//------------------------------// // Search for the Princess // Story: The Legend of the God-Hunter // by BobThePlaneswalker //------------------------------// Twilight stepped along the back of the Canterlot theater garbed in a cloak. It was dark. All the lights were directed on the Canterlot orchestra as they bobbed and weaved through their piece. The audience was silent, captivated by the music. Twilight made her way to the elite viewing boxes and found herself blocked by a young stallion. “Miss,” he said, “your pass please.” “What?” Twilight asked. “No ponies beyond this point without a pass,” he replied. “Do you have a pass?” Twilight pulled her hood back. “Please, I need to get through.” He took a step back. “Twilight Sparkle?” He grimaced and brought a hoof to rest on the back of his head as he glanced between her and the stairs. Twilight put her hooves together. “Please, it's extremely important.” He grumbled. “Okay, okay.” Twilight beamed. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!” She cantered up the stairs and followed the faint signature of Rei's magic to one of the luxury booths. She gently pushed the door open and peaked in. Rei's silver mane poked out from the seats. She slipped in and shut the door. Rei's ears perked up and he turned around. “Twilight?” “Hey,” she said. She walked around and took a seat. She glanced at the beautifully decorated bottle sitting on the other side of him, snuggled in a bucket of ice. A short drinking glass floated in front of him, still half full of a brown alcohol. “You must have missed my note,” he said. She shook her head. “No, I got it.” He stared at her as though she had just changed colors. “Oh? Well I meant what I said, you've got the day off. Go see your family; look for Celestia; dance in the street; do whatever you do. Day's yours.” She smiled. “I'm doing what I want to do.” He arched a brow. “Be here? That's what you want to do?” She nodded. “Why?” “Because I'm curious.” "Curious about what?" he asked. She met his eyes. “What it is that you're doing.” “I'm...” — he glanced at the glass of alcohol — “...strategizing.” “Really?” He nodded and took a sip. “Yes Miss Sparkle.” Twilight gave him a skeptical stare. “Kind of looks like you're attempting to hide from your troubles at the bottom of a bottle.” He chuckled. “Put your heart at ease. I merely need a day's rest. It has been a grueling couple of weeks as you well know.” “It has but —” Twilight inspected him “— I feel like there is more to it than that.” Rei shook his head. “You're reading into things too much. I just need rest.” Twilight sighed. “Rei please, let me in.” Rei shook his head. “I'm sorry Twilight.” Twilight frowned. “You told me you would open up.” Rei rolled his eyes. “The day for that is not today Miss Sparkle.” Twilight frowned. “If not today, when? I'm sick of empty promises.” Rei sipped from the glass. “I can't say for sure.” He peered at her through his peripheral. “Why are you so determined to bear my woes Twilight Sparkle?” “Because, you're my friend and that's what friends do.” Her response caught Rei in the middle of a sip and he choked on the alcohol. “You consider us friends?” he stammered between coughs. She nodded. “I don't agree with everything you've done and honestly I think you're kind of a jerk, but I don't think you're all jerk.” “Oh, uh... Thanks,” he replied. “Am I somepony you'd like to be friends with?” She asked. Rei retreated from her eyes and sucked down what was left of his alcohol. “Alright, you want in so bad then let it be so.” He poured himself another glass. “For the last three weeks I've put everything I've got into this endeavor and my progress has been —” his face went flat “— laughable. I'm beginning to doubt that I'm even capable of preparing these ponies at all.” Twilight smiled. “Thank you Rei.” He grunted and took a sip. Twilight sat back and mulled over her response. “I don't think it has anything to do with your capability. What you're trying to do is huge. Even if you had all the charisma in the world you would still need to build Equestria's trust before they would listen to you. That takes time.” Rei swirled his glass and took another sip. “Any ideas as to how I can get around that?” Twilight nodded. “I've read about political figures that were in your position. They generally formed a truce with somepony that already had the public's trust. You can get somepony Equestria trusts to talk to them. Somepony they REALLY trust judging by their reception so far.” Rei chuckled. “I feel like you're suggesting that I should ask for the help of the one pony who most wants to see me as a statue in the courtyard.” Twilight shrugged. “She IS the most beloved pony in all of Equestria.” Rei shook his head. “We've been over this Twilight Sparkle. She despises me.” Twilight crossed her hooves. “No she doesn't. Yes, she's mad at you and she's extremely apprehensive of what you're capable of, but can you really blame her?” Rei raised a hoof to her. “Call it what you will Sparkle. The barrier is the same either way.” “I admit getting her to listen won't be easy,” Twilight said. “At the very least you'll need to help her rescue Luna. But I've known her for a long time. We're close enough that she entrusted me with the responsibility of rescuing Luna.” She puffed her chest out. “I kinda have a lot of pull with her.” Rei grumbled and took a swig. “Every scenario in which you succeed goes through her, one way or another. You know that Rei. It's your best shot.” He shook his head. “No... No it won't work. I don't deny that you have pull with her but her battle with me transcends you. It transcends all of Equestria.” Twilight narrowed her eyes. “Are you afraid of her sabotaging your mission or are you just afraid of facing up to her?” He froze. “If that's the case,” Twilight pressed on, “you're endangering your own mission.” Rei closed his eyes and swirled the drink. He lightly bounced his hoof off of the seat and groaned. “Why must you do this to me Sparkle?” Twilight smiled. “Because rescuing Celestia is the best option for both of us.” Rei bopped his cranium with a hoof. “Time Sparkle. I'd like time to consider the offer.” Twilight nodded. “Okay, I can't wait forever though...” “I will give you an answer before tomorrow's sun has set.” Twilight steeled her legs as a victory dance buzzed through them. “Alright, sounds good!” She sent him a warm smile. “Thank you for considering this Rei.” “Don't count your chips yet Sparkle.” He shooed her with a hoof. “Off with you. I need solitude.” She hopped down. “Back at it tomorrow?” He nodded. “Yes. Until then Sparkle.” She cantered up to the exit. “Have a good night Jerkface!” :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Twilight cantered into Armor's office. Armor, who was in the middle of packing up his travel pack, looked up from his task. “Looking pretty perky today lil' sis. Having a good day?” “A fantastic day actually,” she replied. Armor smiled. “Well I've got some news that will make your day even better.” “Ooo!” Twilight bounded over to him. “What is it?” “A Celestia sighting report has passed screening,” he answered. “Lieutenant Osirus investigated it and he's absolutely convinced that it's legitimate. We've got an actual lead!” Twilight froze. “Oh...” Armor frowned. “What's wrong? I thought you'd be ecstatic.” Twilight buried her face in her forelegs. “I am, I mean, that's great! It's just...” Twilight peaked out from behind her hooves. “I'm right on the verge of getting Rei join the search. I told him I'd give him until tomorrow to decide...” Horror doused Armor's face. “You what?” “It's okay though. I can just head up there and tell him something's changed and he has to decide now.” “No!” Armor snapped. “Don't say anything to him! Twiley what has gotten into you?” “What do you mean?” “You just proposed handing our intel on Celestia over to Equestria's most wanted terrorist!” “I'm changing him!” Twilight defended. “The magic of friendship is working. I'm just about to fix this whole thing without anypony else getting hurt.” Armor shook his head. “Twiley, he's the one that caused this whole mess.” “I know Armor, but when has the magic of friendship ever let Equestria down?” “We've never used it like this.” He glanced at the clock and groaned. “We don't have time for this. I've scheduled a meeting with the search party this evening. We need to catch the next train to the Crystal Empire.” “What?!” Twilight gasped. Armor nodded. “From the sounds of it we're going to need those maps he lent you too.” “Perfect timing...” Twilight grumbled. “Make copies,” Armor suggested. “He'll never know.” Twilight glared at him. “Armor if he finds out, I'll lose every bit of control I have over this situation.” “I get it Twiley, really, but this is Celestia's safety we're talking about.” “I know! It's just...” Twilight buried her face in her hooves. “UUUUGGGHHHHH!” Armor put a hoof to his chin. “Alright, how about this; you get the maps and come with me. At the meeting you can make your case to the whole search party. If you can get majority support then you can send for him. I'll take the blame for not letting you tell him earlier.” Twilight peaked out from behind her hooves and scrunched her mouth. “Hmm, that would be easier to explain. Even that though, this is the first time I've been friends with anypony like him. I'm not sure how he'll take it.” Armor crossed his fore-hooves. “When did this whole friendship thing come into play anyway? I thought you two were simply mutual beneficiaries.” “Uhh... —” Twilight let out a nervous laugh “— I found a different way to use friendship to solve the problem.” Armor glared at her. “That vendetta to prove that friendship can do anything... That's what this is about?” “It's not a vendetta!” she defended. “It's our best shot!” He frowned and strapped his pack around his chest. “You better get those maps and be on that train before it leaves Twilight.” He walked to the door and wrapped his aura around the handle. “Think hard about that proposal too. It's gonna have to convince all of us that putting Celestia's life in jeopardy to make friends with a terrorist was a good idea.” He threw the door open and marched out. Twilight took a deep breath and furrowed her brow. Keep your cool Twilight. This is working. It WASN'T a bad idea. You just need to get a few other ponies to see that. She continued her breathing exercise until she could feel her insides again. She puffed up her chest and trotted out of the office. Let's give those ponies the best proposal of their skeptical little lives. :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Twilight entered a large, closed off room of the Crystal Castle that would be the meeting room for the search team. The Empire's most elite guards were posted at every entrance, both inside and out. In another room higher in the castle there was a decoy “intervention” being held for Shining Armor. Twilight and the others were being snuck out in small groups to the real meeting. Twilight took a seat beside some of Armor's officers but she abstained from joining in the chatter. She had other things on her mind. Armor and Cadence sat at the head of the table overseeing the participants as they were shown to their seats. Once the last seat was filled Armor raised a hoof to silence the table. “Alright everypony, I'm sure you all know what this is about so, without further ado, I would like to introduce Lieutenant Osirus.” He motioned a hoof to the uniformed stallion sitting to his right. “They're all yours Lieutenant.” Osirus nodded. “Thank you Captain. When I arrived I was introduced to two mountain dwellers that were claiming to have actually spent a period of time with our princess after her disappearance. Every piece of information they gave me during my interview with them fit perfectly with the information we have gathered so far and I have deemed their claim valid.” He motioned towards the guards that stood at the largest entrance to the room. They turned and unlocked the door. “Comrades, I introduce you to the creatures that may have saved our princess' life, Annie and William.” The doors opened granting access to a large violet dragon and a frustrated billy goat. They entered and took a seat in front of the table. “Hello Annie and William,” Osirus greeted. “For sake of time would it be acceptable to only introduce my superior?” Annie nodded. “That's fine sweetie.” Osirus put a hoof on Armor's shoulder. “This is the Captain of the Royal Guard, Shining Armor.” William gasped and dashed towards Armor. Two guards jumped into position and blocked his path eliciting a look of confusion from him. Osirus chuckled and turned to Armor. “Ah yes, Willie here has been knighted.” Armor gaped. “Really?” Osirus nodded. “Yes Captain.” He pulled a file from his pack and produced a dirty sheet of paper. “He had this with him when he arrived. It's an emergency knighthood notification written and signed by our very own princess Celestia. The signature is spot on.” Armor studied it. His eyes widened and he looked to Cadence. She smiled and nodded. “I know.” Armor sent the paper off to be passed around the table and addressed the guards blocking Willie. “Let him through.” They stood back and watched as Willie ran to Armor and promptly face planted. “Fir Willie aff your fffervice FIR.” Armor chuckled. “Thank you Knight William. Your, uh, presentation, could use a little work but nonetheless it's a pleasure to have you on board. We have much to do however so please understand that I'll need you to return to your seat.” Willie stood up and saluted him. “Yes sir!” He bounded to Annie and seated himself. “Well,” Armor remarked. “From what I've read in Lieuenant Osirus' report the two of you have quite a convincing claim to being in the presence of our princess. I wish to know however; from what I understand Celestia left your care a little over a week ago and yet you didn't come forward until now. Why?” Willie glared at Annie. “We didn't say anything on account'a our orders bein' tah keep it tah ourselves.” Annie rolled her eyes. “They were YOUR orders Willie.” She smiled at Armor. “You see Captain, your princess made it very clear to Willie here that she had everything under hoof and wished us to keep our time with her between the two of us.” Armor sighed. “That does sound like something she would do.” The entire table muttered in agreement. “She also told us,” Annie continued, “That she would stop in and let us know that she was still okay when she had completed her quest.” She glanced at Willie. “Unlike William, I was mother to eight of my own fledglings and the adopted mother to a slew of other creatures; I know when it's time to take matters into my own claws.” “Well Annie,” Armor replied, “you did the right thing seeking out Princess Cadence. We all love Princess Celestia dearly but she has a pretty spotty track record for accepting help before she gets herself in too deep.” He turned to the ponies seated at the table. “Does anypony else have questions for Annie and William before we continue?” They shook their heads. Armor motioned to Twilight. “Then you're up Miss Sparkle.” Twilight took a deep breath, rose from her chair, and trotted over to a drawing board that she had arranged for. Game time. She grabbed her pointer stick from her bag and put on a stern face. “As you have all read in the report, William recalls Celestia mentioning that she was going to a place she once lived to face a life she once had. Before my friends and I accompanied Celestia on the mission that eventually led to her disappearance, she mentioned that she knew Rei during her time in a city called Ifringale. Based on the fact that she took this quest immediately following the conflict with Rei, I have surmised that Ifringale is where she is heading.” She smiled. “Fortunately due to my ongoing agreement with Rei, I have access to his maps which contain details on the location of Ifringale.” Twilight raised a hoof. “However, I believe that there is more that can be gained from my position than maps.” A few of the guards looked to Armor with raised brows. He nervously shifted. “I believe,” Twilight continued, “that Rei's capabilities and prior knowledge of Ifringale can be directly leveraged to ensure the success of this mission.” “What do you mean by 'leveraged'?” Lieutenant Osirus asked. “I mean that he can be convinced to help us find Celestia.” Jaws dropped and disapproving mutters boiled over the table. Twilight smacked the chalk board a few times with her pointer stick. “I understand this is an unsettling suggestion, but please, allow me to elaborate before making your judgments.” She grabbed a piece of chalk and made two columns on the board, one labeled 'Risk of including', the other labeled 'Risk of excluding'. “Let's start with including. I'll start us out with what I believe our two biggest concerns are. First, there's the chance that Rei will do harm to Celestia when we find her, and second, there's the risk that Rei will intentionally hamper the search.” Twilight turned towards the ponies at the table. “Can anypony else think of anything for the including section?” They traded glances with one another, still not entirely sure why they were listening to this. Finally one of mares grinned and waved a hoof. “How about the risk that he just kills all of us?” She smirked. Twilight's brain fumbled over her response. “Uhh...” Armor glared at the mare. “Lieutenant Glide, murdering all of us and trying to slip it under Equestria's nose does not fit his behavioral patterns. Miss Sparkle is making this presentation because she believes that involving Rei is the best option for both Celestia and us. Regardless of your feelings on the matter, please treat her with respect and give her a chance to make her case.” Glide blushed and looked down at her feet. “Yes Sir.” Twilight put hugging Armor on her mental to-do list and addressed Glide. “Yes, as Captain Armor said that does not fit into his MO nor does it move him any closer to achieving his goals. In fact, I would go as far as to say that it actually impedes his progress. More about that in a moment.” She glanced across the other occupants of the table. “Are there any other risks that anypony would like to bring forward for discussion?” They glanced between one another before shaking their heads. She nodded and returned to the board. “Alright then, let me take this moment to try and debunk our two concerns. First, the fear that Rei will harm Celestia when he finds out where she is. Let me bring forth the fact that, outside of self defense, Rei has never made any attempt to do Celestia physical harm despite having ample opportunities to do so.” “Miss Sparkle,” one of the stallions said. “Let us not lose sight of the fact that he made no attempt to protect Celestia when Moon was attempting to end her life.” Twilight nodded. “This is true. When he first showed up, Rei didn't really seem to care whether Celestia lived or died as long as she was out of his way. However, he does believe that he needs Equestria's support to stop the Calamity. He can't get Equestria's support on his own and he's starting to realize that Celestia is the only one that can help him. Once he accepts that I can persuade him to help us bring her back, safe and sound.” One of the stallions leaned into the table. “Miss Sparkle, if I may?” Twilight nodded. “Please.” “Would it not be plausible for Rei to utilize threats against Equestria, or us, to force Celestia into aiding him? If I remember correctly, that was his initial means of neutralizing her.” Twilight nodded. “Very good question. The answer is yes, I would think that a very likely course of action for him, if that is, he has no other option. My plan is to give him another option so that he doesn't resort to that. He knows using force will make ponies less likely to support him, making it a path of high resistance. He can be directed away from it so long as he is given better options.” Twilight glanced across the table. “Any other questions before we move on?” They remained silent. Twilight raised her stick and pointed to the 'Risks of excluding' column. “Alright then, let's address the other side of things. First off, let me note that Rei is currently our only defense against Moon, AND, the only pony around that has any knowledge of Ifringale. Also, the only effective means of protecting Equestria from him up to this point has been friendship. The friendship I have shown him, to be precise. Friendship has turned a terrorist into a guardian. It's the magic that has already saved Equestria numerous times. If I am forced to lie to him about this mission my friendship with him will be in grave danger. We saw how dangerous he is when we challenged him in Canterlot. Celestia or no Celestia, my influence over him still may be the only thing capable of keeping him in check.” She squared up with her audience. “In summary, I understand that you're all very skeptical of putting your faith in a creature that has caused us so much trouble, but I'm not asking you to put your faith in him; I'm asking you to put your faith in the magic of friendship. In me. If you do that, we'll have both of our princesses back and maybe even a powerful new ally.” Twilight nodded to Armor and he reciprocated. “Thank you Miss Sparkle.” He addressed the rest of the team. “Are there any other questions?” They shook their heads. “Alright then,” Armor continued. “We'll put it to a vote. Anypony in favor of including Rei in the search, raise your hoof.” The table glanced about at one another. One by one they shook their heads to Armor. Twilight's stomach dropped. Cadence stood from her seat and moved to lay a hoof on her shoulder. “I'm sorry Twilight, you made a very convincing case but we just don't know enough about Rei to trust him with Celestia's life.” Twilight's head drooped. Cadence put a hoof to her chin and brought her to eye level. “I promise, once we have Celestia safe you have my total support in using friendship to bring this to a peaceful resolution. I just need to know that my Aunt is safe first.” Twilight desperately wanted to scream but she held a professional demeanor and took a seat. The rest of the meeting went on outside of her attention span. Her mind was just too busy coming up with possible ways for this whole thing to go horribly wrong. Once the party finished planning the hall cleared out and Twilight was left alone with Armor and Cadence. Armor was the first to approach her. “Hey kid, you alright?” She kept her eyes glued to her hooves as she shook her head. “This is a mistake Armor.” He sighed. “Listen, I understand being upset with our decision, but we're all doing what we think is best here.” “Yeah?” Twilight scowled. “Well you're wrong. You're wrong and you'd all rather write me off as a crazy-pony than admit it.” Armor shook his head. “Nopony thinks you're crazy Twilight.” “Well you're all ignoring me like you do,” Twilight grumped. “It's just like when Chrysalis was about to turn you into her own personal zombie. I can see ponies ignoring a clear path to peaceful resolution and I can't do anything about it because they won't listen!” “Twilight, I see the path too; Cadence and I both can. The magic of friendship IS our best option and I promise you, we will help you utilize it. But don't you think we should give Celestia a say in how we do it? She is, after all, the only pony with any real insight into Rei's background and the one who pushed you to study the magic of friendship in the first place. Are you really so confident in yourself that you can deny her the opportunity to weigh in on your plan?” The rage in Twilight's gut melted into a guilty sludge. She grumbled and dropped her gaze back to her hooves. “No...” Armor put a hoof around her. “We'll talk with her about using friendship directly to resolve this as soon as she is capable.” Cadence stood tall. “And if Aunt Celestia doesn't agree with you there will be two other very important ponies backing you up.” Twilight gave her a weak smile. Cadence moved in and put her hooves on Twilight's shoulders. “We do believe in you Twilight.” “Yeah, I know you do,” Twilight rasped. She wrapped her hooves around them. “Please be careful.” :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Now back in Canterlot, Twilight found herself entering a bar in the late hours of the night in search of Rei. Her part in the plan was now to keep him occupied and ensure that he remained in the dark about Celestia. She had returned expecting to find him out of the city as usual but to her surprise the guards had reported him afoot somewhere in the city. Her search brought her to an old tavern tucked in one of the more remote sections. There was a single pony playing a guitar in the back. Only about half of the tables had anypony seated at them and of those, only a couple were actually full. She noticed two guards seated in the back. She made her way over and pulled her hood back. “Hey guys,” she whispered. They drew back in surprise. “Miss Sparkle!” the senior remarked. “Where's Rei?” she asked. “Sup Sparks,” a tenor voice from behind her said. She turned to find a medium-sized male griffon with dusty colored feathers taking a seat at the table. Twilight looked to the senior guard, raised a brow, and pointed a hoof at the griffon. The guard nodded. She looked down at the mug in the guard's hoof. “Lieutenant Zero, are you drinking?” He looked suddenly down at the mug, then back to Twilight. “Uhh...” Rei waved a claw. “Oh leave him bee Sparks. They're keeping tabs on me so their options were to try and stop me, or to join me. Personally I commend them for picking the wiser of the two options.” He took a swig from his mug and grinned. Twilight rolled her eyes. “You can go guys. I'll take it from here.” “Yes Miss Sparkle!” both guards said in unison. Once they packed up and clambered off, Twilight plopped into a seat and glared at Rei. “Drink?” he offered. “No.” Rei made a mock frown. “Awe, come on Sparks. Don't be a downer!” “My name is not Sparks,” Twilight growled. This time Rei made a much more genuine frown. He glared down at his drink. “Alright, alright, no need to be such a sourpuss.” Twilight had half a mind to throw the drink in his face. She glanced around to be sure that nopony was within earshot before she leaned in towards him. “Just yesterday you were telling me about how difficult getting ponies to listen to you has been and now look at you, shoving your face into a tankard. You think getting them to listen to you before has been difficult? Just wait until you're headlining the Canterlot Times for public intoxication. What do you think ponies will think when they read about that?” “Umm... 'Oh hey, he's relatable, he's just like us?'” Rei nervously grinned Twilight frowned. “No, they won't think that at all. They'll think that you're a pony that's way too irresponsible to give them advice. In fact, they'll probably think you're just an idiot with too much power.” She glared at the tankard. “I'm not even sure that I could disagree with them right now.” By this point Rei's demeanor had significantly fizzled. He stared glumly at what remained of his drink. “Alright Twilight, you've made your point.” He let it go and stepped off of his seat. “I'll close my tab.” Twilight watched him trudge towards the bar looking very much like Winona when AJ had caught her belly deep in the trash can. Guilt poked at her mind. He returned and slumped into his seat. “I'm sorry,” Twilight muttered. He sighed and waved a claw. “It's okay. You're right. This wasn't really the best decision of my life.” Twilight laid her head on her forelegs. “Yeah,” she muttered. Rei glanced at her. “Hey, I uh, I've decided that you're right. I need Celestia's help. I'll help you find her if the offer still stands.” Twilight gave an inward grumble. The way things were going, she had more or less anticipated that. Anticipating it didn't make it any less frustrating though. “Yeah, I did some thinking too and I think YOU'RE right. She was really mad at you and even as close as I am with her I don't think I can convince her alone. I think we have to have Luna with us if she's going to hear you out.” He grumbled and rubbed his temple. “That makes things harder.” Twilight dropped her gaze to the center of the table. “Sorry.” He observed her. “Well, whatever. You're obviously on edge tonight. We can talk about it tomorrow.” “Okay,” she replied. He watched her as she began flicking the edge of the little specials notice at the center of the table. “Is it that whole thing with your brother and his wife?” She made to say something but she could feel the words carrying a wave of tears so she just nodded. Rei looked down at his remaining drink and swirled it. “Do you, uh —” he swallowed “— do you want to talk about it?” Twilight's eyes misted over. She lunged over and wrapped him in her forelegs. “Uhh,” he uttered. He fidgeted until he had a claw out and awkwardly patted her on the back. “There, there?” He took a deep breath and regained his composure. “So... It didn't work out huh?” She let him go. “I don't know. They're spending some time together now. We probably won't know if it worked for a few more days.” He stood up from his chair. “You look like you need some rest.” He put a claw on her shoulder. “They're a nice couple. I'm sure they'll be fine.” “I hope so Rei... I really, really hope so...” :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Armor galloped down the stone tunnels towards the marked location of the entrance to Ifringale. Ahead of him ran the rest of his team with Cadence leading the pack. There was a horrible armada of tapping that was slowly overtaking them. “I can see it out ahead of us!” Cadence called. “Just a little further!” Armor turned back and loosed a few spells into the darkness. There was a flurry of shrieks but they were quickly engulfed by the flood of taps. When he emerged into the cavern which held the pedestal he could see the shimmer of black exoskeletons covering the wall. He spun around and let out a roar as his shield erupted from his head and pushed past the team. It covered them from the skittering onslaught. The horde immediately responded by putting pressure on his barrier. His horn throbbed as he pressed against them. It wouldn't last. “What is that thing?” he shouted. “It's a portal,” the Archeologist replied. “Can you open it?” Armor asked. “There's more of these things coming. I don't know how long I can hold them off!” “Not without a passcode. There was nothing in the notes about a code!” The archeologist grieved. “Shadow, can you bypass it?” Armor asked. “Negative sir,” Shadow said. “Not without a lot more time.” Armor growled. “Alright, we retreat and regroup. In formation!” Armor backed towards his comrades. “Mages, prepare to warp on my mark!” There was a loud bang. “Princess!” a voice shouted. Armor struggled to hold the barrier as he turned around. To his horror Cadence was unconsciously hovering in the aura of one of Armor's soldiers. His spear was pressed against the small of her back. “Sergeant Flare, what are you doing?” Armor growled. I tear ran down Flare's cheek. “I'm sorry sir.” A cold cackling reverberated into the cavern. Armor turned to find a midnight glow slowly illuminating the entrance.