Twilight gently stroked the large white neck of her mentor. "Why isn't she awake yet?" She asked the colt over her shoulder.
Lloyd looked at her from his position by the window he had retaken. His face dropped a little as he looked at the purple unicorn. "She was really hurt and expended a lot of her power shielding herself. She'll be fine I promise she just needs to rest." He assured. "Her wounds are healed she just needs to get her energy back now."
Twilight sighed and looked back at Celestia. The mare was breathing normally at least but her coat was matted with sweat and her eyes had still not opened. Her pupil looked on worried, anxious but hopeful that her mentor would at least move or give some indication of her recovery. A rag shrouded in purple light dabbed her face wiping away the sweat. "I've never seen her like this." Twilight whispered more to herself than anyone else.
Spike had fallen asleep a while ago and was curled up happily and tucked away upstairs, leaving the two ponies still awake in each other's company. Lloyd glanced quickly to Twilight who was busying wiping sweat from her mentor's head. The outside was shrouded in darkness, the moon bathing the town in a half pale glow. He took a sharp breath when a spark shot in his head making him jump.
"What's wrong?" Twilight asked from her mentor's side.
"One of the kids left the other building." He said standing and looking out of the building.
"Who?" Twilight was on her feet now walking next to Lloyd.
"I don't know. Not the adults or the babies, they haven't moved but one of the other ones just left the shield." Lloyd never looked away from window his eyes narrowed. "I can't tell who it was but the other two are still there."
"We have to go after them." Twilight said bounding to the door.
"No!" the colt jumped to the floor trying to bar her way. "We can't leave till everyone gets back, you can't go out there alone."
"One of those fillies is out there alone, I can't let them run around out there." Twilight declared while she tried to side step Lloyd.
"You can't just . . ." His words were drowned out in the sound of a loud bang and a brilliant flash of light from within the tree house. Twilight spun instinctively back into the house to see Luna and Rarity now standing in a fading ball of blue light.
"Princess Luna! Rarity! Your back! That's . . ." Twilight's joy was stopped short when she saw the tears in Luna's eyes. "What's wrong?"
"Twilight, it was horrible. Come on Princess, sit down." Rarity gently guided the crying Princess next to her sister and helped her to sit on one of the cushions. Once the moon princess was seated crying into the cushion Rarity whipped back to Twilight. "Quick Twilight where's Lloyd?"
"What do you mean he's right . . ." As the purple unicorn turned back the space before her was vacant with only the door in front of her. "Lloyd?"
"What the hell is wrong with you people?" All eyes were drawn up to the voice. In the rafters of the Library was a grey colt clinging to the wood. "Have you never heard of knocking?" With a growl he leapt down and landed with a thud on the floor. "Now what's wrong?"
"Darkside was at the castle." Rarity announced.
"Are you okay? Did he hurt you?" It was Lloyd speaking as he stepped next to the white unicorn and glanced her and the princess over.
"We are fine." Luna spoke just loud enough to be heard. "Our guards were still there. They fought him so . . . so we could get away." The princess' eyes never left the floor.
"Did you get the elements of Harmony?" Twilight asked, stepping next to the princess and trying to comfort her with a hoof on her back.
Rarity nodded and lifted the chest from her back. Her magic set the ornate chest to the ground and opened the lid reveling the powerful artifacts.
"We might have a chance then." Lloyd said with a nod. "I'm sorry about your guards, but they are doing the right thing." Lloyd didn't look at the princess but Twilight could hear the waver in his voice. "When this is over, I would like to know their names. To remember them."
"That's not all. He said something to us before the fighting broke out." Rarity said drawing the colt's attention. "He said he had seen our friends. He . . . he said that they weren't doing very well, and he seemed . . . happy." Rarity paused and gathered her breath. "He said to tell you something, a message."
"What did he say? Exactly, word for word, what did he say?" The grey colt was fixed on Rarity his eyes bearing into her. Her words seemed to have taken his complete attention.
"He said, 'Not everyone can be saved from the dark.'" The unicorn recounted. "He said he had seen our friends already and that we were in better shape than them." Rarity's eyes were starting to water and her legs beginning to shake. "What does he mean?"
Twilight walked to hug her friend as Rarity started to cry. She did all she could to hold back her own emotions to be strong for her friend. Neither of them saw Lloyd's horror struck face.
"No. No no no no no." Lloyd's voice was only a whisper in the library. "Not again. Not again." He shook his head staring at the floor.
"What is it, what does it mean?" Luna demanded. The other unicorns watched him for an explanation.
He shook his head and regained the fierce look in his eyes he owned. "You two have to go and find your friends right now." He walked to Rarity and Twilight. "Darkside got to them, I don't know what he's done but you have to go and find them."
"What does it mean?" Luna demanded again, this time standing to seem stronger.
The grey colt heaved a deep sigh and looked around him. The two unicorns holding each other were staring at him with the same scared expression that the princess was trying to hide, scared and desperate for answers. "Darkside said that exact same thing to me once before when he told me to check on my best friend. I went to her and . . . she had killed herself." Three low gasps echoed in the room. "It's his way of saying that he's gotten to your friends. You have to find them, there might still be a chance for you to save them. If that's what he said it means he used his power on them and he's saying that you can't save them from the dark."
"But can we?" Twilight asked, her voice shaking.
Lloyd averted his eyes. "There is a chance, but the longer we wait the less chance there is." Lloyd started pushing the two mares to the door. "You have to save them from themselves."
"You think he used his power on them?" Twilight asked.
"No doubt, that's why he told you. He wants you to find them and see what happened, but we can maybe still save them."
"What about the elements?" Rarity asked.
"They will stay here and Luna can protect them." He glanced to the princess. "Right?"
She nodded forcefully. "I will defend the elements and my sister from this monster himself if I must." Her voice was strong if laced with sadness.
"So are you coming with us?" Twilight said with more hope than she should have, but the colt shook his head. "Why not?"
"You don't need me. I can't help here." He said. "Your friends are lost in the dark right now, only their friends can bring them back. You have to find them and remind them that they are more than just dark thoughts and evil. Only you two can do that."
"Then what are you going to do?" Twilight asked.
"I'm going for the book." He said decisively. "If you can't . . . if something happens to your friends, we need a way to stop him."
"You don't think . . ." Twilight started but stopped before letting the words out.
Lloyd sighed and looked down. "I don't want to say it but this is Darkside's game. This is what he does. I-I want you two to understand that when you find your friends," He stopped taking a deep breath. "Just try to understand. You may not like what you find, it may be . . . very bad." His tone was dark and low.
The three of them stood in front of the door for far too long before a deep blue aura took hold of them all and shoved them outside to the dark. They all glanced back to see a firm Luna in the doorway. "Go. Your friends need you." She declared before turning to Lloyd. "You . . ." Her voice trailed off, anger burning at the edge of her tone but Lloyd held her gaze. "You have much to answer for."
"All in good time. For now, you two, stay strong and remember, you are the only ones who can bring them back." Lloyd quickly made a hesitant and sloppy hug to both of them before galloping off towards the forest.
"Where do we go first? How are we even supposed to find them?" Rarity asked, but Twilight was already galloping away. "Twilight!" She called giving chase.
"Sugarcube corner." She called back. "The cutie mark crusaders made it there while ago, they must have seen Rainbow and Fluttershy. We'll start there."
Rarity was happy to hear her sister was alight and gladly followed her friend.
The unicorns ran as quickly as they could to Sugarcube corner and Twilight threw the door open right as they arrived. In the main room were two little fillies taking up a table.
"Rarity!" The little unicorn cried jumping from her chair to tackle her big sister to the floor in a powerful hug.
"Sweetie Belle!" Rarity cried back clasping her little sister tightly. "Oh thank goodness you're alright." She exclaimed kissing her on the head.
Twilight looked to the other occupant, the little filly was sitting sullen in her chair and had not moved since they had arrived. She sucked back a tear as she looked at Sweetie belle and her sister.
"Applebloom are you ok?" Twilight asked the sad earth pony.
Sweetie belle sat up and left Rarity on the floor to return to her friend's side. As soon as the unicorn was with her again the little filly fell to her chest and cried louder. Sweetie Belle stroked the filly's mane and tried to soothe her.
"What happened girls?" Rarity said standing next to Twilight. "And where is Scootaloo?" She asked noticing the Pegasus filly's absence.
Applebloom never pulled her head from Sweetie Belle's chest so the unicorn was the one to speak. "We were at the farm in the clubhouse about to go to bed when this weird stallion showed up." Twilight and Rarity felt their blood turn to ice. "He seemed nice and was trying to teach us to whistle. We went back to the house to show Big Mac and he came too.
"When we saw big mac though . . . he got mean. He-he hurt me and Scootaloo." The little unicorn raiser her foreleg and showed the bandages around her hoof while wiping a single tear from her face. Rarity felt her mind go from cold and numb to burning red. "Big Mac and Rainbow Dash saved us though. They beat him up and Scootaloo took me and Applebloom back to the clubhouse. She said Rainbow Dash told her to take us to Sugarcube corner where we would be safe. So we got in the cart and she started coming here but Applebloom wanted to see her brother.
"We went back really quick but-but. . . uh. . ." The little unicorn had tears in her eyes and was choking back sobs.
"He killed big Macintosh!" Applebloom cried out before burying her head in Sweetie belle's chest sobbing.
The little unicorn held her friend close and cried with her, the fillies holding each other for comfort. Rarity had a hoof over her mouth and Twilight simply started in shock. "Oh honey." Rarity cooed as she wrapped her forelegs around the foals. Twilight sucked back a tear and joined the sobbing group of girls.
When Applebloom finally stopped crying the two mares pulled back leaving her in her friend's care. "Girls," Twilight started. "What about Rainbow Dash? You said she was there, what happened to her?"
Sweetie Belle cradled her friend and spoke. "She fought the big mean one so we could run away. That was the last time we saw her."
"Wait." Applebloom pulled away from her friend and looked up to the purple unicorn. "She flew by ah while ago, not long after we all got here." She looked at Sweetie Belle who nodded and confirmed it.
"Scootaloo saw her and wanted to go after her but Rainbow Dash had told us to stay here." Sweetie Belle continued. "We tried to stop her but she went anyway."
"Which way did she go?" Twilight asked. The fillies pointed to the south past the town. "You two have been really good. Stay here and we'll be back." Twilight ran to the door while Rarity hung back to hug her sister one more time.
"Stay here Sweetie Belle. Take care of everyone." She gave the smaller unicorn a quick peck on the head. "I love you so much, you've been so strong." Rarity ran to join Twilight but the two unicorns stopped when they were called.
Applebloom stepped off the chair and walked to face the two of them. "Is my sister ok?"
Rarity looked to the ground but Twilight held Applebloom's watery eyes and nodded. "We're going to get her right after we find Rainbow Dash."
Whether Applebloom doubted them or not she still smiled and gave them both a hug before the unicorns ran out of the shop
"Oh Twilight. Big mac. . ." Rarity didn't know what else to say.
"I know Rarity." Twilight sounded strong but tears fell behind her as they ran.
"H-how are we going to tell Applejack?" The white unicorn cried as they galloped south.
"One thing at a time." Twilight chocked out. "We have to find Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy first."
Rarity was quiet for moment before she looked to her friend. "Twilight. . . If he killed Big Mac. . . you don't think . . ."
Twilight didn't say anything but her pace increased as they cleared the buildings on the edge of town. As their hooves beat the earth Twilight watched the sky and glanced down just long enough to skid to a stop.
"Twilight what . . ." Rarity stopped when she glanced around and saw the ground. Dotting the brown earth, draped in the light blue light of the pale moon was the bright red liquid pools of blood. Rarity gasped and stepped back. The blood dotted the ground creating a trial of small pools that lead farther south. "Twilight." Rarity didn't know anything else to say.
Twilight tried to control her quickly accelerating breathing. Her heart was beating so hard she could taste it in her throat. The blood seemed to swim over her vision, blotting out everything. The light and the red just all blurred. Her mind conjured images, visions of Rainbow Dash, of Fluttershy in a pile of red, unmoving and breathless. Twilight started shaking, her legs giving out as she fell to the ground. Rarity's words never reached her brain, dying out in her ears.
"Twilight! What's wrong?" The white unicorn pleaded stepping in front of her friend. Twilight's eyes were spilling tears but her face never so much as flinched. Her eyes were frozen on the ground looking past Rarity to the blood on the ground. "Twilight snap out of it!" She grabbed her friend's shoulders and shook her trying to get some reaction.
Twilight's eyes dripped salty tears but she still didn't so much as blink. Rarity curled her lip in frustration her own eyes wet as she tried to elect some response from her friend. Anger and fear driving her actions, she drew back a fore hoof and slapped it across Twilight's muzzle shaking the mares head like a rattle.
The burning sensation along the side of her face brought Twilight back to the waking world. Her vision flooded with color before reforming to form her friend staring into her eyes. "Rarity." She whispered, her voice weak. She swallowed a lump in her throat before blinking away her tears. "What happened?"
"I don't know dear you just zoned out. It's like you weren't even here." Rarity said her own voice shaky.
"I'm sorry." She apologized shaking her head again. Her eyes fell back to the ground and red trail that led into the night. "I'm scared Rarity."
The other unicorn nodded her head following her friend's gaze at the red trail. "So am I darling. But we have to keep going. For everyone else, for Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy."
"I should have listened to Lloyd better." She managed to stand again and looked at the sky. "I'm scared of what we're going to find."
"We can't stop now. We have to move, we have to find them." Rarity's own voice was weak and wavering in the wind. She was just as scared of what awaited them at the end of the bloody trail before them and what awaited them at the end of Darkside's game.
"Your right, we have to go." Twilight shook her mane blinking away her tears and suppressing her fears as much as she could. With her glowing horn lighting the way they charged down the way into the night, following the red trail.
. . .
Not so far from the unicorns, a little orange Pegasus beat her wings furiously, her little scooter zipping over the earth as she followed the path Rainbow Dash had left. Her lips were set tight to avoid crying and her eyes were narrowed in focus, scanning the sky above her for any trace of her idol.
Scootaloo slid to a stop and glanced around at the lowest clouds around. The red trail she had followed since leaving Sugarcube corner had disappeared some time ago and now only her instincts were guiding her. The breath burned in her lungs as she swallowed back another wave of sadness. Ever since what happened at the farm Scootaloo couldn't get this knotting feeling in her stomach to go away.
She had listened to Rainbow Dash and gotten her friends to Sugarcube corner. It had taken so long to get Applebloom to stop crying and no sooner did they manage it then she caught sight of a rainbow blur going over the town. If not for the just so angle of the moon Scootaloo wouldn't have seen the shining water that trailed the blur. No matter what Sweetie Belle and Applebloom said, Rainbow Dash was in trouble and somepony had to help her!
The little filly looked around as much as she could, moving slower now both to search better but also because she was having to huff for every painful breath. Her stamina had been burned through on the run from Sweet Apple Acres, since leaving Sugarcube corner she had been fueling her wings on pure adrenaline which was quickly fading to be replaced with dread.
"Rainbow . . . Dash." The little filly tried to call but her lack of air made her yell no more than a whisper. Scootaloo looked everywhere trying to find the familiar rainbow that would help her find her friend. "Rainbow. . ."
A sob interrupted her weak cry. Scootaloo ran as fast as her legs could take her, trying to follow the sound. There was another soft sound and she turned to chase after it. The sounds got louder, it was someone crying, sniffling and whimpering. Scootaloo stopped as the crying stopped, looking around. She growled trying to find the source of the sound when something fell on her muzzle. She wiped her muzzle with her hoof and saw water.
The filly looked up and felt her heart bounce in her chest at the rainbow setting lazily off a low hanging cloud.
"Rainbow Dash!"
Author note: I want to thank the Guest who left the last review and the one before it. You have made a good point I didn't realize before. I did write this a long time ago and I hope I have improved since then but I see what you mean. While nothing will change in this story as I have already written it I will look for it in future stories regarding Darkside.
Now I'm out of stuff to say.