//------------------------------// // Chapter 1: Staring at the Sun // Story: On a Nightmare's Wings // by Zeromant //------------------------------// He sat motionless at the window, staring out into the rain beyond. His occasional ear twitch betraying the fact that he was still conscious and tense as a ribbon spring wound tight. He knew he had, at best, only ten minutes or less before the leader of Equestria appeared and tried to throttle him for his threat and insult, or just reduce him to a fine dust and be done with it. " Not a bad way to die I suppose... Could easily have been worse." Spoke the Stallion , his depth of thought betraying his silence without his notice, even as an ear swiveled to the feint padding of spike's feet approaching behind him. Keen ear and plenty of practice at reading body language made it too easy to tell he wasn't trying to sneak up on him, but was just scared of approaching him. " Yes Spike? What do you want?" He didn't even turn to face the wyrmling. Spike, to his credit, didn't leap or dive for cover, though the sudden question from the rather frightening stallion startled him enough to make him rethink what he was about to ask. He fidgeted, scraping a small claw across the wall as he wiped away the tears that still came intermittently to his eyes. " Uhm... Mister, I... Twilight won't wake up, did... did you hurt her that badly? I know you said don't ask questions, but I did what you asked, and she's not getting up! I... please, tell me she's okay?" He could tell the young dragon wanted to ask him more questions, a habit he knew he had picked up from Twilight. Smirking inwardly at the similarities he turned to face the young wyrm. " No, I didn't hurt her other than throwing her into the bookshelf, she's fine. I simply used some magic sleeping powder to keep her knocked out. We both know how she gets when she panics, and honestly that would be bad for everypony involved right now." He watched as relief, followed nearly immediately by suspicion, flashed across the wyrmling's face before he nodded and turned to pad back down the stairs. It wasn't hard to tell Spike was suspicious of him for reasons beyond the obvious, or that he wanted to do so much more than make sure Twilight was okay. He recognized the desire to punish. The burning gaze of revenge. All things he was far more familiar with than any pony should be, and it pained him to see it in Spike's eyes, though he would never admit it. The Stallion shook himself, admonishing himself for losing focus as he shifted his worn armor to a more comfortable position, he would need it ready to move like it had many times before soon, the local rulers were likely to lead a militant response, most likely underestimate him while at the same time over reacting to the threat to Twilight Sparkle he noted offhoofedly. Well, that didn't matter, he'd had colder welcomes, and he's still alive. He smirked as he felt the teleporting arrivals a split second before they appeared, pleased that he had managed to gauge their reaction time accurately, but outwardly scowling at who he saw below. --__==__-- 11 Minutes earlier: Canterlot Castle The solid oaken doors to her personal chambers had shut not but a few seconds ago, the guards outside settling in for a long relaxing shift as she readied herself for bed finally, having set the sun hours ago, and enjoyed the cool winds cast off from the storm over Ponyville as they breezed as far out as Canterlot. She had just begun to remove her regalia when the all too familiar sparkle of an incoming letter blazed into the radius of her magical senses, the alert allowing her to catch all three scrolls as they rematerialized, the ends of a couple slightly charred. A detail that puzzled her as she unraveled the first one. She, being Princess Celestia, Solar Diarch of Equestria, Lady of the Radiant Day Star. A font of wisdom and magic to those who would gain her favor, and a bane to all who held her ire. Currently, her eyes were wide as somepony new had just garnered her undivided 'ire'. Rereading the letter several times over to make sure she hadn't misinterpreted anything, she took a steadying breath and moved back to her doors, pulling them open with the pull of her magic. her Guards turned in unison to greet her with a salute. " Fetch me Captain Break and tell him to select three ponies who are well suited to subduing hostile individuals in close quarters and report to my chamber. I have a task that needs doing, and be swift about it." She gave them no chance to object by shutting her doors just as swiftly as she had opened them. She knew she could trust them to make good time with her commands. The following minutes she spent waiting felt to her as if hours dragged by, a sensation she hadn't experienced in decades. She shook her head as the realization hit her that she was nervous. Last time she had felt nervous, Discord was running wild right outside her castle, and even then, it wasn't the same kind of nervous. What was worse was that there was little she could do to lessen the growing anxiety she felt. It wasn't as if she could just start throwing on millennia old armor or pulling out ancient artifacts of divine craft. Simply fetching such items would be either pointless, some form of overkill, violate at least three different treaties with foreign nations, or cause a series of natural disasters just by the unsealing process alone. All for what? Some egotistical upstart who happened to get the upper hoof over a mortal unicorn? Granted it was one of the most powerful and skilled ones the land has, as well as one of the Element bearers. Oh, right, she's also her adopted daughter of sorts as well as her personal student. Well that counts for something, maybe. Her brief notion of breaking out a particular pole axe was dismissed by a set of swift blows to her doors, the sound of metal on wood making it clear that her guards had arrived. A deft application of magic and the doors swung open, granting admission to the four armored ponies. All shining gold hued armor and magically dyed coats presenting her a moment of hesitation before the softer hints queued her into who the Captain had selected. " Your Highness." Point Break, a solid pegasus stallion of rigid musculature saluted his princess, the three behind him doing likewise. " I've brought the best I could lay hooves on in a practical amount of time, I apologize for not being able to get the best we have for you on such short notice." A slight twitch from the other pegasus behind the captain is all that betrays his irritation, even as the open scowl from the unicorn mare next to him does a more obvious job of presenting their mutual irritation at their captain. The third, a rather imposing Stallion that stood head and shoulders over his smaller guardsponies, simply held that expectedly stoic and rigid look of neutrality. Celestia, despite her worries, couldn't help but give a small smile as she recognized two of them, but that moment of minor mirth was short lived before she hardened her expression and turned to address them properly. " I just received a letter claiming that it's sender has captured my student. Furthermore, in the same letter, the offender has called my ponies, you, my guards, weak, and declared war on us. I think the letter that of a mad pony were it not for the fact that it was sent by dragon fire, as my Student does her reports. I am going to teleport the three of you and myself to her residence. When we arrive, I want any and all occupants of the building subdued and bound quickly, and without bloodshed. I want this to be swift, and precise. Expect to be met with anything, so blatant a provocation is clearly baiting such a reaction from us, but we cannot risk ignoring it in the hopes that it's just some mad pony." Captain Break blinked curiously and looked at his princess. " Ma'am? You said three, do you plan to leave one of us behind?" Celestia turned to the Captain, her gaze hard, but still bearing that familiar warmth. " Yes Captain, You are to remain here and prepare a number of holding cells in the prison, as well as alert my sister and her division of guards. Even if this is a false alarm, she and her keepers would be put out if we do not keep them informed, would they not?" Point Break grimaced lightly at the news that he was staying behind, and flat out scowled at having been ordered to involve the Night Guard. " ugh, You bring up a valid point Princess, I'll see to it that it gets done." He turned to the guards he had brought. " You three, despite our time of peace, the princess has practiced military experience, and I expect you to obey her orders just as you would any other ranking officer, without kow towing or hoof kissing, do I make myself clear?" For their part, the three in question nodded once in their salute, keeping their position throughout both Celestia's address and their Captain's. Point Break snorted once in recognition of their compliance before turning back to the princess with another salute. " In that case, I leave them under your command Princess, I wish you luck, and hope this turns out to be a false alert. You three, form up. Flash bang Teleport insertion method." The trio of guards nodded before breaking salute and moving to stand in front of the princess. The Unicorn placed herself right in front of her, facing away. A short sword of thick design hovering in the air along with a partnered shield, little more than a slightly curved disk of metal with a handle bolted on the inside to hook it's carry harness to. In front of the unicorn, the Pegasus stallion stood, his back turned as well to the princess as he pulled the out the pole axe he kept tucked under one of his wings, maneuvering the long weapon with forelimbs, snout and wings until he was standing on his hind legs, clutching the pole axe in his forelegs as a third balance, with his wings stretched out. His feathers shimmering as the light filtered through their nearly transparent form. The final member of the team, the heavy Earth Pony stallion simply moved to stand in front of the Pegasus, completing a rather simple straight line other than their body stances. This final member turned his head to face the princess. " Yer majesty, this here's a one'uva kind entry skill our team has thanks to Wing Flare's condition. When Ah rear up, that there's the signal fer ya to close yer eyes and teleport us. Ah apologize if'n Ah'm speakin' out of turn, but this 'ere should give us the edge we need t' work all quick an' clean, like ya want." The Princess, simply pleased they were already in formation and not delaying their departure with pointless questions, nodded once to the earth stallion. " Nonsense, if this will help you achieve success in our excursion, it would be rather silly to deny you three this. On your queue good sir." The earth pony nodded once to his solar diarch, and then nodded to the unicorn squad mate before turning to face forward. In a few moments the room's torches and candles were drowned out by a bright light from the mare's horn, even as her armaments floated more closely to her. Without a word the lead stallion reared up, heavy weighted boots waving in the air, and they were gone. Point Break stared at where his Princess and soldiers had been for a solid half minute before calming himself with a deep breath, leaving to perform the tasks his princess had demanded of him. " This had better be another false alarm." --__==__-- Ponyville Library, Now Being victim to magical ambushes countless times tends to ingrain in one the ability to notice the telltale signs of such a thing, namely how to notice a teleport before it's fully finished doing it's job. The displacement as the air of the target location is pressed away, often times causing a pressure on the ears before the bubble of fresh air and occupants materialized. It's a subtle but telling cue for those familiar with it. Should one happen to be a pegasus, well, their feathers would sense out such a shift in air and it's pressure. Fetcher Ghoul was such an experienced stallion, and the sharp rise in pressure clued him in even before the telltale flash and pop of the spell concluded in the main foyer. Which was then immediately followed by a nearly concussive crack of thunderous sound as every shadow and dark crevice of the library was lit up, even the cubby like room upstairs where Fetcher sat. Blinking away the blinding light, he let out a sigh as he heard hooves on the wooden floors already moving downstairs. Knowing he had scant few seconds, Fetcher gave a small sigh and moved to act. Wing Flare, the Pegasus of the trio of guards, alights on the landing, wings held out and refracting the light from below into Fetcher's cubby room, finding it empty. Tucking his pole axe under one wing, he moved into the room carefully to make sure of vacancy before confirming it clear with a call below before flitting across the central room to another room on the third floor. Below Celestia was nuzzling the unconscious form of her student, an evident frown crossing her face as spike told her everything he could. " It was just... Sudden! She opens the door and it was over in just a few moments, I wasn't even aware of it until he woke me up! Looked like one of Luna's guards but... He smelt wrong Princess." Spike huddled close to Celestia's form as he told her what little he had. " Kitchen's clear Princess!" The unicorn burst from said room, shield and sword levitating in front of her as she rushes past her ruler to the aisles of shelves, shining a light down each row. The next floor up, Iron Shod is wrenching open doors, or bucking down the locked ones. Doors can be replaced after all.The timed calls of all clear ringing out into the main room with clarity. Celestia felt relief as spike told her of the stallion's claims of using a sleep inducing powder and bid him to wait with Twilight as she turned to look about the building herself for the first time since her arrival. After a several more minutes of calls across the library, the Trio of guards reconvened in the main foyer with her highness. " Nothing I could find your highness." The Pegasus gave his curt answer, balancing on his hind legs, weapon ready in his forelegs " The Coward's clearly realized his fool mistake and fled the scene Princess, would show him a cowards end were he still here." The Unicorn kept her back to Celestia as she spoke, shield and sword held aloft in her magic, just in case. The Earth pony simply shook his head before taking up the third point of the triangular position around the princess. Celestia narrowed her eyes as her guards turned up nothing. Had this been but only two years ago, she would've chalked it up to them being incompetent and improperly trained in this time of peace. The near suicidal overhaul they went through after the changeling invasion however dispelled such shoddy training leaving the royalty with guards who's skills she knew were not lacking. Meaning whom ever this stallion was, they were better. She knew he was still here, and Spike had confirmed it. All that remained was to draw the offender out. Turning to address the open air seemingly, Celestia spoke out into the seemingly vacant library. " You attack my student, and send post by dragon fire to personally threaten and insult my ponies and my guard. I know you're still here! As your princess I command you to show yourself!" Several tense moments passed in silence save for the thunder of the storm and the roar of wind and rain outside before an ashen voice akin to grinding stones came from the upper balcony overlooking the foyer. " Do not delude yourself into thinking you are My Princess, Celestia." The guards below spun to face the target, the Pegasus raising his wings to soar at him, only to be halted by the princess's outstretched wing. " Good, you're as perceptive as I'd hoped. Unlike your guard. I'm hoping these aren't the best. Those stallions of yours walked right by me thrice." " I'll not stand idle as you continue to speak ill of my guard, and so blatantly disrespect your ruler. Surrender yourself now, and I'll keep the charges to assault, and home invasion." There was a sharpness like cut glass to Celestia's words, a change not lost on his escort. " HAH! At least you remember your edge, I'd feared it lost already. The box There. When we get back to the castle, Open it with your sister. I think you'll both understand easily enough." He shook his muzzle to point at he iron shod box he'd arrived with that sat still on the table down stairs. " You say when 'we' get back, You're surrendering? that easily?" The ponies below, royalty included couldn't help but narrow their eyes and furrow their brows at this turn of events, such a turn after all he'd done was just so utterly unexpected. " Yes 'We', I've little time for these games." He was already moving down the stairs, old armor rustling on dusty padding as he descended and moved to stand before the princess, staring up at her with an untellable ire in his gaze, the guards ignored or forgotten. Celestia looked down at him with mixed feelings before nodding once, the guards ponies surrounding the stallion in a heart beat. " Take him to an isolated cell, strictest measures of containment, Only the guard captains and royalty are allowed access, I'll be along shortly." The guards managed to get nods of confirmation out before the air shimmered and popped, the four ponies sent across space-time to their destination, leaving Celestia with a frightened child and an unconscious student. " Do not worry Spike, I'll make sure he does not get away. Please, go collect some simple things of yours and Twilight's, I'll leave a note for her friends and then we'll go to the castle." Spike, for his part, took little convincing and was halfway up the stairs before Celestia could turn to regard the box the dark stallion motioned too. Collecting it in her magical grasp, she couldn't help but wince as an utterly depressing sensation hit her, though she couldn't place why. A cursory inspection showed it to be simply iron and pine in make, and whatever was in it rattled loudly, the contents apparently being loose. " Okay princess!" Spike's voice shook her from a deep thought she hadn't noticed herself falling into, and she looked down to a trio of bags by her and the tip of Spike's tail darting into the bathroom. Smiling at his swift efforts, she plucked one of the loose pages from the floor, and gathering the spilled ink, winding it with tugs of magic to move it onto the paper in script, informing the reader that she had taken spike and Twilight to Canterlot after something had come up. Her note came to completion as Spike arrived back at her side, a fourth smaller bag in his claws holding simple things like toothbrushes " Ready princess... The powder stuff's not going to be a problem is it?" " No spike, I recognize it as a fairly common mix. Once we get her cleaned up, it should ware off in a few simple hours." Celestia's smile and warm tone had returned as she pinned her note to the table, gathering her protege up in his magic at the same time as the bags. Another smile and she and Spike were away. The Storm rages on.