//------------------------------// // The Analysts argue about cake and metal bands // Story: Lavender Heart // by Skaltrox Defiance Knight //------------------------------// “She has made the first move.” a cloaked being announced to another, standing in the middle of a large circle… a spell circle. The first cloaked being snapped their fingers and with a whirl of magic, an image of the fight that was waged between Twilight and Trixie in the school grounds appeared before the mysterious figures. The second figure stepped forward from the shadows and turned to gaze at the screen. After a prolonged amount of time, the second figure replied to the first, “It seems that Maestro was able to intervene and prevent the fight from becoming… well, fatal in its ending.” “But now she has a spark of Twilight’s magic and you know as well as I” The first figure paused to look back at their friend “that even a small spark can mean the difference between us succeeding… or failing.” “But I have faith that they can turn things around...don’t you?” the second asked the first. The silence in the air was thick, but that became short lived when the first cloaked figure turned their back to the screen. “I do too, but they are just kids that barely have a grasp on their powers and abilities. What can they do when it comes to a point where they encounter a threat like Chessmaster and these powers they wield are unavailable for some unknown reason?” The second responded back. “If they do come across an enemy of that calibre, we may need to make ourselves known and engage the threat. We can’t expect them to claim victory in every battle they are bound to fight.” The first figure sighed. “True, but we must prepare them so they can at least do something against the threat.” With a wave of their hand, they dispelled the magical screen and proceeded to walk over to a bookshelf. Placing a finger on the spine of one book, the figure slowly drew their finger across all the books in the row until they stopped upon one. They removed the book titled “Shipwrecks From the Age of Sails”. Unlike similar copies, this one was a bit more diverse in its contents. Several famous wrecks that were supposedly lost forever had their own entries and they contained never before seen information about their whereabouts, including one that was linked with the Anthropomorphization. The figure opened the book and scanned through for a specific entry. “Twilight successfully located the Star Caster. Why are you going through that book?” The second figure asked, perplexed by their ally’s action. But suddenly came to a realization. “Unless.. no... you can’t possibly be sending them to find that one!” The first figure merely continued to flip through pages until they were satisfied with one. “Aha!” They cheered pointing down at the page. “I’ve found its entry.” The second figure’s face was covered, but the first could tell that they were giving a disapproving look and because of that, they gave a snarky comment. “Don’t give me that look, I’ll have you know that I can cut off your supply of cheesecake with a simple snap of my fingers.” the first emphasized by snapping their fingers, an invisible grin was formed when the second figure flinched. “Y-You wouldn’t dare!” they barked. The first retorted, “I can and I will.” “B-But if you do that I’ll… I’ll take all your normal cakes and other confectionaries and… eat them. How do you like that, huh?” The first scoffed. “Please. As if you know where my stash is. Besides I can just get more...I do have a supplier.” The second growled. “But I-” “Doubt it.” the first interrupted. “I could-” “Has a thirteenth seal lock on it.” “Well I may just take that thing inste-” “Oh, I think not. High chance of failure with that” “....” The two mysterious figures stood with a pregnant pause looming over them, the second cloaked figure was growling internally. After a few more moments a deep sigh broke the silence. “Fine. Let me have a look at that page.” the second uttered, reaching out and plucking the book from the first’s hands. The latter began to explain the shipwreck as the former scanned the pages. “The HMS Lazarus: a three masted frigate with an armament of 60 cannons. She was heading for the Indonesian Islands when a conflict arose between 3 Royal Navy ships and 5 French ships, south of their current position, and they were forced to intervene. The battle was fierce, three ships were sunk and the Lazarus was severely damaged. The captain of the Lazarus made the quick choice to beach her bow on a nearby sand bank. The crew was saved, but very few items were able to be removed before the ship sank backwards.” The second figure shook their head “Why are you telling me all this? I was there with you when the ship left port. In fact, I was the one to place that relic on the ship.” The first figure chuckled. “I told him to be careful for sand banks with steep inclines. But he never listened. Too focused on my looks, I think.” “Please. He was looking at me.” the second placed a hand on their chest. A grin was not visible on the second cloaked figures face, but was very much implied . The first growled “Hey, watch it you. I can do a lot more than cutting off your cheesecake supply. Such as...” they stopped to think “all your Metallica merch for instance” This seemed to be the second figure’s last straw, they threw off their hood and revealed their face. Their very angry face. It was another anthro. This one was a midnight blue colour with an equally blue mane flowing in a non existent breeze, a horn donned their head and a black crown rested in front of it. It was also obvious that they were female. “TIA! I told you that was off limits!” she growled, shutting the book and reaching out to place a finger on the first’s chest. “I swear, if I find my special edition of “And Justice For All” signed by the band, missing. You’ll be in a world of pain!” The first removed their hood, a slightly scared look on their face.The first was also an anthro. Unlike the other one, though, this one was an alabaster white with a pastel rainbow coloured mane, also flowing in a non existent breeze. Its face was undisputably female and they also donned a horn and crown. “Calm down, Lulu. I was just joking, I’d never do that to you. Well, not on purpose.” Lulu crossed her arms and gave another disapproving look, Tia sighed “Anyway, we placed that relic on the ship as a failsafe if our enemy did happen to get a spark. And now that we are aware that she does, we must act swiftly and inform John and his friends to find the relic before it’s too late.” “Lulu” pulled a smirk. “You know how funny it looks when you instantly change your mood from casual to serious in a split second Celestia?” Celestia grinned. “I can say the same about you, Luna. But enough joking, I must inform John about the relic and the Lazarus ship.” Luna snickered, “There it is again!” “Hush, you.” Tia retorted gently, as she sat down at a computer and began to write a message to Twilight. About 5 minutes later, Luna came up beside the older anthro. “When are we going to inform John of his… awakening?” Luna asked. Celestia stopped typing and sighed, not breaking eye contact with the screen “That will come soon enough. For now, we need to focus on our current task. I’m sure he will have many questions when the awakening happens… but that bridge should be left until later on to cross.” Celestia rotated her head to Luna with a smile… that lasted 5 seconds when she stared at what Luna had in her hand. Luna held a plate with a half eaten piece of cake resting on its china surface. She stood frozen like a deer caught in headlights, crumbs covered her face. With a sickly sweet smile, Celestia asked, “Is that my triple choc black forest cake?” Luna said nothing, she instead made the (probably) wise choice to escape when she had the opportunity. “I regret nothingggggg!” Luna shouted, her voice getting quieter the further she went. Celestia sighed. “Yep, I’m gonna take that album from her. It will be a good addition next to my signed copy of “Carolus Rex”.”