//------------------------------// // Unlikeliest of Friends // Story: What Remains II: After the Fall // by Bateman66 //------------------------------// Although not well known among most scholarly institutions, the spell of Shroud Appearance cannot be specifically classified as a ‘lost spell’, but more a wholly obscure one, with its power on occasion being inadvertently rediscovered when certain illusion spells are practiced incorrectly. It’s with this obscurity that the full extent of Shroud Appearance has never been examined to determine its fullest potential. As detailed in this compendium, Shroud Appearance grants the user with an invisible barrier of sorts, that both blocks recognition in both the profane and arcane sense. Not only will the user appear invisible to any trained eye, clairvoyance detection and simple sensing of magical energy will be ineffectual in most situations. However, there are a few exceptions to this fact, most notably in those immensely powerful in the arcane. Although never confirmed, it can be assumed beings such as Princess Celestia or the ancient tyrant Discord would most likely possess the ability to nullify the effects of the spell, immediately seeing through the field no matter how powerful the user may be. Keeping this slight hinder in mind, the amount of magical prowess to resist this spell has never been fully recorded, so be wary when engaging a highly skilled opponent. The spell is as follows: Abjecte Licht Geten Darklyng Once activated, the user should immediately experience the effects. If no result is seen, perform once more, stressing the vowels of each phrase with a much lighter annunciation, as if speaking in a normal manner. From there, one must— A light knocking came against the door, shattering Alistair’s concentration and sputtering him for a moment. “Come in,” he called with an edge of impatience, not looking away from the book. Poking her head in carefully, the gray furred and lavender maned Shale Press appeared in the door’s small opening. Seeing Alistair still quietly reading, she opened the door partway and stepped in, quickly closing it behind her. “It’s nice to see you’re interested in the tome,” she exclaimed kindly, looking absently around the room with feigned interest. “Master Eclipse was worried that you weren’t ready for it yet.” “Not ready?” Alistair repeated with a queried eyebrow. “Does he think I can’t read?” Shale sighed. “He assumed you’d only hold moderate interest. Although he recognizes that you aren’t completely illiterate in terms of the arcane, he still believes that your age is a hinder.” A defiant frown crossed the boy’s face. “Is Silver Eclipse aware of what I was doing before he plucked me from the Equestrian--Griffon Sea?” He ruefully snorted. “I think working in Equestria’s External Affairs constitutes as statement of my own maturity.” “His thoughts, not mine,” she said with her hooves raised in defense. “I’ve seen you in action old sport, the stallion hasn’t.” Alistair shut the book and placed it gently to his side. “Well, you have a point there. I guess I shouldn’t mind his opinion—much.” His faced abruptly brightened. “But I take it you came by to talk about more pressing matters, eh?” “How did you know?” she said with exaggerated surprise. “Has that book taught you how to read minds too?” “Not yet.” Pacing around the small stone space, she absently looked from corner to corner of the confined quarters. Minus the bed, a sink, a table, and a forlorn chair, the chamber was akin to that of a dungeon, with a thick panned glass window supplying minuscule connection to the outside world. Moving through the bare room, she plopped herself down on the absent chair and awkwardly strummed her hoof across the table’s surface. Silent for a moment, she looked back to Alistair. “You remember what we went over back in the Griffon Kingdom, inside that frigid crypt darker than the night itself?” He nodded. “I remember. It was like walking into my very own tomb when I chased after you. I didn’t even realize what direction I was running until the light behind me receded.” “Then you remember the talk we had about Equestria, and Celestia?” He grinned once more, displaying a touch of solace to his words. “You make it seem like I have a selective memory. Of course I remember everything we discussed, it was meaningful to me.” Shale bit the edge of her lip, worried over what his next response may be. “Is it still meaningful to you? Does the inadequacy of Celestia’s rule still bother you? Does the fact that she destroys all who oppose her still flicker injustice in your heart?” When Shale had originally asked such questions and planted the seeds of doubt along Alistair’s subconscious months ago, he’d still been under the dark rage that had consumed him from the final acceptance of what Twilight Sparkle had become. And although he’d seemed incredibly convinced at the time, there still was a flaw to its structure. Shale recognized that emotions were a powerful driving factor behind one’s motivations, but if anger and pain were the only reasons one was acting upon something as ideological as what she spoke of, then a path of destruction would already be set upon. Either he’d simply lose interest in the entire matter and simply scurry away from it, or even worse, pretend to still be loyal to their ranks and then silently betray them to Celestia’s cronies, eradicating the entire Order in one swift stroke. She needed to know if Alistair truly did believe that Celestia needed to be stopped, that every action she took was one of weakness and submission that only crippled Equestria in the long run. If Alistair truly didn’t believe this, the Night Lords may have to resort to other means of compliance to ensure his role in their grand plan could still be counted upon. Rubbing the light hairs sprouting across his chin, Alistair slowly nodded in recognition. “Perhaps it’s not as much as a fiery zeal of when you first mentioned it to me, but the feelings are still there. The lack of internal security, improper representation, how she handled Luna’s opposition, I don’t feel as enraged by it all, yet I understand why it should be fixed. It’s a hatred of what’s been put in place, but a passive hatred.” Shale couldn’t help but lightly sigh in relief, something of a correct answer being given to her. She smiled at Alistair warmly. “I’m very glad you still think this way. Most ponies just like to continue along their merry ways and simple ignore the glaring problem in front of them. But it’s the select few like you and I who are able to turn around and acknowledge that something must be done.” “I hope you’re not starting to doubt me,” he said pointedly. “Other than you there hasn’t been anypony else who’s seen me in action.” “Not entirely. There were several lower ranking agents who cam along for both escapades, first in Ponyville and then to the Griffon Kingdom.” He slowly nodded. “Oh yes—I forgot about those ponies.” Shale waved the air dismissively with her hoof. “I don’t expect you to. They’re trained to follow orders and not much else—at least—until they achieve a higher rank. And even then, you cut through them so quickly I doubt you even had the time to give them a second glance.” “Thank you,” he said with a light blushing of his cheeks. “I’ve never particularly acknowledged my own skillfulness in combat.” “Not vocally, no,” Shale stated with a slice into his modesty. “But you still recognize them internally. No pony gets adept at fighting without at least realizing they excel in some form of it.” “And what do you excel in then?” Alistair countered with a smirk. “Hoof-to-hoof combat, as you saw back in Ponyville. Oh, and saber fencing as well.” “Saber fencing!?” “Most certainly. It’s elegant and precise, adaptable to most situations, easy to pick up, not segregated to one race of pony, and with the right equipment and enchantments, able to resist even the strongest of magic.” Alistair’s eyes widened. “I’ve never heard of a swords being able to do that.” “Because you trained under somepony for years with a much narrowed minded projection of magic and its bounds. True, Twilight Sparkle is very quite skilled in the execution and even creation of spells, but her comprehension stops there. She appears to have never taught you even the basics of enchantment, alchemy, or illusion, leaving you with a rudimentary education that can hopefully be expanded by both that book of yours and Master Eclipse’s wisdom.” “Then why hasn’t he done this already?” said Alistair. “Wouldn’t he want whatever he’s going to instruct me on be introduced immediately?” Shale shook her head. “I’m afraid that’s not how he see’s things. He makes his decisions wisely but with a touch of over-caution as you’ll come to find out. I’m not bashing him in any sort of way; we’ve just had a few disagreements over the years on how to properly handle things within the Children of the Night.” Rising from her seat, Shale made her way towards the door. “But I’ll leave you to your studies for now; Master Eclipse would hate it if you got behind.” Alistair shook his head and beamed back at her. “It’s alright; I appreciate you coming by for a moment, reminded me that there’s actually somepony I know around here.” Shale smiled back. “No problem, it’s what friends are for.”