Shadows of the Sun

by theamberfox

Chapter 11

Shadows of the Sun
By theamberfox

Chapter 11

“So what’s the plan, general?” Vortex asked, looking excitedly at the gruff old unicorn walking beside her. “Can we just bust in there and cause a ruckus? I want some action.”

The two ponies were making their way towards the huge palace, their hooded cloaks concealing as much of their defining features as was possible. The building ahead of them was customarily a bastion of hope, representing every ounce of confidence the citizens had in their nation. But the usually bright palace was shrouded in the darkness of the night and consumed by the fears of war. The few lights decorating the walls were dimmed and an uneasy feeling hung over the building like a thick fog.

Trying to ignore the depressing sight, Thunderhorn was keeping his gaze focussed on the cobbled path ahead of them, which drifted away from the main entrance and the irritated looking pony guarding the doorway.

Thunderhorn had a brown saddlebag hanging loosely over his side. Inside were the collection of items that he had gathered from his home before they left, all of which he considered to be completely necessary for the next part of their plan.

“Don’t be so brash.” he scoffed. “You know that we can’t afford to attract any attention to ourselves until after we’ve started the riot.

“We’re just going to sneak in there and sneak out. If we run into any guards, I can use magic to knock them out quietly and we’ll tie them up with the rope I brought. As long as the patrol schedule hasn’t changed from what I remember, no one should come across the guards we’ve tied up until after we’ve started the riot and by then, we won’t care who comes across them.”

The pegasus rolled her eyes, “I have absolutely no confidence in my ability to tie knots, Thunderhorn.”

“Fine, let me worry about that part then.” he replied.

Continuing around a corner, they passed several small bureaucratic buildings and storehouses packed tightly against each other. Dimly illuminated by the streetlamps, the structures themselves were completely dark and abandoned. They were simple, identical boxes with few notable characteristics. Other than the slight differences in the colour of paint on the walls and doors, which was entirely dull and unoriginal, only the signs firmly attached over each doorway could be used to differentiate between them.

“When we get to the artefact room I’ll dispel the barrier, we’ll grab the orb and then meet the others back at the Ivory Bear.” Thunderhorn continued.

Vortex scrunched her face, giving the unicorn a strange look, “Then what am I doing?”

“What time is it?”

Pausing, she lifted her head and looked up at the sky. Its reflection perfectly visible in the mare’s amber eyes, the moon’s luminescent sheen was only partly obscured by the clouds above.

Turning back to the unicorn, she announced, “Ten thirteen.”

“Good.” he promptly replied. “Then we have exactly forty-seven minutes to do this.”

The unicorn smiled briefly, turning off the path into a dark alley that seemed to lead nowhere. Walking directly to the end of the alleyway and stopping at an indistinct section of the stone wall, he glanced around the obstruction with a hint of confusion.

“You still haven’t told me what I’m supposed to do.” Vortex asked, her voice showing her annoyance.

“Haven’t I?” he replied, leaning in towards a section of the wall. “You were supposed to help me tie up the guards and keep track of the time, but you already explained to me that you can’t help tie up the guards.”

“So I’m here… to help you tell the time?” she asked with a blank stare.

“You’re doing an excellent job.”

“You do know that I can’t tell the time indoors right?”

“You can’t?” he asked, turning around to face the pegasus. “Then I guess you really are useless.”

The old unicorn smirked and turned back to the wall.

“You know, you really are a stubborn old conservative jerk, Thunderhorn.” she replied angrily.

Thunderhorn laughed quietly, his horn glowing dimly as a thread of magic seeped through a tiny hole in the stone wall. The line of magic gradually spread, making the entire wall glow a brilliant blue colour. A moment later, the wall started to shake and shift in place. A thin cloud of dust crumbled off the wall and started to sprinkle onto the ground in a slow shower and, one by one, the stone bricks pulled themselves out of place and started forming a neat pile on the ground, just to the right of the old unicorn.

Vortex watched this entire event unfold in silent admiration, her mouth hanging open ever so slightly and her eyes maintaining an unblinking gaze on the wall. This new hole in the wall had created a perfect entrance into the palace. It led directly into a small, uninteresting room, but with the room’s door slightly ajar, giving her a limited view of the hallway outside, she could see the familiar staircase that led down into the lower catacombs of the castle.

“How come I didn’t know about this?” Vortex asked, turning to Thunderhorn and blinking several times in quick succession.

“Why would you need to know about a secret entrance that you wouldn’t use or even be able to open?” the unicorn asked.

“Well… what if I was curious?” she exclaimed with a stoic expression. “And as a former member of the council, I’m insulted to know that you’ve been withholding such valuable information from me. First the magical prison cell, then the crystalline orb and now a secret entrance?”

“Well, quite simply,” Thunderhorn said, “it wasn’t valuable information at the time.”

The unicorn walked towards the door leading out of the room and peered into the hallway, checking to make sure that they hadn’t alerted any of the guards. Satisfied, he instructed the pegasus to step inside the room. After the blue mare had entered, he reached out with his magic and the pile of bricks by the entrance started to shift and move to fill the opening they had created.

“Besides, I didn’t trust you with that information.” he continued.

“And you do now?” she asked almost enthusiastically.

Because we all know how very trusting you are, Thunderhorn, she thought to herself with a quaint smile. You’re the same pony that gladly accused me of being a traitor little more than a week ago.

As the stone wall stopped moving and the last few bricks fell into place, Thunderhorn hurried back to the door and glanced around the hallway once more.

“Now I don’t really have much of a choice.” he admitted. “I still think you’re too confident and brazen for your own good. One day you’re going to get hurt acting like that.”

Vortex’s enthusiasm deflated quickly and a small frown formed on her face.

How predictable, she thought. Even when the world hangs in the balance he’s just as obnoxious as the day I met him.

Thunderhorn motioned for her to follow as he rushed out of the room and started to descend the staircase leading down into the depths of the castle basement. The torches placed periodically along the walls cast strange shadows on the solid rock steps. The light they provided was bleak and inadequate, making it impossible to clearly see more than a few feet in front of them.

“But I wasn’t really all that different when I was your age.” Thunderhorn added, grinning back at the pegasus. “And I reckon there were more than a few grumpy old stallions complaining about my actions.”

He chuckled quietly to himself and Vortex found herself smiling reluctantly, still unsure of what to make of this strange old pony and his drastic change of personality.

Upon reaching the bottom of the stairwell, the two were met with a pair of large, steel doors, pockets of rust scattering the surface of the old metal. Small barred windows on each door gave them a limited picture of the narrow passage just on the other side. Unfortunately, the dismal view of the other side was all too familiar to the unicorn and pegasus that cautiously peered through them. The dark corridor was surrounded on either side with ancient prison cells, a depressing reminder of the short, but terrifying time they had spent within the castle’s dungeon.

“I don’t see anyone on the other side.” Thunderhorn noted, surveying the hallway through the barred window. “With any luck, the majority of the guards will be at war and not down here guarding the nonexistent prisoners and watching over these dusty old cells.”

The unicorn pushed on the door lightly, the old metal frame creaking loudly as it opened, causing both of the ponies to cringe.

“I find it hard to believe that they don’t have a single prisoner down here.” Vortex remarked.

“We were probably the first real criminals Princess Celestia has had to deal with in over a hundred years and our punishment was little more than a permanent vacation.” he explained. “Perhaps that says something about the society we live in, but it says even more about the princess. She’s done an impressive job at containing the criminal activity in Equestria. The fact that most of us weren’t even responsible for the crime we were accused of only serves to reinforce my appreciation of her accomplishments.”

Vortex thought about what he had said for a moment before glancing around at the empty cells. It was exactly as she remembered, cold, dreary, and unwelcoming, but it strangely brought a joyful smile to her face. While it was indeed a terrible part of the castle, it held a special place within her heart. For it was down here, when she thought her life was at its end, that she had finally worked up enough courage to express her feelings to that peculiar green pony.

Stupid Wind Dancer, she thought, her smile collapsing, she ruined my moment… mostly...

“Why are we even down here?” a voice asked, barely audible from around the corner.

Hearing the strange voice, Thunderhorn stopped and stuck out his hoof to hold the distracted pegasus beside him in place.

“I’m actually glad I don’t have to fight in the war.” another voice replied, slightly louder than the other. “It sounds too dangerous.”

“Don’t be so pathetic. You’re a soldier!” the first voice exclaimed loudly. “You’re not supposed to be afraid of danger. You’re supposed to be a fearless warrior, eager to jump into the heat of battle.”

Thunderhorn could hear their hoofsteps, the armour clanging methodically against the stone floor. They were only a short distance away now.

“That’s ridiculous.” the second mocked. “We’re only temporary replacements for the real soldiers that have gone off to fight in the war. We’re not fearless warriors and I’m certainly not eager to get into any fights.”

Thunderhorn started to focus his magic, the horn on his head darkening until it was as black as the night. A dark cloud of mist rapidly formed in the air above his head and wafted gently around the corner and down the hallway, towards the two guards that were fast approaching their position.

“Oh come on! You have to be at least…” the first voice continued before coming to an abrupt halt.

The dark cloud hanging in the air distracted him from his point and the hallway was engulfed by a strange silence as the two guards stared at it curiously.

“What is that thing?” the first voice asked hesitantly.

“I don’t know what it is!” the second voice replied in anger. “But are you really trying to convince me that you’re not afraid of going to war or getting into fights with dangerous criminals, yet you’re afraid of a dust cloud? That’s the most… ridiculous… thing…”

Several loud clanging noises filled the air as the two soldiers slipped out of consciousness and hit the floor, their helmets flying off and rolling noisily around the corridor.

Thunderhorn and Vortex quickly turned around the bend and approached what appeared to be two very young pegasi in ill-fitting golden armour.

“These are just colts…” Vortex said.

“Most likely, they wanted to join the army, but were turned away for being too young.” Thunderhorn guessed. “The recruiting officer probably gave them this post instead to keep them occupied. I was worried this might happen. It was part of the reason I didn’t want to just ‘bust in and cause a ruckus’.”

The old pony sighed gently and opened the flap on his bag, pulling out a long piece of rope and throwing it carelessly on the floor in front of him.

“These two aren’t going to hurt anyone. I’ll tie them up and then we’ll put them both in one of the nearby cells.” he continued.

Better they get tied up and humiliated in the basement of their own castle than end up dead fighting for a war they don’t even understand, he thought.

The unicorn quickly hogtied the two young pegasi and loosely tied their muzzles shut so they wouldn’t draw any attention when they awoke. After this was done, both Vortex and Thunderhorn each picked up one of the ponies and carefully set them on the beds in one of the prison cells.

Thunderhorn closed the door behind them, not bothering to lock them in, I don’t think they’re going to cause us any more problems. They’ll probably be too afraid to leave that cell when they wake up.

“Do you think they’re the only ones?” Vortex asked with a troubled look on her face. “I mean, do you think there are more little ponies like this? I don’t want any of them to get hurt in the riot…”

“I don’t know.” he replied with a frown. “I know that the ones guarding the artefact room will be trained guards, but I really can’t tell if the ones patrolling the city are going to be this young. We need to be careful and try to avoid any fighting.

“But it’s more important that we focus on getting that orb. We can’t afford to waste any time worrying about this right now.”

Thunderhorn pulled his eyes away from the two ponies and rushed down the hallway, towards the great steel door at the far end. Vortex followed closely behind as they opened the door and hurried down the staircase.

“As I remember, there should be four guards outside the room.” Thunderhorn whispered. “They’re guarding one of the most dangerous possessions in the country, so they’re extremely well trained.”

“But we can just use that fog thing of yours to knock them all out, right?” Vortex asked quietly, glancing at the old unicorn.

“No.” he replied promptly. “They’ll know exactly what that is and they’ll know how to dispel it before anyone falls unconscious. Instead, I’m going to have to ask for your help.”

Vortex smiled brightly, “Oh, so you do want my help after all, do you?”

“Don’t get cocky.” he replied sternly. “We need to exploit their disadvantages. I’m going to focus my own magic and use it to protect you from their spells. You need to rush in and take out the unicorns as quickly as you can; there should be two of them. Avoid the earth ponies. They’re too well trained for you to handle them both.”

“Well, I don’t know about that…” she smirked.

“Afterward,” Thunderhorn continued. “I’ll jump in and use my magic to knock out the two earth ponies like we did with those two colts. Without the unicorns, they won’t be able to protect themselves. Do you understand?”

Vortex nodded quickly, trying to hide her passionate enthusiasm.

“Ok then. We need to be absolutely quiet from now on so that we don’t alert them.”

The blue pegasus lowered her hood and discarded the cloak on the floor, shaking her head and stretching herself out as she limbered up for the encounter. While she appeared to be eager about the idea of fighting the soldiers, she was silently apprehensive and avoided looking directly in her companion’s direction. Putting your life in danger, for any reason, was not something that anyone ever looks forward to.

Approaching the end of yet another long hallway in the dimly lit catacombs of the castle, they were met with a set of large doors almost identical to those leading into the prison. These doors, however, were lacking two distinctive features that the ones they encountered before had. The metal on the doors was flawless and looked as if it were inspected and replace at regular intervals to maintain its structural integrity. The doors were also missing the small barred windows so the two had only their imagination to use as an indication of what waited for them in the adjacent room.

Both ponies stopped just before the door and, noticing that the entrance was locked, Thunderhorn weaved another thread of blue magic out of his horn. The thread of magic snaked its way into the lock and the unicorn closed his eyes as he tried to imagine the tumblers inside. And after a few moments of intense concentration, the magic melted away and the unicorn opened his eyes, turning and nodding slowly at the pegasus waiting quietly, but impatiently, beside him.

The reaction of the mare was puzzling to say the least. A warm smile crossed her face, but faded almost as quickly as it arrived. Her eyes darted from the door to Thunderhorn and then back again, the unicorn sporting a much more obviously apprehensive look.

And, as if gaining confidence from the visible trepidation of her companion’s posture, she burst into the room and immediately took note of her surroundings. Time seemed to slow as her gaze lashed around the room, focussing on each of the ponies within, one after another, and brushing past the brilliant, but opaque violet barrier directly across from her. As Thunderhorn had suspected, there were two unicorns, one noticeably older than the other, and two earth ponies with a significantly more intimidating stature.

Contradictory to what she expected, all four of them were in very relaxed positions around the room. The two unicorns were sitting at a table, playing cards. The younger pony had his head propped up with one hoof, while the older pony was focussing deeply on the five cards floating in front of him. The two earth ponies were exact opposites of each other in terms of their alertness. One was dozing in the corner and the other was intently watching the doorway that she had just come out of. He was the first to react, shouting loudly and causing the others to leap to their feet, the unicorns releasing their grasp on their cards, letting them sprinkle onto the ground. The most alert pony rushed towards her quickly, but she was faster than he was and jumped out of the way as he leaped at her.

A bizarre sensation of pure ecstasy coursed through her veins. It was a fantastic mixture of adrenaline, fear and Thunderhorn’s magic. With her heart pumping fervently in her chest, the soldiers around her moved liked they were weighed down with lead. Hovering in the air, her eyes skipped to the two unicorns, the old one was trying to hold her in place, but his magic just flowed off her body like water. The younger was lifting the table and preparing to hurl it in her direction while the drowsy earth pony in her peripheral vision was still trying to collect his senses.

Beating her wings and pushing the air away from herself, she moved against the wall and out of the way as the table brushed past her and shattered against the doorway. Pushing against the wall, she sent herself flying towards the older unicorn, the pony unable to react in time as she launched him into a wall.

The younger unicorn dropped to the ground, allowing the drowsy pony to jump over him and push off his back, hurling the full weight of his body towards Vortex. But once again, she was too fast for the bulky soldiers and she propelled herself up to the low ceiling above. Not a moment later, she pushed back off the ceiling and sent herself rocketing towards the ground and the unicorn beneath her. The young unicorn reacted quickly and shielded himself with a magical barrier; the pegasus’ hoof crashed into the malleable barrier and sent her flying towards the wall by the door and straight into the most alert pony of the bunch, who prepared to catch her as she flew in his direction. But the strange feeling inside the pegasus gave her indomitable reflexes and she twisted her body around, landing a hoof squarely in his face and knocking him against the wall. Moving quickly, she took advantage of her momentum once again and flew back towards the young unicorn who was preparing some kind of lasso out of his magic. The unicorn hurled his lasso around the pegasus and attempted to throw her against the wall using her own momentum, but the lasso disintegrated as soon as he tried to tighten it over her. Surprised and left with no way to defend himself, the pegasus landed a hoof into the side of his head and sent him flying against the drowsy earth pony, the two colliding and sending a loud metal clanging sound resonating around the room.

Exhausted from the ordeal, Vortex’s balance immediately faltered as she touched the ground and she tumbled onto the floor in a lump.

“Thunderhorn!” she shouted to the door.

The unicorn released his magic around the pegasus and rushed into the room, ready to subdue the remaining ponies. But as he entered the room and trampled over the remnants of the wooden table, like Vortex, the sight he encountered was not quite what he had expected. All four guards were lying unconscious around the walls with the pegasus collapsed in almost the exact center of the room.

While she had been a member of the Wonderbolts, the old pony knew that, despite being physically demanding, the job did not require any fighting. It was all just a show, a performance for those willing to buy a ticket, and the combat ability that some ponies had begun to expect from them was merely coincidental. Their occupation had given them the courage and finesse that was necessary in battle, but in fact, many of the Wonderbolts were still terrible fighters. They were just too predictable or slow to react when they were confronted with a combat situation. So how Vortex had become such an incredible combatant over her relatively short life was a complete mystery. Perhaps it had something to do with her personality, her quick thinking and unpredictable nature making her more than capable of busting a few heads whenever she deemed it necessary.

“I think you can come in here now.” she said, a curt smile forming on her face as she stared at the ceiling and panted heavily, desperately trying to catch her breath.

The old unicorn hurried over to her and crouched down, “Are you alright, Vortex!?”

The mare’s smile grew and she laughed heartily.

“That was too much fun!” she exclaimed between breaths. “We’ll have to do that again sometime.”

“Vortex, are you hurt!?” Thunderhorn persisted.

“No… just tired.” she explained, lifting her head up slightly to look back at him. “Where did you learn how to do that?”

The unicorn sighed heavily, “That magic barrier is a personal concoction of mine. It’s something I learned a long time ago and it requires an enormous amount of concentration and practice to perfect. It protects against nearly every type of magic known, cushions physical attacks and heightens one’s senses considerably.

“I must admit, I had never actually tried using it on anyone other than myself before and when I was using it on myself, I couldn’t move or I would break my concentration so I wasn’t sure if it would work properly.”

“Great…” Vortex replied nervously.

Thunderhorn smiled faintly and reached into his bag, pulling out the book they had collected from his manor and setting it on one the chairs.

“I had originally intended to use it on my wife in an act of desperation. I thought that it might give her a chance to escape, even if it meant sacrificing my own life to do so.”

“Yeah. Well…” the pegasus wheezed. “If it’s okay with you… I think I’m just going to lie here for a while.”

She closed her eyes and continued to breathe heavily, her chest moving up and down rapidly.

“Take your time.” he said, flipping through the book. “We’re not going to be able to tie these guards up; the unicorns would break free in no time, so I’m going to seal them all behind the magical barrier instead. They won’t know how to get past it.”

“Okay.” Vortex apathetically replied, rolling onto her side.

Thunderhorn stopped at the page in the book that described how to remove the barrier and started to focus his magic towards the violet, glasslike obstacle separating them from the adjoining room. His horn turned a dazzling green colour and a concentrated beam of light shot directly at the center of the barrier. The violet changed into a fiery red and thin cracks scattered across the barrier. When the fractures covered the entire surface of the magical obstruction, the wall shattered and the fragments fell to the ground in a small heap.

Vortex ignored her exhaustion and rose to her hooves. With the barrier gone, the contents of the room were revealed, leaving the two ponies completely awestruck at the sight in front of them. The tiny room itself, which was composed of simple stone bricks like the rest of the castle, was immaculate and not a single particle of dust touched its surface. In the center of the room was a small crystal ball, about the size of an apple, resting on a small pillow and placed on top of a pedestal. The orb itself glowed with a dull, but wonderful orange light and was covered in engravings of a similar, but visibly darker colour.

Approaching the glowing artefact slowly, Thunderhorn read the words covering its surface.

My beloved sister, my only family, I would toss aside my immortal life, my royal blood, and everything else I own for you, the one true constant in my world.

“She didn’t write this in the royal tongue.” Thunderhorn remarked, reading through the words once more. “At the time she wrote this, it meant a lot to just throw away your pride and humble yourself like that for someone else. It really shows how much she cares about her sister.”

Both ponies continued to stare at the orb as it shined in the confinement of the small room. Once again realizing where they were, Thunderhorn snatched the crystalline sphere away from the pedestal and placed it inside his bag.

“Help me drag them into the room.” he said quickly, gesturing towards the unconscious guards. “We need to get back.”

As they rushed around the room, pulling the ponies through the opening, Vortex laughed, “We can’t forget about these guys. They’ll be fine for a day or two, but after that we’ll need to get them out of here.”

“I have no intention of leaving some of the best of the country’s soldiers locked in here for longer than a few hours.” Thunderhorn said.

When all the ponies were inside the small room, the old unicorn turned his attention back towards the book resting on the chair. Soon enough, a violet beam of magic shot out from his horn and started to gather up all of the fragments on the ground, placing them each in their former positions and returning the barrier to its original, but cracked form. As the magical wall changed from red to violet, the cracks started to recede and eventually disappear entirely.

“Now, as long as we don’t run into any surprises, we should make it back on time.” Thunderhorn said, placing the book back in his bag and heading towards the door.

~

Goldenroot slowly rotated the cup around in circles between his hooves, the warm, cloudy liquid sloshing gently at the bottom. He was never very fond of tea. The amount of effort it took him to drink the hot beverage properly, carefully holding the cup in between his hooves and lifting it up to his mouth for a sip, was usually too much to justify any satisfaction he received from it. But tonight, he didn’t care about the aesthetics of ‘proper tea consumption’ and simply slurped the liquid through a long straw that protruded out of the cup awkwardly. His rudeness was, however, hideously inappropriate for their current situation.

Rarity was still upset; the moon princess’ words had damaged her faith in their plan and in herself. She was thinking of the pony sitting across the table from her that she was now closely affiliating herself with and of the pony that months ago, had disappeared without a trace. Twilight was gone and now she was sitting in a scummy bar with a conspirator, attempting to cause a riot and overthrow the princess. Had the world really changed so much in so little time or was it her? Was she really trying to save what little sanity was left on this planet or, like Celestia, had she changed and distorted herself to match the cruel destiny she was held captive in?

“They’re late.” Goldenroot noted, looking at the battered clock on the wall. “It’s unlike either of them to be late.”

Rarity gave no reaction, simply staring into her own tea with an uncertain and apathetic disposition.

Goldenroot hesitated for a moment before looking at the unicorn directly, “I’m sorry about what happened, Miss Rarity.”

The white unicorn looked up from her cup and across the table, right at the stallion. Now so late into the night, her usually sparkling blue eyes had a dull red tinge with an almost swollen appearance to them and her hair was ever so slightly out of proportion from its usually pristine glamour.

“I know you said that it wasn’t my fault, but I’m not really sure that I believe you.” he continued. “I was still a part of what happened to your friend and I need to apologize for that. I’m sorry about what happened to her and Princess Celestia and I’m sorry about what’s happened to our entire country.

“I don’t know what’s going to happen, but if we actually pull this off and restore the council, I don’t think I should be any part of it. I don’t think that would be the right thing to do after what I’ve done.”

The gentle ambience of the room took over and the sound of clinking glasses, hoofs tapping gently against the wooden floor and playful laughter of the tavern’s other patrons was the only thing that separated them from complete silence.

Rarity’s glum expression turned away from the green stallion, back down to the table and into her cup.

“I’m trying not to hold you accountable for this disaster, but I suppose you’re right.” she said in a hollow tone. “I’m not really as forgiving as I try to be and a part of me really hates you for what you did. But I know you didn’t intend for this to happen, so I do appreciate the gesture, Sir Goldenroot

She lifted her gaze back up from her tea and smiled faintly at the pony across from her, but the expression was fragile and short-lived, disappearing almost as soon as it arrived.

“I only wish I knew what happened to her.” she continued. “Why did she just disappear? Where did she go and why did Prance have her belongings? Why doesn’t anyone have any idea what happened to her? It’s all just so… strange…”

“There must be something in her belongings that can help us find some answers.” Goldenroot said, “After we’re done with all of this, I’d like to help you find those answers, Miss Rarity. It’s the very least I can do.”

The white unicorn lifted the teacup to her face. After taking a very brief sip of the hot beverage, she set the cup gently down on the table and smiled.

“I would certainly appreciate your help, Sir Goldenroot.” she replied.

As soon as the stallion was able to return the smile, the door to the Ivory Bear opened and two familiar figures entered the building. Under the shadow of her hood, Vortex smiled exuberantly as she rushed over to the table and sat down.

“We got it!” she exclaimed joyfully.

But her expression quickly changed from joy to a look of sheer disgust.

“Are you two drinking tea in a pub?” she asked doubtfully, turning to Goldenroot. “And you’re drinking yours with a straw? What’s wrong with you!?”

Realizing how ridiculous they must look, Goldenroot and Rarity revealed embarrassed expressions, first to each other and then to the blue pegasus.

Thunderhorn smirked from underneath his hood as he approached the table casually, “I assume that since you’re here that we’ll have the princess’ help?”

“Actually, no.” Goldenroot replied despondently. “She won’t help us, but she won’t interfere either.”

“It almost sounds like she hasn’t actually made up her mind yet.” Thunderhorn replied, his smile falling. “Then what are we going to do? We can’t afford to wait for her decision.”

“We need to use the artefact.” Rarity said.

The other ponies looked at her in surprise.

“You’re okay with that?” Goldenroot asked doubtfully. “Honestly, I thought you would be the last one to agree to use that thing.”

“If Princess Luna didn’t want us to stop her sister, she would have locked us up for trying.” the white unicorn replied with assurance. “I think that, even though we don’t have her help, some part of her wants us to go through with this. And if the orb was created for this very purpose, then Princess Celestia would have taken the utmost caution in creating it. I do not think she would spend so much time creating something that does not work”

“Well if you’re convinced, then so am I.” Goldenroot responded.

Vortex slammed her hooves on the table aggressively, startling even the loudest patrons of the tavern as the teacups rattled and spilled a large portion of their contents.

After noticing the attention she had drawn to herself, she lowered her voice to a whisper and leaned into the table, “Then it’s about time we started a riot.”

Goldenroot couldn’t help but smile at her, but the unicorns were apprehensive. They still weren’t sure that they would be able to even remotely contain a full-scale riot in the capital, let alone find a way to start one.

“Then this is what we need to do.” Thunderhorn intervened, leaning into the table.

~

“Nobles of Equestria!” Goldenroot shouted as the four ponies burst into the largest tavern in the nobility quarter of Canterlot only moments before it was about to close for the evening.

Each pony threw off their cloaks, discarding them onto the floor of the large, bustling room. The tavern was a huge building and, even so close to the last dying hours of the night, there were nearly a hundred ponies inside staring back at them in complete confusion. Distracted by the interruption, they mumbled to each other in a desperate attempt to make sense of the situation.

“She has taken away your rights and your responsibility!” Goldenroot continued. “She has declared war on our neighbours to the north and banished your voice to the furthest reaches of the world. She claims she is saving us from conspiracy and treason, but we all know that is not the truth.”

The whispers among the tables grew louder and more frequent. The crowd began to clearly express their wonderment of just who these ponies were and whether or not they were actually the council that they had believed to have been banished from their country little more than a week ago. If they were the council, what were they doing here now? What was going on?

“Tragedy has stricken our nation at its very heart! Our fair Princess Celestia has surrendered to the terrible hallucinations that now plague her mind and ravage her soul!” Thunderhorn cried, stepping forward. “Indeed, she is not the princess we remember. Surely you have seen her change and our country with her? Surely you have noticed that she believes the world is very different from our reality?”

“Now see here!” the barkeep exclaimed, stepping out from behind the bar and walking towards the small group of ponies at the doorway, trying to look as intimidating as possible.

He wasn’t very old, but he could hardly be described as a young pony. A fairly large unicorn, his thinning black mane ran carelessly down his neck and along his fading orange coat. His eyes were a passionate blue and desperately tried to pull the attention away from an obvious scar on his lip, a wound that had likely been the result of getting kicked in the mouth at one point or another.

“I won’t have you coming into my bar, spouting this rubbish and upsetting my customers! You speak as if our princess has gone crazy, but I seem to recall that you’re the very same ponies that we condemned for almost the same reason not too long ago.”

The crowd smiled and sneered at the group they had been taking so seriously. Some of them rolled their eyes and turned back to their table, diverting their attention away from the four ponies at the entrance as they resumed their conversations.

“You think we’re crazy!?” Vortex shouted at the barkeep in disbelief.

“Do you really think that turning on your friends, family and the ponies you were all supposed to serve is anything else?” he snorted. “It’s true, I was sad to see our part in the political decisions of Equestria get taken away from us, but not you traitorous lot. You’re a disgrace to the entire country.”

“Don’t be so quick to believe everything the princess has told you.” Thunderhorn scorned, raising his voice to resonate across the entire building. “You can’t really believe that every single one of us would turn against you. What would we possibly gain from that?”

“I’m not one to question the aims of madness.” the barkeep laughed. “I’m sure you all had your reasons.”

“Then you must be mad as well.” Goldenroot said piercingly, stepping up to the barkeep with a smile on his face.

A few of the ponies who had looked away previously had turned back now. They might not have been willing to take sides in the argument, but they were more than willing to enjoy a good fight.

“You elected us did you not?” the pale green stallion announced. “You chose us out of everyone else to be your voice in the government. We’re as much a part of you as you are a part of us. Would we sever our own limbs and cut into our own soul? Would we turn against the very reason we have to live and decapitate ourselves out of greed? Would we come back to you now, knowing that we face our own deaths as a consequence of failure? Cowardly or not, no one would take such risk without good reason.”

More of the crowd had started to turn back towards them, intrigued by the skilful shouting match that was taking place at the doorway. Their hushed murmurs had all but stopped, with only a few of the less sober patrons still muttering to themselves quietly. Their drinks all rested peacefully on the tables in front of them, completely forgotten and insignificant in comparison to what was happening before their eyes.

Thunderhorn promptly joined in, taking advantage of all the attention they were receiving, “Princess Celestia told you that Prance, the country that helped us during our time of need, was trying to conquer us and slit our throats in our sleep. But we are without a doubt the most wonderful, powerful, and influential nation on this planet. Who would dare to oppose us unless seeking their own destruction? Prance is not so different from our own nation, my friends. Its ponies do not wish to see their country plunged into the fires of war any more than we do. But now, both our countries are fighting and dying for a mere illusion, a façade of the mind.”

“I’m tired of your nonsensical ramblings!” the barkeep yelled angrily. “Get out now before I have the guards throw you out. I’m sure they’ll be more than happy to lock you up in the dungeon.”

The barkeep’s temper had elevated to a critical point and his patience wore thinner by the second. So after keeping silent the entire length of the quarrel, Rarity recognized that she had to do something before they lost all hope of convincing the nobility to their cause. They obviously wouldn’t believe the council as easily as she had originally hoped they would. They were too doubtful and, although most of the bar was now absorbed in the argument, no one was taking them seriously enough to support them in any way.

“Please, you have to believe we’re telling the truth!” she begged the barkeep. “The war is only getting worse and we don’t have much time left.”

The barkeep’s extreme irritation vanished, replaced with a mere annoyance as he and the entire building came to grinding halt and stared at the unicorn standing anxiously in front of the barkeep.

“For a moment, I thought you were someone else.” he replied with an unexpectedly calm demeanour. “But you’re not one of the council members, are you? So then how did you get wrapped up in their lies?”

“They did not convince me, nor did they need to.” she explained sincerely. “It was my discovery alone. I asked them for their help.”

Though she was speaking quietly, her voice was heard around the entire room. The orange unicorn seemed to be taken back by this sudden revelation. He found it almost unbelievable that she had somehow convinced the others to come back from their exile and fight so passionately for something that seemed so bizarre.

“Some of you may know that Princess Celestia’s student, Twilight Sparkle, was sent to Prance to help find a solution to the drought.” she continued, raising her voice a little. “She was gone for weeks, months even. But as time passed and the problems of the drought were eventually extinguished, many of us gave up hope that she would ever return. She just seemed to have disappeared.”

The barkeep listened patiently, curious to hear what she had to say and why she was convinced that the Princess was, of all things, insane.

“Eventually, some of her things were sent from Prance, yet she herself was still lost.” Rarity continued slowly. “A funeral was held for her, but the princess did not seem to grieve her student’s death. One might think that she was heartless, that she didn’t care about her, but perhaps she knew what would happen next. And in the dead of night, Twilight appeared as if out of nowhere and the princess was reunited with her student.”

“I’m already familiar with that story.” the barkeep interrupted. “Granted, it wasn’t made very public, but my occupation has certain informational benefits. However, what, may I ask, was the point of you telling me that, Rarity?”

Both Rarity and the former council members seemed surprised, yet also relieved by the amount of knowledge this orange unicorn had. It was reassuring to know that they wouldn’t have to explain every minute detail to him.

“That is who you are, isn’t it? The element of generosity I believe?” tilting his head as he stated the facts. “So then certainly you could be more generous with your explanation. What exactly does this have to do with Princess Celestia?”

“The point is that what you heard was a lie.” she replied rapidly. “Twilight never returned. No one knows where she is and the Twilight Sparkle that Princess Celestia believes to have returned is merely a hallucination caused by her grief.”

The barkeep frowned, “So then it’s true.”

Shocked by his extraordinary response, Vortex pushed Rarity out of the way and confronted the stallion directly.

“What’s the matter with you!?” she demanded. “You won’t believe a word of what we say, but you’ll eat up every single thing that comes out of her mouth without a moment’s hesitation?”

The barkeep returned a violent expression, “I do have reasons for my beliefs, miss. You just don’t know what they are yet.

“You see, before the war had started, this tavern was frequently visited by members of the royal guard. I didn’t mind them; they helped keep the rabble out. I even got to know one of the guards quite well. He was one of Princess Celestia’s personal escorts, so he’d spend a lot of time around her and he’d always have the most interesting stories to tell. On his one night off, he’d always visit my tavern and drink himself silly. As the night wore on, the things he’d say would become more and more convoluted to the point you could barely understand what he was talking about and I’d have to tell him to go home.

“However, one day he sat down and shared some particularly disturbing news. He tried to tell me that Princess Celestia had been talking to someone else, some mare, when he was sure that she was alone in her room.

“I just passed it off as simple paranoia and I tried to reassure him, ‘Whoever it is, she’s probably just sneaking by you. You know, using some kind of secret entrance that you don’t know about.’

“But he denied this quite quickly. He told me that he had been curious enough to actually look inside the room. He even said that he’d once poked his head in the room to investigate, but no one else was there.

“He said, ‘The princess was alone and she seemed to be talking to herself.’

“I didn’t know what to think about that. I thought he might just be going on another one of his intoxicated rants, but of course I wouldn’t actually tell him that. So I just listened while he quietly told me about all the things the princess had said to this ‘Twilight’.”

He paused briefly and glanced at Rarity with a troubled expression, the white unicorn recognizing the name immediately and sharing his concern.

“But after he told me that once, when he was in the throne room with her, the princess had abruptly rose from her seat, walked over, opened the door and asked him to step outside to give her and Twilight some privacy, I got a little freaked out. I had to ask him to leave.

“I said, ‘I think you’ve had enough to drink for one night, friend. Perhaps it’s time that you go on home.’

“He had a worried look on face, but he just got up and left without another word. I thought he was trying to skip out on his bill, but then I realized that he never had anything to drink at all. He was completely sober the entire time he was speaking to me. How could a sober pony speak such madness like it was the truth?”

He paused again and turned back to the white unicorn.

“You saw it too, didn’t you?” he said solemnly. “You saw the princess talking to this ‘phantom’, this imaginary pony?”

Rarity closed her eyes and slowly nodded.

“If you knew this, then why were you so doubtful of what we’ve been trying to say all along?” Goldenroot asked the barkeep.

“I was not willing to accept that my princess had gone mad unless I was absolutely certain. After everything she’s done for us, I think we owe her that.” he said plainly. “Unfortunately, it seems as though I have reached that point.”

The barkeep turned around and looked across the large gathering of ponies sitting around the room. For a group that had been drinking well into the late hours of the night, they were strangely alert and attentive and they waited in anticipation to hear what the barkeep had to say. Was he actually so convinced that he was willing to help them now? Could his opinion of them change so quickly?

“Alright! Everyone listen up!” the barkeep announced loudly across the room. “As much as I hate to admit it, I believe these ponies are telling the truth! Our princess and our country are in desperate need of our help and I’ll be damned if I’m going to sit around and do nothing about it.

“So I’m going to give you a choice. You can either help me and we can figure out exactly what’s going on here or you can get the hell out of my tavern!”

A few of the ponies quickly got up from their tables and rushed past him and out the door, but the large majority of the patrons stayed put. Some had apprehensive looks on their faces, but most of them seemed eager to finally do something. No matter what the truth was behind it, their situation was terrible. And after watching their country change so much in what felt like only an instant, they were ready to put an end to the illness that overwhelmed it.

“Now you better have a pretty good plan or I’m going to be disappointed with you lot.” the barkeep said. “I don’t like ponies that make me look like a fool.”

~

From her place on the balcony overlooking the city and the small, delicate lights beneath, Princess Luna remained a statue. The world was crumbling beneath her hooves and she just waited and watched it all from her room. But what choice did she have?

Long ago, when the world was young and she was just a filly, her sister had to make an important decision, not entirely unlike the one she herself was now confronted with. Celestia had to decide whether it was more important to protect her only family and the last member of her kind, or protect society as a whole and everyone who lived within it. Fate had decreed that she could not do both, one had to suffer while the other was allowed to persevere.

Her sister had eventually made her decision, but was it the right decision to make? If she could go back, knowing what she does now, would she change her mind, save her sister and sacrifice the world?

As she stared off into the darkness beyond the balcony, the question terrorized the moon princess’ mind like a terrible storm, Are these the very same questions you had to confront, sister? Is this the same torment that I so ignorantly put you through so many years ago?

Forgive me, Celestia…

~

Adjusting his position on the uncomfortable bedroll, General Redhoof’s eyes popped open for the fifth time that night. He, like everyone else in the camp, was worried about tomorrow and the thin mattress beneath him provided little more than a convenient place to toss and turn throughout the night. It didn’t matter that he was the most important general in the Equestrian royal army; his position had little impact on his confidence when he had less than an hour of real battle experience. Everything had always been a drill, a measly simulation of what he sincerely hoped he would never have to experience during his lifetime. So now that it was all so very real, so very lifelike, he was scared. The pony that was second in command only to the immortal princess herself was afraid.

“General Redhoof?” a familiar voice called to him.

Under the bright light of the moon, a dark silhouette bled through the thin canvas of his tent. It was none other than Princess Celestia and she was standing, waiting just outside the general’s tent. So late into the night, he knew that whatever she wanted to discuss with him was important. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, he hurriedly threw off his covers and rolled onto the cold ground.

After pushing aside the cloth curtain and leaving his tent, he turned to face the princess, “Your highness, I was not expecting you for a few hours.”

“How quickly can we be ready?” she asked, the anxiety just barely noticeable in her voice.

The general took a minute to contemplate the question before responding, “I think I could have everyone, including your strike team, ready in an hour.”

There was a brief moment of silence as the princess gazed off towards the black tower, its lights only just visible in the distance.

“Are you considering launching the assault immediately, your highness?” he asked.

She turned back to face him, her expression unchanged, “Raise the troops. We can use the veil of the night to our advantage. Try to keep the noise and the light to a minimum.”

The general nodded, “Absolutely, your highness. I’ll let you know when we’re ready.”

________________________________________________________________________

Author’s notes:

Hello everyone! I feel like I’m repeating myself a bit lately, but sorry it took so long for the new chapter to come out. I had to do some major revisions this time around to improve one the sections. However, the section in question is now my favourite part of the chapter, so I’m think it was worth it.

As a general note about the story’s progression, this was not the climax obviously. That is going to appear next chapter as long as I don’t decide to split it again. (It is entirely possible at this point. I still have a lot of ground to cover and I don’t want to rush through it.)

Once again, I’d like to take the time to thank you all for reading the story and putting the story in the feature box again.

I would also like to thank my editor, Specter Von Baren, who spent an extraordinary amount of time on this chapter in particular. His detailed responses and keen eye are quickly becoming a necessity in my work.

And as always, if you have any questions or comments about the story, you can reach me at my email: [e-mail] I’ll also be keeping a close eye on the comments below the story.

________________________________________________________________________

Disclaimer:

“My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic” and its derivatives are the sole intellectual property of Hasbro©. I do not have, nor claim to have, the rights to the intellectual property that this story is based on.

Comments

[oblivion2k]

Another fantastic chapter, well done.
One request though, could you throw in more physical reminders for us, like you did when Vortex referred to Goldenroot as "that peculiar green pony"? Between updates, I forget what our OCs actually look like, and reminders like that really help for me. Thanks.

[theamberfox]

30879

Thank you so much! I'm having a great time writing this story and really makes my day every time I see a comment like this.

43394

I was actually worried that I was doing a little too much of this before and it was starting to become a little redundant and unnecessary, so I was trying to cut back a little. Obviously I was getting completely the wrong idea. I'll definitely include some more descriptions of their appearances in the next chapter.

As it is now, it seems like everything is going according to plan. Chapter 12 is going to be a long one, but from what I have now, it will be very intense, dramatic, fast-paced and altogether extremely entertaining. I'm really excited about working on it, so I'm sure you'll see it this weekend, but that always depends on what kind of reaction I get from my editor and my one informal prereader.

[NightCore]

I just caught up to this chapter, and wow. This is an amazing story with a wonderful plot. So many twists and turns, I can't tell what's going to happen next!

Twilight...Twilight...what in the heck happened to Twilight?! Lol. I mean, at the beginning, I'm thinking she's dead. Then she appears to Celestia and then I'm happy she is actually alive and she tells of her journey into Prance. Then I find out that Celestia was imagining the whole time *face palm* so now I'm really worried about what happened to Twilight! I can't think of anything, is she alive? dead? I can't tell anymore -_- and I'm not bothering to try anymore lol.

I'm really looking forward to chapter 12 and finally finding out what happened to Twilight as well as Luna's choice. So many things are going to happen, and I can't make a single prediction on what is going to become of it. The riot, imprisoning Princess Celestia, fixing Equestria. I'm excited to find out =D. Though something tells me that Celestia is going to burst into that tower and find Twilight sitting there *evil laugh*

I really liked the council members. Their personalities crash so much and it's nice to see that they can still come together (well 3/5 of them anyway) to come back to try and figure out and fix what is going on in there home. Goldenroot and Vortext making a couple I found real cute :3.

Can't wait to read more ^-^. Have a good one.
BAH! WHAT HAPPENED TO TWILIGHT?! ^^;

[theamberfox]

47952

Thank you so much! Comments like these really do make my day. It's always nice to know that someone new is enjoying the story.

I actually have chapter 12 finished and it's going through the editing process so as long as it doesn't get held up for any reason, it may very well be posted sometime tomorrow night.

P.S. It's really, really long. (It's at almost 32 pages at the moment.)