//------------------------------// // Chapter Twenty One // Story: Battle Ready: The Rising of Sin // by D101 Reviews //------------------------------// "So to recap," Twilight said as Battle paced around the library, "There is a previously thought to be extinct race of creatures from a otherwise forgotten kingdom, who have apparently made camp in the Everfree forest, the one place that ponies in Equestria fear to go I might add, and who have previously made an incursion into Ponyville in an effort to kidnap A: me, or B: failing that another alicorn, with the only known living member of this race currently locked up in the deepest dungeons of Canterlot and all other living members potentially having skills and abilities otherwise unidentifiable and unpredictable to us, with the potential combat prowess to make you, one of Veteran Centurion's royal guards and if rumour has it one of the most decorated soldiers currently enlisted into the Warhorse military, look like an actually ragdoll after they're done with you." Twilight clicked her tongue and Battle turned to face her, his expression one of an utter lack of amusement. "You done?" he asked. "Depends. Am I missing anything?" she asked in return. Battle grunted. "No," he replied begrudgingly. "Okay," Twilight said slowly coming out from behind the librarian's desk where she had been stood. "So with all of that information in mind, my question to you is: Why instead of handing off most of this information to Princess Celestia and the royal guard and letting them handle it, did you decide to go on your own with the only armour in your possession being a leather coat?" "Because I needed evidence of what's happening here," Battle muttered. "It's all well and good going up to the Princess saying: 'Hey, here's my crackpot theory about why someone might have wanted to attack your sister!' I needed something to show I'm not a loon. A body, singular, won't be able to cut it. I need to find where the Chimeras are building their nest or hive or den or whatever the fuck they call it. If I can find proof that they're a legitimate culture and or threat, then I can present my findings to Princess Celestia." "And what if I tell her what you've already told me?" Twilight asked. "I'm her fellow Princess I should be able to convince her. "But are you convinced yourself?" Battle asked turning to face Twilight at last. She raised an eyebrow. "What?" "It's easy enough to say you can convince someone of something, but if you don't believe it yourself then it won't matter how much you want to convince them, it'll just sound hollow." Battle looked at Twilight dead in the eye. "I know for a fact that if I were listening to my theories back in the Everfree I wouldn't believe them at face value. Fluttershy seems to believe me and Zecora looks to be taking this threat seriously enough. But you're a mare of science as much as magic Twilight. Someone who needs to see ink on a page before she'll believe what's right in front of her." Battle sighed. "So I wouldn't blame you if you didn't believe me that's for sure." Twilight looked at him for a long while. "I think there was a compliment in there," she said almost to herself. "And for what it's worth... I think what you said about Chimeras might be true." Battle looked at her surprised but she was busy re-tying her ponytail. "In any case proof or no we can confirm that there are more individuals related to the ones that tried to attack Princess Luna right? That's worth something at least surely?" "Yeah maybe it'll convince you to get a fucking patrol around that crystal eyesore of a castle maybe," Battle sighed rolling his eyes. "I didn't design that castle and you know it!" Twilight snapped. "Uh-huh, sure," Battle sighed rubbing his eyes and wincing slightly. His body still hadn't fully recovered from his fight with the Chimera a few days ago and the salve Zecora had provided him with needed to reapplied at dawn and dusk to do the most good. He looked out the window and sighed. This time on any other day he'd be wrapping up a sparring session with Fluttershy by this point. Maybe enjoying one of her home cooked scones with a cup of tea maybe. But no. Now after his stupid fight with the Chimera she insisted he be house bound until he completely healed. Battle vented his frustration at being cooped up like this by sharpening his weapons and distilling more super concentrate incendiary fluid to make up for the bottle he smashed. He point blank refused to hand them over to Mayor Mare again, now he knew there was a legitimate threat nearby and given what they had been subjected to, he wanted to make sure that they were ready for next fight. Twilight noticed Battle's slight motion of anguish and let his jab at her castle slide. She checked her watch and moved over to the hatstand by the door to grab her jacket as she prepared to leave. "If it's that time I should be getting home," she said to Battle. "Unless you need any help applying Zecora's remedy?" "I'm good," Battle said as he pulled his shirt off. "'Sides you have the worst healing hands ever. Like don't ever become a nurse you will kill someone with those hands." "Thanks Battle, I'll keep that in mind," Twilight replied with a voice that oozed sarcasm as she adjusted the cuffs of her jacket sleeves. "I'm gonna check the castle library to see if there's anything on the Chimeran Kingdom. There's got to be some reference to its existence." She paused with her hand on the doorknob. "The girls have asked if you'd like to join us for a picnic tomorrow. They'd ask themselves but Fluttershy insisted that in your condition it'd be too much for you." Battle though about it for a few minutes before clicking his tongue. "So long as I can bring real cooking instead of flowers and sugarcubes I'll be there. What time and where?" "There's a spot in Sweet Apple Acres that should be good. You okay to meet Spike at the orchard's boundary at say one?" "Good with me. Might be a chance to get the know the little bugger better barely see him when Veteran comes to visit." "Just don't be a bad influence on him," Twilight sighed as she opened the door to leave. "See you tomorrow." "Wouldn't dream of it Princess!" Battle called after her. The door clicked shut behind Twilight and Battle locked it with a small exertion of magic. Alone in the silent library he pulled out the jar of Zecora's salve and began to apply a fresh layer over all the aches in his body with one hand. He set the other on the librarian's desk where his open equipment bag lay. His hand fell on a small black tube, sealed with red wax. He froze when his fingers touched it and he looked down. He saw the sealed tube and for a fleeting moment he was tempted to break the seal and tip the contents into his hand if just for a sense of comfort. Indeed, hids fingers did move to grip the tube instead of rest upon it, but he steadied himself and moved his hand away from both tube and the small glass vial that lay next to it. The vial was also sealed with red wax and was filled with a shimmering black liquid with flecks of gold. Both vial and tube seemed to call to him with a keening longing even as Battle rebuckled the flap that kept them tight and secured in his bag, before strapping the bag closed again and throwing it across his shoulders. With one hand he resealed Zecora's jar of healing salve, picked it and his discarded shirt up and headed upstairs. Halfway up Battle had to pause and curse himself for his own stupidity as he made the rest of the way up to his room. "Forget to ask where she got that bloody tea from," he muttered. He sighed and dropped his bag at the foot of his bed before tossing his shirt over the shoulder into the laundry basket in the corner. He stifled a yawn and sat on the edge of the bed and rubbed the bridge of his nose, his brow furrowed. Twilight was right of course. The Princesses had to at least be informed of what was going on, that there was a potential threat sat on the edge of Ponyville that could come barreling out of the Everfree at any moment. But at the same time what could he do about it? Where were the Chimeras coming from, what were they planning, and why were they interested in kidnapping an Equestrian Princess? He sighed and reached into his pocket and pulled out the feather that had been in his coat and gripped it tightly. "Come on buddy," he murmured. "Give me one of those oh so eloquent nuggets of advice you always seem to have for me... prick." He chuckled bitterly. "I feel like I'm missing something here. Something obvious and I can't figure out what it is because this village is so... quiet." He set the feather down on his bedside table and rolled onto the covers of his bed, staring up at the ceiling. He clicked his tongue in an almost bored fashion and stared blankly into nothingness for the longest time. He blinked away a blurred vision for a moment and realised that it was dark now and that night had fallen. He wasn't entirely certain when and for how long he'd fallen asleep for. He looked at the knuckles of his left hand in the darkness. He usually slept poorly on his first week back at home after a deployment. The shock of civilian normalcy jarring against his finely tuned nerves of war. He could do without the nervous knot in his belly though, keeping him on edge. He blinked again and sighed, giving up sleep for now and throwing on a shirt. A few minutes later he was strolling out into the night of Ponyville, hands stuffed in his pockets. He wasn't entirely certain where he was going but he knew sleep was almost impossible for him right now. His brain was alert, over-clocked, and yet he still couldn't think of a solution to the problem that was the Chimera. He stopped suddenly and took stock of where it was he'd walked to and smiled stupidly to himself, shaking his head. He'd somehow found his way to the dirt track that led up to Fluttershy's cottage. He sat down on the low stone wall at the side of the humpbacked bridge that led over the creek to her cottage. He ran his hand through his mane and wondered again what he was going to do now. This wasn't a straight up fight where soldiers were deployed into a hot-zone and beat the enemy to a red stain. The chimera's worked in smaller units with diversified skill-sets, deployed using hit-and-run tactics that made them hard to predict and more over hard to defend against. This sort of attack was usually what Tactical and her Black Hand dealt with. Battle blinked at the thought of his sister then and wondered how she would deal with this. Knowing her there was a very real possibility that she might just offer Twilight up as bait to try and lure out another potential attack from the Chimeras, something Battle knew Twilight wouldn't go for. Even if she were inclined to follow through on such a plan, her friends would skin Battle alive. "And what are you doing out so late huh Mister Angel Bunny?" Battle's ear twitched at the sound of Fluttershy's voice and he looked over his shoulder to see her just outside her front porch, dressed in a fluffy pink bathrobe and kneeling down to offer a handful of chopped carrots to the furry menace that was her pet rabbit. He smiled softly then pushed himself to his feet. He didn't want her to worry seeing someone outside her house so late. Even worse if she recognised him and she would be unable to stop worrying about Battle potentially injuring himself in his 'fragile' condition. The walk back to the library was a much longer one now that he was paying attention to it, his mind no longer turning over so many potential ideas and merely alert for any sound or movement out of the ordinary. Though in the back of his mind there was still the idea of attempting to lure the Chimeras into a trap. Or at the very least bait them into acting in some small way. It was still in his head as he pushed open the library door and stepped through into the dark of his small corner of Ponville. As he locked the door again, he noticed something on the floor. A golden shiny something the glinted in the half life. Something that, given how thin it was, had clearly been pushed under the door. He frowned and picked it up to exam it. It was a ticket of some kind. A wafer thin sheet of solid gold that moved like paper more than metal. As Battle looked he noticed the words written upon it. Words that made his mind race with a mix of emotions and made the nervous knot in his stomach twist even more uncomfortably. Written on the golden ticket in words of the finest deepest black ink: "Princess Celestia offers her highest greetings and extends an invitation to you as an honored guest at this year's Grand Galloping Gala."