//------------------------------// // The vow of Night and Day (Edited) // Story: Final Fantasy: Twilight Elysium // by Matrix7o6 //------------------------------// Chapter 7: The vow of Night and Day (Hammerhead Auto Repair) (One exhausting walk later) Prompto lays beside the Regalia, panting from the hike while pushing the car. Gladio wasn’t fairing any better; he was physically the strongest of the group so he’d volunteered to push the back the entire way. And though he wouldn’t admit it, he needed a breather from the impromptu workout. Ignis did a good deal of the steering until they got about halfway to the auto shop. Much to Noctis’s dismay, Ignis had let Prompto sit in the driver’s seat after the halfway point since his head looked like it had been on the verge of exploding. When they finally reached the shop they all nearly collapsed in a sweaty heap on the ground. After a few moments of rest, a woman with short, curly blonde hair and green eyes comes out to meet the group. She wore jean shorts with a loosely hanging tool belt, an opened cropped yellow jacket that revealed a pink bikini underneath, and white boots atop black, leather stockings. “Hey there!” she says to the group. “Y’all kept a gurl waitin’.” They all turn their attention toward her. Prompto scrambled to his feet, resisting the urge to stare. “Now which one o’y’all is the prince?” Noctis stands and nods in her direction. “Ah ha,” she notes as she makes her way around the Regalia. “Hello Your Highness. Congrats on yur weddin’.” “We’re not quite hitched yet,” Noctis replied. “Lady Lunafreya’s groom ta be, here in Hammerhead.” Her tone was chipper. “Apologies for taking so long,” Ignis offers. The woman smiles. “Y’all best save yur apologies fur papa,” she explains, skimming over their vehicle. “That makes you…?” Gladio started. “The name’s Cindy,” she responds, turning back toward the group. “Cid’s grease monkey granddaughter.” “Roll it in while I’m still young!” a man from the shop yells. They look to see a man with hazel eyes and silver hair walking toward the Regalia. “She’s a custom classic, not some beat up old clunker.” He looks to Noctis. “Prince Noctis.” “Yes?” Noctis asked, eliciting a scoff from the old man. “Prince. It’s like they took your father an’ kicked the dinky out of’im,” he complains as he walks around the Regalia. “What?” the prince asked, confused and slightly offended. “You have a long way to go son, and that slack jaw isn’t getting you nowhere. Alright,” he says, now looking toward the group after finishing his analysis. “Wheel her in; this will take a while.” He walks back into the shop. “Y’all heard’im,” Cindy sighed. “Let’s get moving. Right this way.” She directs them as they push the car into the shop. Once it was parked inside, Cid and Cindy wasted no time getting to work on it. “Now we play the waiting game,” Ignis muses as he addresses the rest of the party. “I never liked that game,” Prompto commented. “Never good at it either,” Noctis adds. The group takes in the view. Ignis walks over to Noctis. “Noct, a moment if I could?” he says. “What’s going on?” Noctis asked. “It would seem we are low on funds. Most of it is going to the repairs,” Ignis explains. “Might I suggest you confer with Cindy?” Noctis nods and goes toward the shop where Cindy is waiting outside. “Oh, by tha way,” she says, “since y’all haven’t been out this far, y’all are gunna need this.” She hands Noctis a map. “Now go take a look around.” Noctis returns to his friends. “Well, we might as well make good use of the extra time,” Gladio says. He makes his way toward the shop while Prompto has already made it to past the entrance. “Oh check this out!” Prompto shouts excitedly. “They have ebony out here. Ignis is gonna love this.” Before he grabbed it, he squinted at the price tag. “Wait. What’s a Gil?” “Our funds are exhausted for the repairs,” Ignis explains as he enters the store with Gladio. “Great; broken down and broke,” Prompto sighs. “Adding insult to ingury,” Ignis agreed. Cindy had walked over to the group. “Hey Cindy,” Noctis said. “Don’t you think the price is a bit steep for a tune up?” She was struck with a sudden realization. “Ooooohhhhh, now I get it. This is what Papa meant when he said he was gunna ‘teach them boys a lesson.’ He said he shuld have y’all take care of some ornery varmints that are causin’ a ruckus ‘round here.” She crosses her arms. “I’d be willin’ ta pay you for yur services.” “Alright,” Noctis replied. The rest of the group had heard the exchange. “So much for finding an easy way you,” Prompto remarked after Cindy was out of earshot. “We’d better make tracks. Ignis! We’re heading out,” Noctis says as he looks at the map. “On my way,” Ignis replies. He catches up to the group. As they journeyed toward one of the sites where the “varmints,” as Cindy called them, were making trouble, Prompto decided to try and strike up conversation. “So, once the Regalia’s fixed we’re meeting a soldier from Niflheim?” he questions while keeping pace with the others. “Sounds like a trap to me,” Gladio grumbled. “We’re supposed to meet with one of our enemy’s best soldiers and pray they’re not walking us into a trap? Something doesn’t seem right.” “Do we even know the name of this soldier?” “Second Lieutenant Twilight Sparkle,” Ignis answered. Prompto nearly tripped himself from laughing. “That’s terrifying,” he giggles. “She is a weapon the Empire has dubbed “The Sorceress of Niflheim,’” Ignis adds bluntly. “She has participated in many battles, and her fighting prowess is feared by even the Kingsglaive.” “Then let’s be ready for a fight,” Gladio warns with a hint of excitement. “I don’t think so,” Noctis interrupts. Their targets come into view then, leading Noctis to dive behind some large rocks. The others follow close behind. “I know it has been a long time,” he whispers. “But Twilight was living with Lunafreya when I met her.” “People change, Noct,” Ignis whispers back. Noctis nodded and peered around the rocks. “Ready?” he asks the group. They nod and ready their weapons. “Alright. I’ll take the high ground. Prompto, fire at them to get their attention, and lure them to that boulder,” he directs, pointing at a boulder offset from them. “When they reach it, Gladio and Ignis will come in and attack from the left side. I’ll attack from behind once you three are in place.” Ignis smirked. “Not a bad plan Noct,” Ignis comments. “I’m learning from the best.” Noctis returns the smirk. “Maybe I can teach you how to cook later then,” Ignis says, which makes Noctis cringe. “I’ll leave the cooking to you,” he responds. He hurls his sword onto the previously mentioned boulder and vanishes into blue particles. “Let the games begin,” Prompto says excitedly. He smirked and jumped from their cover, firing off a shot at the targets. His smirk disappeared once he realized what it was he was shooting at. Several giant scorpions began to charge at Prompto, causing him to groan. “Why does it always have to be bugs?!” he shouts. Within moments, the giant scorpions were nearly on top of him, passing the mark. This prompted Ignis and Gladio to start their assault on the eight-legged monsters. Ignis crossed his daggers to block a stinger from one scorpion as another lunges at him. This makes him drive a dagger into the first one’s head as he ducks, and he brings his other dagger into the lunging scorpion’s underbelly. He drags the blade deep into it as it clears past his head. It falls to the ground with a loud thud. He quickly jumps away from the first scorpion, his other dagger still lodged in its head, and dodges to the side as its stinger strikes the ground. The scorpion tries to pull its stinger out of the ground to no avail. With this opening, Ignis swiftly cuts off the monster’s tail, causing it to writhe in pain. Not one to let his enemies suffer, he takes his dagger out of its head, then drives both daggers into its head, slicing its brain. The scorpion’s pained spasms slowly died down before it lay still on the ground. Gladio heartily cut a scorpion in half with his large sword. He spins around quickly and bashes another one away from him, causing it to crash into a rock with a loud crack. Seeing this as his signal, Noctis ran his sword through one of the scorpions. “Ignis, instructions!” Noctis shouted. Ignis threw multiple daggers at the remaining scorpions. “All yours, Noct.” As Noctis teleported to each dagger, he delivered a volley of strikes to the scorpions. He repeated the process until he got to the last scorpion. He struck this one with a cross-slash motion, which opened up the monster’s shell. Noctis opens his hand once more, making a javelin appear. He grips it tightly as he rears his arm back, then throws it above a scorpion that had been only injured from the dagger assault. A flash of blue particles appears in the air, and Noctis reappears with the javelin. He brings it down into the scorpion’s back, swiftly ending its misery as the rest of the group finishes up. “One area down, two to go,” Noctis says after they resume their journey. “You mean there’s more?!” Prompto protests. “Do it for Cindy,” Gladio jokes while rolling his eyes. Prompto’s mood rose in a millisecond. “That, I can do!” he shouts with a joyous tone. “Let’s go, you to,” Ignis said. The three head toward Noctis, who was already ahead of them. (Galdin Quay) Twilight groaned out in frustration and boredom. She had no idea what could possibly be taking the prince and his entourage so long, but unless half of Lucis’s military was following the prince, there was no reason it should be taking them three hours. Alright. I’m just going to grab a bite to eat then I’m going to find them myself. Fuck this rendezvous bullshit, she thinks to herself. She stares down at her menu. “Did you find anything you like, Ma’am?” the woman over the counter asked. “Actually, yes.” Twilight smiles. “I’ll have the…” her sentence trails as she heard the sound of a little girl screaming. She turns her head in that direction. “I’ll be right back,” she tells the woman as she sprints toward the docks. She sees several beachgoers trying their best to run from what looked to be a small group of giant crabs. “What in Faust’s name are sparkshears doing all the way over here?!” Twilight jumps over the railings and ran toward the little girls that was still screaming. The sparkshears seemed to be closing in. “MOMMA!” the little girl screams. Her mother could only cry out for her daughter and close her eyes as one sparkshear started to bring its claw down on the girl. A loud clang echoed throughout the beach and the mother opened her eyes to see that her daughter was unharmed; the sparkshear’s claw had been stopped by some kind of purple wall. Twilight threw the sparkshear away from the girl, and then carefully tossed the girl to her mother. “Go!” she commands. She directs her attention to the other sparkshears. “Well, I want to thank you three for alleviating my boredom. As a reward,” she says while flicking her wrist. Her horn slides down her sleeve and into her palm. Her hand closes firmly around it as a sadistic grin forms on her face. “I’ll make your deaths as quick and painless as possible.” She extends her arm and the horn transforms into a great sword. “Let’s have some fun,” she says, charging at the giant crabs. (Equestria) (Canterlot Dungeons) “Time to eat… and please eat this time,” Flash Sentry pleads as he trots down the cold and dimly-lit halls. For the year Twilight has been gone Celestia could only look at Princess Luna with such utter betrayal. Luna herself was beaten by Celestia whilst telling her the same thing, over and over. After a while, Luna said nothing. And has said nothing ever since. Many have wondered about the night princess. Some say that Nightmare Moon returned and Celestia was forced to banish her again. Some say she fell for Twilight and the two ran away together, since they both disappeared around the same time. Whatever the rumor, the citizens of Canterlot rest at ease knowing their noble and kind ruler would take care of any problems. Flash Sentry felt sorry for Princess Luna. He absolutely could not comprehend the need for such treatment. Especially when it came to the princess’s own sister. Luna sat silently; her once regal, starry midnight blue mane was now reduced to a sickly brown, dirt-ridden mess. Once of her eyes was swollen shut by one-too-many hooves to the face from a few hours prior. Her coat was dirty and matted… unkempt due to lack of clean water. “Please Princess, eat.” Flash scoots a tray of dry-looking bread and some water to her. Luna slowly walks toward the tray and began nibbling on the bread. Her eyes widened at the taste. She started eating with renewed vigor. Flash smiles at this. “I knew you’d like it. Cinnamon bread. My little brother made it in class today.” He sighs. “He says he’s always wanted to meet you.” He quickly looks down the hall to ensure no one else was around. “Princess,” he says quietly. “I’m not going to pretend that I know why you did it. So I must ask; why? Why did you help Twilight run away and put Equestria in danger? Please tell me; I want to understand. You’re not a bad pony, not by a long shot. And you certainly don’t need to be here. Why’d you betray Equestria?” He’d become desperate to know the motives behind the night princess’s madness that night. For a few minutes there was only silence. Flash Sentry sighed and turned to leave. “What is most important to thee, Warden Sentry?” Luna chokes out with a rather dry throat. “What?” He turns back toward her. “In this land… what do you hold dear to your heart?” she asks again. He looked deep in thought as he wondered what she was on about. “My family, my friends, the ponies of Equestria… I hold much to my heart, Princess. For it is my duty as a royal guard,” he finally answers. Luna gives a small smile. “Well said. Now tell us; would thou do anything to save those friends and family should the need arise? Even…” she pauses, “kill?” He was at a loss for words. His jaw hung open as his brain tried to process the information Princess Luna had just fed him. “N-no,” he stutters. “I would never kill. Killing only brings pain and sadness to those around. Those who kill are not fit to be alive themselves. They would sacrifice their honor and integrity for such petty reasons! I’d never kill; I’m above killing.” His tone became defensive. Luna lets out a dry chuckle. “Well met, our warden. T’is the truth; killing only brings pain. To one’s killer and one’s victim. However, Warden Sentry, you defined murder.” He stares at her. “Murder is a condemnable action, but does anypony ever ask why? Most times, one would get petty answers, such as a love triangle, or for a few bits. But hast thou ever heard the story of the two most notorious murderers of all time; thine very own princesses?” “What?” Flash Sentry asks with a raised brow. He seemed lost. Luna only nodded. “Yes. Our sister and us; we took more lives than anypony in history.” “I don’t believe it,” Flash snorted. “That is to be expected,” Luna says as she shuffles toward the bars of her cell. “Tell me Warden Sentry; have you heard of the Three Tribes war? Perhaps the War of Night and Day?” she asks intermittently. “I cannot say I have,” he responds. He tries to recall any mention of the two wars. “There is a reason behind that. Our sister had all the bloody battles erased from history. Any book that so much as hinted at them was burned. New copies replaced them that spoke only of peace and prosperity. Anypony that attempted to speak of the war was silenced. Some were thrown in these very cells to prevent the talk of war. The ponies were ignored until they swore to never speak of war again.” “But why?” “Because,” she continues, staring at him, “it was too horrible for her to bear. Our history tells us that the Three Tribe’s unity drove back the Windigos. This is not entirely true; thine subjects bathed in each other’s blood for years. It was the Windigos that threatened their existence, coupled with our guidance that motivated the three tribes to come together and combat the Windigos. The battle was long, and death was in abundance. But as they fought together, they stumbled together into peace. “In the end, a young but powerful unicorn and several of his apprentices sealed the Windigos in the northern mountains. The spell of which comprised of the very Windigos’ cold hearts; making it impossible for them to escape. From then on, Celestia ushered in an era of peace. “For almost two hundred years, life for all ponies was peaceful as they used the lands to better each other’s existences. The pegasi helped move weather, the earth ponies moved mountains, and the unicorns delved deep into the magic arts. All in order to bring about the land we know today as Equestria.” Flash Sentry took Princess Luna’s words with a sense of awe. To him, it was like he was listening to the first in depth retelling of history seen through the princess’s eyes. “However,” Luna continued, “this peace did not last. For this great peace my sister and we helped bring about in turn garnered worship from the ponies; mainly aimed toward our sister. She basked in the praise while I was left alone. Our sister’s daylight became a symbol for good harvest, for warmth, for life. She became the one responsible for the light of Equestria. She became their savior; the beginning of everything joyful. “Meanwhile we were left with no praise; not even acknowledgement for the good we’d done. We were known for the end of all things. Our night became a symbol for rest, for dreams, for nightmares. The end of joy, a symbol of terror, even, for some. Ponies feared what waited in the darkness, whether it be real or some foal’s fantasy. “We were shunned.” She keeps her gaze on the stallion. “Nopony will ever tell you how painful it is to go unloved by those you protected, for they rarely carry such burdens. That is when something inside us snapped. How dare Celestia hog all the praise! Are we not her equal? So, we succumbed to the darkness that dwelled within our heart and became the monster.” “Nightmare Moon,” Flash confirmed. Luna nodded. “Quite correct. It was then that we decided we could no longer yield to Celestia. And we were not alone in our cause. There were many ponies who shared our sentiment about the night. With them by our side, we waged war against Celestia. For years we killed and were killed for the sake of our cause; overshadow the dawn and bring the joys of the night to all. In the end we were banished. “And though the Nightmare remained our visage, we were still Luna in our soul. While the Nightmare schemed, we looked through our memories. Only then did we realize the horror of what we’d done. Ponies with lives to live, families to raise, and jobs to work. They all died for the sake of a cause I alone made them believe in. I wept for those thousand years of exile. I wept for the souls we condemned to death for our petty cause.” She blinks, seeming to fight off tears that never came. Her voice never cracked. “Once the Element of Harmony freed us, we vowed to never let another pony follow a path they themselves didn’t believe in.” Flash Sentry stood in shock. “That’s why you helped Twilight leave,” he says. Luna nods. “Though we learned our lesson from those horrid wars, Celestia took a different lesson entirely. Our sister saw the blood and the dirt and the dying and saw that it was the horrors of war that took her ponies. In her grief our sister made her own vow. She swore to erase war from the hearts and minds of ponies completely; so that they would only know peace and harmony. “With the Elements at her side she could smile with pride knowing that her ideals would shine for all ponies. However, she failed to realize that though peace is a great goal to strive for, too much peace can breed ignorance and complacency. Celestia’s complacency and ignorance lead her to ignore her own student’s warnings, and because of that Equestria was nearly lost. And because Twilight felt betrayed, she left her Element and her friends. Celestia now fears that the ponies will fall back into their old ways or that an enemy will come along and wipe us out.” Flash Sentry grabbed his keys and attempts to open the door, only for Luna to place a gentle hoof atop his. “You don’t deserve this,” he says firmly. “Yes we do,” Luna whispered. “For all the lives we wasted in our wars, we do belong here. I thank your kindness, but this will only make things worse. We will stay here and suffer what punishments our sister has for us.” He sighs and puts away his keys. “In time, we will be needed again.” Luna walked back to her bed and lay down, staring at the ceiling. (Ponyville) (Cutie Mark Crusader’s Club House) Sweetie Belle sighed as Scootaloo sat in a corner quietly. The girls hear a knock at the door. “Girls, Ah’m here,” Applebloom says as she lets herself in. “Why the long faces?” She shuts the door. “Look, Ah’m sorry about tha…” “It’s not about the fireworks, Applebloom,” Sweetie Belle interrupts. “It’s just my sister. She’s so busy now-a-days that each time I show up she tells me where the food is and just ignores me for the entire day.” “No offense Sweetie, but doesn’t she do that all tha time?” Applebloom asked, to which her friend just sighed again. “Yes, but ever since that black dress sold so well she’s had clients from all over Canterlot interested in buying from her.” “Ah see.” Applebloom pondered for a while until a sniffle brings their attention to Scootaloo. She lets out another sniffle as the sound of crumpling paper can be heard. Scootaloo throws something toward the bin on the other side of the room only for it to land beside it rather than in it. “Uh, Scootaloo, are you okay?” Applebloom asks. Her friend only shakes her head in response. “How did yur visit with Rainbow Dash go?” As soon as the words left her mouth, Scootaloo spun around. Her eyes were red and teary, and she had tear stains in her fur. “Never ever, EVER mention her again!” Scootaloo yells. This takes Applebloom and Sweetie Belle by surprise. “W-wut’s wrong Scoots? Ah’ve never seen you this worked up,” Applebloom says, trying to make sense of the situation. “She promised once she became a Wonderbolt. She promised.” She could barely fight back the tears welling back up. “What are you saying?” Sweetie Belle asked as she got closer. “I hate her. I HATE HER! Why? She promised!” Scootaloo took off then, sprinting out of the clubhouse. “Scootaloo, wait!” Sweetie Belle yells as she chases after her friend. Applebloom was about to take off as well until she caught a glimpse of the wall Scootaloo had been facing. There were shreds of paper everywhere. As she inspected, she found that some pieces had faint colors of cyan and rainbows. After briefly investigating, she walked over to the bin and picked up the crumpled ball of paper and unfolded it. After a moment her eyes went wide and she let out a gasp. Tears threatened to well up in her eyes as she bolted out of the clubhouse after her fellow crusaders. The paper falls to the floor. Ponyville Orphanage: Consent To Adoption TO MY NUMBER ONE FAN, FASTEST FLIER IN EQUESTRIA: RAINBOW DASH. (Eos: Outside of Hammerhead Auto Repair) “Alright, thanks Cindy,” Noctis said as he ends his call. He turns to his group. “The Regalia is fixed, and ready to hit the road again. If we hurry, we might be able to get to Galdin Quay before the sun starts to set.” “Oh yeah, time to feel the wind in our hair!” Prompto boasts. “Then let’s get back,” Ignis comments. They start to make their way back to the auto repair shop. “As long as Ignis is driving; he can keep four eyes on the road,” Gladio jokes. “I couldn’t even keep one,” Prompto responds. “Not sure if I’d do any better,” Noctis adds. “Just put me in the driver’s seat,” ignis says. “Good, ‘cause I need the leg room back,” quips Gladio. The group continues their return trip. After some time, they stop for a break. “Ugh, our crowned city upbringing didn’t prepare us for this,” Prompto says. “Just pretend you’re walking to the car,” Ignis responds. Prompto ignores this and nudges Noctis. “It’s rude to keep a lady waiting,” he says to the prince. “You’d better apologize to—W-WHAT IS THAT?!” His original thoughts were cut off as the group turned to see a massive winged creature diving at them. It simply glides past them, creating a windstorm as it gains altitude again. “It’s like… half-bird, half-airship,” he adds in alarm. “You do realize that would be thirds,” Gladio jokes, his face deadpanned. “That would explain its size,” Ignis agreed. “Awesome in every sense of the word,” Noctis mentions. They resume their walk back to the repair shop, picking up small items along the way. After about fifteen minutes, they finally make it back. “Wow, nice ride,” Prompto comments, pointing to a purple Fenrir motorcycle parked in front of the shop. “Excuse me, Ma’am, have you seen a man by the name of Prince Noctis?” a voice calls out, causing the group to stop in their tracks. They look over to see a woman with lavender colored hair approaching Cindy. Noctis recognized her hair; it was Twilight Sparkle. “Why yes, tha prince just came by here not too long ago. Ya just missed’em,” Cindy replies. Twilight giggled for some reason. “Did Ah say sumthin’ funny?” Cindy asks, seeming offended. “No Ma’am, not at all,” Twilight says. “It’s just, you reminded me of an old friend of mine.” She pauses for a moment and sighs. “Well, ex-friend is more the term; we had a falling out before I left.” “Well, Ah’m sorry ta hear that,” Cindy says. She looks away in the shop then back to Twilight. “Say, Papa and Ah just got done with tha prince’s car. He shud be back any minute now.” “Thank the gods,” Twilight sighs in relief, “a break.” Prompto tells the others to go hide by the diner. They do, and once they’re out of sight, Prompto turns his attention back to his task. “Hey,” he shouts, waving at Twilight. She concludes her conversation with Cindy and walks up to him. “Hello,” Twilight says. “Hey, you said you’re looking for Prince Noctis? Why?” “I’m supposed to be his escort to Altissia.” She has a slightly confused look on her face. Prompto nods and signals for the others to come from their hiding spot. “Long time, no see Noctis,” Twilight says with a smirk as they reach her. “It has been a long time, Twilight,” Noctis responds. “I take it you two know each other well?” Ignis says, looking between the two. “I’ll explain later,” Noctis says. Twilight walks back to her motorcycle. “We need to get back to the docks before sundown,” she says. Noctis nods and he goes over to Cindy with the guys. Once his exchange with her is done, they all pile into the Regalia, with Ignis in the driver’s seat. They drive off, with Twilight following close behind. After about twenty minutes they reach Galdin Quay. They get out of the car and head for the dock. As they pass the dining area, a figure calls out to them. Twilight recognizes him as he walks up to them. “I’m afraid you’re out of luck,” he says once he reaches them. “Ardyn” Twilight says with a raised brow. “What are you doing here? I thought there weren’t any ambassadors of Niflheim outside of Lucis other than me.” “Well hello to you too, Twilight. The emperor thought it was best I go to Altissia to help supervise the wedding. I thought it was best I didn’t use a military transport; it may raise some questions.” The group watches the exchange silently. “Good point,” Twilight responded. “How’s Lunafreya?” “In good health, other than the average bruise,” he responds, which causes Twilight and Noctis to grit their teeth. “You really will protect her with your life. I respect that.” He walks by the group. “Even if you’re worlds apart,” he starts as he tosses a coin at Noctis. Gladio catches it. “This ceasefire is getting us nowhere,” he grunts. He turns to leave, whatever he’d been about to say lost to him. “And consider it your allowance.” “Oh really. And who’s allowing us?” Gladio questioned. “A man of no consequence,” Ardyn says as he leaves. “What’s his story?” Gladio asks Twilight. “Hold on,” Twilight suggests. “Something’s not right.” She took out her phone and hit the speed dial button for Lunafreya. “Lulu,” she whispers as the phone rings, “you’d better pick up or I will run your ass over next time I see you.” (Equestria: Canterlot Throne Room) The doors fly open as Spike barges into the throne room dragging a mare. “Alright, Sunset,” Celestia begins. “How has life been?” “Just peachy. Now tell me why I’m here,” the yellow unicorn says, her tone rather aggressive. As she speaks, she tries to release Spike’s grip on her, causing her red and yellow hair to get jostled. “Straight to the point, I see. Well here’s the deal. I need you to be the Element of Magic until I recover its original wielder. Once that is done you will be pardoned of all crimes. And you may either stay or go back to your life on the other side of the mirror.” “And you think after everything, you’ll just let me off the hook?” Sunset Shimmer scoffs. “Just like that.” Celestia nods. “And if I refuse?” She stood defiant. “Then I have a memory charm I can use to make you forget everything you’ve known in life and make you cooperate.” Celestia’s eyes narrowed coldly at the unicorn. Sunset showed a twinge of fear. She grits her teeth. “Fine, I’ll do it,” she agrees. “But you will leave me alone once it is over, correct?” The princess nods. “I never thought I’d see the day where you, of all ponies became a tyrant,” Sunset states. Spike lets her go then. “I do what I do for the safety and livelihood of my ponies. Though they will come to hate it, they will thank me some day.” “Provided that they live long enough to do so,” Sunset said as she leaves the throne room. “Rest assured,” Celestia says to herself, “it will all be worth it in the end.” (Galdin Quay: Two hours later) After meeting a rather interesting reporter and retrieving a stone for him, Twilight and the group were ready to settle down. The sun was beginning to set. The group takes to the outdoor dining area to grab a bite to eat. Noctis, Prompto, and Gladio sit at a table and discuss the antics of the creatures they fought throughout the day. Ignis sits at a table beside theirs so he can right down a recipe he’d thought of. Twilight feeling like she needs to think avoids sitting at the chattering table, and sits down across from Ignis. “So, how long have you been in service with Niflheim?” he asks her, not looking up from his scribbling. “Twelve years,” she replies. “During the initial takeover of Tenebrae, I fought back. They found my talents worthy of the military and threatened to kill those I cared about if I refused. So, I did the only logical thing and joined.” “I see,” Ignis says, now putting his notepad away. “No offense, but if you’re as good as they say, why send you instead of a regular infantry or a common mercenary?” “Because normal Magitek infantry is programmable and subject to reprogramming from a remote area; you’d have a greater risk of getting shot in the back,” she explains. “And a mercenary is only loyal to the highest bidder. And there are definitely some rich aristocrats who’d want to see Noctis dead in a road-side ditch that would be more than willing to pay to see it happen. What about you? Are you paid to guard Noctis or are you someone close?” “I’m simply one of his companions,” he replies. “A friend,” she muses. “I remember how that once was. Take it from me; friendship is a gamble. Only in the true face of adversity will you find out who your real friends are.” She gets up. “If you would like a demonstration,” she says, walking up to the others. “Say, Noctis. Care to have a match with me on the beach? Most everyone has cleared out so it should be safe enough to fight as long as we don’t hurl any spells.” “Sure,” Noctis replies. He rises from his chair. “As long as we don’t get sand in people’s food, I think we’ll be fine.” “Alright! I’m goin to get some good shots of this!” Prompto exclaims excitedly. Some of the patrons nearby became curious at his shouting. They watch the group all walk off the dining area to the edge of the beach. As Twilight and Noctis step far enough away from the docks to not cause them harm, more people started to watch, all curious as to what was going on. Noctis and Twilight ready themselves. Ignis and Gladio watch them carefully. Prompto gets his camera ready. Even more people, and some of the diner workers, started to watch now. The two nod at each other in approval as they take their attack stances. Noctis hurls a sword at Twilight. He appears in front of her as she blocks the attack. Twilight sends out a pulse that knocks him back. The horn in her hand transforms into a replica of General Glacua’s sword as she runs after him. She delivers several strikes at him, which he manages to keep in step with. She lays a horizontal slash and he just over it, bringing his sword down toward her head. Twilight easily dodges this, much to his surprise, and narrowly avoids being run through. With Noctis on his hands and knees, Twilight took the opportunity to kick his face into the sand. “A little slow,” she banters. “But you have potential. You see, while you were learning the mannerisms of a prince, I was stuck learning the art of war.” Twilight leaps high into the air and brings her sword down on Noctis, only for him to block her with a lance he’d procured while she was in the air. “Then I need to show you that I’m a warrior worthy of being a prince!” He kicks Twilight off of him and gets up, throwing his lance at her in the process. At the same time, Twilight throws her sword at him, resulting with the two teleporting to each other with smoke and a flash of blue light. They clashed with enough force to kick up large amounts of sand. Flashes of light could be seen through the makeshift sand storm. The onlookers could hear the two continue to fight despite not being able to see through the sand and smoke. By the time the sand and smoke settled, Noctis was panting with his hands resting on his knees. Twilight stood seemingly unaffected by the injuries it seemed she’d sustained. She offers her hand to him. “Not bad,” she chuckles as he takes it. “But for now, let’s wrap this up.” She helps him up. Their party had clapped for the two, and during the fight the patrons hooted and hollered for the both of them. When it was over, everyone returned back to their normal activities. Noctis and Twilight collapsed in their chairs and were delighted to find that sometime during the sparring, one of the guys had ordered food for them. The group finishes their meals, then retreat to their hotel room to rest for tomorrow’s journey. They were all worn out from the day’s shenanigans, so sleep seemed to come smoothly for them. Little did they know though, that their trip was about to take a turn for the worst. (The Next Morning) Noctis finishes getting ready for the day and comes out of the bathroom. He sees Prompto sitting cross-legged on the edge of one of the beds, shuffling through the photos in his camera. Gladio was on the edge of the other bed, reading a brochure. Ignis was gone. “Anyone know where Twilight went this morning?” Noctis asks the two. He walks to the other side of the room to put his shoes on. “No idea,” Prompto answers. “She said she would be back, that something urgent had come up.” He shrugs. Noctis finished putting his shoes on and sat next to Prompto on the bed, intending to look through photos with him. After a few minutes, Ignis came back into the room with a distressed look on his face and a newspaper in hand. “It’s all in the papers,” he says, handing it to Gladio. “What is this?” Noctis asks. Prompto moves over to peek around Gladio’s shoulder in interest. “Insomnia Falls,” Prompto reads, making Noctis’s eyes widen with alarm. “What?! Is this your idea of a joke?!” Noctis bellowed. “I need to stay calm,” Ignis tried to say. “I’m as calm as I’m gonna get!” Noctis responds through gritted teeth. Ignis sighs. “There was an attack. The imperial army has taken the crown city.” Ignis paced around the room. “We had no way of knowing that the treaty signing was last night.” “As treaty room tempers flared, blasts lit the night sky. When the smoke cleared around the citadel, the king was found dead,” Gladio read off, much to Noctis’s shock. “Meanwhile, the crown prince Noctis Lucis Caelum and Lady Lunafreya Nox Fleuret were found murdered by the hand of Niflheim’s Second Lieutenant Twilight Sparkle.” “What?!” Noctis shouts in bewilderment. Just then his phone begins to ring. He answered it, despite the unfamiliar number. “Hello?” he says numbly. “Noctis! It’s Twilight! I’ll make this short. I’ve got Luna, but she keeps rambling on about some business in Lestallum. Once you get done with whatever you’re doing meet us there!” Twilight shouts, the roaring of her motorcycle almost drowning her out. “But Lunafreya was supposed to be in Altissia,” he responds, rather confused. “It was all a lie! Niflheim was just using the treaty to get behind the barrier! They brought the city down from the inside out! They used Lunafreya to get your father’s Glaives away from the palace! I’m sorry Noctis! They’re going to be looking for her. We need to lay low. You know where to meet us. See you then!” She hangs up. Noctis puts his phone back in his pocket. “Noct?” Prompto asked. “I’m fine,” he replied. “But we need to go see this for ourselves. Then we go to Lestallum. Let’s move!”