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The Author Jumps Worlds (MLP)	By : Haunter_Rayne Category: +M through R > My Little Pony Views: 14327 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own MLP or any named characters/creatures/settings. All story is for parody entertainment purposes only, not for profit

Chapter List
- 31
- 32
- 33
**Author's Note** Hello again and welcome to the next chapter. Rayne's plans are coming together for him, even if there had been a few unexpected bumps in the road. So far he has hunted down two of Equestria’s villains and effectively vanquished them, as well as stealing their abilities for himself. Now that he has all of Sombra's powers as well as Tirek's ability to steal magic (as well as the ability to heal injuries with magic), Rayne has become one of the most powerful entities around. However, as our story continues with our dark hero he will be swiftly reminded that power does not excuse him from the little things in life.

Author Jumps Worlds (MLP)
By Haunter Rayne
Chapter 32 - Hope for the Weary

The streets of the Crystal Empire sat empty this morning. The sun had not yet been risen and the ponies in their homes rested blissfully unaware of the dramatic events which had taken place. At the castle, guards changed places for the alternating of their shifts. Several walked the halls and peered over the balcony below. A few patrolled the streets and surveyed the surrounding area for trouble. But nothing was amiss until one guard at the base of the castle noticed a tiny flash from just behind the staircase entrance. “Hmm?” He grunted as he stopped patrolling and stepped over to investigate. The Crystal Heart continued to whirl bright and loud. Small shadows danced in corners as the light from the artifact continued to pulse. “Hmm, must have been my imagination.” He said before proceeding up the stairs to check around inside.

After the guard was clear from view one of the flickering shadows proceeded to move against the flow of light now. It spread out across the ground into a fuller form until Rayne slowly materialized from where he had been hiding. “Being able to teleport into just a shadow is certainly useful. But this... thing, certainly didn't make it easy for me to materialize here.” Rayne complained while staring at the Crystal Heart. He walked up to get a closer look he said to himself, “This really is beautiful looking. The show didn't do it justice. But man this flashing is obnoxious. It doesn't seem like the Crystal Heart is hurting me like it would Sombra but it is definitely pushing my new powers down the closer I stand to it.” He backed off, suddenly realizing how weak he felt. “Phew okay, so Umbra or not, stay away from this thing.” Stepping back beside the staircase he placed a hoof on the wall to steady himself as he suddenly felt drained of energy. “Hmm, it might not be just the heart. I'm exhausted. Well, I mean I suppose I should be... How many hours was I running in… snow for… geez, I am FREEZING! I had completely forgotten about my discomfort from the adrenaline of racing back here. Now it feels like my bones are ice.” Suddenly Rayne's balance started to fail him as a pain ripped through his forehead. “My ears are ringing all of a sudden and this headache is killing me!” He grit his teeth in pain.

Looking up for someone to help him he saw no other pony around. Shaking it off he tried to focus on what his next goal was. “So where am I supposed to go now? I know I ran away but Applejack just kind of abandon me. She didn't even show me if there was an inn or a hotel around here. All of the buildings look the same to me.” He paused and then blinked a few times. “Man, I'm really tired. What was I doing again?” He brought a hoof to his face as the pain from his headache started to meld with the ringing in his ears. “I should… probably use healing magic… just as soon... as I catch my balance.” He said aloud, trying to catch himself even though he had not been falling over. He looked up to the buildings again and saw them spinning. “Wait… what… is…” The last thing he saw was the horizon turning sideways. Rayne didn't even feel the impact as he fainted onto the ground.

- Up Above inside the Castle -

“It's okay Twilight! It's going to be okay!” Celestia urged. It had been about an hour since Discord had appeared with his surprising interruption. Now the Princess of Friendship was sitting leaned over the edge of the mattress, holding a paper bag over her mouth, and breathing into it frantically.

The others looked on at her with concern but they also were feeling weary themselves. The faces of Celestia, Luna and Twilight all had bags under their eyes from being burdened with worries without receiving proper rest. Discord stood feeling nervous and looking a bit disappointed that he didn't know how to help as Twilight continued to rant to herself. “But... What if… What could... How could… But I'm… I was supposed to… What HAPPENED?!” Twilight screamed through the room making everyone else wince.

Discord then stepped over and frowned. “Alright, that is quite enough of that.” Then he reached out with a paw and grabbed Twilight right across her muzzle. Instantly the alicorn jumped with surprise and then began to struggle as he was holding her mouth and nose closed. Quickly the others yelled at him as she began to buck wildly to get free. “What?!” The Draconequus exclaimed. “I'm not planning on holding her like this forever. … Even though I probably could, hehe.” Suddenly his wrist detached from his arm but his paw remained over Twilight's face as she collapsed on the ground struggling for air.

“DISCORD?!” The other princesses snapped at him angrily.

“Oh fine. Come now, she's alright. I haven't even held her for twenty seconds yet.” Suddenly his paw disappeared from her face and was back on his arm where it belonged.

“GAAAAHHHH!!!!! DIS.. CORD.. DON'T YOU… EVER DO THAT TO ME AGAIN!!!” Twilight screamed. Her ears were slumped and she lowered her head while she was panting for breath.

Meanwhile the Draconequus seemed unphased by her outburst. “Yes, yes. But you aren't panicking over your failure anymore now are you?”

Twilight frowned and leaned back up. “Yes but you could have dunked me with ice water or something instead!” Suddenly their argument was cut short as Celestia stood from the bed and stepped between them. “Princess? What is it?” Twilight asked in surprise. She watched her mentor walk to the window as her horn began to glow.

“Well, it's morning Twilight. I need to begin raising the dawn.” She said wearily.

Suddenly the purple alicorn slumped her bottom to the floor while her eyes widened slightly. “Nooo! Not already?! Are you sure?” She pleaded but Celestia nodded as a brilliant glow began to fill the sky while Luna stepped closer to lower the moon. “But… I'm still so tired.” Twilight whimpered.

Discord turned as if he had something he wanted to say, but Luna raised a hoof to stop him. “Yes.. about that. Now that the sun is in motion and you two are no longer needed for the moment I must apologize to you both for this.”

Celestia and Twilight turned to each other and then back to Luna before both asking in unison, “For what?”

Luna just smiled, “For this.” At that exact moment a blue light shot from her horn and hit both of the others in their forehead. Immediately Celestia and Twilight fell into a deep sleep with Luna using her magic to levitate their heads from hitting the ground.

“Ooh, harsh princess.” Discord commented as he watched her gently levitate them both into the bed to rest. “And a bit inconvenient as well, seeing as I had business with that one.” He said bitterly while pointing to Twilight.

Luna just raised her head saying, “Walk with me Discord.” He nodded as she lead him to the door. “Those two have endured more stress than you realize this evening. I am used to staying awake at night but if you'll allow me to explain, then I'm sure you'll agree that they deserve at least a bit of rest first.”

“No, no, I'll just believe you. I'd rather not get caught up in the complexities of your politics. As always just tell me if you need me to actually DO something.”

This time Luna nodded as they proceeded to the door. “I will assist in my sister's place for a few hours and then I will return to wake the both of them after not too long. Would you be so kind as to stay in the Empire with us until we have our troubles figured out?”

Discord chuckled and gave a shrug. “Oh who am I kidding. Of course I will. Anypony worth paying attention to is here in the Empire anyways. Maybe I'll go turn the snow of the Empire funny colors while I wait.” He stated with a chuckle. But quickly Luna gave him a disgusted look. “Not like that!” He shouted. “I meant something wild like razzmatazz or smaragdine!” She just rolled her eyes and proceeded to leave. However she was caught off guard by walking right into Pinkie Pie who had still been standing vigilant to guard the door.

“Oowiie.” The earth pony whined as her and Luna lay sprawled across the floor.

Suddenly a different voice spoke up, pulling the attention of them both. “Pinkie! Why are you standing in the way causing the princess to topple all over you?” Applejack stood there with a toothbrush in her mouth while giving a reprimanding expression.

“Hey, it wasn't my fault! It was an accident!” She whined as she helped the princess to her hooves. “I'm sorry Luna.”

“It is quite alright my friend. Did you all sleep well this evening?” Applejack nodded and Pinkie just waved it off that she was fine. “Are.. the rest of you up as well?”

Applejack tried sounding confident but it was clear she wasn't quite sure herself. “Uh, well, I suppose it is still ear-”

“I'm here!” Called a rushed voice from one of the rooms. Suddenly a door flew open and Fluttershy zoomed out of it. “Hi there, I'm sorry, I was woken up by the sun and so I was just feeding Angel who had snuck along with me. I hope that I didn't miss anything important because I am here now and ready to save our friends!” She smiled and everypony looked to her a little surprised. But then she faulted a bit from being stared at. “Umm.. yay!” She whispered. Every other pony laughed at how unusually energetic Fluttershy was this morning.

Luna then moved her gaze back to Applejack and asked, “And Rainbow Dash?”

Applejack gave a snicker and walked up towards the last door in the hallway that was still closed. She turned around and gave a might kick against the door which caused it to rattle loudly. “WWHOOOAA!” From inside there was a shout followed by a loud crash.

“She's up.” Applejack announced proudly before proceeding down the hall passed them all. “Whooiee, I'm famished. So what's for breakfast?”

Just then an angry Dash came flying out from the room, “Applejack you did that on purpose!” But all she saw were the backs of everypony leaving without her. “Hey! Wait for me!”

However once they were down in the main hall of the castle they saw a curious sight. Shining Armor speaking to one of the guard and looking perplexed. “And you say he's not a Crystal Pony?”

The guard nodded and replied, “We have two guards with him downstairs who were going to take him to the hospital to be checked out, but due to his proximity to the castle and no pony recognizing him I thought that you would want to know.”

“Yes, very good. I will go down and-”

“Is there a problem?” Luna asked as she stepped over.

The guard immediately snapped to attention at her approach and Shining cleared his throat. “Oh, not at all princess. Apparently a pony collapsed last night just outside the castle. We don't know if by exposure or exhaustion but they are reported to be very cold to the touch. There are no signs of injuries or foul play.”

Fluttershy brought her hooves to her mouth. “Oh my, that is dreadful news. I hope they're okay.”

Applejack’s ears slumped as she spoke in a very concerned voice. “Who is it? Do they need help?”

“I'm not sure on all of the details but I was just about to head down to see this pony for myself. The thing is that none of the guards recognize him. So he isn't a Crystal Pony.” Not wanting to cause a fuss he offered a weak smile before continuing, “Please, don't worry yourselves about this. It isn't anything that the guard can't handle. The hospital isn't far from here.”

The others nodded but then Applejack suddenly froze as a horrible thought entered her mind. “Wait, uh, by any chance… it wouldn't happen to be a large black unicorn that you found collapsed outside this morning… would it?” Now every pony looked to Applejack confused.

The guard hesitated a bit and looked to Shining Armor first but then said, “Well yes, it does happen to be a unicorn and he certainly is all black.”

Terror gripped Applejack’s heart as she desperately squeaked out her next question. “And, does he have a heart shaped cutie mark on his side?”

Just then Rainbow Dash gasped and said, “Wait you don't mean…?”

The guard continued by mumbling, “Well, I didn't really pay attention to if it was a heart or not. But if I remember, it did look green and blue.”

“LAND SAKES!” Applejack screamed and charged down the stairs even leaving all of her friends behind.

Rainbow Dash flew into the air after her screaming, “You brought him here AND YOU LEFT HIM OUTSIDE?!”

Luna, Shining and the guard all stood there dumbfounded as this happened. Meanwhile Pinkie started hopping down the stairs after them singing, “Haha, Applejack killed Rayne. Applejack killed Rayne!” Although she knew he would be okay from what the guard had said about him.

Fluttershy then tiptoed by the princess and Captain of the Guard while whispering, “Um, we might all know the pony who is outside.” After her feeble attempt to explain she then ran more to avoid the confrontation than to chase after her friends. Those left behind simply shrugged and casually made their way downstairs.

Applejack was by that point already downstairs kneeling over Rayne and having a complete meltdown. “Oh no, oh no, oh no! I can't believe I completely forgot about him! What with all the craziness and all! He feels colder than a banker's heart on foreclosure day!”

Rainbow Dash gasped as soon as she had caught up. “Applejack! That really IS Rayne!” She immediately dropped and tried rubbing the stallion's neck and shoulders to warm him.

“I know!” The earth pony yelled out remorsefully. “I messed up good this time! I can't believe I left him like this! And after he had been so good to me, this is how I repay him. I'm ashamed.” She said trying to help rub the cold off of him.

Suddenly Rainbow Dash leaned back and looked at Applejack suspiciously. “Wait a minute! What do you mean after he was so good to you?!” Meanwhile Pinkie Pie wrapped a hoof around Fluttershy giggling, because the jealousy in Dash's voice was hard to miss.

Instantly it was all broken up as Shining Armor came down the stairs. “Stand back!” The others scurried out of the way as his horn began to glow and he raised Rayne to his hooves. After a moment though the magic faded and the two nearby guards had to catch Rayne who remained unconscious. Shining sighed and looked to the others. “Living up here in the empire, I'm pretty familiar by now with helping ponies who get a bit too chilled traveling out through the snow. I was able to remove the frost from his body but that doesn't mean I can heal his exhaustion. It seems that he is going to be unconscious for a while still.”

Applejack stepped forward and asked, “If you have to take him away, then can I stay with him? I don't know why he was out here alone but it is my fault for leaving him by himself.”

Shining looked to her curiously. “So this Rayne, is he a friend of yours?”

Pinkie cheerfully exclaimed, “Yessiree!”

Now Shining smirked and said, “So if he is friends with all of you then why is nopony asking if he can stay in the castle?”

Fluttershy then smiled toward him. “Oh please, if that would be allowed we would be ever so grateful.”

“Let me see him.” Called a regal voice which took all of them by surprise. Stepping out of the stairway Luna approached and looked him over. She lifted his mane from his face and seemed a bit surprised. “This is the one… the stallion whose dreams I could not see…” She whispered to herself.

Shining Armor stepped closer and asked, “Is everything alright princess?”

She took a step back and then turned towards the group. “Shining Armor, is that seat that I had requested for Twilight still sitting in the conference room?”

“Uh, I think so.” He said, feeling uncertain of why he was being asked.

“Good. Then please have this stallion brought there so he can recover.” Shining and the guard looked quite shocked but she raised a hoof and continued. “Did I not hear Twilight tell us yesterday that all of this started when a black unicorn first put the idea into Rarity's head that her and Spike should become romantically involved?”

Now Rainbow Dash chuckled as she started hovering in the air nearby. “Yup, that's him.”

Now turning back to Shining, Luna declared, “Then as far as I'm concerned, this stallion has more of a reason to be here at this moment than I do. He should be present for the remainder of our meetings until we figure out what happened to the Crystal Heart.”

Not being able to argue with her logic Shining turned to the guards who were holding Rayne up. “Well, you heard her. Let's get him upstairs. We can get him some extra blankets for until he wakes up just in case.” But they hadn't gotten very far before Luna called out again.

“Um, Shining?” The princess said, noticing how Applejack was nervously watching Rayne being carried upstairs. “I have another idea. Why don't we ALL just go upstairs together?” And with a flicker of her horn the entire group were teleported up to the conference room.

As the others settled into seats Shining Armor stepped over to Luna with a chuckle on his lips. “Got sick of climbing all those stairs already?”

Luna looked away from him with her chin raised proudly. “Very much so.”

- Same evening in the Dragon Lands -

Late into the night the dragons danced ceremoniously around the massive fire which had been constructed. The sound of their drums echoed through the valley's causing rocks to fall all around their territory. Dragons large and small clashed together in wrestling bouts and feats of strength. Torch stood tall while overseeing the festivities while Ember danced upon his shoulder with scepter in claw. All dragons but one were having the time of their lives.

Far off near the edge of the celebration was a small purple dragon tied and gagged tightly. He had tried everything he could from biting to clawing to breathing fire in order to free himself. However all his attempts failed as did his strength from being bound in that spot for hours. The small dragon slumped forward onto his stomach and just looked ahead with a defeated expression on his face. “Psst.” Came a small voice from right beside Spike's ear. He opened his eyes wide with surprise. “Spike, don't move. It's us, we’re here to save you.” The voice whispered.

Just then another voice whispered from his other side. “Uh Starlight, he can't see you to know who ‘us’ is.” This told Spike who the first voice had come from but he needed no explanation to recognize the second. He suddenly felt a soft pair of lips kiss him right on his cheek. “I'm here for you Spikey Wikey. I could never leave you alone. We're going to save you.” She said in an endearing tone.

“Will you keep your voice down?!” Starlight's voice hissed. Spike's eyes searched around but he couldn't see his friends. “Spike, go back to acting sad or you're going to give us away. I cast an invisibility spell on Rarity and I but it is extremely hard to maintain when we move. Now I need to ask you some questions and I only want you to blink to answer. One blink for yes, two blinks for no. Got it?” Spike took a deep sigh looking very depressed and blinked once. “Okay good.”

“Ohhh, but he looks so sad. It's so heartbreak-”

“Will you shut it?!” Starlight snapped and Spike thought he saw one of her light heliotrope colored hooves for just a moment. There was a brief silence as a dragon looked down from where he sat high atop the rock that Spike was tied against. After he looked back to the celebration Starlight whispered again. “Okay Spike… Did they tell you know why you were taken?” He blinked once. “Blink once if this is all just a misunderstanding or twice if this is seriously a bad situation.” This time he blinked twice. Starlight paused for a moment.

Now another worried sound came from Rarity but she kept herself quiet this time as she whispered, “Spike, Ember is no fool… do you know if you sitting here unguarded is part of a trap if we try to rescue you?” Spike blinked once again. “Shoot. They're all probably just waiting for you to disappear then.”

“I told you so.” Starlight stated.

But they were suddenly interrupted as a loud voice yelled out from above them. “And you should have listened!” Looking up Spike saw Ember floating overhead. She tilted her head back and then threw it forward before a wave of fire blanketed the ground around Spike. Starlight suddenly jumped out from nowhere and shoved a suddenly appearing Rarity back against the stone wall. Then her light green magic put up a force field to protect them both against the flames. “What, that's it? Only two ponies? Gotta admit, I'm a little insulted.” Ember scoffed, mocking their rescue attempt. “Take them!” She commanded and suddenly dragons lunged forward from every angle.

“Oh no you don't!” Starlight yelled and managed to blast three dragons away at a time. “I'm not going to let you hurt us OR Spike!” She yelled passionately and gave Ember a determined glare.

“Oh yes, power of friendship and all that. But you might want to look behind you.” The Dragon Empress smirked.

“Aaah, unhand me you fiends!” Looking back Starlight saw that Rarity had just been snatched up into the air by two dragons from above. There was also a particularly large dragon sitting just below her now with its jaws snapping up toward her. To make matters, she saw that Torch had once again reached over to pick up Spike while she was distracted with Rarity's predicament. Spike was now looking furious as he wriggled like a little worm at the sight of the dragons holding Rarity.

“Okay, stop! We surrender! Please!” Starlight yelled as quickly as she could. She was relieved, even if only a little bit, when Ember raised her claw and all the other dragons stopped moving.

“Very well then. Now that the representatives from Equestria are here it is time to begin.” She announced as all of the dragons flew in closer to the bonfire.

Starlight followed as Rarity and Spike were forcefully brought along. “Ember please, I don't know what this is all about but we will happily hear you out for your side of things. But at least put Rarity down! She isn't on trial too, is she?”

“No!” Ember growled out. “You have magic which could help you escape. Maybe you might be able to pop around to save one of your friends but I don't think you're fast enough to do it twice before we could stop you. NOW NO FURTHER DELAYS! LET US BEGIN!” After she spoke several drums were beaten in rapid succession.

“Ouuhhh, we really messed up.” Starlight sulked as she worried for all of their safety now.

Ember pointed to Spike and he was untied before his gag was removed. “Let Rarity g-” He began to yell out but was kicked to the ground by the dragon behind him.

“Keep quiet until you're spoken to.” Spike looked back to see that it was Garble who had kicked him.

He had no time to react to this as Ember spoke aloud again. “Spike, you stand here so that may be determined if you are guilty of treason against all of dragon kind!”

“Treason?!” Starlight gasped.

“That's right!” Ember yelled fiercely. “Spike is under suspicion of working with ponies to combine Equestrian magic with dragon power. As it stands now Equestria and the Dragon Empire are at peace because we are, more or less, equally matched. You ponies having magic while us dragons having strength and fire.” There was a loud roar of pride from all of the dragons present. Even Torch released a mighty breath of flame into the air. “But if either side were to combine our two differences for their own sake then that would tip the balance of power and peace between us would be impossible.”

Starlight was aghast by the accusations and cried out, “But no pony would do that! We all love how much closer ponies and dragons have become as friends!”

“Silence! I am not finished!” Ember yelled. Then there was suddenly a wail from Rarity as the dragons pulled on her a bit while laughing. “You say that no PONY would do that but Spike isn't a pony. Dragons can get greedy and aren't there plenty of bad ponies out there too?” She smirked as Starlight didn't seem to have a comeback for that one. But then Ember whispered to the dragons holding Rarity in the air, “Hey, what are you doing?! Tone it down, would ya?!” Then she looked relieved to see that the unicorn they were holding was no longer about to be accidentally pulled apart.

Whimpering with fright Rarity spoke aloud, “Uh, Starlight darling. Perhaps we should not interrupt while they are speaking anymore? Hmm?! Okay?! I really rather don't enjoy having my limbs grabbed and PULLED APART!!!” She shrieked as her eyes spread frighteningly out from her head.

Starlight sulked even more, “Yeah, I got that. Don't antagonize them.” With a defeated sigh she called out, “Please continue, Empress Ember.”

Up the in air the leader of the dragons nodded and then turned to her other brethren. “Can any dragon here claim that they are unaware of me fervently opting for peace with Equestria? Any dragon? Even one?” They all mumbled to themselves but none of the responded. “Listen all, I do not want war with Equestria but if Spike is guilty of this crime then that is just what will happen. I have no doubt that if dragons were to invade then we would be victorious. But that wouldn't be without many of our kind being hurt. And as ruler it is my job to avoid that.” Now she looked back towards Starlight. “If all ponies suddenly become as strong as us, as fast as us, or gained our other abilities then that would seriously endanger all of dragon kind! I cannot and WILL NOT allow that to happen.”

“Then let's get to it!” Starlight interjected which almost caused Rarity to feint. “You have a duty to your people! That is admirable and I get that. But we have a duty to our friend and that's Spike! We will protect him with all that is fair and just! So let's get this over with.” Now Starlight had matched Ember’s tone perfectly to let her know how seriously she was.

The Dragon Empress looked a little surprised as she spoke out, “Wow, well if that is how you really feel. Very well… I'm sorry Spike. For the crimes against dragonkind I hereby sentence that you be-”

“NOW HOLD ON ONE FREAKING MINUTE!!!!!” The scream that came from Rarity was so loud that even Torch was a bit shaken and half of the bonfire had been blown out. She then leaned to her side and bit one of the dragons holding her until she dropped to the ground below. “THAT IS NOT A TRIAL! THAT IS A SENTENCING WHICH IS ENTIRELY WITHOUT THE PROPER DUE PROCESS FOR A VIABLE CONCLUSION!”

Suddenly Garble stepped forward complaining, “Hey, you're supposed to be held captive!”

But then Rarity snapped at him so angrily that she looked like a monster with how her face cringed up. “You get away from me before I stuff you and make a pair of boots out of you!”

Instantly Garble darted away to hide behind Torch. “Wow, that pony is scary.”

Then Torch nodded. “Yes, she is.”

They both looked up to Ember who just shrugged to them. “You're both dragons, stand up for yourselves.” She remarked without an ounce of sympathy for them.

Rarity looked up to Ember and pleaded, “Please let us just work this out together! Ember, we are friends! I'm not escaping anywhere until I clear Spike's name. So let us help you and help Spike!”

Ember then flew down in front of Rarity and asked, “So what do you recommend?”

Now the purple maned pony paced in place while mumbling to herself. “Well, it's difficult to get into the spirit of things without my noir attire and having all these flames about definitely doesn't…”

“Rarity!” Spike complained.

“Oh right, of course, sorry darling.” She quickly collected herself and then turned back to Ember. “So what are the facts?! How do you know a crime was committed at all? And what about it specifically implicates Spike as a suspect?” She asked while mimicking the attitude of her detective novels that she loved so much.

Ember settled down upon a large stone and waved up towards the sky. “It was very late at night and all of us dragons had settled down for the evening. That was when a brilliant flash of light filled the sky almost as bright as the sun. Everyone of us dragons could feel it, like a pulse that pulled on our dragon essence. Also the Bloodstone Scepter reacted as if being tapped into by someone from afar. And that should NOT be possible!”

Rarity's ears folded back as she nodded. “Oh dear, well I can see why you all are so upset. We can't let just anyone have access to that kind of dragon magic. It really could be detrimental to your kind. But I promise to help get to the bottom of this and make sure the real guilty party gets justice.”

Ember smiled, “Well, Ms. Pony. I'm glad to see we're on the same page.”

“Uhh, Rarity?” Spike asked nervously.

“Just a moment Spike, I want to make sure I get their whole side of the story.” Rarity insisted before continuing. “Alright so we have a valid offense to investigate. But a crime alone does not denote guilt. Your evidence against the accused, Ms. Dragon?” Rarity retorted in a professional rebuttal.

Ember stood and began pacing with her hands behind her back. “Well at first we didn't know what happened. The effect we dragons felt was similar to how the Bloodstone Scepter could be used to summon all dragons but it was more like the connection had been made without any sort of command to go along with it. It didn't take long to figure out that the direction it came from was right near the heart of Equestria. So there had to have been some dragon who did SOMETHING with Equestrian magic to cause that kind of effect. And who is a dragon known for living right near the heart of Equestria? Spike!”

Rarity then stood perfectly upright with her chin held high. “A reasonable deduction. Although I will have to point out that it is not a very compelling argument. It is true that Spike is a dragon who lives in the SUPPOSED vicinity of the crime. However, it is also true that he is no longer the only dragon to live in Equestria. With the opening of Princess Twilight's School of Friendship we now have several dragons that live not a stone's throw away from the castle which the accused takes residency. Furthermore, the school is home to many magical artifacts which are meant for educational purposes. But if a rebellious young dragon decided to use said artifacts for not their original purpose then who knows what results could come from that. As such, I claim that your accusation of Spike being the responsible party is inadequate, without merit, and unsubstantiated!” She stomped her hoof down for a dramatic finish.

“Wow.” Spike awed at her brilliant performance. Several other dragons murmured in surprise because the purple haired pony really did make a convincing argument.

Rarity smiled proudly as she thought to herself with a noir melody chiming in her imagination. “There I was, alone, fighting for the love of my life. Maybe even my own life as well depending on how things turned out. Young love threatened before it truly had a chance to blossom and the weight of everything hung on me to save it from catastrophe. I had put on a good show but my dearest Spike wasn't out of the fire just yet. It wouldn't be over until the dragons had been convinced to see the light.”

“HOLD IT!” Ember cried out. Suddenly the tension in the air became so thick that it was almost as if high tempo music were playing in the background. “Dragons may be hot tempered and impatient, but as their ruler I cannot afford to make such simple mistakes. Even if Spike grew up with ponies, he is still a dragon and as such I am responsible for his well being just as much as any other dragon. So I wouldn't risk making baseless accusations without already having additional proof to back it up!”

“Aaaugh!” Rarity gasped. “You're not saying that you have substantiated evidence?!”

“That's right! Get ready for… eyewitness testimonials!” Ember grinned. “We naturally suspected Spike to begin with but we wanted to make sure. So I sent dragons across the coast of Equestria to ask which direction the light came from. And sure enough every single one of them was directed to Ponyville. But you know what we found when we got there? An entire town of ponies stating that the light from that night didn't come from the school. It came from the CASTLE! Princess Twilight's Castle to be exact! Therefore it couldn't have originated from a student messing with an artifact they weren't supposed to in the school. So, TAKE THAT!” Now jaws were dropped all around at how heated this debate had become.

“OBJECTION!” Rarity shouted while outstretching her hoof towards Ember. “No matter how many witnesses you claim say they saw the magical event originate from the castle, none of them specific saw the accused have anything to do with the crime! While your claim is compelling, it is still not enough to secure guilt!”

“NOT SO FAST!” Ember retorted with a confident grin. “I believe this gives more than reasonable suspicion of the accused. Also, I didn't hear any evidence in that last statement of yours. And for that, you're going to need a better objection than, ‘na uh’ to defend Spike! What's the matter Rarity? You're starting to sound a little desperate there. Your case isn't falling apart is it?”

Rarity now bit her lip. Try as she might she didn't have a good response to that as she quickly thought to herself. “This case had been flipped upside down and turned around again. I thought I had it in the bag but now I was against the ropes. I would have to come up with something quick or I'd be the one to drop Spike out of the frying pan and into the dragon's fire.”

Ember smirked. “Since it seems that the defense is out of answers.. the prosecution will proceed on to CROSS EXAMINATION!” Now it was as if the tempo of the tension got even fast as Ember laid out the facts in rapid succession. “After numerous testimonials of the event originating from the Castle of Friendship it can be accepted as fact that it was indeed the scene of the crime! Unless of course you're going to claim that the entire town of “good ponies” are all liars as a whole?” Rarity frowned knowing that surely wasn't true. “Furthermore, the time of the event took place extremely late at night. With the students of the School of Friendship all being youngsters it wouldn't make sense for one of them to be in the castle that late at night. So no field trips, no surprise hangouts or visits, and definitely not study time! That makes Spike the ONLY dragon of reasonable suspicion to be at the scene of the crime! Unless Twilight let's any OTHER dragons sleep in her castle?”

Again Rarity frowned but even more nervously now. “No… she doesn't.”

“GOTCHA! You agreed earlier that the crime is a valid offense to dragon kind! It has been accepted that a dragon must have been involved for the crime to happen! You did not object to the location of the crime being narrowed down! And the evidence shows that no other dragon would have likely been present at the time of the event other than Spike!” Ember roared. Suddenly the tempo of the tension in the air when dead silent.

“Oh no! Oh NO!” Rarity whimpered.

“So that means… GUILTY!” Ember declared as she pointed to the small purple dragon who immediately gulped in fear.

“NOOOOOO!” Rarity screamed. With tears in her eyes she suddenly tried to make a break for it to run to Spike. But just before she made it to him Garble picked Spike up and two larger dragons pulled Rarity back. “Spike! I'm sorry! Spike!” She cried, struggling futilely to reach out for him. In desperation Rarity turned back to Ember, “Please! This is ridiculous! How could Spike have done anything? How could one little dragon have caused a dragon fire to burn from Equestria all the way across the sky to the dragon lands? It can't be done!” She pleaded frantically.

Over the roar of the others Ember chuckled, “Dragon’s fire? I never said it was dragon's fire. I said it was a light.”

“What?!” Rarity asked in confusion.

Several other dragons nodded and Spike called out, “Rarity, that is what I was trying to tell you earlier!”

Now other dragons began speaking up at random. “Yes, it was all billowy and colorful.” “It wasn't like fire at all, more like a wave.” “Yes and all that purple and green swirling together.”

Now Rarity's face dropped as she looked as if her mind was breaking. One of her eyes twitched as she stuttered, “Wait.. a magic wave? Eh, heh, heh… Mixed with purple and green? …Oh dear!” She squeaked.

“Hey that pony knows something about it!” Called one of the dragons from the crowd while pointing at Rarity.

Spike looked to her and said, “It was us Rarity! That's the same thing you described that affected the Crystal Heart!”

Ember now stepped up to Rarity and sternly asked, “Is this true? Do you know what caused that light?!”

Now Rarity fumbled over her words saying, “We-we-ell, yes-s. It would seem-m that this had nothing to do with anyone else at all. It was Spike and I who caused the-e um, um, explosion… as it were.” Then she made a large, nervous smile as if to appease Ember with it.

The Dragon Empress looked her in the eye for a moment before saying, “Very well.” Rarity let out a breath of relief and smiled. That was until Ember turned and shouted out, “They have confessed! Spike and Rarity are the dragon and pony responsible for collaborating to make the magic which threatens us all! They are BOTH guilty! Take them!”

“Wait, WHAT?!” Rarity shrieked as she was picked up and carried along with Spike to where Torch stood.

Now the dragons were all cheering in uproar as Ember looked to the massive dragon. “For being found guilty of treason against the entire dragon race the sentence is to be eaten. Following which I will be open to negotiations with the leaders of Equestria to see if any peaceful understandings can be saved between our two races. Otherwise, this will be the first declarations of war.” Again ferocious roaring came from the excited dragons. “Okay father, it's time for sentence to be carried out. And for what it's worth Spike, I had hoped that it wouldn't come to this. I had hoped that your friends really would have been able to save you.” She said a bit glumly under the roar of her dragon brethren. Torch picked up Spike and Rarity both as he opened his giant mouth.

“OVERRULED!” Shouted Starlight angrily which surprised everyone as she came stomping forward. “That will NOT be the sentencing because the entire trial for this crime I claim is a FARCE!”

“What are you doing?!” Ember argued as she walked up to Starlight.

Looking up with a tender expression Starlight said, “Ember, I know you don't want this! You have to protect your people but you had HOPE that it wouldn't come to this! And if you'll allow some additional input into this case, I have hope that it is not too late to fix everything!” Just as she pleaded, the dark blue of the night sky started to burn away as the sun began to shine brightly over the horizon behind her.

**Author's Ending Note** So I'm sure that anyone with a history of playing old Gameboy games will recognize the courtroom references to “Phoenix Wright: Attorneys at Law.” The shouting and pointing for OBJECTION and the like are comedic references to that video game’s antics. Credit for all rights and ownership of those quotes go to Capcom and I thank them for their inspiration to this chapter.
Also, Rayne had gone through a lot of trouble to hide himself from Luna. Is he going to be in trouble now that she has finally found him? Keep in mind, everyone has no idea what he has done. At least not yet.
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The Author Jumps Worlds (MLP)