Chapter 12
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The night passed quickly for Isaac as he found himself opening his eyes to the dark room before him. Although he assumed it must still be early, he blinked a few times before springing out of his bed. Noticing the unwashed suit in a heap on the floor, he remembered the passionate kiss from Fluttershy he had received last night. Smiling to himself, he eagerly climbed the stairs, tripping slightly as he made it to the door. Deciding not to wake his two roommates he carefully opened the door and stepped inside, to his surprise he saw Twilight and Rainbow in the center of the room, sitting next to each other and reading.
"I never took you for a reader, Rainbow." The cyan pony jumped into the air at the sound of Iridescent's voice, hovering in the air with her wings as she held the book firmly to her chest.
"It's not mine! I was just....Choosing a book! For a friend!....I swear!!" Isaac chuckled lightly at the panicky mare who was darting her eyes around the room, she eventually let out a sigh and drifted back down to the floor, her eyes gazing on the wooden floor. Isaac suddenly felt like he struck a nerve, putting a shoulder on Rainbow, he reassured the upset pegasus.
"It's alright Rainbow, I won't tell anypony." Isaac's attention shifted to the reason why he was so surprised to see them.
"You're all up a little early aren't you?"
Twilight and Rainbow looked at each other and ten turned back to the white colt, his expression now as confused as the two mares who laughed lightly at him. Twilight was the first to speak up as she pointed to the wall behind him.
"Ummm..I don't think we're up early, Irrie." Isaac turned to look at the clock, his eyes widened and he nervously began jogging on the spot as he stared at the large, wooden clock on the wall.
2:15
"Oh no! How could I be up so late!? I'm never up late!"
"Irrie, you put more energy into last night's party than everypony else put together, even Pinkie collapsed of exhaustion."
Isaac suddenly remembered last night, he put his all into every song he sung that evening. His mind drifted to the memory of the passionate kiss he shared with a certain yellow Pegasus. Remembering why he was so eager to get up early, he panicked even more at the fact that every second he wasted was one that could be spent with Fluttershy. Out of the corner of his eye he spotted Rainbow and Twilight laughing almost hysterically, after a few seconds the cyan pegasus spoke up.
"Oh chill out, Irrie. It's not like Fluttershy'll be mad just 'cause you overslept for a couple of hours." A large grin on her face, she began laughing again as she spotted the blush rise up on Isaac's face, easily noticeable due the his new white coat. He quickly ran up the stairs and towards the shower, turning on the hot water as he daydreamed about what his first day with a new fillyfriend would be like. The hot water covered him and sent him into a stage of relaxation. The shower would have lasted more than the 5 minutes he spent in the bathroom if not for the excited mood he was in. He quickly put a towel over his back as he made his way towards the balcony. He ignored the cold from the dreary day as he stepped outside, letting himself drip-dry as he looked over Ponyville. The town was much quieter than usual, most likely because of the party last night and the cold of today, his eyes drifted over to the huge apple orchard where he spotted a familiar orange mare in the distance. Isaac couldn't help but admire the mares dedication to her work, he could see her bucking the trees and harvesting the many trees despite the cold weather.
"Does she ever just take a break?" Isaac chuckled to himself until the cold finally got to him, and he brought up a barrier around him to shield him from the wind. The green aura surrounded him and he continued to observe the world around him, the trees around him swayed in the breeze, and the clouds making the day feel earlier than it was. Isaac was so focused by observing the world he didn't notice Twilight open the balcony door behind him, he turned and jumped a little at the mare shivering in the wind. He decided to warm her up and cast his spell so that it covered her.
"Thanks, aren't you getting tired from that?"
"No...Should I be?"
"It depends how strong your magic is, but usually casting spells takes a lot of energy out of unicorns."
"Huh...Well anyway, i'm gonna go head over to Fluttershy's. I'll see you later!" Twilight was about to speak up before Isaac vanished from her sight in a green flash, she looked around for a few seconds before she looked in the sky. Her cries for help brought almost everypony in town up, although her yells were soon silent as she saw Isaac now hovering in the air, his distinct green aura making him easily noticeable in the air.
"Calm down Twilight! I'll see you later!!!" Twilight felt her eye twitch as she saw the white unicorn slowly drift across the sky towards Fluttershy's cottage, the purple mare simply stood, completely astounded at the sight of how little energy Isaac seemed to be using to simply carry himself away like that.
"He is just full of surprises" Twilight thought to herself as she headed back into the warmth of the library, shrugging off Isaac's magical ability remembering how she once managed to fend off an Ursa Minor.
Isaac found peace in the skies above Ponyville, using his magic to both fly and shield himself from the incoming winds. As he reached Fluttershy's house, he nervously shook on the spot as he reached out to knock on the door, he felt a bead of sweat drip down from his still damp mane.
"I've hardly ever been this nervous in my life, what the hell's wrong with me?" As he knocked on the door, he found himself greeted by a familiar white rabbit.
"Hey Angel, is Fluttershy home?" The rabbit gave him an intimidating stare which, despite his size, still made the colt uneasy. Angel rolled his eyes and pointed to the Everfree Forest, Isaac looked into the dark treeline and then to the bunny, a quizzical look on his face.
"Uhh...Are you sure?" Angel just pointed to a small path leading into the vast forest and slammed the door, it would have knocked Isaac off his feet if he had been just an inch closer. Feeling aggravated at the rude creature, Isaac shook off the petty reaction and headed in the direction of the forest. Several minutes passed before Isaac found himself next to a large, tribal hut. Completely lost, Isaac felt the need to ask for directions. He noticed the door was open slightly, and slowly made his way inside, only to be knocked off his hoofs by a startling voice.
"Who is this colt, so very alone, to simply walk into my home?" Isaac found himself lying on his back, taring into the eyes of a very peculiar looking pony. Her coat was a mix of black and white stripes, her mane a sharp Mohawk colored in a similar style to her coat. She wore two large earrings and a golden, ringed neck brace. His trance was broken when the mare narrowed her eyes and cast him a suspicious stare.
"What? Oh, sorry. My names Iridescent, i'm looking for someone."
"I have the answer which you seek, come inside and take a peek." This was admittedly one of the stranger things Isaac had encountered in his few days here, but he found himself ecstatic as he walked into the room to find Fluttershy, sitting patiently at the table. Isaac ignored the strange masks and objects around the room and headed straight to where the pegasus was seated.
"H...Hey...."
"Irrie? What are you doing here?"
"I um...Wanted to see you, but when you weren't home Angel pointed to the forest...So..." Isaac paused, his mind went completely blank from just seeing the mare again, he stammered for a brief second before the striped pony interrupted.
"Your nervousness is easy to see, speak from your heart, that is the key." Isaac paused for a second, he then looked back at Fluttershy. Taking a deep breath, he managed to speak normally. Understanding the privacy that was needed, the strange mare exited the room, leaving Isaac alone with Fluttershy.'
"I really wanted to see you again, Fluttershy. I've been wanting to know you ever since we met, and, ever since last night... I've wanted to spend as much time as I can with you. If you want, we can...Ummm... Hang out...For a bit?" Isaac mentally facehoofed himself a thousand times over, feeling like a complete idiot. He was about to say something before he felt Fluttershy wrap her hooves around him. All of his worries seemed to fade away as he let Fluttershy lean in closer, the same feeling of passion from last night returned and Isaac felt like nothing else in the world mattered. He returned the hug as the blushing mare whispered into his ear.
"I'd like that a lot, Irrie. Thankyou."
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Canterlot Castle
"What do you mean i'll lose my sister! We can't just abandon them!" Shining Armour let tears of anger run down his face, his reaction unmoved Celestia, who began to explain in her usual, calm tone.
"I'm sorry Shining Armour, but if we let Ponyville know about the leviathan. It is more than likely that Isaac will not reach his ascendance if he knows of his task." Celestias voice was stern and loud, but completely unmoved the colt who was now shouting. Cadance stood by him every second, saying nothing, but staring angrily into the Princess' eyes.
"I don't care! You'd risk letting an entire town get destroyed!? You'd risk killing my sister and your student!?"
"If we warn Ponyville and Isaac, Equestria WILL fall." There was no lie in the princess's voice, if Isaac found out about the task he had to complete, it is more than likely he would not be able to stop the Leviathan. "Isaac must reach the final stage if he is to put a halt to the events to come. As we speak Blood Horn is raising an army, and in a few days, the Leviathan will be summoned. You must understand this, Ponyville must fall for the rest of Equestria to survive."
Shining Armour fell to his knees, tears streaming down his face and dropping onto the ground. A few minutes passed before he gave Celestia a deep scowl and left the room, returning to his home at the other end of the castle. It was late at night, but the Captain felt like doing anything but sleeping. Looking over thee lights of a distant Ponyville, he contemplated how he was going to deal with the events. After much thought, he grabbed his saddle-pack and filled it with essentials. Maps, Documents and other necessary equipment. He was about to head out the door when he heard Cadance follow him down the stairs.
"Where are you going, Shiny?" Without looking back, he stared into the distance and headed out the door. His reply stern and focused, he answered his wife's question.
"To build an army."
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Unknown Location
Blood Horn sat on the worn out throne of the castle hallway, the runes encircling him and glowing slightly brighter with every hour that passed. The large unicorn had been working on the ritual for the past few hours, the night passing slowly as he concentrated. The magic being used to activate the ritual was well beyond that of any normal pony. But Blood Horn had been taught in the darkest arts of magic for his entire life. The ritual long and difficult, but fortunately for him, it would be ready in a matter of days. The sound of hoofsteps alerted Blood Horn to his servant's presence.
"My master, Our army is ready."
"How many have we rallied for our cause?"
"We have the Changeling Queen's full support. Her army was weakened by her last assault, but she provides her full force. We also have the savages of the west, and lastly we have the tribal natives. All of these factions wish to have a portion of Equestria to themselves, master."
Blood Horn raised an eyebrow at the surprisingly low numbers, but quickly returned to his meditations. "The army we have gathered is nothing but a tool, an assistant, if you will. There numbers do not matter, we could take Equestria with the Leviathan single hoofed if we wished. Once we take Equestria, we will quickly dispatch of our so called army."
"B..But my lord, are you sure it is wise to live on this world with so little numbers?" The brown servant stammered, cowering in fear as the large unicorn stood up from his throne.
"Equestria will supply us with our servants and slaves, we do not NEED numbers."
"Of course my lord." The servant quickly left the room, leaving his master to his ritual. Blood Horn felt a sense of pride as the runes glowed ever so slightly brighter, bringing him one step closer to his goal. the black unicorn looked up into the night sky, a devilish grin on his face as he thought to himself while he continued his meditation, preparing for the great victory that lay ahead.
"My dear Celestia, ponies pray to you in times of need. But who will YOU pray to when your world burns?"