I
Chapter Three
General of the Night
“Yeah yeah,” Aranea finally waved her off and lay down on the marble. She had already taken off her armor, which the guards had tried to confiscate. Suffice to say, the murderous glare that appeared on her face had motivated them to not bother even attempting.
Aranea’s time in the cell lasted several more hours, during which the guards had changed once or twice. At the most recent change of guard, she had noted something very interesting. Unlike the first guard, the second guard’s illusion seemed to be faltering substantially at random. She watched as the chest plates shimmered.
After about half an hour, the illusion was gone but the pony in question hadn’t noticed. Aranea stood up and walked over to the door, sticking her arm out and poking the now-fluffy thestral. “Oi. Your fluff is showing.” The thestral didn’t move so Aranea kept poking her in varying places until finally the thestral spun around.
“Would you quit that!” the bat-pony screeched.
“Well, yeah,” Aranea said, “but, boy, you guys are fluffier than I remember.” The thestral just stared at her for a minute before looking down at itself. A loud yelp came from her and she spun to the unicorn guard, rapidly muttering something and the illusion reappeared. Immediately, the thestral turned back to her spot.
“What, not even a thank you?” Aranea asked, “Harsh.”
A moment of silence before the thestral finally answered, “I would thank you, Dragoon, but seeing as you probably took it down yourself, I won’t.” The thestral went mute again.
“...How in the seventh hell could I mess with Equestrian magic?” she answered, before frowning. An anger seemed to burn in her eyes, and in a sickeningly sweet voice, she spoke. “I’d like a book to read, one on history please.”
The thestral remained silent while the other guard nodded and a flash of light came from his horn. Sitting in his magic was a thick book, the scrawls of Equestria script on the book speaking its title clearly to those with a sense of sight. A Moderately Descriptive and Perfectly Accurate History of Equestria. Aranea scoffed at the title.
“Perfectly accurate my arse,” she said, accepting the book as it was passed through the bars. The woman sat back down on the marble bed and began reading. The past of our great land is full of strife, from both outsiders and domestic issues…
She had finally finished the section on the ‘Selenity Wars’ which, in all actuality, was just an incredibly absurd name for the civil war from the past. Its depiction of Nightmare Moon was inaccurate, in that she was a massive beast made of the shadows of the night. In that she commanded the most evil and foul creatures, which included the thestrals. Celestia, however, was depicted as completely heroic.
Disgusting as it was, it still was her means of learning how the last millennium had gone, and how ponies had advanced. However, she had passed a mere 100 years before quite literally throwing the book at the wall. Neither of the guards moved, and she shook the door.
“Take me to Celestia, now,” the two guards remained silent. “Fine, then I’d like to make a request to visit the library.” Aranea hissed, noting the thestral seemed to flinch while the other guard remained perfectly still.
“Your request is acknowledged,” the guard responded and then remained silent.
“Her request is to be granted, though perhaps not in the way she wishes,” the solar diarch appeared. The loud clop of hooves on stone echoed through the hall as the alicorn approached the door of the cell. Celestia’s face showed one of… disgust? Contempt? Some negative emotion being directed at her. “I have decided that, due to your lack of many core features of a good pony and friendship, you will be taught by my student.”
The guards paled, “Twilight is perfectly capable of stopping you from escaping, but you will be granted your weapon back.” Aranea glared, and then nodded. Celestia suddenly burst into a grin. “Excellent, you leave now.”
“Pardon?”
“My student and her new friends are awaiting you in Ponyville,” she said, before turning around. A soft glow came from her horn and the door swung open. Aranea passed through, grabbing the book and stashing it behind her, before Celestia’s magic wavered. The Stoss Spear came floating down the steps and was dropped into Aranea’s hands. The warrior gave Celestia a curious stare.
“You will be escorted by Captain Shining Armor,” Celestia nodded and a guard made his way down the stairs. Blue hair and a white coat, he was very similar in appearance to the guards in general. However, on his flank was a shield.
“Dragoon,” the pony said.
“Aranea, actually,” the warrior retorted, rolling her eyes.
“Doesn’t matter to me what your name is,” he replied coolly, “Currently you are an order, nothing more.” Aranea didn’t respond, instead choosing to stare into the eyes that stared back. She didn’t flinch, but the pony’s gaze shifted away from her own.
“Captain Armor, I leave you be,” Celestia turned and walked back up the stairs.
“If you’re going to escort me, do it,” Aranea said, waving towards the staircase out of the dungeons. Shining rolled his eye and started towards the stairs, nodding to the other two guards. They took off in the opposite direction, the disguised thestral giving Aranea an odd look as she followed the captain.
The two made their way into the halls, guards saluting Shining Armor as they passed. On the other hand, Aranea received numerous glares and stares as she walked behind the soldier. It wasn’t long to the castle doors and they marched out, a resounding “Captain Armor,” answering their walk.
The stares increased when they passed into the city, though the glares lessened considerably. Many of the ponies in town seemed to warily avoid both her and the captain, and they weren’t all that secretive about it. The walk to the train station remained that uneventful, even as they arrived.
The two boarded the train and remained silent for the entire ride. It was, surprisingly, completely uneventful and the train pulled into the Ponyville station in silence. The two left the train, still in silence and were passing out of the train station when something caught Aranea’s eye.
“...Is that a moogle?” the dragoon said, a bit shocked. She looked back at Shining, who was staring at her critically as she walked towards the moogle, its little red balloon thing bobbing. The moogle turned as she approached.
“Hello, kupo!”
“Er... Hello,” she said, “So, what are you doing here? I thought moogles were, you know…”
“I’m a Token Seller, kupo!” the little floating creature answered, “A first time visitor, kupo?”
“Well, yes, I suppose,” Aranea answered, somewhat confused. “What’s a Token Seller?”
“I sell the knicknacks of Displaced like you, kupo!” the moogle cheerily answered, “A first time visitor needs to make a Token and say a phrase, then gets one free!” The moogle happily answered, holding out its hands. “You can make one using these, kupo!”
Aranea started at the very tiny objects in its hand and reached out to touch them. Instantly, three items appeared in her hands. A Phoenix Down, a single piece of gil, and a moogle plushie. She picked up the moogle plushie, “...Even if I don’t pick this, can I keep it?”
The moogle laughed, “Sure thing, kupo!”
“Alright, then the Phoenix Down, since it’ll be useful at some point,” the moogle nodded and the gil disappeared. Holding the item up, the moogle looked at Aranea.
“What’s your phrase, kupo?”
Aranea frowned and then decided, “Aranea Highwind, the Dragoon, calls and hears you. Should you be of ready soul and mind, and of good spirit, you are welcomed.” The moogle spun and tossed the object into the air, which disappeared.
“Token made, what Token will you pick, kupo?” The moogle held out its hands again, revealing a large spattering of glittering sparks. Once again, Aranea tapped the moogle’s hands and a group of items appeared in her hands. A pair of Genji gloves? She tapped it.
“I am the warrior, the master of weapons, the seeker of battle and adventure. To those who would require my strength to defeat thine foes, to crush opposing forces, put on these Genji Gloves and call out my name with the intent to summon me. If ye be without true malice in thine hearts, know that the mighty Gilgamesh will come to thine aid!”
“...I”m not sure if I should be surprised or appalled that I drew one from the same fandom,” the woman muttered, “But, I shall take these.” The moogle nodded and the rest of the items disappeared.
“Good choice, kupo! Those are some of the rarest wares,” the moogle twirled and disappeared.
“...Note to self, moogles exist here,” she muttered and turned around and walked towards Shining. A brushing against her legs brought her attention downwards and she found a cloth pouch on her waist. “Convenient,” she stashed the genji gloves away and met the guard captain.
“We were going to see Celestia’s student, yes?” Arane asked.
“I don’t feel comfortable leaving you here with her,” he muttered.
“Why?”
“She’s my sister,” he answered. The dragoon raised an eyebrow.
“Worry not, captain, I shall not harm your sister,” Aranea said, unless I have to was left unspoken and Shining sighed before nodding. The pony plodded on towards a massive tree in the middle of the town.
The moogle plush had somehow ended up on Aranea’s shoulder as they finally reached the door. The large oak tree, as Aranea had managed to identify it, was brightly lit from windows on it. Living in a tree? How many houses like this are there? Aranea scoffed, until she noted the sign. …It’s a library, she lives in a library. Golden Oaks Library was etched on a sigh in the yard, and the tree was growing very much in the middle of a square.
“...Your sister lives in a tree library?”
“Yes,” Shining answered, “she does now.”
It sounded like the most casual thing one could say, coming from him. Nothing odd at all about living in a plant that was turned into a library. Neither was the fact it was a baby dragon that greeted them. A species that could set the entire building ablaze, no big deal. Aranea stared at him for a minute, “You’re not going to try and set me on fire are you?”
“You’re not going to stab with that spear, are you?” the little dragon retorted.
“Touche,” the warrior answered as the purple dragon finally let them in. “Twilight! Your brother and that person are here!” The dragon disappeared back into another room and a lavender unicorn came down the staircase, which had no rails mind you.
“BBBFF!” She called out, racing down the stairs and hugging the stallion.
“Hey Twily,” Shining grinned, hugging her back. “Sorry, but I have to get back, maybe next time we can hang out.”
“Oh, yes! I can even introduce you to my friends!” the mare squealed.
The two ponies gave their goodbyes and Shining Armor left out through the door, which shut rather loudly. It was an awkward silence when the baby dragon returned from the other room with a pile of cookies in one claw, and a bowl of gems in the other. Aranea watched him sit down and then looked at the lavender mare.
“I’m Twilight Sparkle, and this is Spike,” she introduced herself and the baby dragon.
“Right, copy that,” Aranea said, and then turned around and marched over to a bookshelf. She was browsing when Twilight, who had been scolding Spike, finally approached her.
“What are you doing?” the lavender mare asked.
“Trying to find a genuinely accurate book of your history,” Aranea removed the earlier book from her back, handing it to Twilight. “This travesty seems entirely too biased and is only accurate about the barest details of the ‘Selenity Wars’.”
Twilight gripped the book in her magic, “A Moderately Descriptive and Perfectly Accurate History of Equestria? But this is one of the best historical references of our age.”
“You want to explain to me how everyone, including myself, Nightmare Moon, Celestia, and the thestrals are depicted in such grotesquely warped images?” The dragoon asked, pointing at the picture of herself commanding a marauding army of ‘thestrals’. “I’m fairly certain you’ve seen thestrals before. Do they look like that? Do I look like that?”