//------------------------------// // Sacrifice // Story: Harmony's Wrath // by hahatimeforponies //------------------------------// The moon sat high in the sky by the time they reached Canterlot. From atop the same grove as last night, the city looked much the same; spires dotted the skyline, and everywhere was bathed in the soft white of moonlight reflected on snow. Nothing about it had really changed, except what they were looking for. Derpy Hooves immediately started toward the city gates, only for Twilight to put a hoof to her neck to stop her. "Wait." "What?" "We're not going after the Crusaders yet." Twilight was cool and calm in her instruction; she looked dead ahead. "What." Derpy balked, furrowing her brow. "Risk management. If we find them before we meet up with Luna, they'll be a liability, and if it goes wrong, they get caught up in whatever happens to us." Twilight frowned. "Besides, at night, in a city this size, it'll be nearly impossible to find them." "Hmm..." Derpy gazed worriedly at the spires and rooftops in the distance. "... alright." Reluctantly, she fell in line with the other ponies as they started down the hill to the storm drains. As they neared the open gash in the cliff face, something made itself quite apparent - some fetid odour in the air, intensifying as they grew closer. First, Twilight got a whiff, and gagged. Then, one by one, everypony displayed similar reactions. When it reached Rainbow Dash at the back, she screwed up her face, and went slightly shifty-eyed. "Ugh, what in tarnation?" Applejack barked, keeping her distance from the open tunnel. "There must have been some..." Twilight coughed. "... some kind of leak in the sewers since last night. Frost damage, maybe." "Actually..." Dash gulped. Everypony quickly turned to face her. "Rainbow, what did you do..." Rarity spoke through a handkerchief. "Well, on our way out last time... I kinda forgot to put the ponyhole cover back on." Her ears went flat, and her wings hung limply at her sides. "Gah... no matter. Until we get to the sewer, the gas concentration shouldn't be toxic. Just unpleasant..." Twilight grumbled, leading the party on into the drains. On the roof of a hotel in the city, a single pegasus sat watching the moonlight reverently. She wiped the sweat of exertion from her brow, her lithe body still brimming with adrenaline. She wasn't quite sure what it was, but she couldn't shake this gut feeling she had about this night. She couldn't quite put her hoof on what it was, but something about this night was particularly auspicious. While not especially familiar with the route, it was still relatively fresh in their minds. Added to this, with an extra pegasus on board, they had no problems ferrying Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rarity and Trixie straight to the top. Twilight, with the dual benefits of knowing the way and not needing to conserve energy, saved them the effort by winking up with Spike. Gagging and coughing, the party struggled through the narrow ladder-space and across the sewers. Again, with the benefit of foreknowledge, they could form a single, continuous convoy instead of travelling in pairs, streamlining the process. Rarity made a point to pull over the hole cover before they moved on. Ahead, the old palace was lit up the exact same way as last night; faint torchlight emanating from the gaps in the crumbling walls. It was as much an indicator as a beacon; they were reassured that their liaison in the palace was holding up her end. One by one, they filed through the old window, and shuffled into the rubble-strewn hall. Pinkie Pie, her mane still hanging straight down her face, stuck close behind Rainbow Dash as they entered, occasionally nosing at her flank or shoulder when she could keep up. The pegasus kept a stoic reserve; she knew her time was short, and for her friends, she kept a brave face. Sitting quietly in the clearing, reading by torchlight, a slate blue pony raised her head when she heard the soft clopping of hooves on stone. "Twilight." she spoke softly as the unicorn stepped in from the shadows. "We got your letter. We were about twelve miles south of Canterlot at the time. I..." "Sh." Luna raised a hoof to Twilight, and closed her book. "Then you know the plan?" "Mm." Twilight nodded somberly, and turned a little to the side. Taking her cue, Rainbow Dash stepped forward, breathing deeply. Pinkie went to reach a hoof to her, only for Applejack to hold her back, sniffing back a tear. Well, this is it. This is where I get off. "I'm reah..." Dash began, though the frog in her throat made her cough and try again. "I'm ready." Luna tilted her head quizzically. "I'm sorry, what were you doing again?" The alicorn blinked innocuously. "Uhm... the sacrifice. Wasn't this in the plan?" Rainbow wasn't sure whether to be offended or relieved. "The pl-oh, heavens, there seems to have been some misunderstanding." Luna chuckled, sitting up. Her cheery demeanour brought a sick feeling to Twilight's stomach. "I mustn't have been clear in my instructions. I'm the sacrifice." "Well, there were a fe-what?" Twilight swallowed. "That wasn't in the letter at all!" "Wait, why are you happy about this? I was ready to throw down my life just now and you're just going to happily step in and take my place?" Dash boggled. Wait, why are you questioning this, Dash? Luna giggled and wiped her eye. "It's simple. You are young, full of potential, you have a whole lifetime ahead of you. I..." She sighed and looked up at nothing in particular. "I am long past my time. I am a slave, marooned in the future. Everypony I truly knew is gone. For centuries all I have been able to do is stew in my guilt. I... I have lived long enough." She looked down and smiled at Rainbow. "Your sacrifice is indeed valiant, Rainbow Dash, but tonight, at least, it is not necessary." "But-" Luna raised a hoof to Twilight as she spoke. "Before you argue rationality, Twilight, I have another piece to speak. The ritual's strength grows with the strength of the sacrifice, correct?" Luna's tone got noticeably flatter and more business-like. Twilight nodded. "Not to demean your friend here, but a thousand year old alicorn is just a touch more powerful than a twenty-something year old pegasus. Just saying." "Hey!" Dash yelped. Offended or relieved? Still too hard to tell. "And you're going to need all the power you can get." "You've... got me there..." Twilight conceded. Pinkie Pie jumped on Dash's back and hugged her tightly. The pegasus let out a deep, wavering sigh of relief. "Now let's hurry up and get started, Celestia could be down here any minute!" "Actually..." Twilight smirked. "We've got plenty of time. Among the things I found in my studies..." She pulled Diaries of a Planeswalker from her saddlebag, and flipped through a few pages while she talked. "... was a description of how Djinn magic works. Djinn usually only have access to a set of basic but broad spells, so in order to achieve complex and precise effects, they layer them. While this is an effective way of performing advanced magic with simple components, it produces a lot of side effects. The pony who wrote this diary exploited those to get away from a Djinn and escape their plane. " She snapped the book shut, and returned it to her saddlebag. "Now, the 'how' is quite complicated, but to cut a long story short, I've been able to work out some of the side effects from observation and the planeswalker's notes. They include the Elements of Harmony, the artifacts, and something I like to call an arcanonegative cage, on this hall." Silence. "A what now?" Applejack spoke up. "It's a type of enchantment placed on large, enclosing structures like caves and buildings, which neutralises most magic flowing in and out. Spells can still take place inside the cage, but they can't leave. Since this enchantment is a thousand years old now, it's starting to fade, and more powerful spells can breach it, but it's still enough to cancel most everyday magic that tries to cross it. Which, as you might have noticed, Luna, includes any spells Celestia uses to try and find you, which is why she can't see you down here." "Ahh..." Luna nodded. "This layering also explains why the Elements of Harmony exist in the first place, since I don't see why Celestia would intentionally create magical artifacts that would ultimately lead to her demise." "Alright." Luna sighed, and looked around the room anxiously. "Still, there's no point hanging around. Those rituals are complex." "Right." In a dark hotel room, lit only by the moonlight coming through the window, a pegasus trawled through a small travel case. Clothes, sunglasses, empty bottles tossed aside. A few travel papers, whisked through the air, landing in a crumpled heap on the bed. Behind a zipped pocket at the back of the bag, a book. An old, tattered book, barely readable anymore. An heirloom, transcribed through generations to preserve the information on the decaying paper, the language updated with the times, becoming more abridged and laconic with each iteration. But the salient points remain the same. Tonight I have seen the most wondrous thing. Without warning, the black sky lit up in every colour of the rainbow, a terrific explosion ripped through the quiet night air, and a streak of multicoloured light shot overhead. Soon after, a single blue feather drifted into my hands from the sky. Never before have I seen so much potential in the wings of a pegasus. Two sets of beating hooves and a pair of flapping wings tore across the palace's pristine tiled floors and white marble walls, their paths weaving in and out of each other as they went. Every so often, a startled passer-by would squeal and duck for cover as a pony rushed past them. It wasn't long before more joined the chase - royal guards pursuing the disruptive interlopers. Into a side corridor, out of a side corridor, across an archway, looping around to surprise their pursuers from behind... The three ponies burst into the drawing room, where the Princess was quietly reading by the fire. A blast of wind and a rainbow trail whipped past, knocking a few books off the shelves and throwing paper everywhere, only to disappear out the far door as quickly as it had arrived. A second pony rushed past soon after, leaping over the fallen books. All she could really make out of her was a hat and a yellow tail vanishing around the corner of the doorway. Celestia looked up, nonplussed. After the same interval again, she was stunned by a light bonk to the side of her head, and a simple message; "Tip! You're it!" As quickly as she had arrived, the bright pink messenger disappeared with the other two. A moment later, two royal guards barged into the room. "Princess! Are you alright?" One blurted out, watching the tall white alicorn rise to her hooves. "Never better!" She chuckled, rearing up with a playful smirk. "Don't worry, I know these ones." She winked to the bamboozled guards, and galloped out the door. They exchanged puzzled looks, and shrugged. "Ready or not, here I come!" What was the worst that could happen? Down the hall, the three ponies split up, taking different routes down different flights of stairs. Celestia could easily apprehend all of them at a moments' notice, but in the interests of good sport, she pursued on their terms; on hoof. She was never far behind them - she knew these halls inside out after all - but they were all just too quick. Gradually, the chase entered the deeper portions of the castle, through cellars and storage tunnels, perfect marble surfaces giving way to rough, aged cobblestone, the air slowly getting danker and mustier... The three of them converged on a narrow spiral staircase, set into a stone wall, and filed through in an orderly (if rapid) fashion. "I've got you now!" She called, charging after them. As soon as she squeezed into the passageway, a terrible gut feeling hit her. A very particular gut feeling, one that she hadn't felt in a long time... Shaking her head, she dismissed it as nothing, and carried on down the steps. Slam. She heard a heavy door up ahead of her close. A second later, it came into view, and she charged it with all her might, banging into it and flinging it off its hinges. She skidded to a halt in a dark room. "Aha... uh?" Fzhew. A small lilac light shot from a point in the centre of the hall, and dropped on the floor a few lengths away. A small circle with a few geometric patterns on it lit up in purple flames, and the room's few open surfaces - the doorway, and a hole between some rocks at the far end of the hall - glazed over with a translucent, fuchsia barrier. "Good evening, Princess."