The Crystal Empire was slowly coming into sight, the large tower where the Crystal heart was kept looming over it all.
"We're getting close now. I don't really know much about Cadance, only saw a little bit of her. I'll stick to the shadows for this part, as i usually do."
"Ah doubt y'ell need a livin' wall 'ere. Ah'll jus' stan'by 'n watch." Spirit noted while adjusting his armour.
Myself and Spirit sat next to each other in the carriage again, with Celestia next to Spirit and Luna on the end of it. Night had assumed her usual wispy form and was following the carriage at high speed.
"I will speak to Cadance with Spirit and Primal, Luna can go with Night to see if the populace knows something. The Crystal ponies won't know much about Nightmare Moon, only that she's an alicorn and slightly imposing. Maybe an idea to lose the armour for now?"
Night nodded, and made her armour slowly vanish.
" Umm, maybe just keep the helmet on Night..." I tried to hold back a chuckle, and nearly failed.
"Why dost thou thinkst we still need a helmet?" She looked at me with confusion and slight mistrust.
" I... can't really take you seriously if you look bald. I thought your wispy hair would cling to you more-"
"Oh, that. That wouldst be a side effect of mine armour. This shouldst look better. " Her hair turned less transparent and encompassed her head now.
" That looks much more friendly than that full armour. Why do you even have that? You can simply blast anything away without it ever getting close. "
" 'Tis a relic of past ages. Thou art right, I hath no need for it. It serves to terrify mine foes now only."
" I'm sure your combat expertise will prove useful against whatever it is that's destroying the cities. What is it anyway? You all seemed to be holding something back"
" I do not hold anything back. I hath been formed in the aftermath of their war. " Night pointed a hoof at the other princesses. " 'Tis not my right to speak of the memories of Luna. "
"I will tell you two after I have spoken to Cadance. She knows more about it, since a family member of hers was the one who drove them back then."
The carriage landed in an open spot near the castle towers. All of us exited the carriage and went on our way towards the palace.
" Something's off... Stay alert, Spirit. " I kept careful watch of our surroundings, and most of all, the guards.
I noticed Spirit was watching the guards too now,he saw me inspecting them as we walked by. The princesses were completely oblivious.
"Stay alert so I can summon you when necessary. "
"I understand Primal. Just give the word and we'll blast them all to smithereens. "
" Spirit, stay close to the princess, don't lose sight of her. They have probably accounted for the princesses, but not for the two of us and Night. They probably know a bit more about Nightmare Moon, but the two of us are wildcards. " I made sure no one but him heard me.
" Wha'll yu do? "
" I'll slip away, see what I can find. " I replied.
I saw an opportune moment to slip away unnoticed, and quickly went invisible in a puff of smoke.
Let's see what they are up to...
WWWWW
Change of Character - Primal Dagger - > Spirit Equity
Ah didn't know exactly wha was goin' on, but ah knew he'd not lie 'bout danger.
Ah followed tha princess further, an' noticed some o' 'em were lookin' slightly confused now. Ah quickened mah pace ta walk next to Princess Celestia, an' leaned closer to her.
" Ah think summin's wrong. Primal's already gone ta investigate. "
Ah saw tha princess frown, an' looked concerned fo' a slight second before regainin' her composure.
" Princess Cadance and Shining Armor should be right here, through this door, if memory serves. " Tha princess open'd tha doors with a quick flick o' her head, an' entered tha room.
We entered a big room, eas'ly made ta house quite a few ponies in...
Ah cannae believe he got me so far as ta go inta dis 'ere world...
Ah le'out a silent sigh, straighten'd ma back an' marched inta the room, followin' tha giant white unicorn pegasus hybrid... alicorn or whateva she was named.
Ah do get ta wear cool lookin' armour n' wield a sword in a world where colourful talkin' ponies can fly 'n cast magic.
" Ah, Cadance. I have not seen you since the wedding, I believe. How are you? " Tha princess started tha conversation steadily, comin' ova' as calm 'n relax'd.
" Hello Celestia. Give me a moment, will you? " Tha pink princess turned to her guards ta dismiss 'em, leavin' just the princesses, tha white unicorn who ah assumed was Shinin' Armor, an' mahself.
" Celestia, I am sure you noticed... "
" I did not, in fact. My faithful right hand noticed the guards' weird behaviour. He is scouring for information as we speak. "
"Your.. right hoof, you mean?" Cadance questioned, an' jus' now noticed me standin' still. " And who, or what, is that?" She pointed her hoof to me.
" Right hand, and that is a humanoid by the name of Spirit Equity."
" Seems like I missed quite a bit when I settled everything over here. Anyway, why have you come? I doubt you knew about the guards yet. Even Shining doesn't understand what is wrong with them. "
"I do know what's wrong, Cadance. " Primal appeared in tha room, lookin' slightly exhausted but otherwise fine. " They are not your guards. "
" You mean... They are... Changelings...?!" Cadance an' Celestia asked in unison.
" If that was what you called them, yes, they are. Keep it quiet though, I doubt they know just yet. Except for maybe the one 'guard' I tormented. "
" They know you know now, but they do not know that all of us here know now. The changelings work like a hive mind, sharing thoughts between them. " Cadance explained.
Ah stomped mah foot on tha ground. " Wha do we do? We cannae jus' sit 'ere 'n watch as they continue whateva' they be doin' 'ere!"
" We just play along for now. I'll stay out of sight when I'm with all of you, keep an eye on things again. Continue what we came here for in the first place. " He dissappeared again.
" Which is? " Shining armor asked now, curious.
" Ah yes. Vanhoover was obliterated. We fear an old enemy, from worse than Tartarus. Even now we still do not know why it appeared back then-"
" It was summoned. And worst of all, I know by whom... The Changelings. " Cadance shivered as she remembered the past from the stories told to her.
" Ye got ta be kiddin' me!"
" No, I am not. Which is why I am actually glad you have these humanoids around."
" The humans have been quite resourceful. There are two more humans in Equestria, A woman now named Aqua Vitae, and a pyromancer of sorts who Primal claims is an old friend of his, gone rogue." Celestia sat down in a nearby chair before continuing. "You have met Primal briefly back there. He is my right hand for all manners underhoofed. And this is Spirit Equity, captain of the Justice Guard and personal bodyguard for the three of us right now. "
Ah bowed as deftly as mah armor allowed me. " Pleasure ta be o' service."
" You look like nothing could get past you. I am glad you protect Celestia. Also, three of us? Where is Luna? And who is the third?"
" Luna is in the city, together with Nightmare Moon, now called Night-"
"Wait, Nightmare Moon? THE Nightmare Moon? Why is she with Luna?" Cadance said.
" Night is on a path of redemption. She has realised her mistakes, and wishes to make up for them. They are going through the city to gather information. "
" What for?" Cadance asked.
" About any possible clue as to whom or what destroyed Vanhoover. " Celestia answered.
Ah heard some mov'ment outside tha door, an' opened it slightly to check. The 'guards' were pacing around impatiently.
Ah closed tha door quickly an' walked back ta Celestia 'n Cadance, an' told them about tha guards' behaviour. They nodded, an' continued their conversation.
" Only myself, Shining and a handful of ponies who have access to the royal library know about that ancient monstrosity. I have my doubts they will find anything. " Cadance sighed.
" Anything is valuable. We need to know more about what we're dealing with. Could we have access to the royal library? "
" Ofcourse, Celestia. We can head over there right away. " Cadance motioned to tha door.
"Well le's get movin' den! No time's to waste!" Ah said, 'n marched outta tha door.
WWWWW
Change of Character - Spirit Equity ->Primal Dagger
After returning from Cadance's room, I headed out to search Night and Luna and aid them in their quest for information.
I asked them what they found out so far when I encountered them, and they told me that most of the Crystal ponies know next to nothing about the destruction of Vanhoover.
A few knew about some kind of monstrosity capable of such destruction from friends with access to the library, but they knew too little to be of much use.
My thoughts wandered off for a while. Not untill I saw a flash of purple in the corner of my eyes. A familiar flash of purple, too.
Was that who I think it was..?
I didn't even notice we got to the room where Celestia should've been until Luna called my name.
"Huh, What? Oh, we're here already."
" If you are looking for the Princesses, they headed to the royal library. " The guard by the door said.
" So you're guarding an empty room now, then. Useful. "I scoffed.
The guard gave me a menacing look, but kept his mouth shut.
" I guess we continue to the library, then." I walked off, not particularly waiting for Night and Luna.
" Thou seemst not thineself." Night remarked, after having catched up to me. "If there is anything thou needst off thine mind-"
"It’s nothing. Just daydreaming. "
" Well , if thou sayeth so... If thou wishes to share thine mind, know that we are here. "
" I know, thank you. For now, let's focus on the matter at hand. "
We continued to the library, in silence again. My thoughts wandered off once more, thinking of what I saw.
It can't have been... She's not even here...
I nearly bumped into Celestia's hindquarters if not for Luna calling my name again.
" Ah, Primal, Luna and Night. Did you discover anything? " Celestia asked kindly.
I wanted to reply, but Luna cut me off. " We didst not find anything, sister. The local populace knew nothing of it. "
" Ah, that is too bad. We were just about to go through this book. Cadance ensured me that this book should have some information on the ancient evil, presumably summoned by the changelings. "
" Twilight would've read the entire library by now. " I said nonchalantly.
“Aye, but Twiligh’ ain’t here rite now. So it be up ta us ta search fer sum answers.”
'Right. Let's go digging for them then." I motioned to the book.
While Celestia and Cadance were going through the book together, I walked over to where Shining Armour was sitting. I motioned for Spirit to come and join me aswell.
"Do you know anything about why the guards have been replaced, Shining? They can't all just have disappeared!" I said, somewhat quietly.
"I have not seen or heard anything about guards going missing. I'm worried for all my guards. The changelings are quite effective at taking over positions.. we found that out during our wedding."
"We'll find tha guards 'n make dem changelin's pay fer wha' they done! Ye can count on dat!"
"First, however, we need to find a way to deal with these changelings. Preferably without them knowing." I pondered.
" That will be very difficult, Primal Dagger. " Cadance walked over to us. " You see, the changelings work like a hive mind. Hurt or kill one, and all the others will know. "
"Does putting them to sleep work?" I asked tentatively.
" I am unsure. We ponies do not really have any subtle ways of putting others to sleep. Other than magic, but there are no known unicorns alive who know of those spells. "
" In In that case.. Stand guard here,and let me try it out."
I slipped into stealth and made my way over to the guard that was in front of Cadance's room. He looked pretty bored, and was not paying much attention to anything.
I carefully opened the door behind him, causing him to jolt up from the noise of the creaking door. He went into the room to check it out, and I followed him into the room.
Let's see what the daggers have to say to you..
I drew upon the magic of the daggers to imbue them with incapacitating powers, and then carefully poking the guard in the neck with them.
The guard fell flat on his face, out cold. I waited for a response from any of the other guards, but none came.
Great!
I quickly hid the unconscious guard's body, closed the door of the room and made my way back to the others to tell them what happened.