//------------------------------// // The Way of the Sword // Story: Winter Solstice // by Judgeitive //------------------------------// The three companions ascended the spiralling staircase to Twilight’s chambers. Outside, the moon shone full, as it had done for the past two nights. The purple unicorn gave that fact only momentary thought, viewing it only as a reminder that Luna was out there, still strong enough to raise the moon. Mysteria looked over at the others. Their faces were drawn and grim, their postures stiff. “Twilight, what’s going on?” she asked nervously, struggling to keep up with the brisk pace her teacher set. The mare paid her question no heed, striding into their chambers, immediately drawing curtains and blinds. “It’s about me.” Gently told her, resting his hoof tenderly on her back. He looked up at the busy pony with respect in his eyes. “She wants to help me and you.” Twilight allowed herself a quick smile as she finished casting a silence bubble around the rooms, then turned to the two unicorns, visibly relaxing. “Well, now that’s out of the way, we can discuss how to help Gently.” Mysteria looked at her in confusion. Help Gently? she thought, rubbing her chin. Why does he need help? Why does Twilight now find him ‘acceptable? What happened in the bubble to make her change her mind? The questions chased through her head as she tried to puzzle it out. Giving up, she instead reverted to nodding thoughtfully in response. Gently laughed lightly and prodded her playfully in the ribs. “As if you know what’s wrong with me.” She turned to him, real concern in her eyes. “Well, what is wrong with you?” His expression turned grim. He told her about Umbra and his job as a Star. He told her about his weakening magic and how he occasionally lost control. She sat through this quietly, but the moment he finished she threw her forelegs around him, hugging him close. “Don’t worry, me and Twilight will figure out what to do. Won’t we, Twilight?” The mare looked over at the two of them. Mysteria was staring with determination at her over Gently’s shoulder, a sight her heart warmed to. Maybe I like the idea of them being together more than I thought. she thought to herself, smiling at the two of them. “Of course we will, Mysteria. First, we need to create additional defenses in his mind. Then he can tell us how to create his defenses, so we can share the job between the two of us.” Gently perked up at her comments - both of those ideas would help him be rid of Umbra, and since Twilight had created the encompassing silence spell, the dark alicorn could not control him. After a brief explanation, the two mares got to work, creating walls and shields to protect his psyche from external influences. As they worked, Twilight spoke quickly to herself, hypothesising and then disproving theories that ranged from the logical to the absurd. All fell on deaf ears as Mysteria and Gently stared at each other. He was letting her into his mind. Such intimacy was enough to make her blush. In just a few minutes the work was done. Gently rose, stretching his legs. He smiled at the two mares and, throwing his shoulder back as if to deliver a speech, told them the tale of the Stars. “Long ago, shortly after Umbra was exiled to the eternal maw of the night, she was able to extend her influence out into Equestria. Many ponies soon fell under her malevolent power and she used them to stage a coup against Celestia. Realising the danger, Celestia bound herself and one of the most loyal families.” Here he paused to give a little bow, “to a magical defense ritual. It created an invisible shield which lies between our land and the stars preventing any wisp, any tendril of Umbra’s magic from seeping through. Naturally, this spell has to be reinforced, so generations of Stars have done so in secret these past thousand years.” The ponies all found themselves staring outside at the cold darkness of space, and shivered, despite the lack of wind. Gently turned, striking his head lightly with his hoof. “I almost forgot, you should know that she draws her energy from shadows, so is strongest in bright sunlight or on dark nights.” They both nodded, taking in the information. They knew that this would have to be kept secret - knowledge of a third alicon would cause widespread chaos throughout the land, especially such a malevolent one as Umbra. Meanwhile, in the royal tower of the palace, Princess Celestia was pacing back and forth before a scarred and armored assortment of ponies of all races. Though different types, they all shared two similarities: all wore eyepatches over their right eyes, and all had the same cutie mark. A sun crossed by two spears. “Golden Sun” Celestia began, her voice regal, imperious, yet also tinged with concern. “ My dear sister Princess Luna has been missing for two days. I believe she may be trying to seek revenge against Umbra, as shortly before her disappearance I spoke to her about the possibility of the alicorn planning something through the minds of others. Your task is to find the location of my sister and report back to me.” They all nodded, unfazed by this information, as if alicorns going rogue or trying to escape their eternal prisons was an everyday occurrence. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Two days passed, together the three unicorns raised the shields, attended lectures, and fought tooth and nail in the tournament. Gently and Mysteria won third prize in the dancing, and Twilight delivered a well received lecture on her study of comets and stars. In the contest, Gently and Mysteria fought with a passion, their skill and raw power allowing them to make their way to the semi finals. The next fight with Twilight would decide who the finalists would be, so at dusk, the crowd gathered in the arena was huge. Twilight walked into the arena, her head held high. The stands heaved with the mass of onlookers, the excitement rising to a fever pitch. Even Princess Celestia appeared animated, leaning forward in the royal box in order to better see the contest. “Twilight Sparkle,” The commentator boomed with an amplified voice. “Under section four of the Celestial Tournament agreement we do hereby permit both you and your opponent, Greyeyes Silverblade, to apply ‘The Way of the Sword’.” Confused muttering arose in the audience, no one had heard of such a thing before, or even checked the fine print of the tournament. Mysteria curiously asked Gently what it was, he responded in a voice thick with reverence. “A very small handful of talented unicorns can project a telekinetic field around their horn, that functions in a similar fashion to a pegasus wingblade. To maintain the spell permanently during combat, as well as to create such a precise field, is very difficult and requires power and concentration above that of most ponies. In tournaments, they serve as excellent game deciders, where skilled unicorns would otherwise teleport or shield for extended periods of time.” Mysteria’s eyes widened. “Are you saying they might stab each other?” He shook his head. “Nope. Since they are magical in creation, they can be made dull, enchanted to only ‘mark’ the opponent.” She paused, quickly processing the information. “That means the opponent...” she gasped. Gently chuckled at her. “Didn’t you know that Greyeyes Silverblade was Princess Celestia’s blademaster for the last twenty years? He only recently retired from active service.” They both then gulped apprehensively upon realising the implications of this, turning to stare at the grey unicorn entering opposite Twilight. His coat was a dark charcoal which contrasted starkly with his light grey hair, but what really drew attention were his eyes. They had the look of molten silver, reflective and rippling. “What’s up with his eyes?” Myseria quietly asked, transfixed by the older stallion. “Aren’t you full of questions today?” Gently asked her quietly, with a smile. “Legend has it he lost his real eyes in a fight with a changeling, but the Princess was able to craft him new ones of rare metal. Now he can not only see, but also foresee several seconds into the future.” “How is Twilight supposed to beat someone like that?” Mysteria asked, her voice cracking with fear. Gently could only shrug helplessly, and watch the events transpire before them. The two unicorns faced each other, silently poised to act. They moved not a muscle, staring into each others eyes, gauging their opponent. Then they began to cast, the air around them warped as powerful magic was focused into a central point. Layers upon layers of augmentation enchantments soaked into their bones, and after a moment glowing fields emerged around their horns. They thinly extended out for three or four feet, finishing in a rounded tip. The commentator spoke once again. “The match shall be until one pony loses consciousness or is marked for a fatal wound.” The gong rang, and instantly Twilight was leaping through the air with a speed that would have impressed Rainbow Dash, but as fast as she was Greyeyes was faster, and had already sidestepped. As she passed he rapidly whipped his head round, bringing his horn past to slash her underbelly. She flipped in midair parrying his thrust with her own hornblade, showering him in sparks as their magical fields grated against each other. She landed past him, and spun around, using her magic to send a curved barrage of sand towards his position. He spun through the attack, his blade cutting a path through the bombardment. Just before he struck Twilight, she teleported behind him. Moving her head forward, she attempted to pierce him, but he had disappeared with a crack. Now beside her, he moved his blade to strike her flank. She only just managed to twist out of the way, then let out a shout, sending an expanding ring of purple energy outwards. He stared at the attack for a split second, then dispassionately spoke a quiet word, causing a similar ring of a grey hue to rush out. They clashed, and with a ringing thrum that set ponies teeth on edge splintered into a dozen tornado fragments of grey and purple eldritch lightning. Twilight’s eyes glowed with power and she rose into the air to launch her next attack, whips of lightning and fire arched out of her hooves, ensnaring the fragments of twisting magic. They hung about her, satellites of conflicting magic. Greyeyes nodded in admiration of her power, but did not move, content to wait for her to attack him. Her eyes narrowed in rage at his laid back approach to this fight. She spun, slowly at first, but rapidly picking up momentum. Soon, all one could see was a purple orb, the orbiting objects halos of a light purple. One by one she released them from their containment and they careened wildly towards him. He ran towards her as they moved. He dodged quickly to the left to avoid one, then leapt over another as it crashed into the ground ahead of him. He leapt directly at Twilight as she approached. Coming out of her spin, she smiled, and sent the last one directly at him. His hornblade shone with light and speared the twister, dissipating it instantly. His blade bore down on the purple unicorn, and she was only just able to block it. She strained against his strength as he pushed down on her hornblade, pushing her face towards the ground. “You fight admirably for an untrained mare.” he grinned at her through the glow of his magic, the light flickering off his teeth. “But I already knew what you were going to do.” She sagged at his words, defeat clear in her body language. Then, her eyes narrowed in determination. No, she told herself, Princess Celestia is counting on you to win. She stared up defiantly through the haze, then released the pressure suddenly, the force pushing her backwards, her legs skidding over the sandy floor. She let out a shout of “For Celestia!”, then sent out a thick purple beam against the other pony. He leapt over it, running towards one of the walls, his hooves glowing as he put on extra speed. The beam crashed into the opposite wall, pulverising the stonework and sending shrapnel flying. Twilight mirrored his moves and ran towards her nearest wall with abnormal speed. They leapt forward, all four hooves thudding against the walls. They kicked off, flying rapidly towards each other through the air. They collided, their hooves and blades locking, sending ripples through the arena. They fought in mid-air, dodging and weaving as their blades danced in front of them. Greyeyes took the lead, striking upwards at Twilight with a flurry of furious blows. She only just managed to dodge as she leapt upwards, her hooves pushing off the air as if it were solid. She lunged down towards him, trying to gain enough momentum to smash through his block, but he had already set his blade to deflect the attack at an angle so she merely stopped at an equal height. This battle continued, a waltz of magic, both competitors ignoring the laws of physics as they ducked and weaved through the air, rising higher and higher above the ground. As the battle raged on, it became clear that Twilight was tiring - Greyeye’s furious attacks left her little time to launch her own, and so she became increasingly defensive. She knew that if she did not finish the fight soon, he would surely defeat her. Then, whilst pushing against his strike in a battle of force, he struck her in the chest with his hooves. She gasped as all air was pushed out of her lungs, quickly speeding down to the ground to catch her breath. Her grey opponent smiled as he thought to himself, Without the maneuverability of the sky, she can no longer dodge my attacks. There is nothing I foresee her doing that can change this. He rose victoriously until he was silhouetted high against the sun, then began soaring down like an eagle towards its prey. It was at that point that Twilight smiled. For a second, the great Silverblade hesitated. No, he told himself, there is nothing she can do to save herself now. The purple unicorn released her magic, causing a funnel of wind to emerge above him. It pushed down on him, speeding him towards the ground. “You seek to hasten you defeat?” he roared at her over the howling rush. “So be it.” He shot down at her, but with only a few seconds to spare she leapt. Leaping past him, she rose, her horn extended, ready to dissect him. His eyes widened in shock as he realised there was no way for him to avoid this attack. He desperately tried to block her hornblade, though he knew it was futile. He felt the magic blade strike him from chin to tail. Losing concentration, he smashed into the ground, throwing up a cloud of sand. When it cleared, he lay there twisted on his back, a purple line drawn along his body, and Twilight’s blade pressed against his throat. “Checkmate.” she calmly told him. Though victorious in battle, her weariness was evident. She offered a hoof to Greyeyes, and with a smile and respectful nod he took it. The audience broke into tumultuous applause. No one had ever seen a battle like that before, and no one needed the commentator to tell them who was the victor. Mysteria and Gently hoof bumped each other for their friend’s victory. “I still don’t know how Twilight beat him.” Mysteria mused as they made their way to the hall for supper. “I thought he could see the future.” “Simple.” Gently said as they pushed past a rather obnoxious white mare, “She put him in a position where even though he knew what she was about to do, he was unable to dodge it.” “Wow, that’s some cool strategy.” Mysteria smiled. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The three of them ate happily that night. Tomorrow morning at dawn, Mysteria would purposefully lose to Twilight so that her teacher had her half of the magic granted from the Element of Harmony. “Who’s the other finalist?”, the younger grey pony asked through a mouthful of grass. Gently looked mildly surprised as he answered. “Well, I think it’s me.” Mysteria’s eyes widened in shock, but Twilight continued eating with a mildly bemused expression on her face. She wrung her hooves in uncertainty, then rested them on both of her friends hooves. They looked up at their friend. “What?” They asked in unison, concern and confusion on their faces. “You two will be ok won’t you? Please come back to me safe, both of you.” They smiled, and Twilight nodded happily. Gently stared into her eyes. “I promise.” -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sighing heavily in exhaustion, Twilight closed the door to her bedchamber behind her. Mysteria will be up soon she thought sleepily to herself, It’s kinda sweet how they just sit there, watching the stars. After that first time she had caught them in the gardens, she had observed their time alone like a hawk. Yet her fears were unrealized, as they merely sat there talking. Twilight was jolted back to the present as the balcony doors were thrust open and a wind blew in, extinguishing the candles. Standing there silhouetted against the moon was a large black and blue alicorn. They wore shining black armour over their dark blue coat, and wore a smirk across their face, sneering derisively down at her. “Nightmare Moon?” Twilight gasped in shock, reeling backwards in confusion and fear. The monstrous abomination that was once Luna laughed, a loud, cold sound that reverberated around the room. “It is indeed I, Twilight Sparkle.” Nightmare Moon responded, walking forwards into the room, ice cold mist seeping from her. “And without the Elements of Harmony, you are no match for us.” With barely enough time to register the situation, the unfortunate mare was lifted into the air. Her brain froze, shocked by what was happening. She could only stare as the imposing figure made its way towards her. “How should I repay the one who destroyed me?” Nightmare Moon mused aloud, pushing on Twilight so her frozen form began to spin helplessly in midair. “Unfortunately, I can’t kill you, just cripple you for the tournament tomorrow.” She stopped the spinning so that the unicorn lay on her back. Nightmare Moon’s eyes screwed up in concentration, the horn on her head glowing blue. Twilight looked around. She still had movement in her head, but could see no change in her surroundings. Then, she felt a prickling sensation on her chest. Slowly, she looked down in horror. Thousands of spiders, shiny and chitinous, were making their way up her body. Chittering, they climbed over and under each other, their legs forming a living sea of movement. She screamed in terror, and instantly they surged towards her open mouth. She cried desperately at her situation but managed to close her lips tightly, with a great force of will. They shook angrily, having been denied entrance to her, their legs digging deep into the softer skin of her face. She screwed her eyes shut as she saw them clamber up her cheeks, and shook her head from side to side. It did no good - they dug themselves in further, piercing her flesh, their skin splattered red with her blood. Then, just as quickly as they had appeared, they were gone. Twilight’s face was wet with tears, but not with blood, and her chest and cheeks were unblemished. The alicorn next to her cackled gleefully. “Well that was fun, wasn’t it?” With a wicked grin she looked for another way to torment this pony at her mercy, her eyes rested on the purple horn on the helpless mares head. “I always wondered how sensitive horns were.” Roughly grabbing the horn, she began to bend it backwards. Twilight wimpered in pain - her horn was indeed very sensitive. Nightmare Moon smiled at the reaction and continued pushing the horn back. “Twilight without a horn, unable to cast magic. Now that would be priceless.” The pain intensified and soon the mare was screaming. The alicorn laughed along with the screams, but just as she prepared herself to snap the horn off, she stopped. A shadow flew across her face, and wincing in pain, she released the magical appendage. “Though it appears I cannot do anything that would affect your magic.” She leaned her head in close to sobbing mare and whispered venomously into her ears. “Once this is all over, Umbra has promised me you, and your other friends. How will you feel as I torture them to insanity and death in front of you? I shall make you beg for death, plead for your own demise, then as the merciful princess that I am, I shall oblige.” Twilight stared in horror at this deranged alicorn, even as Nightmare Moon, Luna had never been that violent. “Why Luna, why work for Umbra?” she sobbed, staring at the one who had once been her friend. For a moment Nightmare Moon felt sorrow and shame, then those feelings turned to rage, both hers and Umbra’s. “How dare you?” she screamed at the immobilised pony, furiously rearing up and bringing her weight down on one of the backlegs. There was a sickening crunch. “How dare you make me feel those weakling emotions?” she hollered over Twilight’s screaming as she brought her weight down again on the other leg, instantly shattering the bone. Eyes flashing she released the broken pony, leaning down to yell in her face. “Luna is dead!” A tiny wisp of shadow curved from the end of the alicorn’s horn, flying into Twilight’s mind. The mare turned to leave, sending one last parting comment over her shoulder. “You are now Umbra’s, and after tomorrow, so is Mysteria.”