Chapter 11: Plague and War
Hello! Welcome back! Sorry it took so long! Anyway, this chapter has more explanations, mostly, but it ends on a...a note. That's all i will spoil about it. There's also more discussing Watson's crush, but not too much. Read on!
Malice stood on the hilltop, gazing over the battlefield. Those forces that were allied with the Evisica were kept in check by the Shetland forces, and the main body was being pushed back by Celestia and her Equestrian Knights. To her left, Bladehoof was a shining blur of an Earth Pony slicing through a small group of Minotaur. To her right was Shatterhorn, her blue magic tearing through ranks of enemy ponies. There were a few enemies on the hill with her, but her bodyguard was proving to be a tough obstacle.
He was a shimmering white unicorn with an equally-white mane. His horn was like a Neighpon longsword, silver and slightly curved. His deep blue eyes darted left and right, perceiving any enemy that dared get close to his Princess. His cutie mark was a red shield, the perfect mark for the Princess of War's personal bodyguard. He was average size and of slim build, but fast and skilled with his magic. Malice had no doubt that her guard would keep her safe while she prepared her spell.
Her horn roared louder than a train as she discharged her magic. A red line shot out at the army. As it flew over the armies, bolts flew down and struck the Evisican forces. In a matter of moments, the Evisican army was in retreat. The combined Shetland and Equestrian forces cheered at the sight. Malice smiled as her bodyguard cheered as well. Then he turned and beamed at Malice, a smile he gave only to her.
"…And that concludes this meeting. Conclave adjourned." The Elders gathered their scrolls and books while Malice stepped down from the podium. The meeting had been a productive one for once. True, it mostly dealt with foreign affairs with Equestria, and Celestia was also present, but it was still a nice change to get through a Conclave meeting without having an argument break out. As she stepped down, her cousin trotted up.
"It seemed unusually calm today," Celestia observed.
"I'm almost worried," Malice joked. "Everything seems to be going so well this week. No murders, no arguments, and I've been sleeping better."
"I noticed. I haven't heard any screams this week." Celestia raised an eyebrow. "Anything happen?"
"Not as far as I can tell," Malice replied as she and Celestia exited the Conclave chamber. "Just been better." As the two Princesses exited the chambers, one of the scholars working on the tome came running up.
"Milady," the unicorn bowed, "The tome translation is complete."
"Oh, good," Malice smiled. Then the scholar's face turned grim.
"There is a problem though…"
"It's not in there!?" Thom exclaimed.
"I know, it's weird," Watson replied, "but the counterspell isn't in here. The circle is, but it doesn't say anything beyond that."
The Paladins and Princesses were back in the library with the scholars, standing around the table with the Evisican Tome. It had been a full week since Thom's revelation. Discord had disappeared a few days back, the unicorn prisoner was recovering from his mind scan, and no new murders had been reported. Not even Malice's Blackwatch had reported any developments. On Celestia's side, Luna sent a note saying that several unexplained fires had been reported from multiple locations, but otherwise nothing unusual. At the moment, they were all discussing the translated tome.
"I do not understand," Malice stated. "I have searched all the books we have. Why is there no counterspell for the circle?"
"Maybe this 'True King' took the book with it inside," Watson suggested. "It would explain how he set this up to begin with."
"Plausible," the Princess of War admitted. "I regret to say that I have not read the Evisican books we have for some time. I never got around to reading them all. Perhaps he does have it."
"So the book's useless then?" Thom asked with a hint of annoyance. He did not relish the thought of having to go to Manehatten for a paperweight.
"Not quite," Ditzy grinned. "It may not have a counterspell, but it will have a psychological effect on any traitor in your court, Lady Malice."
"What?" the scarlet alicorn asked.
"Think of it like this," the wall-eyed Pegasus explained. "Most of the court knows we have an Evisican book. Most of the court knows it may pertain to the murders. Only a few, however, know what's actually inside. We can use that knowledge to figure out who're the traitors."
"I get it!" Watson beamed. "Make them think this book has vital information. Then we'll wait for them to make a slip up somewhere. Like, if they try to take the book, it's because they think there's a way to remove this giant circle, and the only reason they'd think that is if they're part of the conspiracy!"
"An impressive idea," Celestia applauded her Paladin, "but it still does not solve the main problem."
"Maybe not directly," Redstamp smiled. "No counterspell, but maybe this book'll have something else to help. We only focused on finding a counterspell earlier, so we kinda skimped on actually reading it beyond that. Maybe we'll find something else that'll help."
"That would be nice," Malice stated. As she said this, one of her knights came running in, carrying a scroll in a slot in his armor.
"Milady," the knight said as he removed the scroll, "this just arrived for you." Malice took the scroll, unrolled it, and read its contents. After she finished, she held it out so Celestia could read it, but none of the other ponies could see its contents.
"Well," Celestia stated, "that explains the fires."
"Indeed." Malice turned to the Paladins and Watson and said, "Paladins, we have some more help on the way. It will take a few days, so proceed reading the tome."
Discord was flying back to Vermillion after another spy jaunt. He didn't have any prisoners this time. He had something better. Or rather, someONE. This someone was flying next to him, but was barely visible in the darkness. Even Discord's sharp eyes could make out his companion only a little more than as a black blur with a few recognizable parts and a pair of glowing green eyes.
"You know," the Draconequus called to his companion, "it's pretty tough to investigate these places when you keep burning them down!"
"No point investigating!" the other creature called back. "All those places were just factories for those monsters! No vital data was kept there!"
"How many did you burn down?"
"Around two dozen, but they still got quite a few Abominations out! Can you go any faster than this?"
"Watch it kid," Discord laughed, "I still got some juice inside!" With that, he and the other creature sped up and disappeared over the horizon. On the ground under them, not noticing them fly by, a single pony in black armor stood guard next to a dip in the ground. Behind him, stretching for nearly a mile, was a military camp made from ponies, Minotaur and Abominations.
The True King walked down the hall, smiling as he did so. Despite the setbacks from the fires, his army had grown and was assembled in Equestria. The other Shetland ponies in the hall bowed as he passed, not knowing who he truly was. He made his way to a small room close to the Conclave chambers. Inside, a grizzled Elder waited for him.
"You're late," Elder Carneades huffed.
"You'll do good to remember who you're talking to," the True King replied.
"A unicorn with no sense of time," the old Pegasus chuckled. "What's the news?"
"My army is assembled," the giant unicorn stated. "What of yours?"
"There are plenty of noble houses loyal to us," Carneades smiled. "At a moment's notice, they can drop what they're doing and launch a surprise attack against those loyal to Mal-the Red Lady, I mean. Including the knights loyal to us, we could almost tear a quarter the city apart before your boys even arrive. There is no way they'll see us coming."
"Hear anything about the Evisican tome they have?"
"Not a word," Carneades shuffled his hooves. "The Lady is keeping it close to her and those damnable Paladins of Celestia's. Only they know what's inside."
"Try to find out what it says," the True King ordered. "We must know what's in that book. We're this close to having everything come together, and we can't have them destroy the Circle we've made."
"Understood," the Elder acknowledged. "If you don't mind my asking, what is the purpose of that giant Circle anyway? Why do we need one so big if we can use smaller ones?"
"The giant one is an anchor for all the others," the True King replied. "If it gets dispelled, the smaller circles will lose their power, and the Abominations will die. That Circle's magic is what sustains them."
"I see. Well, I'll do what I can to peek into that book. One more thing, King. Will you keep your word?"
"Of course," The King smiled. "When this is over, you and the other loyal Elders will rule the Shetlands. I have no need for a country like this when the world will bend knee to me." Satisfied, Elder Carneades left the room. The True King stayed a bit longer, chuckling to himself.
"So eager for the silver, he misses the gold right behind it."
It was a calm day in Ponyville. Watson trotted down the street, smiling at the mare that trotted next to him. She was a blue-grey pegasus with a green mane and gold eyes. She laughed as he told her an old joke, smiled as he bought her a cupcake, and was generally happy in Watson's presence. Watson was happy in her presence, as well. After all those years of being alone, he finally had a special somepony to spend time with.
He turned to say something, but the words caught in his throat. His special somepony now had a horn growing from her head. Her eyes had turned blue, and she was slowly growing. Watson gasped as he realized what was going on. Nopony else around them seemed to care that the Pegasus was shedding her blue-grey coat, revealing a scarlet-colored coat. Her mane slowly turned black and wavy, like fire. In a few more moments, Malice was staring down at the tan unicorn. Her face was not one of contempt, or pride, but of genuine worry.
"Why do you refuse to admit it?" she asked.
"Watson?" a voice whispered from behind him.
"There is no use in denying it," Malice stepped towards Watson. "You are in love with me, simple as that."
"Watson?" the voice said louder.
"Stop trying to deny it," Malice said with a sad voice as she stepped closer. "It will only hurt you in the long run." She was now towering over the smaller unicorn, gazing down on him with a soft gaze. "Say it, little Paladin."
"Watson!" Thom exclaimed as he shook Watson awake. The small unicorn jerked awake at the sound of his friend's shout. He was in the kitchens with a bowl of browning salad in front of him. He was not in Ponyville with a random Pegasus-then-Malice.
"Just a dream," he whispered.
"A rather unpleasant one, I might add," Thom said. Watson stiffened at this.
"You…you saw it?"
"Yeah, sorry," Thom apologized. "My powers are pretty extensive."
"Then…" Watson sighed, "…then you know?"
"Known since the trip back," Thom nodded. "Don't worry, I haven't told anypony, and I don't plan to start. Anyway, to the subject at hoof, Malice and Celestia want to see us Paladins. Think they've figured something out." Watson followed Thom back to the library. Inside were the Princesses, the other two Paladins and a single knight.
"Saria!" Thom laughed as the green unicorn smiled and nodded. "You've recovered?"
"I am quite fine, Thom," the unicorn knight smiled. "Thank you for the concern."
"Thanks for coming on such short notice," Celestia told the Paladins. "Malice and I have discovered something in the tome, something it shames us to not have noticed before." As she finished, Celestia opened the tome to a page halfway through the tome. It was a world map. Equestria was down in the lower right (meaning it was an incomplete map), and in the upper right…
"This large island is clearly marked, 'Evisica.'"Malice explained. "We believe this is where they came from. "
"If this is where they came from, "Celestia furthered, "perhaps we could send some ponies there to figure out a way to get rid of the Circle."
"Wait," Redstamp asked, "you're gonna send US to the Evisican homeland? Wouldn't they be the least bit bitter after what happened to them 200 years back?"
"That'd be why they're sending us," Watson sighed. "We're Paladins. We'll be in and out before they know we're even there." Meanwhile, Watson was thinking, 'Great, another spy mission.'
"But how will we get there?" Ditzy asked. "You gonna teleport us there?"
"Yes," Malice replied. "It will take a while for you to get there, but Celestia and I can teleport you there."
"How long would it take?" Watson asked.
"The teleport would take approximately four days to get you there. Since neither of us have been there, the teleport will have to be specifically tuned."
"Four days?" Saria asked. "Isn't that a little long?"
"I agree with Saria," Watson supported. "A lot could happen in four days."
"Oh, don't be so sour," Discord chipped in.
"Sorry, but-" Watson stopped. Everypony jerked back at the sudden appearance of the Draconequus. "Discord? When did you get here?"
"About eighty-seven-point-thirty-five seconds before your reactions," Discord replied. "And don't worry, the teleport won't take very long. With our help, you'll get there in half a day."
"Our help?" Malice asked. "He's here?"
"Indeed," a voice called out. Nopony saw the owner of the voice, but Watson's ears perked up.
"Neph?" he asked.
"Hey, you remember me!" the voice cheered. "Was afraid you'd forgotten about me." Two large green scarabs appeared from behind Discord and hovered in the air in front of Watson. Thom gave a gasp.
"Those are the bugs!" the Earth Pony exclaimed. "Those are the ones I was chasing a while back."
"Indeed," the voice said. "You almost caught me a couple of times too. Now, please do not freak out." Before anypony could ask why, a swarm of insects, arachnids and snakes came pouring into the room from a nearby window. It gathered under the two scarabs and slowly built up towards the hovering bugs.
As the pile stretched higher, it slowly began shaping into a familiar form. On the floor, arachnids and insects shaped into hooves. The main body was large and sleek, undulating with the motion of the creatures it was made from. Protruding from the back were outstretched snakes bound by spider webs, making bat-like wings. The head was clearly equine, with a large spider leg acting as a horn. The two scarabs were in the place of eyes for this unusual creature. Watson stared for a bit, then gasped. He had seen this creature before.
"You…" he said, "you're the Prince of Pestilence."
"Indeed," the creature nodded. "My name is Jull-Nephronopht, but you can still call me Neph."
"Took your time getting here, brother," Malice bluntly stated.
"Sorry," Neph whined, "Would have been here sooner, but Cadence needed some more help with stuff, and I was burning Abomination factories on my way down."
"I see," Celestia said. "Speaking of whom, how is your daughter these days? Cadence doesn't write much."
"Daughter?" Watson asked while the other ponies' jaws dropped.
"She's fine," Neph ignored Watson. "A little busy running the empire, but she's got a supportive husband."
"Cadence is your daughter?" Watson asked.
"Moving on," Discord interrupted, "Now, with this alicorn here, the teleport-time will be greatly decreased. It will be further decreased since I've actually been there."
"WHAT!?" Everypony, including the three alicorns, screamed.
"It's true," Discord said while sipping a glass of water. "I have only just returned from being there."
"What did you do there?" Celestia asked.
"Just set a beacon there," Discord replied. "Wanted to explain things to them, but the Evisica clearly do not trust Draconequus. Wonder why."
"So," Ditzy said, "now how long will it take?"
"By my estimates," Neph seemed to smile, "half a day." As he said this, another Shetland knight came in.
"Forgive the interruption," he bowed, not seeming to notice or care that a bug-alicorn was in the room, "but Elder Trottson is demanding to see the tome."
"Tell them no," Malice sighed. "Carneades, Fetlock, Oberol, now Trottson. It almost seems like all the Elders want to see it."
"Especially Carneades and Fetlock," the knight replied. "I've personally seen those Pegasus and unicorn go off by themselves discussing something or some things."
"Well," Malice said, "Now we have knowledge who some of the conspirators are." Turning to the Paladins, she said, "It will take some time to prepare the teleport. You can rest until tomorrow. Please excuse us. Now, Discord, what was it you wanted to tell…" She and Malice left, followed by a Discord in a sombrero.
"Well," Redstamp said, "things just keep getting better."
"At least some good came out of going to Manehatten," Thom sighed with relief.
"You went to Manehatten?" Saria asked in surprise.
"Y-yeah," Thom replied with a startled tone. "W-was actually born there."
"REALLY?" the green unicorn asked again. "What's it like? Is it true there are carriages that move without being pulled? Are there…" she kept asking questions excitedly. Thom just laughed and led her out of the library. Watson turned to Ditzy and Redstamp and smiled.
"When did those two hit it off?" he asked.
"Don't look at us," Ditzy smiled. "He's been that way for a few days."
"Yeah," Redstamp explained. "When he fell unconscious after 'interrogating' that unicorn, he was put into the same room as that unicorn, who was still recovering from her wounds from the Palace. They must've hit it off there."
"That must be it," Ditzy agreed. "So, Redstamp, wanna get something to eat?" As the two pegasi left, Watson turned to the silent bug-alicorn.
"You're Cadence's father?" the small unicorn asked.
"You're not gonna let that go, are you?" Nephronopht asked in return.
"No," Watson replied. "You're the Prince of Pestilence, and Cadence is a love Princess. How did-"
"How did I help make somepony like her?" Neph finished Watson's question. "Well, I will admit she takes more after her mother, but she got her power from me."
"How?" Neph seemed to smile at this last question.
"What," he asked, "never heard of being lovesick?" Watson thought for a minute of how that might make sense before the alicorn Prince continued, "Ah, but you must have. I can tell you have it pretty bad." Watson was floored by this sentence.
"How did-" Watson started, "no, nevermind, it's probably obvious to you."
"It is," Neph replied, "and judging from that sentence, the other one doesn't know. So who is it?" Silence from Watson. "Was it that cross-eyed Pegasus? I will admit, those eyes so have a certain adorable charm to them."
"Not her," Watson replied.
"The other Pegasus, then?" Neph continued. "Didn't think your door swung that way."
"No," Watson denied. "It's neither of the pegasi. It's not the unicorn…"He started blushing and lowered his head. A few moments went by, then Neph pulled his head back in realization.
"It's Malice…" he chuckled.
"What's so funny?" Watson asked. "No, I know what's funny. It's funny that I, a vertically challenged unicorn with a bent horn, have the hots for the Princess of War. It's funny because I have these feelings, and don't have a chance." Neph remained silent for a bit longer before lowering his head to Watson's height.
"I don't know," he said reassuringly, "you might be surprised." He straightened up and made his way to the door. "I won't tell a soul, trust me." With that, Jull-Nephronopht exited the library.
'Great,' Watson thought to himself. 'Now a close friend and the Prince of Pestilence know about my crush. Who's gonna learn next?'
The following morning came thankfully fast for Watson. He was in a large room with the other Paladins, the Shetland unicorn Saria (who was coming with the Paladins), Discord and the three alicorns. The Paladins and knight were standing in the middle of a large, jagged spell circle.
"When you land," Celestia briefed them, "make for any place to hide soon as possible. We don't want to risk hostilities with the Evisicans."
"Before we send you away," Malice continued, "we want you to know that the Evisicans are unlike any creature you have seen. In your packs are pictures of the Evisicans. Feel free to look at them." All the Paladins took out said picture and gasped.
"The heck is THAT?" Red asked in disbelief.
"No WONDER there aren't any books on them," Thom gave an incredulous laugh.
"You fought these things?" Watson asked. "And why weren't we told what they looked like earlier?"
"We were hoping to avoid contact with them," Celestia replied. "However, once we learned what was in the book, it became clear that contact was unavoidable. All we ask is that you make as little contact as possible, in the event they are hostile."
"If they aren't," Malice stated, "try to explain the situation to them best as possible. As for getting back, each of your bags hold a beacon similar to the one Discord placed on the Evisican lands. When you need to get back, have the unicorns focus into them and you'll be home in half a day." She gave a final look to Watson as she said, "Be careful, all of you." With that, the three alicorns charged up the spell while Discord focused his energies into it, bending the magic toward the beacon thousands of leagues away. One minute passed. Then two. Then the magic reached its' peak and the five ponies were lifted off the ground, and vanished in a rainbow-colored light. When it faded, the five ponies were gone, and the alicorns caught their breath.
"They're outside of our help now," Celestia said after a long minute.
"We can only hope our Fathers watch over them now," Malice replied. She then turned to her brother and Discord and said, "This army you told us about last night, how far is it?"
"It was a hundred-eighty leagues away when we last checked," Neph replied.
"It could be here before sundown," Discord finished. "Over eight thousand ponies, Abominations and Minotaur."
"I sent word to my sister to send all available knights here," Celestia stated. "It will be more than two days before they arrive, though. Can we last that long?"
"You forget I am the Princess of War." Malice smiled. "This is also Vermillion, the City of Blades. We are more than capable of-" A Shetland and Equestrian knight burst into the room at the same time. Both of them were bleeding from various wounds.
"Your Majesties!" The Equestrian exclaimed. "The city's under attack!"
"What!?" the scarlet alicorn asked. "But the invading army shouldn't-"
"It's not an invasion," the Shetland knight interrupted. "Many of the noble and merchant houses have taken up arms against you. A third of the city's betrayed you!" He turned and bucked another Shetland knight that was charging at him. "Many of the knights have turned against you as well! The Conclave Elders are either dead, captured or turned against you!"
"This must be what they had planned all along," Neph grimaced. "Turn the city against you, then have a larger force swoop in while you tire yourself quelling the uprising."
"Does not matter," Malice growled. Her eyes shone gold and her mane was red as fire and crackling with magic. "If it is war they want, they've got it." Her wings stretched out and shone with a white light, her missing pinion regenerating on the spot. "These traitors will soon learn why it is a bad idea to wage war against War herself." With that, she flew out the door and into the rest of the palace.
The Red Lady was on the warpath, and soon the streets of Vermillion would run red as its' name.
Oh snot, Malice is PEEVED! Hope you liked this chapter, and sorry if it seemed a bit jumpy. I REALLY wanted to get to this point. Okay, no clue when the next chapter will come out, but it will most likely be early May, maybe later this month. Next chapter, we finally see what an Evisican looks like! Okay, see ya!
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I have this wierd feeling that the Evisicans are either humans or something really ridiculous looking maybe something cute and furry or not anyway I am looking forward to your next update. And seriously it's crap that more people aren't reading your story the whole thing with the Four Horsemen is really unique and I don't think anyone else on the site has made a story involving them so thank you for fueling my fanboyism. Also are we going to meet the Horse of Death because that would be so cool.
2399316
Thanks for the reviews!
Glad to see people out there actually like this. As for Death, I can't say much, but there is a reason we learned his name in chapter three. And I assure you, the Evisica are not human.
Feel free to tell other people about this! I won't kill you for spreading the word! ^^
2400312 I'll see what I cna do but who is the fourth Horse. I don't recall seeing them described in the chapter is it Plague, Famine, Conquest, Wrath or some other aspect. Well your the writer. Anyway again you have earned my respect for the unique spin you introduced. and here have a mustache
Oh one more thing Derpy has something for you as well
cdn1.cdnme.se/cdn/5-1/2024976/images/2011/kklllaaraa_128266577.jpg
enjoy
2400350
When Watson was walking through Celestia's gardens while disguised as a guard, he saw statues of all four. There were War, Famine, Pestilence and Death. Death was named Mauso'Liam. I'm still debating whether or not Famine will make an appearance. I know she'll be mentioned, that's the only solid thing about her.
Thanks for the muffins!
2400370 no problem and I am eagerly awaiting your next chapter
2400429
I'll try and get it up before May, but if I fail, it'll be early May at the latest.
2401150 Thanks I'll be looking forward to it
Hello!!! I am a long time fan and I finally get to say I greatly enjoy your story and hope u write more javascript:smilie('
'); And I cant wait till next chapter
I will like this as soon as I figure out how!!!(i'm new here , don't judge)
2543868
I'm just happy to get a comment!
Glad you like it so much! I'm working on the next chapter and will hopefully have it up within a week.
2545409 AWESOME!!!!!
I really hope Watson becomes an Alicorn at the end( Alicorn of inventions Maybe?) so he can have a chance with malic, not sure what u have planned 4 the story but I just think its a good idea 
anway ill keep an eye out 4 next chapter (can't Wait 
)
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Thanks! ^^