//------------------------------// // Royal Concerns // Story: The Path of Lore and Kings // by PassionQuill //------------------------------// Chapter 12: Royal Concerns The fresh memory of pained groans still lingered in the air of the vault. The event was so fresh that even tiny sparks of purple magic could be detected somewhere among the debris and ever expanding cracks of the floor. “What happened?” asked Celestia as she strolled into the vault with Luna by her side. “Some deranged unicorn and her strange associate stole a magical item, Princess,” said a guard as he halted out of the vault. He was the last of the group Loré apprehended. Even if the whole showdown had occurred an hour earlier, getting the two dozen magically tormented ponies out of the vault was secondary priority to the fire Charlatan had started. “Deranged unicorn? I think some explaining is needed.” Celestia lookled tentatively at the guard. “I’ll handle this one, Shield,” said Honor before his friend could answer the Princesses. “Get to the infirmary so you can get better.” “But, what about you?” He stared back at Honor with concern. “We’re all supposed to go there.” “Yes, I’ve already been there and they treated me for my wounds; they were minor. I’m fine now. I couldn’t stay down there though. I had to come back to inform the Princesses about what happened.” His attention went back over to the Princesses. “And it seems like I was right about them being here.” “Princess Celestia, Princesss Luna, I know who did it.” Honor bowed deeply as he formally addressed his superiors, followed by him limping into the room. Bandages took up most of his right hind leg, additional bandages were wrapped around his head and judging from his breath, he had been ingesting some remedies to speed up his recovery from Loré’s spells. “Do speak of what thou hast seen!” exclaimed Luna while stepping up in front of her sister. “Easy now, Luna. It’s not your fault that somepony slipped through during your watch,” said Celestia in her usual motherly tone while locking eyes with her sister. “It’s was a unicorn named Loré Scroll. I know her from the books she’s written, and I’ve actually met her once… she didn’t seem like the kind of pony to do anything like this.” Honor glanced around the ruined room. It was a clear reminder of how helpless he had felt under her spell. “I don’t know what she’s planning, but I know where she’s going. She’s heading towards the Crystal Empire.” Luna and Celestia listened attentively as Honor explained, and then shared a mutual expression of confusion to where she was heading. “The Crystal Empire? Did she not steal items of power?” asked Luna with a raised eyebrow. “Well, yes, she stole some kind of horn ring that looked like it was made out of silver. I don’t know what it was, but she was really powerful with it.” A cold shiver ran down Honor’s spine when he once again thought about what had almost happened to him. “Silver horn ring? Hhmm… it sounds like she stole Quaza’s ring of enhancement,” said Celestia. “Then she must be stopped! She is a danger to anypony in Equestria with it on her horn.” Luna flared her wings and stomped the ground with one hoof. “I shall prepare my guard to search for her while it is still dark. There is not a place in the night she can hide from me.” “Yes, Luna. Assemble your guard and search through the areas near Canterlot. Loré will hopefully be hiding somewhere nearby,” said Celestia as she walked out of the vault with Luna, quickly giving Honor a glance to say, “Thank you for the information, Honor. We should be able to catch her now.” “One more thing your majesties… She’s really dangerous. She tried to kill us…” was all Honor could manage to say before the memories became too much for him. “We shall remember that, Honor,” said Celestia while disappearing out of his sight. “Should we warn the Empire?” asked Luna. “Yes. Cadence and Shining Armor need to know what’s heading towards them. The ring Loré has makes every spell she knows potent. She could be a danger to not only the ponies around her, but also to herself.” “Even herself?” Luna stopped in the hallway, being rather perplexed by Celestia’s last statement. “How can it be dangerous to her?” “The ring was made for one of the most powerful unicorns in Equestrian history. Quaza could use it because her body was used to intense amounts of magic. A normal unicorn won’t be able to handle the pressure for too long. She’ll eventually destroy herself if she keeps on using it.” Celestia had come to a stop a bit away from Luna, not turning towards her as she spoke. “How will she destroy herself?” Luna asked with concern in her voice. “I don’t know... She might turn into a magical bomb if she overuses it.” A moment of silence fell on the hallway as the two Princesses contemplated the scenario of Loré setting herself off inside the Crystal Empire. Images of a bright flash of light enveloping every building and everypony till only a big hole was left where once as prospering empire stood came to mind for Celestia. A similar image came to Luna, although it was different, both knew that many lives could be lost if Loré wasn’t subdued. “Should we enlist the aid of Twilight and her friends?” asked Luna while walking up next to Celestia. “Not yet. Twilight has other issues she needs to attend. I can’t jeopardize her future for this matter. I will leave it in your capable hooves, sister, and Cadence’s. I fully believe the two of you can figure out a way to find her, and stop her before something bad happens.” “Very well,” answered Luna after another moment of silence. “I will prepare my guard and set out immediately. I trust you will contact Cadence and explain the whole situation.” A nod was the last exchange the two made before Luna set off for her task. Celestia on the other hoof made her way to another area of the castle after having written a quick letter to request an audience with Cadence and Shining Armor. Far into the northern wing, almost at the top of their keep was a room locked away from the everyday humdrum of ponies minding their own business, a room which only Celestia had the key to. It was a small room with barely any decorations at all. Fairly dark from lack of torches and the only source of light was almost blocked out by the thick amber curtains. However plain the room was, the only three defining features in there were also the ones which separated it from the other rooms in the castle. The first feature was that of two glass doors stretching from the floor to the ceiling on either side of the room which led out onto balconies. Both of the doors had intricate stone arches, far more elaborately carved than the wooden frame of similar doors elsewhere in the castle. The second feature was the four pillars standing in the corners. They looked very much out of place from the intrinsic themes of the castle, almost like relics of a lost age. The last thing was the most important one, at the opposite end of where the entrance was, stood a strange looking mirror. The circular disk almost seemed like it reflected distorted images, but if somepony was to stare long enough into it, they’d realize nothing in the room was being mirrored. The disk itself was held up by two unicorns, one on each side who stood up on their hind legs while holding the disk with their front legs. The statues were of a design far older than what could be found in the ruins of the Royal Sister’s castle, and made out of solid glaucous colored stone, a color which matched the pillars and the carpet Celestia had to walk to approach the ancient mirror. “Three we were made, two we were bonded, one we were lost,” mumbled Celestia while gently tabbing the disk with her horn which caused ripples to trace from the touch to the sides like a stone hitting water. “Show me your sibling.” Her last words had an immediate effect on the mirror. The metallic ripples died down to create a much clearer reflection than previously. Along with the clarity came bright lights in the two statues’ eyes, and finally came a completely different view into the mirror. It was not the room Celestia stood in. It was a place of blue and white crystals, and in this room stood none other than Princess Cadence and her husband, Shining Armor. “Celestia, what’s the emergency?” asked Cadence with deep worry in her voice. “Something terrible must have happened for you to use this.” “A unicorn named Loré Scroll is heading towards your kingdom, Cadence. She’s stolen a magical item from our vaults, and is now a danger to not only everypony around her, but also herself. We need to stop her and get her subdued before something really bad happens.” The motherly tone in her voice had completely disappeared, all that was left was an expression as stern as her body language. “Loré?!” exclaimed Shining Armor, stepping a bit closer to the mirror in his surprise. “You know her?” asked Cadence while looking quizzically at Shining. “Well, I know of her. She used to plague the ever living Tartarus out of everypony in the west wing. I’ve talked to her once or twice… she was very unpleasant.” Shining slowly scratched the back of his head as he tried to think of anything useful to add to the conversation. Anything that could help them capture her. “I can’t honestly think of a reason for her to steal something from Canterlot. She seemed content with doing research till that one day where she just, vanished. All I know about her is that she’s supposedly smart, arrogant, and very mean towards anypony, oh and she’s obsessed with history. I hope that helps you with figuring out where to look, Princess.” “Is there anything else we need to know, Celestia?” asked Cadence. “I know as much about this event as you two do. But, I warn you, keep the Crystal Empire protected. She stole a very powerful artifact and therefore will be a formidable foe to fight. I was informed by my guard that she’s even willing to use lethal force… She is most likely after something in the Crystal Empire, I suspect she wants to get the-“ “Crystal Heart,” Cadence finished Celestia’s sentence as she also came to realize how important that relic was. It was literally the lifeblood of the prospering kingdom in the cold north. Without it, everything there would wither, die, and get pummeled by layers of snow. The mere thought of it caused a painful expression to take up Cadence’s face. “We’re going to triple our guards, put up extra protective means around the heart, and send out search parties in the nearby area to find her,” said Shining while he reassuringly placed a hoof on Cadence’s back. “I won’t let anything happen to the heart, our people, or you for that matter.” “Thank you, dear.” The two of them shared a tender look of true love, almost forgetting that Celestia was there with them, in spirit at least. “Erh-hehm,” said Celestia as she cleared her throat to get back their attention. “Sorry about that,” said Cadence as a slight tint of red flourished in both of their cheeks now that they had been reminded of their third wheel. “We’ll do what we can on our end to find her, just be prepared. She’s heading there and could arrive at any given moment,” added Celestia as her last message of warning. “Do contact us if she arrives at the Crystal Empire before we can find her. We’ll likewise keep you posted if we find her.” With that, the disks returned to their earlier state, biasly reflecting their surroundings as if they were extremely selective mirrors. “I can’t believe this place is in danger already… It’s not even been two months since Sombra was defeated, and now somepony else wants to ruin our world.” Cadence carried her head low as she walked out on the balcony connected to the room. “Everything is finally going so well up here. The crystal ponies are happy. I won’t allow Loré to hurt anypony!” “We aren’t in danger yet, Cadence.” Shining followed her out onto the balcony, leaning against the railing as he stood beside her. “There’s still time for Celestia or Luna to catch Loré. And even if she makes it all the way up here, I promise I’ll be ready to stop her. The ponies living here will continue to have happy and fulfilling lives, and they won’t even know anything threatened them.” Shining Armor’s words eased her worry, even if the memory of Sombra was still fresh in her mind. She couldn’t shake out the image of the heart being stolen or destroyed, what it would mean for the ponies living up there, the things that would happen to them. The scenario was far too grim for Cadence to allow it to happen. “Should we evacuate the city, or maybe I should put up a forcefield like I did with Sombra?” Cadence turned to Shining. “Perhaps...” his words were hesitant, although he knew the shield would be a great help, last time she did it, it nearly killed her from exhaustion. “I rather reserve your powers as a last resort.” Shining gently took her hoof as he turned towards her. He stroked it while gazing lovingly into her eyes, allowing her a glimpse into the concern he was experiencing. “You became so weak when you held out Sombra… I don’t want that to happen to you again. Please trust me and my guards with capturing Loré if she does arrive,” said Shining while smiling tenderly. “Let somepony else be on the frontlines for once, Cadence. I think it’s best that we have you guard the heart itself. If she ever makes it that far, at least she’ll have to fight an opponent of equal strength to get what she wants.” Cadence sighed reluctantly before nodding in agreement with Shining Armor. Every fiber in her body told her to go to the frontline, be there to defend her subjects before danger could even get near them. But, she knew if Loré ever got past her, ever managed to be sneaky enough. The Crystal Heart would be in great danger. It was far better to have her guard it so nopony could get away with it. “It’s for the better, Cadence. Please don’t let it weigh your heart down. We will protect our people,” said Shining Armor as he leaned his head in close to hers, their lips embracing in a gentle kiss till he pulled away. “I promise that we will.” “Thank you,” whispered Cadence with her silky voice before turning away. “I’ll go down to the Crystal Heart and set up some protective walls and make an area for me to live in while I protect it. I won’t leave its side till she’s captured.” “If that’s what you wish, my dear.” Shining sighed ever so slightly as he shook his head. “I never thought a bookworm could be this cold hearted.” “This is going to be a long week. Better get started… so many preparations to do, so little time to do it.”