//------------------------------// // Interlude One: The Reliquary // Story: Actions and Reactions: Saving Twilight Sparkle // by Lord of Flies //------------------------------// As the group of six friends lay down to rest for the night, one of them found it noticeably harder to sleep. Fluttershy sighed, and a slight frown crept onto her face. The large, yellow pegasus mare lay on her bed, comfortable under its sheets, and quite warm. Canterlot was always a bit colder than the rest of Equestria and the Crystal Empire. She had heard that the colonies were warmer than Equestria, but she had never been to any of the colonies. She closed her eyes, and lay there until sleep took her. Or tried to, anyway. Days like this brought out the worst of her memories when she slept, the ones she’d like to not remember. She opened her eyes and puffed her cheeks out. Getting out of the bed, she put her slippers on, and pulled on her shawl. She decided to take a walk, and sleep on the ride back to Ponyville. Heading for the door, she glanced back at her friends, who were sound asleep. She nodded, and left the room. *** Fluttershy wandered the halls of the Imperial Palace, with no destination in mind. She stopped, however, as she felt the edges of a very peculiar psychic signature brush against the edges of her passive psychic detection. Her right ear twitched, and she began walking toward that signature. ************ After guiding herself through more of the Palace’s halls, Fluttershy came upon a pair of massive doors guarded by two Praetorian Guards in the heavier Crusader Armor, each wielding a halberd. “Identify yourself!” One of them demanded. The mare sighed, and replied, “Primaris 185837. Something drew me here. I wish to see what it is.” The two Praetorians actually turned their heads to look at each other. They then oriented their helmets toward the mare. “You do know that this is the Imperial Reliquary? There could be anything in there that could attract psykers.” “Oh, I know. Still.” The Praetorians looked at each other again, but they shrugged. “Head on in. Just don’t break anything. For your sake.” The psyker nodded. “Thank you for your cooperation.” Fluttershy entered the Reliquary. When the two doors had closed, the twin guards stared at each other. “You think the Princess will notice?” The other nodded slightly. “It is her weapon, after all.” “Indeed.” *** Fluttershy headed toward the source of the psychic signature, deeper in the Reliquary. She noticed that the signature was reacting to her presence, prodding the edges of her psychic defenses, noting that it seemed to be curious. A frown appeared on her face. Questions raced around in her head. She shook her head, and pressed forward. ************ Princess Luna’s head shot up as something approached her weapon, sitting in the Reliquary. She frowned, stood, and left her office, heading toward the Reliquary. ************ Fluttershy eventually found the source of the psychic signature, having gotten into a room that sectioned away from the rest of the Reliquary. Staring at it, it really was peculiar. A large zweihänder sat sheathed near the right center of the room. The majority of the hilt was some sort of silver metal. Its quillons curved back toward the pommel, and the grip seemed to be made of some kind of crimson material. The scabbard was mostly comprised of the same crimson material as the sword’s grip, and the other pieces were made of the same silver metal that the hilt used. She reached out a hand toward the sword’s grip. But, an extremely massive psychic signature suddenly appeared behind her. Fluttershy froze, and turned around, eyes wide. Staring down at her, an eyebrow raised as if questioning, a very slight smile on her face, and a lit cigar in her hand, was Princess Luna. Recovering her wits, Fluttershy spoke. “P-princess?! What are you doing here?” “Checking to see who approached my weapon.” “Weapon?” The Princess raised a hand and pointed at the sword behind Fluttershy. “Shall I show you?” Fluttershy said nothing. Stepping around the pegasus, the dark alicorn reached out and took hold of the sword. She drew the sword with a single fluid motion. The obsidian metal blade shone slightly in the light, and then began reflecting the room around it. Fluttershy suddenly realized that the sword was less a fancy showpiece, like the majority of the items in the Reliquary, and an actual weapon of war. “Like it?” The question snapped Fluttershy out of her thoughts and she stammered, “Y-yes, it l-looks very f-functional.” “Indeed,” Princess Luna spoke, placing the cigar in her mouth. She ran a finger along one of the sword’s flat sides, and she spoke, pacing the room. “I know, I know. But, you’re my favorite, you know. Well, you’re really the only sword I’ve actually liked, of course you’re my favorite.” Fluttershy noticed that the blade had come very close to her bust. “Touch the blade, dear Fluttershy.” Fluttershy placed a hand on the flat side of the blade. Hello, Fluttershy, a multitude of voices spoke at once into her mind. With a yelp, the pegasus withdrew her hand and recoiled from the blade. She stared at the blade. “What is-?” “Nox Aeterna is a psychic weapon. We alicorns wield these weapons in battle. They are the only physical weapons capable of wounding mature alicorns.” “How many souls are in that sword?” “Tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands. I stopped counting after the first thousand.” Fluttershy took another step back from the Princess, and her sword. “I-I…” “I won’t hurt you, Fluttershy. Neither will Nox Aeterna. I wish you no harm, and Nox Aeterna cannot do anything without a wielder.” Fluttershy relaxed slightly, as the Princess walked back over the scabbard of her sword. The terrifying weapon was resheathed, and the pegasus found herself in a hug. “You won’t be harmed or exploited in any way, Fluttershy. I promise you…” Fluttershy found the hug strangely comforting.