//------------------------------// // Now or never // Story: Lux Locus: Blue fings 'n Big humes // by The Psychopath //------------------------------// "Princess, there's a dispute over the percentages of shares of silks from the Saddle Arabians by two merchants importing them." "Did they sign a contract?" "N-no. They shook hooves on it--" "And now each is trying to say that they did the most work and deserve a large share. Tell the one who went to the country and negotiated the prices to import them here legally deserves a sixty-one point one percent share of the trade, and if there are any new items that pop up in the debate to take it to the import-export court. Give them something to do." Twilight was barreling through her crystal castle, accompanied by a small advisor pony. He wore a little black tie around his brown neck, and his mane and tail were both a slightly curled pink. His cutie mark was a pen drawing a wavy line on paper, and it showed. His saddle bags overflowed with scrolls, notes, and other poorly placed papers. As for the lavender alicorn, she wore royal apparel as befitting a princess. Of course, they were colored purple, but she wanted them to be a deep blue. She was as tall as Luna was now, and her mane and tail had gathered up so much magic over the years that they now waved without any outside intervention. With proper maintenance, they would behave like any pony's mane and tail, but Twilight much enjoyed this state of things. Her muzzle had elongated slightly and her figure became slimmer over the years, but her 'kind and unsure' disposition made way for a more 'matured' thought pattern; One that helped carve the Ponyville of today. Twilight stopped her walk and faced the small stallion. "Pinkfuit," she started. "You're overworked. You need a break." "But all the others are on vacation. As a descendant of an element of harmony, I find it my duty to--" The tall alicorn placed her hoof on the pony's mouth, stopping him, and gave him a worried smile. "You aren't Pinkie Pie. You don't need to pretend like you are or think that you owe me anything. Your ancestor did a lot for Equestria, and we did it TOGETHER. She didn't do it it for me." "But--" "This is a job that requires at least twelve ponies on a calm day, and this is a very busy day. I already have the diplomatic advisors and heads of each party." "And they can-- "Yes. There are several dozens members in each party, and only a hoof full will be needed during this busy day." Pinkfruit took a deep breath and tried to relax. "Okay. Before I leave, can I see the soldiers during inspection?" "Why? That isn't a place that you are allowed to go. These are trained warriors meant to protect the city, not a tourist attraction." Twilight leaned to the side and hid her annoyance very poorly. "Unlike those in Shetland..." she mumbled. "What?" "Nothing." Twilight tapped her head and sighed. "Alright, fine. You've worked hard enough to merit the chance to see their private quarters while I inspect, but if you interrupt me or the ranking officers, you get out and go home immediately, okay?" Pinkfruit bounced eagerly in place. "I always wanted to be a guard," he stated cheerfully. Then he shrunk down and his mane deflated. "But I was too small for it." His mane reminded Twilight so much of her old friend, but that was a long time ago and she didn't like to stay on that. "Well, it's not because you wanted something that you're necessarily good for it." Twilight chuckled. "I learned that the hard way." She stared into the abyss. "A VERY hard way, but that's a tale for another time. Follow me." Twilight's empty castle had become, over the years, easily capable of rivaling her former teacher's. Carpets of vibrant blues and purples lined the floors, stained glass windows depicting the dozens of actions the first elements performed in their lifetime awed those walking in the hallways, and dozens of ponies were around the clock to keep every inch of the castle in a clean state. Of course, the stained glass windows didn't depict just the FIRST elements. The guards awaited on the fourth floor balcony, where they would place all their training equipment and work all day long to not lose their edge. Only a small opening directly opposite the entrance showed any chance of anypony falling as the walls had been extended several feet above the floor, ensuring that even stray fireballs would hit the walls, and the amount of scorch marks from trainees proved this a smart idea. Twilight's own wore armor of identical color to her coat, mixed with aubergine purple and passport blue. Their helmets, much like Celestia's Royal Guard, covered both sides of their heads, but with the centuries that passed, metallurgy had improved, and so scales extended from them to cover and protect the guards' necks. A little beak extended slightly over their eyes to protect them from any excessive sunlight, and a blue jewel was placed where there would normally be a unicorn horn for pegasi and earth ponies. Their leg armor wrapped the lower legs several times, creating a scaling row of jutting 'dragon scales' stopping just above the knee whilst the scales for the hind legs were reversed. A delicate singular line traced and glowed along the sides of the body armor following waving pattern with smaller lines branching off into curls. "Princess Twilight!" a captain saluted. "Here for the inspection." "Yes, captain, and I'm already pleased with what I'm seeing." Twilight smiled. The stallion blushed. "Oh. T-thank you, princess." Twilight frowned and pointed at the guards. "I'm talking about the guards that were capable of presenting themselves today for inspection." "Oh. Right," he chuckled. "Say, what's that tiny pony doing there?" he asked. "He's only there to quell his curiosity once and for all. It's okay. If he speaks or interrupts, he's going out of here pronto." Twilight cleared her throat. "So, what weaponry have you been using lately?" Twilight asked. "We've been using spears, leg-mounted crossbows, shields, swords, and for the pegasi; double-bladed spears." Twilight nodded in approval. "Close and long range combat, but what about artillery, should somepony attack us from afar? The walls were built to protect my ponies, after all. What good are they if we have no way of destroying incoming siege equipment?" "The ballista and catapults have been placed, as well as unicorn-centered 'golf balls'." Twilight reared her head back. "What in the world are 'golf balls'?" "Well," the captain started. "They're a new type of weapon made by a mage and scientist in Stalliongrad that uses unicorn magic as a power source. It basically launches highly focused balls of magic at the target and explodes. It's handy in that it's not dangerous to the user as it is to the enemy, unlike a canon." "I see." Twilight frowned. "I'm not that happy about all these weapons." "But the day today isn't like it was in the past. We have genuine threats building up on the borders and in our own lands." The captain shrugged. "Evolution, eh?" Twilight was starting to feel melancholic. "Evolution," she repeated. "Hey, what's that?" Pinkfruit asked. "Okay, I warned you," Twilight said. "Get out." "But--" "Your princess told you to leave," the captain compounded. "You should do as she says. It's disrespectful." Pinkfruit pointed enthusiastically at the sky. "But there's a ball of fire coming from the sky!" Twilight rolled her eyes and looked behind her, but her assurance of it just being the stallion's imagination made way for shock and, quite simply, an inability to react appropriately to what was about to occur. A huge ball of fire really was falling from the sky, but it was going in a sharp, diagonal arc downwards like most catalogued meteors. Rather, it 'surfed' the air and punched through several buildings and landing somewhere in the western section of the city. Twilight could hear ponies screaming, but Celestia had taught her well how to control herself. "Get down there right away!" she ordered. "Keep the civilians away from the crash site and debris and help the medical teams--" A loud explosion erupted from the crash site, followed by what sounded like multiple thunder cracks. "Wooooo!" a low, gravely voice shouted from afar. Twilight looked towards the fires and sources of the screams in concern. She never heard a voice like that. "We're under attack," she said. "I don't know by whom, but I need you to--" "Princess," Pinkfruit started. "Look." Several more balls of fire were plummeting from the sky followed by long barrels of hastily put together metals. "They're coming from Luna's stars," the small stallion continued.