Derran sat cross legged in the center of Sweet Apple Acres apple orchard. His eyes closed, his breathing silent, and his mind focused. Tuning himself into his environment, he could hear the shifting of every apple tree leaf as a faint breeze stirred them. He could Smell the feathers of a bird hiding in the tall grass nearby, and he could feel the vibrations in the earth as one of the fillies seated in front of him fidgeted.
"You must stay still Scootaloo." Derran said with a smile.
Scootaloo opened her eyes to glare at her friend.
"Oh come on mister Grandel, we've been at this for almost an hour. How much longer do we have to just sit here doing nothing." She demanded in irritation.
Apple Bloom, and Sweetie Belle opened their eyes to nod.
"Scootaloo's kinda got a point mister Grandel, what does this have to do with 'Using your senses to full effect.'?" Sweetie Belle asked.
Derran chuckled.
"Before you can find something you must know what it is you are looking for. Right now you are learning the natural sounds of your surroundings. Once you know these sounds, smells, and vibrations, inside and out, you will be able to instantly identify anything that may be out of place." He explained patiently.
Scootaloo gave an exasperated sigh.
"This is so boring though!" She declared.
Again Derran chuckled.
"Yes, I thought so to when I first started learning." He said with a laugh, as he opened his eyes.
Apple Bloom stared at him.
"Ya'll had ta learn this to?" She asked.
Derran smiled indulgently at his young students.
"Of course, did you think me born with such an ability?" He asked.
"Well. . .no, but ya'll jus make it look so easy." Apple Bloom replied.
Derran laughed out loud at that.
"I assure you, I had to train and hone my skills like anyone else, though my speed, strength, and endurance were enhanced by magic, that would have meant little without the knowledge of how to use it." He explained with a smile.
"Wait, so a spell is what made you so powerful?" Scootaloo asked with an excited gleam in her eye.
Derran shook his head at Scootaloo's comment. Reminding himself that however clever these girls might be, they were still children.
"No, my dear filly, the spell did not make me powerful, it merely added to what was already present, making me more efficient. I fought for many years without the aid of any such magic. My true power comes from the same thing as all warriors, experience, training, and incalculable amounts of hard work." Derran looked the three fillies right in the eye as he spoke. "Nothing worth doing has ever been achieved without effort girls, and many a man, and pony, has paid a heavy price for attempting to take an ill advised shortcut." Derran intoned gravely.
The girls nodded in understanding.
"Ah know exactly what ya'll mean, ah once tried to take a shortcut like that, an boy howdy did ah regret it." Apple Bloom replied, recalling the incident when she used a makeshift Hearts Desire potion to try to force her cutiemark.
Derran nodded sagely, as his ears alerted him to the sound of an apple shifting slightly in the tree above him.
"Hard work may not be the easiest, but the results. . ." Derran's hand snapped up to grab the freshly falling apple out of mid air, his eyes never straying from his student's own. "are difficult to disagree with." He finished, presenting the fruit to the three awestruck fillies before him.
Starlight Glimmer glared at the book in front of her titled "Advanced Mind Magic", as though it had just insulted her.
"Uhgh! Another dead end, I could swear I saw something useful in here somewhere!" She said irritably. "There has to be something in this library that can tell me how to get Derran to give us his real story!"
Starlight took a moment to rub her temples with her hooves, all this research was giving her a splitting headache. Ever since the other day when she had met the human Derran Grandel. Starlight had been trying to think of a way to get him to explain himself, one he couldn't lie his way out of. She had considered using the spell that had allowed her to control her friends during a disastrous attempt to fulfill a friendship assignment from Twilight, but decided against it almost immediately.
For one thing, it might not even work on a human brain, and for another, she was pretty sure Twilight would hit the roof if she ever found out Starlight used that spell again. She also couldn't ask Twilight or any of her other friends for help, as they were all completely convinced that Derran was incapable of any wrongdoing. She had at one point tried to broach the subject with Twilight. Suggesting a "Omisso Labrum" spell to loosen Derran's tongue a bit, it had not gone well.
Twilight had all but bitten Starlight's head off, saying that Derran was entitled to his secrets, and that Starlight needed to stop being paranoid. Spike seemed sympathetic to her argument, but suggested that ticking off a guy who could fight, and kill, almost a hundred Timber Wolves at once, may not be the best move. Honestly though, Starlight was convinced that Spike just didn't want to challenge Twilight on this, and she didn't blame him.
Ever since Starlight, and Spike got back from Canterlot Twilight had been different. Not, taken over by a changeling different, but still different. For one thing, she seemed a lot more devoted to her appearance, taking nearly an hour in the morning to do her mane, and even putting on makeup, something she almost never used. She was also reading some very strange books, with titles like: Love: a Beginners Guide, Stallions and How They Think, List's for Love, and one that made Starlights eyes bug out when she found it, titled: The Art of Seduction.
However the thing that most surprised Starlight, was Twilight's attitude whenever Derran was brought up. Whenever he was mentioned, Twilight would go into some sort of nerdy fangirl mode. Droning on endlessly about how amazing Derran was, how heroic, how polite, how sweet, how brilliant, she even went so far as to compile an alphabetical list of all Derran's most positive attributes. Starlight found out about that last one when Spike dropped it on his way to file it with a stack of other Derran related lists. Frankly, it was clear that Twilight was not capable of evaluating their human guest objectively, which meant Starlight was on her own.
Unfortunately that meant finding a method of learning what Derran might be hiding the old fashioned way. Starlight knew thousands of spells, but none that quite fit this situation. For one thing she needed a spell that would be subtle enough not to alert Derran to its effects. That was a huge problem, simply because Derran never seemed to completely lower his guard, unless he was with Twilight or the others. The spell also had to be strong enough to overcome any mental defenses Derran might possess, and overcome them in a way that he wouldn't consciously notice. Starlight flipped through another book briefly, before casting it aside.
"Celestia this is hopeless!" She hissed in frustration. "None of the books in this castle have anything close to what I-" Starlight's eyes snapped open in realization as she broke off mid-sentence. "None of the books in this castle. . ." She repeated slowly, as she stared out the window towards the Everfree Forest, a slightly sinister smile appearing on her face.
Derran smiled as he flitted from tree to tree, completely silent despite his armor. He was currently being hunted, and credit where it was due, his pursuers had remained quiet dogged since the chase began. They only ever caught glimpses of him, but that didn't diminish their enthusiasm in the slightest. As he crouched behind a particularly large, and gnarled golden delicious tree, he heard them speaking in hushed tones.
"Ah coulda sworn ah saw him come this way." Apple Bloom remarked.
"Me too, but he's so fast it's hard to tell." Scootaloo agreed.
"How can such a large stallion hide so well?" Sweetie Belle complained.
Derran smiled to himself. "Nothing like a good old fashioned game of Hunter/Killer to liven up a training session." He thought to himself, as he planned his next move. However at that moment his ears perked up, and his smile broadened, as he heard four sets of heavier hoofsteps approach.
"What are ya'll up to out here?" Applejack asked, as she and Rainbow Dash came into view of the three huddled fillies.
"Hey sis, hey Rainbow. We're training with Derran, he's teaching us how to uhh. . ." Apple Bloom began, trailing off as she tried to remember the Doom Slayer's exact words.
"Use our senses to fullest effect." Sweetie Belle quoted from near photographic memory.
"What's that mean?" Asked Rainbow Dash quizzically.
"It means lady Dash," Derran began as he appeared seemingly out of nowhere. "to be able to sense every aspect of your surrounding, so that you might pinpoint any stimuli that could indicate a threat." He finished.
Rainbow masked her surprise at Derran's sudden appearance, with a sly grin.
"Sounds like fun, can anypony play?" She asked, giving Derran the same challenging look he had seen during their last competition. He chuckled in response.
"I have no objections, what do you think girls?" Derran asked, glancing at Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, And Scootaloo.
"No way! You really want to train with us Rainbow?!" Asked Scootaloo, who was practically vibrating with excitement at the idea.
"You bet squirt, after all I still owe Derran here a rematch for our race the other day." Rainbow declared with a confidant smirk, her competitive spirit burning in her eyes as she stared at Derran.
"Ya'll wanna join too sis?" Apple Bloom asked, hopefully looking to her elder sister.
Applejack thought about it for a moment before slowly nodding.
"Ah suppose, all the chores are taken care of, an I ain't got nuthin better to do." Applejack stated with a smile.
Derran nodded, clearing his throat as he explained the rules.
"Very well then, this is a game used by most D'nuriean militaries for training. It is known as HK or 'Hunter Killer'. One individual is designated as the 'Killer'. All others being selected as the 'Hunters'. The killer's job is to evade the hunters while simultaneously looking for an opportunity to strike his pursuers down. The killer is caught, or a hunter slain, when they are struck by one or the other on a vital point. Typically paint is used to mark the target on striking, but since we didn't have any available we were forced to leave that bit out. The game ends, when the killer is caught, or the hunters eliminated."
Rainbow and Applejack nodded their understanding. Then Applejack was struck by a thought.
"Ya know ah think we got some paint left over in the barn, if'in ya wanna use that?" She suggested.
Derran nodded.
"That sounds like a superb idea lady Applejack. By the by, might you also happen to have some brushes, and perhaps a few bits of scrap wood?" He asked with a small smile.
"Ah think so, but what for?" Applejack asked, scratching her head with a hoof.
"Just an idea for making the game a bit more entertaining." Derran replied with a wink.
Starlight smiled to herself as she entered the castle of the two sisters. The ancient seat of Equestrian power had long ago fallen to ruin, yet its crumbling walls and moss covered stone floors still held a certain majesty, and the weight of ages. Starlight had made the excuse to Twilight that she was searching for a historically significant spell, which wasn't entirely untrue. Fortunately, her mentor had been absorbed in reading "A Compendium of Romantic Methodology", and therefore hadn't asked too many questions.
"Hopefully something here will give me what I need." Starlight muttered to herself, as she brushed aside some cobwebs from the door leading toward the proper hallway. Twilight and her friends occasionally came to the old ruins to tidy up the place, but the spiders here were tenacious beyond belief, and no amount of dusting had been able to dislodge them.
A few minutes later Starlight entered the massive library. It's stone shelves towered over her, each filled with the arcane lore of past centuries. Enchanted to withstand even the ravages of a millennia of neglect, many had not been opened in centuries. Starlight often wondered why Celestia had abandoned the castle rather than having it fixed. But on reflection, it wasn't hard to guess. This had been where she had lived with her sister for hundreds of years, and it was also the place she had been forced to banish that same sister. Living here would have forced her to relive all kinds of awful memories daily. Small wonder she chose to leave, rather than be constantly reminded of the most painful decision of her life.
Starlight considered that it wasn't far removed from her own reason for leaving the village she was born in after she lost contact with Sunburst. Starlight winced, as she considered for the millionth time all the painful details of her past. However shaking her head, she refocused on the task at hoof. Scanning the shelves of the ancient library Starlight examined the titles. Most of the books in this section seemed related to history, rather than magical applications.
Whatever filing system had existed for the library had been lost long ago, and despite frequent trips here Twilight had never attempted to reorganize them. However, after a few minutes of examination Starlight realized that the books were more or less organized alphabetically by subject, then by author. After that it was a simple matter for Starlight to locate the section on magic, and begin flipping through it. The first few books yielded nothing, then she she paused as her eyes settled on a truly ancient looking volume, oddly with no listed author. The book was a simple grey tome with a faded cloth binding, flecks of golden paint just barely spelling out the title "The Mists of Truth". Opening the musty book, Starlight's mouth curled into a triumphant smile after only a few minutes of reading. As she examined a spell that, with a little modification, would solve all her problems.
"Veritas De Domino. . ." Starlight whispered to herself. "The Truth of the Soul, sounds like just what the doctor ordered." She said with a smirk.
Rainbow Dash zipped through the trees as fast as she could while still maintaining control. In her teeth she clutched her new "weapon", a long dowel with a paintbrush lashed to one end. For the last few minutes she had been searching for her target, but so far had come up empty. Hovering in midair, Rainbow strained her eyes and ears for some sign of her quarry. However, despite her incredible propensity for noting fine details while flying, she couldn't find a single thing out of place, save for the sound of the rest of her team catching up.
"Any luck Rainbow?" Asked Scootaloo as she stepped off her scooter, her own mock spear held across her back by a piece of twine.
"Not yet, but don't worry, there's no way he can escape from 'Ponyville's Best Athlete' right Applejack?" Rainbow replied smugly as Applejack rolled her eyes in response. "Which reminds me. . . how's saturday afternoon work for you making good on our bet?"
Applejack smirked.
"Tell ya'll what, how bout double or nuthin? Whoever wins this here game gets the title, and a barrel 'o free cider all to themselves." She offered.
Rainbow didn't even have to think about it. The thought of a whole barrel of Sweet Apple Acres cider all to herself made it an easy sell.
"Awe yeah, you are so on!" She whooped, her mouth already watering.
Rainbow dropped to the ground, and spit on her hoof in preparation to shake on the deal, when something blasted by them in a blur of movement. Rainbow, and Applejack felt a sharp poke on each of their necks as the thing shot past. The blow wasn't enough to cause damage, just enough to knock them off balance.
"AFTER HIM!" Sweetie Belle shouted, as she and the Crusaders took off after their attacker.
Rainbow recovered from her stagger, and her hoof flew to where she had been hit, only to come away dry.
"What the? Why didn't he mark us? We left ourselves wide open?" Rainbow wondered aloud.
Applejack shrugged as she rubbed her own neck.
"Ah think that was jus to git us to pay attention, like a warning shot." She suggested after a moment's thought.
Instantly Rainbow's eyes narrowed.
"Wait. . .He took it EASY on us?! Of all the! Who does that guy think he is?!" She shouted indignantly.
Applejack gave her friend a look of mild reproach.
"Ah never said-" She started, only for Rainbow to cut her off.
"He wins one little race and he thinks I need a handicap!?" Rainbow fumed. "C'mon AJ let's show Derran Grandel just who he's dealing with!" Rainbow declared, the competitive fire in her eyes blazing to new heights, as she shot after Derran and the fillies. Applejack, knowing it was pointless to try and argue, just sighed and shook her head as she hurried to catch up.
Derran wove his way through the trees, attempting to break his pursuers line of sight. Looking over his shoulder he saw that the crusaders had spread out slightly to make it easier to spot him. "They learn quickly." He thought to himself. "Perhaps I ought to speed up a bi-" Derran's train of thought was interrupted by the sight of a multicolored blur rocketing over the fillies heads and streaking toward him. Derran just had time to roll out of the way of Rainbow Dash's attack before regaining his feet, and facing her.
"Impressive lady Dash, I must say you quite surpass me in the arena of raw speed." Derran commented, carefully controlling his voice to betray no surprise, and making sure to keep Rainbow Dash in the center of his field of vision.
"Flattery will get you nowhere pal." Rainbow stated smugly. "But feel free to keep talking."
Derran relaxed his stance, and to Rainbows surprise he bowed his head in apparent defeat.
"Well I'm afraid that this is where it ends then." He said, regret in his voice.
Rainbow gave Derran a look of disbelief.
"Wait, you're just giving up? I mean, I know my skills are pretty intimidating, but c'mon, you could at least try to go down swinging." She replied, scratching the side of her head in confusion.
Derran shrugged as he walked toward her, a resigned look on his face.
"Much though I would love to go out in a blaze of glory, I think it best to end it for you here." Derran said with a smile as he finished closing the distance.
"Wait say wha-" Rainbow began, only for Derran to lunge forward, and with the brush he had concealed in his right hand, place a streak of red paint across her throat. Rainbow blinked, staring in stupefied disbelief at Derran as he tucked the brush back into his belt. "But you surrendered!?" Rainbow declared angrily, to which Derran only continued to smile.
"I never said I was giving up milady. I simply said this is where it ends and let your ego twist it into what you wished to hear." Derran said with a smirk. As he slowly circled around a nearby apple tree, one gauntleted hand lightly brushing the bark.
Rainbow glared at Derran in outrage.
"That's cheating!" She yelled angrily.
"No, that is teaching, I did say that this was a training exercise did I not? Your lesson for today is twofold, first: Arrogance gets you killed. It is all well and good to take pride in your accomplishments, but never forget to temper it with humility. Lest your ego get the better of you." Derran explained with a small smile.
Rainbow wanted to protest, but had to concede that Derran had a point.
"Ok, what's the second lesson?" She asked huffily.
"All warfare is based on deception." Derran replied as his image flickered, and then vanished. Leaving a stunned Rainbow to stare at a strange metallic device where his feet once stood. Picking up the square object in her hoof, Rainbow tried to guess at what point Derran had made the switch.
"Note to self: never get into a prank war with Derran." Rainbow muttered, as she waited for Applejack and the others to catch up.
Starlight hummed happily to herself as she entered Twilight's castle. Learning a new spell always put her in a good mood, especially when she got to test it so soon after. She did feel a bit guilty about going behind Twilight's back like this, but c'mon it wasn't like she was going to hurt Derran right? She was just going to gather some information on him to make sure he wasn't dangerous.
"Really it's not that different from researching a potentially hazardous magical artifact." Starlight reassured herself. "I'll just pop into Derran's head, make sure he isn't hiding anything malicious, and then pop out. No harm done." She stated confidently.
"Pop out of where?" Came a familiar voice, causing Starlight to almost trip over her own hooves.
"AGH TWILIGHT!" Starlight shouted, whipping around to face her teacher. "Aaaaah, nothing! Just uh, I just was thinking of uh. . . getting some flowers from the Everfree Forest, that's all." Starlight lied, hoping against hope that Twilight wouldn't get suspicious.
"Oh really?" Twilight asked clearly skeptical. "And why would you need flowers from the Everfree, when there's a perfectly good flower shop in town?" She asked with a cocked eyebrow.
Starlight gulped.
"Uh, well, you see. . ." Starlight trailed off as she tried to think of a plausible excuse. Then suddenly her face lit up. "Actually I wanted to get them for you." She said, putting on her best, fake sincerity, act.
"For me?" Twilight asked in surprise, her skepticism turning to curiosity. Starlight nodded vehemently as she continued.
"Yes, I just thought since you seem so close to Derran that you might want to give him something nice, you know since he saved the town and everything." Starlight explained, putting her hoof around her teacher's neck in what she hoped was a chummy manner.
Twilight's ears turned red at Starlight's explanation.
"Derran, and I seem. . .close?" Twilight asked, her heart skipping a few beats, as the red of her ears suddenly moved to encompass her cheeks.
Starlight nodded, knowing she had Twilight exactly where she wanted her. Mentioning Derran always seemed to throw the alicorn off for some reason.
"Of course, I mean, you were one of the first ponies he made friends with after he got here, and you've been talking with him every night after dinner. Not to mention how protective he seems to be of you." Starlight said offhoofedly, ignoring the faint pangs of guilt she was feeling as she continued the deception.
"Y-you really think Derran is protective towards me?" Twilight squeaked, her entire face now the color of a cherry.
"Oh definitely, in fact if you two aren't careful ponies might start thinking that something's going on between you two." Starlight stated in a casual tone, she was laying it on a bit thick at this point, but hey as long as it worked. "Anyway, I did try the flower shop, but nothing there really seemed appropriate. Then I remembered that a while back I saw a whole bunch of Amantium Benedictio at the edge of the everfree forest."
Instantly Twilight's eyes got a look in them that usually only happened when she was in full "Freak Out" mode.
"YOU KNOW WHERE TO FIND LOVERS BLESSING?!!" She shouted, grabbing Starlight by the shoulders. Twilight's smile becoming almost deranged as she forced Starlight to lock gazes with her. Starlight's feeling of fearful surprise must have shown on her face, because Twilight released her immediately and cleared her throat before restating the question. "I mean: you saw a patch of Lovers Blessing?" She said in a far calmer tone, though there was no disguising the faint glimmer of mania still in her eyes.
"Um sure, buuut why are you so excited?" Starlight asked a little hesitantly.
"Oh, uh, well it's just. . . well I read this silly story that if you place Amantium Benedictio, commonly called 'Lovers Blessing', in the room of sompony you might possibly, kinda, sorta have a crush on. . . that they're supposed to fall in love with you. Haaa, ha, ha, silly right?" Twilight explained, in a tone that was supposed to convey that she didn't believe a word of it, but instead managed to do the opposite.
Suddenly Starlight's face fell, as a horrifying realization began to take shape in her mind.
"Uh, Twilight?" Starlight asked in a strained tone, as she desperately hoped she was wrong.
"Yuh huh?" Twilight said trying, and failing, to look composed.
"You're not. . . I mean you don't like like Derran, right?" Starlight asked, suddenly finding the wall to her right very interesting as she fought a sense of mounting dread.
Twilight might have laughed at Starlight's phrasing, but in her current state of mind all she could say was. . .
"Kinda." In a small voice that would have sounded more normal coming from Fluttershy.
Starlight struggled to control her expression, as in her head she started screaming. Both at herself for missing something so obvious, and just in general. Twilight's odd behavior made perfect sense now, no wonder she acted so weird about Derran, and no wonder she was so touchy about anypony questioning his motives. Starlight honestly couldn't believe that this possibility never occurred to her. Although in her defense, being the maniacal leader of a pseudo religious cult left very little time for romantic pursuits. After a long, very awkward pause, during which neither she nor Twilight said a word, Starlight forced herself to speak.
"Oh, uh, Oh." Was all she managed to say before taking a deep breath. "Uh Twilight, I mean. . . look it's great you found somepony you uh. . . have an interest in. But, um. . . well I mean, isn't Derran just a bit. . ."
"A bit what?" Twilight asked, in a voice that made the room feel instantly ten degrees colder.
"Uh, nothing!" Starlight stated with a nervous smile. "So, how about those Amantium Benedictio?" She asked, suddenly wondering what would be worse: having her plan discovered by Derran, or having it discovered by Twilight?
Apple Bloom's head whipped from right to left then back again. Placing her back to an ancient Cortland apple tree, she held her paint spear in front of her with both hooves. She was the last pony standing. After Rainbow Dash had been taken out, Scootaloo had been next. Determined to avenge her adoptive sibling, Scootaloo had rushed ahead of the group. A rock had been thrown under the wheel of her scooter, throwing her off it, only for the filly to be grabbed out of the air before she hit the ground by an armored blur. However when she was set down a short distance away, Scootaloo found a stripe of red across her throat perfectly matching Dash's.
Next had been Applejack, who was pulled up into a large Macintosh tree right before Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle's eyes. Jumping from the tree it left Applejack in, the blur landed with only a faint sound of shifting grass, before bolting behind a row of Red Delicious, and vanishing. Clambering down from the branch the entity had left her on, Applejack was quick to discover that she too now had a red line across her throat.
The rules stated that those eliminated must leave the field of play, so Applejack headed to the barn, leaving her sister, and Sweetie Belle alone to face their foe. No sooner had Applejack left however, than the blur shot by again, marking Sweetie Belle before they could even decide on which direction to go.
"And then there was one." Came the voice of Derran Grandel, seemingly from every direction at once.
Despite knowing that Derran would never hurt her, Apple Bloom had to admit to being a little afraid. The way Derran could seemingly vanish, then reappear, was especially unnerving. He moved so silently, and so fast, he seemed like a ghost, moving through solid objects and becoming invisible at will. Of course Apple Bloom knew that wasn't really what Derran was doing, he was just so good at this it just seemed that way. . .Right?
"Ah ain't givin up!" Apple Bloom shouted, hoping she sounded a lot tougher than she felt.
"An admirable sentiment, but how much conviction is behind it I wonder?" Derran replied, in a voice that despite it's calm tone, sent chills down Apple Bloom's spine. Apple Bloom opened her mouth to reply, when she heard a twig snap to her left, at the same time that she heard a rustling in the bushes ahead of her. "Which way? Left? Right? Or perhaps neither? What will you choose little lost filly?" Came Derran's voice, the last seven words sounding like they came from right next to her.
Apple Bloom was so startled she jumped three feet in the air before whirling around. Only to see nothing but the empty rows of trees stretching off into the distance. Trying to calm down, Apple Bloom forced herself to think. How could she find Derran when he seemed to be everywhere at once? Suddenly a thought occurred to her, if this was supposed to be training, then it meant she must already know what she needed to succeed, and she just needed to use it.
Placing her weapon on the ground Apple Bloom closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. Recalling what Derran had taught her she tried to pick out any sound's smells, or vibrations that didn't belong there. Letting her mind clear Apple Bloom smelled the scent of the grass, felt the sun on her coat, and heard the breeze coming through the trees. "C'mon ah jus gotta find what don't belong. . ." Then she heard it, the faint sound of breathing, and it was coming from. . .
Apple Bloom just had time to grab her weapon and roll out of the way. As Derran dropped from the tree above her, and swiped at where she had been sitting with his paint dagger. Coming up again she stabbed at his crouching form with her own weapon, only for Derran to catch the haft of her spear in his left hand. Pulling it from out of her stunned hooves, Derran swiftly reversed the weapon and with a few quick swipes placed a crude mustache on Apple Bloom's muzzle.
"Congratulations my dear Apple Bloom, you seem to have succeeded." Derran said with a smile.
Apple Bloom blinked a few times as she processed what Derran had just said.
"I wha? But I wasn't able to hit y'all!" Apple Bloom protested, wondering if Derran was making fun of her.
Derran chuckled.
"Yet you were the only one who thought to use the technique that I taught you." He said with a smile. "That was the point of the game after all, to give you an opportunity to use what you had learned."
Apple Bloom considered Derran's words for a moment before nodding slowly.
"I guess that makes sense, still wish ah coulda won though." Apple Bloom said with a small smile.
"What makes you believe you did not win?" Derran asked with a cocked eyebrow.
Apple Bloom smirked.
"Y'all only said ah succeeded y'all didn't say nuthin about me winin." She replied smugly.
Derran favored Apple Bloom with a proud smile.
"I suppose I didn't." He said with a chuckle.
Starlight walked through the streets of Ponyville cursing both herself, and her luck. Herself for unintentionally encouraging her mentor's crush on an alien super soldier. And her luck for for forcing her to spend almost three hours gathering a bouquet of flowers to cover up her intention to spy on said super soldier.
"Of course I had to choose a flower that's almost impossible to find this time of year." Starlight grumbled to herself as she headed back to the castle.
Honestly Starlight supposed she should count herself lucky that Twilight bought her excuse at all. She was positive it only worked because of Twilight's infatuation with Derran. Starlight still couldn't believe it took her so long to figure out that Twilight had a crush on him. Then again she had never really understood love in general. Starlight had however once heard that love both is, and makes you, blind, and that certainly seemed to be the case here.
Twilight was usually a very careful pony, not to mention hard to fool in general. So when she had vigorously defended Derran despite her obvious lack of concrete understanding of his motives, Starlight had been extremely surprised. However now it all made perfect sense, and it also reassured Starlight that she was indeed doing the right thing. Twilight's crush was obviously preventing her from taking the steps needed to ensure the safety of her fellow ponies. It would be irresponsible of Starlight to simply let it go, and ignore so great a possible threat right?
"Right." Starlight reassured herself.
As she neared the castle Starlight frowned, noticing that Derran was already there talking to Rainbow Dash, and the Cutie Mark Crusaders.
"I still say it was a cheap shot." Rainbow said to Derran, with a good natured smirk.
Derran arched an eyebrow.
"So is pretending to have an injured wing in order to play off of a man's sympathy also a cheap shot then?" He asked with a small smile.
"Not if you don't fall for it." Rainbow replied cheekily.
"Milady Dash I am beginning to suspect that you believe any scenario in which you lose is a quote unquote Cheap Shot." Derran responded with a laugh.
Rainbow nodded.
"Exactly." She said unashamedly.
Derran burst out laughing.
"Lady Dash I can honestly say I have never met anypony with a viewpoint quite like yours." He said with a shake of his head.
"Hello I hope I'm not interrupting anything important." Starlight cut in, trying her hardest not to sound disingenuous.
"Not at all lady Starlight, we were simply discussing lady Dash's perspective on the rules of combat training." Derran stated lightheartedly, causing Rainbow to give Derran a look of mock annoyance before breaking into a smile.
"So I heard."Starlight said curtly, wondering how Derran could so effortlessly wrap ponies around his hoof.
"Are those Lovers Blessing flowers?" Sweetie Belle asked noticing the brilliant red blossoms poking out of Starlight's saddle bags.
Starlight nodded.
"Yes Twilight wanted some." Starlight explained.
"Why'd she want those?" Scootaloo inquired curiously.
"Haven't a clue." Starlight lied, more because she didn't want to say than for fear of blowing the surprise.
"Huh, Rarity is always saying how those are the best flowers to give-" Sweetie Belle began, stopping short as a look of dawning comprehension appeared on her face. "Oooooh, I know why Twilight wanted them. . ." She trailed off looking up at Derran with devilish smirk that he either didn't notice, or choose to ignore.
"What are y'all talkin about?" Apple Bloom asked giving Sweetie Belle a puzzled look.
"Yeah what's so special about those flowers?" Scootaloo chimed in.
Sweetie Belle motioned her friends closer before leaning over to whisper in their ears for a few seconds.
"Ooooh." The two said in unison as the same knowing smirks appeared on their faces as they glanced at the Doom Slayer.
"Anyway," Starlight interrupted before the fillies could say any more. "I have to go bring these to Twilight, also I think she wanted to see Derran, and we really shouldn't keep her waiting, so bye everypony!" Starlight declared dragging Derran into the castle with her magic before slamming the door in the faces of a confused Rainbow Dash, and three smirking fillies.
"Forgive me lady Starlight, but is something wrong?" Derran asked with a look of mild surprise. "That seemed a bit. . . abrupt, if I may be forgiven for saying so."
Starlight immediately put on the face of the dutifully eager student.
"I know but Twilight really wanted these flowers as soon as possible, and we don't want to keep the pri- er, seraphim of friendship waiting right?" She asked in a leading tone.
Derran arched an eyebrow.
"Of course not, but I doubt milady Twilight would admonish us for taking a few seconds to properly bid our friends farewell." Derran stated with a faint edge of suspicion.
Starlight gave a nervous laugh as she replied.
"Well you know Twilight, when she gets something in her head. . ." She offered, trying to sound calm.
Derran slowly nodded.
"I suppose. . ." He trailed off.
"Great! Just wait right here then, and I'll let you know when she's ready for you." Starlight said a bit too loudly.
"But I thought you just said-" Derran began, stopping as Starlight vanished in the light of a teleportation spell. "Milady Starlight certainly seems high strung today, perhaps I ought to prepare her some Chamomile tea? He commented to himself staring at the location she had been a moment before.
Starlight appeared in the castle library in a flash of magical energy only for Twilight to instantly drop the book she was reading and rush over to her.
"Did you get them?!" She cried out excitedly, looking like a foal on Hearth's Warming Eve. Starlight nodded and felt a faint surge of pride as she pulled the flowers from her bags with a slight flourish. Until she recalled who they were for anyway. "Oh Starlight you're the best student a princess could ever ask for!" Twilight shouted with an excited twirl before transferring the flowers from Starlight's levitation field to her own. "They're amazing." Twilight breathed as placed them in a nearby vase.
Starlight had to admit Twilight had a point. The flowers strongly resembled a long stemmed Crocus, save that they were a brilliant scarlet with veins of faintly glowing purple running through the petals. However what really made them stand out was the red flame-like aura surrounding each blooming flower. The aura danced in the mesmerising manner of a candle flame, with soft motes of blue light appearing and disappearing within it like tiny Fireflies. Looking at them It was easy to see how the flowers had earned their name.
"Is Derran back yet?" Asked a hopeful Twilight after a moment admiring the wondrous plants.
"Yes." Starlight said trying to disguise her irritation at the mention of the human's name. "He just got back from. . .something." She stated doing her best to act engaged.
"I bet he was out playing with the crusaders again." Twilight said with a giggle. "He's so good with fillies, isn't he?" She asked in a dreamy singsong voice as she adjusted the position of the flowers in the vase.
Starlight bit back a sharp rejoinder as she struggled to force a smile.
"He sure is." Starlight said through gritted teeth as she struggled not to gag.
"I wonder if maybe someday he'd be open to having another child?" Twilight said with an expression of a pony lost deep in their own little world as she walked out the door with the flowers in tow.
For some time Starlight stood there, her expression blank, and her eye twitching as she replayed Twilight's parting words in her head. Then abruptly she snapped out of her trance and screwed up her face in a look of angry determination.
"That's it." She hissed. "This ends tonight!"
Far from Starlight's angry declaration, in a forgotten cave, Queen Chrysalis frowned at the item her changeling servants had brought her. Sitting on an uncomfortable black resin coated pile of stone, the Queen was in a foul mood. She had just finished another meeting with Stormfang, and pretending to be a sycophantic lackey in the face of the dragon's arrogant posturing was almost beyond even her considerable patience. Nevertheless she was able to manage it, and convince him to be patient as she made a few "last minute adjustments" to the plan. Now she listened to a report by two of her few remaining drones, grateful that at least her unwitting ally had not been interested in the exact nature of her "adjustments".
"And you were able to get it without the zebra's knowledge?" She asked, in a tone that while calm, reminded her servant that there was only one acceptable answer.
"Yes my queen." He responded in a hissing voice. "She never suspected a thing."
"You are certain?" Chrysalis asked again, her tone shifting to one of almost motherly concern. Designed to fool her servants into thinking they might be granted mercy if they owned up to their failure. She wouldn't of course. But pretending to forgive her servants on occasion before quietly disposing of them, fostered the kind of honesty needed for her to maintain accurate reports from her subjects.
"Absolutely my queen, I posed as that clumsy mail mare and she let me right in after I pretended to crash into her cottage. All I had to do was fake a limp, and she invited me right in to receive medical treatment." He replied with a sneering smile.
"Well done, but how did you manage to prevent her noticing your injuries were fake?" Chrysalis inquired, as though merely curious. While silently swearing to herself, that if her servant had alerted the alchemist by botching his deception with such an imbecilic oversight, she would tear him limb from limb. . . slowly.
"I made sure the crash was just real enough to give me some convincing bruises." The drone replied proudly.
Chrysalis nodded, giving her servant a rare genuine smile.
"Very well done my child, rest assured, you shall be well rewarded in our future kingdom." She declared, actually pleased for the first time in several days. The first drone bowed deeply, as Chrysalis turned to the second. "And you? Was your mission to the Crystal Empire successful as well?" She asked with a false smile designed to make her appear less threatening.
The second drone nodded.
"It took some time, but we were able to duplicate the method by which princess Cad-" The drone was cut off in mid sentence by a green telekinetic aura lifting him off the ground and crushing him almost to the point of suffocation.
"NEVER SPEAK THAT NAME IN MY PRESENCE!!" Chrysalis roared, her eyes blazing with a hateful green light.
"Forgive me my queen!" The drone gasped out, as he struggled to remain conscious. "It was a simple slip of my unworthy tongue, please your wretched servant begs mercy!"
The drone's prayers were answered, as he was flung to the stone floor with enough force to crack the chitin plates that covered his right side. Though in considerable pain, the drone scrambled to his feet to finish his report, knowing all too well how any show of weakness was punished in the kingdom of Chrysalis.
"As I was saying my queen" He gasped out, as a few drops of green blood trickled from his injured side to the floor. "We duplicated the method of communication used by the. . . crystal princess, and her sister in law. The enchanted message has done its work, and she will soon be in Ponyville." The drone struggled not to cough as he continued. "We have also confirmed that the sun, and moon princesses will soon return to Canterlot." He managed to finish, as his legs buckled, and he crumpled to the floor of the cave.
"Where they will doubtlessly hear of the strange creature that arrived in Ponyville, and head there to greet it." Chrysalis let out a cruel laugh. "All my greatest enemies in one place! First I shall tear out their hearts, then when the time is right, I will destroy them utterly!" She declared, practically giggling with sadistic delight.
"My queen." The pitiful cry of her injured drone drew Chrysalis's gaze back to him. "Please help me." He begged.
Chrysalis expression switched, to become one that on another creature might have been called gentle.
"Of course my faithful servant. . ." She said, in a tone of loving concern.
"Oh thank you my queen, truly I am unworthy of your grace!" Chattered the drone in relief.
"Take my injured child to the next chamber where he can be. . .treated." Chrysalis said to the other drone in a kindly voice.
The drone bowed before whistling for two of his fellows to help him carry their injured broodmate. As this was being done, Chrysalis levitated the item her first drone had brought her up to her face.
"The Alicorn amulet. . ." She breathed with a cold, fang filled smile. "The final piece of the puzzle." She declared, as screams and chitters of agony echoed from the neighboring chamber, as her weak servant was torn apart, and devoured by his fellow drones. "And something only the strong are worthy to possess!" She said, slipping the amulet over her head. . .