forehead, racking her brain for some suggestions. “Well, there’s my stash of emeralds in the store room; you could help me polish them if you want to?”
“Awwww, Rarityyyyyyyy...!” Sweetie Belle whined, notably unimpressed by the idea. “That’s no fun!”
“Hey, you’re asking for suggestions, and I gave you one!” Rarity muttered, now slightly impatient from being held up by her sister. She closed her eyes, rubbing her forehead again. After a short while, she paced back towards her sister and softly bumped her head towards hers, smiling at her again.
“I’ll only be gone for a little bit; I’ll be back really soon,” she promised. “We’ll figure out something to do by then, all right?”
“Okay,” her sister mumbled – apparently still not entirely satisfied with the answer, but Rarity noted she had managed to calm her down enough.
The weather could have been better, she thought morosely as she sauntered through town across the paved road, steering towards Twilight’s tree house. The wind was lying on strong, and clouds were gathering from different corners of the sky; it looks like rain was planned for the day.
Well, I suppose we need rain once in a while too, Rarity thought to herself, but it’s so terribly depressing...well, if Twilight’s feeling down because of the clouds, I have just the thing to cheer her up. This dress should be able to turn any frown upside down! Feeling increasingly pleased with her efforts, Rarity almost missed the little road leading down to Twilight’s house, retracting her steps a few paces and walking up to the massive front door.
- “Twilight, darling!” she exclaimed, pounding on the door to the large tree house. “I have a WONDERFUL surprise for you! I’ve spent the larger part of the week making this for you; I just can’t WAIT to hear what you think of it!”
She impatiently trotted in place, waiting for Twilight to come and open the door. Seconds passed as nothing happened. Rarity gave a slight frown.
- “Twilight? Are you not at home? Or are you feeling unwell? Honey, come outside and see what I’ve made for you! I promise you will absolutely love it!”
Still nothing. Rarity threw a glance up towards the windows; the light was on inside, and she was certain she could hear someone shuffling around.
“Um, are you busy, darling?” she inquired. “I apologize if I’m disturbing you, this will only take a little moment...”
“...leave me alone...”
Twilight’s soft, barely audible voice wafted out from the top floor of the house. Rarity perked her ears.
“Oh, so you are home, darling! I’m sorry, it does sound like I’m interrupting after all, but I just really want to show you-“
“Leave me alone...!”
“Hm?” Rarity cocked her head to the side. Twilight’s voice sounded very strained, almost as if it would break if she spoke any louder. “Oh, darling, you can’t stay cooped up in your tree house like this; I haven’t seen you all day, I just want you to see this real quick...”
“CAN’T YOU JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!!”
Her shrieking voice thundered through the whole house, almost as if she’d used an intensifying spell of some kind. Rarity took several steps backwards as her eyes widened from shock. Seconds passed as she stared at Twilight’s house, unable to speak a word.
- “D...darling...?” she finally asked, almost in a whisper. “Is everything all right? Is...there anything I can help you with?”
No answer again. Rarity nodded to herself, and turned around, looking back towards the road she came from; several ponies had gathered, looking in her direction, apparently concerned about the loud scream just now. She scraped embarrassedly at the ground with her hoof.
- “...I’ll come back when you’re feeling better, okay, honey?” she said towards the closed door. “I’m sorry for upsetting you. Take care, will you?”
The door suddenly clicked, and swung open, ever so slightly. Rarity turned back towards the door again, only to be met by the most horrendous apparition she had ever laid eyes upon.
Twilight’s mane was tousled and draped like a spider web all over her neck and face. Her face was reddish, flustered, and contorted into a mask of thorough despair, her teeth grit together, and two seemingly never-ending streams of tears were gushing from her red and swollen eyes. Rarity gazed at her with large eyes, and then peeked past her. Spike, who was usually loyally by her side, was nowhere to be seen.
“...I’m sorry,” Twilight wheezed, barely able to speak through the tears. “Rarity...I’m sorry for yelling at you. You know I love you, you know I value our friendship, and I deeply appreciate that you came here and that you’re concerned for me.” She wiped her face off on her hoof, sniveling and coughing before she continued. “But I really...really need to be alone for a bit right now...okay?”
“...Of...of course, darling,” Rarity stuttered, still distraught over Twilight’s unkempt attire. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry for being so pushy. I’ll...I’ll leave you alone for now.”
“Thank you...I’ll be fine, I promise. I’ll be...”
The tears welled up in Twilight’s throat, and she grit her teeth together again as she turned away from Rarity, unable to speak further. The door swung closed, and locked shut with a gentle click.
“Goodness gracious,” Rarity mumbled to herself, her eyes lingering by the closed door. “What in the world happened to her? She looked absolutely devastated...”
“Well, nothing’s happened to her, really,” someone said from behind her; Rarity gave a yelp of surprise and spun around to see who was talking to her.
“Oh, Rainbow Dash, you almost gave me a heart attack!” she exclaimed, as the light blue Pegasus hovered slightly above the ground before dropping down and folding her wings along her back. Her expression was somber; not as thoroughly grief-stricken as Twilight’s, yet notably morose.
“Sorry ‘bout that,” Rainbow Dash mumbled. “I noticed you were standing by Twilight’s door, but she started yelling at you just then...otherwise I would’ve stopped you.”
“...Hold up a second,” Rarity said, registering Rainbow Dash’s expression. “You know what happened?”
“Eh, well...I didn’t mean to. I wanted to speak to Twilight about something as well, and swung by her window just as I heard her starting to cry...I didn’t mean to eavesdrop on her, I promise!”
“Oh, never mind that, honey,” Rarity insisted, curiosity biting away at her. “What happened to her? Is she going to be all right? Can we do anything to help her?”
“I dunno.” Rainbow Dash sighed, turning up against the sky, away from Rarity. Rarity suspected she was more distraught by the news than she wanted to show. “Seems like she got a letter from the princess this morning,” she said after a moment of silence, turning towards Rarity again. “Her brother...Shining Armor...is dead.”
My dear, faithful student Twilight Sparkle,
It is with deepest regret I inform you that your brother, the royal knight Shining Armor, has passed away.
I understand that this is a very distressing way of bringing you these news, however it has been decided that it is the best course of action, as you need to learn of it as soon as possible so you can get your feelings in order. Once you have dealt with your grief, you are urged to come to Canterlot to meet with me and go over the details with me and my servants. We believe that this is only the beginning of something bigger, and the assistance of you and your friends is required to help us put a stop to it.
Once again, I apologize for the brashness of this message, but time is of the essence and this must be dealt with as swiftly as possible to avoid any further sacrifices of the same kind.
Yours truly,
Princess Celestia
- “I can’t believe this. I can’t believe she did this.”
Spike eyed through the letter, over and over again, his hands trembling both from the shock of the sudden news and the irritation of the way they’d been presented. He could barely accept the message whatsoever, but decided this would be much too cruel a prank for even Celestia to pull. By the lord, at least he hoped so...
“I can’t believe she didn’t call for you to tell you personally.” His voice stocked; he was notably angry. “To get these kinds of news...like this...and there’s nothing in here! Nothing about what happened, nothing about how he...how he died...just ‘your brother’s dead, now nut up and come over to help us.’ I just...this is just unbelievable.”
“She’s right, though.”
Spike threw a glance over towards Twilight’s bed, where she had been lying since the message arrived, with the exception of Rarity’s visit. She had been crying and sobbing for a good hour, and had only merely managed to calm down during the last quarter or so, lying still, drawing heavy breaths to try and get control over her breathing, and her face buried in her pillow. Her voice was strained as she continued.
“She likely has a lot on her plate right now, what with...what just happened...and she won’t be able to deal with my crying up in the castle. I’m going to have to get through this myself before going there...”
“And that’s ANOTHER thing I can’t believe!” Spike hissed at Twilight, before remembering what state she was in. He tried to calm himself down. “You listen to her,” he said, more composed this time. “You accept all the crap she loads onto you and claim it’s ‘for the best of the country.’ How can you not realize how she’s using you? No matter how important some task is, sending you a letter like this is completely unacceptable! That old hag ought to learn to-“
“Spike...!”
Her voice was weak, but slightly more firm than last time.
He looked over the letter once again, before crumpling it up and tossing it away; it rolled over the floor and disappeared under Twilight’s bed. “So what are you gonna do?” he said after a while. “You gonna prance up there with a big smile on your face, fulfill her duties and pretend that your insides are not practically tearing you into pieces?”
- “I just need some time. I’ll...I’m just going to...”
She went silent. After a bare minute, Spike could hear her humming a quiet tune to herself.
- “...like two peas in a pod, we did everything together...”
She started weeping silently, once again burying her face deep into her pillow. Spike sighed, clasping his hands and leaning backwards towards the wall, listening to her soft sobbing. If he couldn’t cheer her up, he’d at least stay with her until she managed to compose herself.
- “So, girls...ya’ll have any ideas?”
Applejack broke the silence that had been lingering over the group since they’d gathered. On Rarity’s suggestion, she and Rainbow Dash had rounded up the remaining friends, asking them to assemble in Rarity’s house to partake in the news. Though she wasn’t sure if Twilight would appreciate her babbling around, she at least felt her closest friends should get hold of this. There had to be something they could do for her. Once they’d all gathered in her own room, Rarity and Rainbow Dash had tried to relay the message the best way they could. It had been quiet ever since. Rarity had set a small table with some tea and cookies as well, but nobody had touched anything of it.
“How did this even happen?” Pinkie mumbled. “Was it an accident, or was it...did somepony...” The remainder of the sentence waned out. “How long has it been since anyone actually died?” she added quietly after a while.
“I don’t know,” Rainbow Dash said. “I only heard her brother was dead. I tried to stick around a little bit to catch some more details, but she was just crying...and I felt awful for eavesdropping on her.”
“Not to mention, it’s only been a few weeks since the wedding.” Rarity gave a concerned sigh, looking around at the others. “After the entire struggle they had with the changelings, after all we did to set everything right... Just imagine how Cadance is feeling right now.”
“Well, can we do anything now?” Dash said. “Rarity tried confronting her, but she wanted to be left alone...maybe it’s best to just-“
“Oh!” Pinkie suddenly blurted. “Oh, um...should we throw her a party?”
The others gave her wry looks. Applejack groaned.
“Serious, Pinkie?” she muttered. “A party? What, to celebrate the death of her bro?”
“I’m sorry,” Pinkie mumbled, moping. “It’s just- I can’t- I’m not...I can’t deal with stuff like this!” She looked up at the others again; tears had started to trickle down her cheeks. She was trying her hardest to keep from breaking together. “I can always solve ponies’ problems with laughter. And now suddenly, it’s not working! Whatever I think of, it’s hopeless...I’m so confused...!” She started to sniffle loudly.
“It’s okay, honey,” Rarity said softly, laying a hoof around the pink pony’s back and hugging her tightly to her side. “We’re all very confused right now. It was a fair suggestion, but it’s probably not a good idea right now. Maybe in due time, when we’ve all gotten over this somehow...”
“Somethin’s really irkin’ me about this.”
The others turned towards Applejack. She was frowning, seemingly deep in thought.
“The letter. Why would they do that? I mean...forgive me for sayin’ this - sure, the princess is the princess, but doing somethin’ like this is pretty darn insensitive, even for her. Twi’s bro’s dead. I’d say that stuff’s fairly serious. Duncha think that’s somethin’ you tell somepony in person?”
“Rainbow, you’re positive you didn’t hear anything about what was written in the letter?” Rarity asked.
“Not a thing,” Rainbow Dash confirmed. “She received the letter, she started crying, Spike asked what it was all about, and she managed to tell him her brother was dead. I left after hearing that. Felt that I’d heard way too much already.”
“Well, if it was a...’regular’ occurrence, pardon ma’ choice of words...I feel Celestia would have either called Twi to the castle or come down to visit,” Applejack continued. “There’s gotta be some reason why this happened. Even if...” She hesitated slightly. “Even if Shining was...killed by someone, surely they would’ve handled this better?”
“I wouldn’t put that past her,” Rainbow Dash grunted. “She’s got an odd sense of right and wrong.”
“In any case, we should be on our guard. This irkin’ is tellin’ me her bro’s death was no accident...”
The room fell silent. Perhaps it was a necessary silence; heavy thoughts and emotions were being processed. None of them said anything for several minutes.
- “Fluttershy?” Rarity said after a while. “How are you holding up, honey?”
The others turned towards the corner, where the yellow Pegasus was curled up, practically forgotten about. She hadn’t said a word ever since they gathered. No surprise there, Rarity thought to herself. She was such a timid little creature to begin with...something like this was likely carving a hole right through her. Fluttershy shook her head, facing down towards the ground, sobbing quietly to herself; it was taking all willpower she had to merely keep her emotions in check. Rarity partially regretted bringing her here, but she was part of the group. She needed to hear this as well.
“I’m sorry about this. I’m sorry for doing this to you all,” Rarity said to the others, and Rainbow Dash nodded in agreement. “But we would all have learned of it, sooner or later, one way or another. Twilight is suffering badly right now, and we have to be there to support her.”
“So yeah, I have a suggestion,” Rainbow Dash said. “Let’s leave her alone for today. It’s gotten late anyway, and she’s going to need a bit to get back on her feet again. Tomorrow morning, we’ll all go visit her, and see how she’s doing. She’s...probably going to be a little ticked; we’re not even supposed to know this happened, but we gotta stick up for her this time. And...well, like Applejack said, we oughta be on our guard. I didn’t think anything of it, but now that you said it, you’re right...something smells about all this.”
The others silently agreed. After talking it through for a couple more minutes, they set up a date for the morning to visit their friend. Another hour passed, consisting of mainly small chat between them and some moments of pondering. All in all, it likely just felt secure to be together. It managed to become pretty late until Rarity finally bid the others farewell as they left for their respective homes.
She sighed to herself and started to clear the table. The tea had gone ice cold and the cookies had been left untouched; apparently not even the gluttonous Pinkie had had any appetite. Preoccupied with what she was doing, she was unaware of the little silhouette that appeared outside her door. It creaked open slightly.
“Rarity?”
“Hm? Oh, Sweetie...”
Her younger sister was standing in the door to the room, noticeably groggy but still awake, peering at her through squinted eyes.
“Haven’t you gone to sleep yet?” Rarity inquired. “What are you doing up this late?”
“I was feeling thirsty, so I went to grab some water...and then I heard you talking...was everypony here?”
“Yeah, I...invited them over to chat a little. It’s nothing you need to worry about.”
“I’m sorry.” Sweetie Belle hung her head, looking slightly guilty. “I...kinda heard what you were talking about.”
Rarity sighed, paced up to her and pat her over the head with her hoof.
“Sweetie, you know I don’t appreciate you listening in when I’m talking to my-“
“What does ‘dead’ mean?” the young filly suddenly asked. “Everypony sounded so sad because Twilight’s brother was...’dead’. What does it even mean?”
Rarity looked away for a second, thinking hard on how to formulate herself. She then sat down next to Sweetie Belle and hugged her tightly towards herself.
“He’s been taken away,” she said. “And he’s never coming back again.”
“But can’t we go and find him?”
“It’s not like that. It’s...difficult to explain. He’s just gone. Nopony will ever see him again.”
Sweetie Belle looked confusedly up at her sister as she started sobbing. She didn’t quite understand what she was saying, but decided that perhaps it would be best not to poke her nose any further into it.
“Rarity?”
“...Yes, honey?” Rarity said, sniffling.
“You’ll never leave me like that, right?”
“Never,” she replied, with a sterner tone this time. “I will never, ever, leave your side. I promise you.”
“I’ll never leave you either.” Sweetie Belle tried to reach up to pat Rarity on the back, which was slightly difficult due to how hard Rarity was hugging her. “So please don’t cry...okay?”
“Yes. I’m sorry.” Rarity released the tight grip around her sister. “Now go off to bed. I have some things I need to take care of for tomorrow.”
“Oh, you’re visiting Twilight!” Sweetie Belle said, slightly brighter in tone. “Can I join you and help cheer her up?”
“Oh, um...it’s probably better if you don’t. We’re probably going to do some serious talking...”
“Okay...”
She trotted away towards the door again and turned towards her room, lingering slightly by the
doorway.
- “I love you, sis,” she said.
“I love you too,” Rarity said softly as Sweetie Belle shut the door to her room. Rarity stood there for a good while, looking at the shut door which her sister had just passed through. Something strange, something glazed had lain over her eyes as she kept looking at it for yet another while.
“You have no idea,” she eventually whispered to herself. “You have no idea how much I actually love you...”
