Fate Has Other Plans

Chapter Three - Kidnapped

Kairi tried unsuccessfully to forget what her aunt and mother had spoken to her about. She would finally be getting a cutie mark, she screamed to herself. She would become a proper alicorn, make up for all those days she was behind her peers, and go one better than catching them up – she would overtake them completely! The icing on the cake was that, when her newest cousin was born, she could teach her, imparting the wisdom she had been bestowed with and become a good friend to her fellow alicorn.

And then there was that bookish stallion she had caught her Aunt Twilight staring at several months back. She’d asked her Auntie Cadence to give them both a little nudge, sure the guy fancied Twilight too, and Twilight, confirming her suspicions, had announced the two were dating just two weeks later. If they got married … Kairi could only hope one of their foals would be an alicorn. To have one alicorn her age was great, but TWO! She would be in seventh heaven!

Still, she had managed to keep her secret for the entire week: her mother was arriving in less than an hour to take her to the castle ruins. From what her Auntie Tia had told her, she was going to spend some time with her mum, go ‘inherit her talents’ or something, and read some old books. If it was what it took to become an alicorn, Kairi was more than happy to go along with it. Hovering at her bedroom door for a few seconds, she turned back and grabbed her saddlebags, her favourite azure one with a silver clasp. Stuffing a blanket (it was cold out there and she was still mortal), some chocolate and a flashlight into the depths of the bag, leaving plenty of space in case she was expected to take some books back with her, she perched on the end of her bed to wait.

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Speeding alongside her daughter towards her old home, Luna felt content. They were heading to the place she loved, with the pony she loved, in the night she loved so much. She wondered whether her foal would inherit her gift, and be able to control a force of nature. Unknown to her, though, her sister had watched the child from birth and knew this would not be the case. Otherwise, Celestia would have insisted on accompanying Luna to the transformation.

Touching down with seven minutes to midnight, the moon princess led her daughter to the tower where Nightmare Moon had been defeated. “Kairi. You have a few minutes until I have to leave you, but I’ll be just outside waiting. Do you have any questions?” The silver filly squirmed under her mother’s expectant gaze, shaking her head firmly. “Good, then I’ll be off now. Don’t hurt yourself!”

“What?!” Kairi cried out in alarm at this last remark, but her mother had already disappeared down the uneven staircase. Gulping, she made her way towards the stone statue in the centre. Two minutes to go … she set off a countdown in her head. One minute … thirty seconds … twenty seconds … ten … nine … eight … seven … six … five … four …

A strange tingling began in her hoof, spreading up her forelegs and through her body, enveloping her like a cloak. Her coat glowed brightly, and the tingling feeling spread outwards, lifting her up in a silver bubble and holding her just above the hard stone. Finding her eyes tightly shut, Kairi opened them and wished she hadn't. It seemed to be the gateway for new, excruciating pain, and it was at this moment her eyes flashed white and she crumpled in a heap on the ground.

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Groggily regaining consciousness, Kairi found herself in the back of a bumpy carriage, hurtling down a narrow dirt road somewhere on the outskirts of what appeared to be Ponyville. She sat up, moaning, and checked her body for the source of pain. Inspecting her flank, the silver mare gave a shriek of amazement, spotting a symbol patterning the previously silver area. Three blue swirls were set like the points of a triangle, and the ends curled around to the centre where they joined a miniature circle.

This was it! Her cutie mark! Kairi had no idea what it symbolized, but she knew it meant she had become a full alicorn, and had reached maturity. But then why was she in a carriage somewhere round Ponyville? It made no sense.

A voice spoke softly from the opposite seat. Until now, Kairi had believed herself alone in the carriage. “Are you quite finished?” The inquirer chuckled, remembering their own astonishment on seeing their cutie mark for the first time. They lent forwards, face melting away from the shadows so Kairi could identify her captor. “You don't recognize me, do you? I'd be surprised if you did though, so don't be disappointed.” Leaving Kairi to ponder this new titbit of information, the mare - for it was a woman who spoke - sank into the black behind her once more.

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Kairi pulled her mind sluggishly from the realms of sleep, lifting her head from the plump pillow that supported it. She turned over, trying to get comfortable on her usually soft mattress. Looking round at her familiar bedroom walls, she sat up as if electrocuted, now worried by what she saw. The cloaked mare from her dreams sat opposite her, watching Kairi as she looked, stunned, at the cabin she had slept peacefully in.

“Hello again. I trust you are well rested now?” Jolted into action by the melodic voice, Kairi scrambled up against the wall, scared and vulnerable. “There’s no need to be afraid. I am a friend - I do not wish to harm you.”

“So … so then why have you kidnapped me? If you really are a friend I would have agreed to come with you!” She shivered, but tried to stare defiantly at the mare.

“My name is Tupac, and I am your cousin.”