Ch. 7 The Shadow Host
Twilight had taken the commander's offer with gusto and appeared before his office exactly at six in the evening. Dressed accordingly with a black blouse and skirt acquainted with the trappings of mourning befitting of a princess, she found the cloth from the royal seamstress who had the dress since Celestia and Luna's younger years passed down to her from predecessors. How such an aged clothing not succumb to the ravages of time was likely due to the spell work of the very unicorns who couldn't fathom seeing their illustrious labors fall to the sands of time. It oddly enough fit her frame without much editing, as it came from Luna's size even bearing a small cutie mark matching moon goddess. Sparkle kept the insignia rather than have it removed, she couldn't stand to alter such an ancient relic even if it would never be used again since the Princess grew in size. She hoped to never wear it again as well, yet that was a fleeting hope as she started to acquaint herself with life as an alicorn.
Spike wore nothing but a small black suit, seeming to feel confident in that his choice of clothing would be sufficient enough for the service. Even against her own wishes to change into something a bit more formal, Spike resisted and held firm to his decision since he spent his own bits from working the Book Days on it. Twilight held her tongue and let the young baby drake to his choice of clothing as it still fit the boundaries of respect, she knew he was smart enough to know that a mourning was vastly important to any culture and not to be made fun of even if unknowingly. Though why he was so stubborn about it was beyond her reasoning as they neared the office of the Night Guard.
In the solemn trot to the deep bowels of the Palace, the young alicorn took in the little differences where the thestrals resided. While they did not claim any barracks within their village within the mountain itself. Their armory, training grounds, and offices had been given the older sections of the Palace as it grew and expanded since its founding. Twilight took note of the gothic style architecture filling her attentive eyes with the feeling of being inside a rib cage of a giant serpent. Arches and curves had her constantly wanting to look up at their apex, they were truly in the old palace which was built outwards with no care to modify and adapt the first of the structure. She occasionally looked to the walls and noticed how even the portraits and marble busts of old nobles and the princesses appearing younger than present harkened back to the founding of Canterlot.
Spike had not given much care to the vague subtle changes as they headed to the office of Steel Vigil, his consciousness was still trying to wrap around the summed up version of the trip. Much like how his best friend had pondered and wracked her mind with the questions of why things had happened as they did, he was generally hollowed out to the sights about them until they reached the door they journeyed to. Letting the young alicorn knock on the door with her hoof, the two waited for a moment until the sounds of movement grew from nothing to little taps of hooves on stone. A twist of the metal brass knob and there before them stood one of the two commanders of the Night Guard, armored from head to hoof in segmented Night armor of some unknown pattern. Sparkle recognized the ceremonial design, unlike her number one assistant she knew about the commander and was able to see the decorations and inscriptions which gave it away.
The dark satin gray metal plates bore the excellent craftsponyship of fine art, whoever they were they took delicate pain staking labors to carve out thin lines to make intricate scenes. Borders and images spelled out the history of the thestral tribe and the combat experience of the wearer. Nothing was out of place as if it there was no order, far from it as the forger used a reneighssiance style to paint the scenes. Both Twilight and Spike were taken by the ornateness of his attire, which Steel had taken no offense to and figured he'd explain it all after the service. Seeing that their eyes would be too consumed by the endless tales each image the sgraffito visually told, he decided to break the silence.
"You have my gratitude for showing, follow me to the village and the passage of souls can commence Princess Sparkle." as he said, his audience shook their heads and snapped to attention.
"Yes... sure thing Commander Vigil. By the way this is Spike, he's my number one assistant at the castle. I hope you won't mind him joining us?" she asked cautiously though she received no negative response.
"Your highness, there is no offense, shall we proceed then? It is good to meet you Spike." he gave a curt nod of recognition to the baby drake but nothing more. He closed his door and locked it with a small quartz crystal that snapped the internal locking mechanism into place by merely bringing it within inches of the lock.
Falling shortly behind the mighty thestral in mourning, Twilight whispered to Spike so as only they could hear.
"Don't worry about anything, he's lost good ponies... equestria's lost good ponies." her admittance had a sad tone to it.
Spike agreed, "Ya you said something about that earlier in your room. Don't worry about me Twilight, losing somepony can do things to those who knew them." he spoke knowing the old history of Equestria and notable figures who acted on loss of friends and loved ones while making history. Lost to the annals of records during the warring of the tribes before the hearth's warming event.
The two would follow the high ranking officer through the Palace all the way down into a far older passageway where no maid or guard except thestral traveled. Deeper and intricate ribbed vaults and flowing buttresses became far more detailed and nearly insidious to gaze upon. Portraits were almost rare with knight armor and old prints replacing the norm. The strong presence of the Night Guard meant this was their territory if Twilight had a shot in the dark guess. So deep into the Palace itself there was little to reason of an enemy threat penetrating this far down, so there was little reason for the Solar Guard to even be in the area. Princess Luna's cutie mark pervaded the zone growing stronger the closer they neared the village entrance. Sparkle figured this tribe had a deep connection to the alicorn in some form or fashion forgotten by the sands of time. Perhaps she'd learn a few things before her trip to Neighpon, clear up missing pieces in her knowledge bank as vast as it was.
The three soon entered through a double door guarded by ten heavily armored guards, all of whom wore encompassing armor which hid their faces with ghastly helmets. Each held swords or crossbows, all primed and well maintained for any chance of combat with what might try to get through who was not authorized. The layers of armor were akin to that of the spiny lizards of the badlands, each segment given a rune of protection stained into the metal that glinted in the oil lamps dancing wick. Twilight and Spike could only gaze at them in mixed fear and fascination, these bat ponies were imposing as they were likely proficient in their service. The experience was short lived however as once the doors closed behind them all before was a deep cave showing evidence of a mining network.
Twilight had to let her eyes adjust for a couple minutes before the luminescent fungus on the ceiling provided sufficient sight. Like trying to go to sleep after spending the day under Celestia's sun, you only saw nothing but brightness for a time and it delayed sleep like no other.
Spike noticed the scars in the rock floor, rails once existed which meant the corridor they walked down into had to have been a transportation route for the gems. The evidence was old and worn which meant the rails were long since removed and constant travel had worn into them. Railroad nails and rotten wood also betrayed the otherwise sterile dark path, he wondered how many delicious gems were carted away from the mines back in their hay day. His stomach started to rumble if only at the mere thought.
It was then that the commander spoke up before they reached the final door before the mountain, "Princess, we will be passing through a checkpoint where they will perform tests to ensure that all who enter are who they appear to be."
His warning hearkened back to the Changeling threat though he more than likely hinted at the A.O.S., "We're both fine with anything you need to ensure the safety of your village commander." Sparkle replied with a thumbs up from the baby drake.
As they trotted closer to the gate he smiled faintly before turning his attention to the guards before them, comprised of six thestrals wearing heavy armor geared for intense combat as the ones before them. They appeared as mean as a minotaur bull with the vigor of a hydra, the first to shine were their silver eyes reflecting the blue flames of burning alchemical lamps. Four of the sets kept their sights on the environment and the tunnel they had taken, the other two bore straight through Twilight and Spike almost as if they could see the very stone behind them. It was unnerving to say the least, never had a regular pony guard even seemed capable of observing others beyond Fluttershy's famous Stare. Yet the feeling was very much as frightening as being eyed by some forest predator from the Everfree. Their slit eyes studying them from every piece of clothing to possibly each strand of hair in her mane, almost like the evenings she spent on a really good book dissecting the latest edition. Whenever Spike happened upon her in those times he almost always winced and spoke with his back to her shaken by some mysterious sight that abhorred him.
Coming to a stop before the entrance, Twilight gandered into what pattern the warriors wore or if they might have some access to restricted high quality wards and spells. Combating the likes of the fell spell casters of the Shadow who were probably toned down Sombra likely earned them far superior and expensive armory. As she quickly scanned the more obvious features of the overlapping steel plates to protect vital areas, the largest of the runes upon each piece hinted at the shielding system in effect. Glowing cobalt blue glyphs decorated the edges mirroring the source of lighting, the specific designs were made to deflect offensive spells primarily by sending out a blast of counter mana to neutralize or redirect the attack. That kind of magic was still experimental and hard to commission for that much she knew, not only that but they were notoriously expensive unless the wearers were test subjects. The commander began to speak as Sparkle had nearly investigated the minute patterned rune work that flowed around the larger ones. As interesting as the magic was, she had been jarred to attention by the interaction happening in front of her.
"I am Commander Steel Vigil of the Night Guard, I am claiming Princess Twilight Sparkle and her assistant the young drake Spike as my guests." he announced with a borderline bored tone.
"Will you submit to a scan sir? As will the rest of the party?" the one guard with notable lightning strikes carved into the shoulder indicating his rank.
The soldier himself was a stallion with a lengthy frame and a chestnut coat, his wings sported gray membrane. The armor obscured his mane though his tail was exposed even though cropped behind his flanks painted the hidden mane in a smokey charcoal. Like the rest, he possessed retractable blades on his hooves with a button press to activate the spring loaded mechanism as they currently were in idle position. Long silver vipers fangs fully capable of doing horrendous damage to an enemy that Sparkle nearly gagged at the end results of their intended use. Interestingly enough, to tear her thoughts from violence she noticed that the guards were seasoned just as the commanders were with scars breaking their fur with blind areas from slashes, cuts, and burns.
"We accept the scans." Steel nodded, two different warriors parted from the line of metal and magic.
"So uhhh... is this some kind of basic mana check or will this hurt?" Spike inquired a little unsure of the check.
"Do not worry little drake, you may feel a small pinch all over but nothing more. Hence why the the question was asked, as it is not suitable for expecting mothers or those with unstable magic like foals." Steel explained without moving anything other than his mouth as the two guards equipped themselves with bright yellow gemstones no bigger than a mouse, "The Agents of Shadow have everything at their disposal to get into secured areas or harm those that protect and govern Equestria. We are thankful they are untrained and rather deluded of reality to prevent discovery. That and the black magic they use cannot be smuggled in either, dark magic has a faint wisp to it that the scan will find. I cannot say more however as you can undoubtedly see."
Twilight noticed that as the stones were placed on the ground, the two of them connected in a ring of fire similar to the Aurora Borealis near the Crystal Empire's northern mountains. The colorful light shown rose from the ground up in its many hues, growing upwards till they converged at the apex into a bubble of iridescent light. She could sense the magic in the wall, it was no magic she was familiar with and that may of been why the commander was reluctant to speak more into it. Of course it was understandable given the nature of the Shadow worshipers, they might have an ear somewhere just waiting to pick up on something good.
There was a slight hum from the spell itself, an array of matrices arranged throughout the bubble all acting together in harmony as they positioned themselves to search every ounce of their being for taint and corruption. Spike drew in a deep breath and held it, unsure of what it was going to feel like he braced himself with shut eye lids. Sparkle and Vigil simply awaited the coming scan since they were either use to such things or had performed it once before and knew what it was like. Sure enough as the atom thin mana sphere fell upon them it really felt as if tiny griffon claws were pinching every surface of the body, though it was small enough to feel nothing more than a limb that lost feeling. Prickling nerves continued all the way down to the hooves until the spectral magic faded back into the stone, with nothing else indicating that they were guilty of heresy.
The baby dragon let out his air excitedly, the lead guard reporting the results, "You are free to enter, please enjoy your stay."
With that done, the only way into the village came in the form of a wide rectangular black wooden door opened up with assistance by two of the guards who had not participated in the scan. Twilight's eyes as with the others had adjusted to the dimly lit conditions of the subterranean route, what was before them spewed forth color and brightness to the likes of which their pupils had to contract painfully. Twilight heard the sound of the commander stepping onwards and followed after him, holding her right wing out to spike to grab onto.
Wandering without true direction beyond hearing, the three were assailed with the distant sounds of activity which likely belonged to the village itself. They echoed in the corridor they traversed, bouncing all around like some areas of Canterlot during festivals. Thestral tongue and the clatter of activity mingled into wordless jumble, here and there cheers of foals piped up. Valiantly, Twilight tried many a times to crack her eyes just enough to see anything only to fail and clamp them protectively away, but the sound of younglings giggling and ponies talking kept tempting her. Tantalizing as it was to get her first glimpse into the village which no pony but royalty knew about or likely step hoof into. The two ponies of the trio clopped on carved stone unlike the gravel strewn path prior, if it were wet she assumed it was a nightmare to slip on. One minute into sightless trotting and the ground was soon paved with what felt like grass, a welcoming feeling like jumping into bed after a long day organizing the Castle's library. An odd thing to consider ground cover in a cave system, the feel of it was nothing but and it perplexed Twilight to no end.
"We're almost there, what the first step though." Steel's voice bounced about them.
Sparkle groaned at another failed attempt to see, "What first..."
No sooner had she begun to talk did her next hoof forward dip farther down and with it came her forward stability. She yelped as her other leg tried to stop herself only to slip on smooth rock damped by something or covered in perhaps algae. Whatever it was would inevitably lead her to announce herself to the thestral village in the most embarrassing way possible.
Her muzzle never impacted the rock however, even with her own wings expanded at the last second to try and lift her up and pardon her from the shenanigans she wondered if Discord had a part in. Something soft and velvety cupped the bottom of her head causing her to wobble a little until she found purchase on her own. Out of want she cracked her eyes again knowing it would be denied, mumbling to herself she found no overpowering spectrum of light. Her eye lids popped in breathtaking wonder that was the thestral village in all its remarkable homeyness.
Thestrals of all muted earth tones milled about or headed off in some direction to where ever they needed to go. Mares, stallions, foals appeared lively and in good numbers meaning the village had a healthy population if she were to guess. The village itself was a sight to behold and nothing like the claustrophobic atmosphere she had expected when she interviewed the two commanders. Far from her own personal experience in the section of the crystal mines she was sent to by Queen Chrysalis once before. The rock all around had been smoothed out and stylized over generations through careful consideration of structural integrity.
Their engineers did not simple etch out bulbous chambers where shacks and homes could be erected within, nor did they seem to do what older civilizations did in massive mountain ranges such as the fabled Enk's of the north. The thestrals seemed to work with the Mount Canterhorn and the natural cave networks after the miners had their work on it, they only widened ways just enough to be traversable both by wing and hoof. Where they were specifically had to be a market of some kind judging by the number of carts and sellers in the background behind the traffic. Banners hung like glow worm webbing up high sporting the thestral language and caricatures of goods and services, making the village almost indiscernible from Canterlot's own market zone.
Just coming down from her brain twitching in ecstasy over seeing something so remarkable, Twilight realized she was still being held up by something. Looking down to her nose she recognized the winged limb and who it was connected to, the bony digits tirelessly supporting her head gently lifting her back up to a proper posture. Gazing further up was Steel Vigil with a slight grin looking back at her, proceeding to shake his head at something till he could withdraw his wings from the royal.
"Cannot have a princess hurt herself while I'm around. I'm sorry for the visual inconvenience by the way." he said to her while saluting two new heavily armed Home Guard who appeared out of no where.
Titling her head, "What do you mean by that?"
Pointing with a gauntleted hoof upwards, Twilight spotted a rising contraption of supports with a tethered Apatite gem as big as her own head. Ropes and a crank system operated its angle and it appeared to be setting into a resting idle worked by more guards on either side of the entrance she stood at, though what it was for was unknown to her. Apatites were not famously used in spells so what were the thestrals doing with it and such a large specimen at that, it could fetch a very large sum of bits. Rarity likely would have sold it as soon as she found it, knowing how well off she could be and thrust the funds into her boutique.
The two guards saluted and left the trio, "That is Luna's Eye, our last defense against the forces of darkness. It was a gift from the Princess of the Night after her first visit to our humble cavern long ago, she said it unmasked and burned fell casters and spirits. It was before the time that we were her recognized guard, but shortly after that we were given the honored position that we've given our all to since. This is the only way into the village, everywhere else is rock and stone so to protect our families she thought this gift would help. Coincidentally we'd be tasked with hunting down the likes of the A.O.S. later on." he paused looking up at the stone, "How it works we've never attempted to figure out, but it has stopped attacks before. Impersonation and teleportation are disrupted by the magic within it, it hurts the cowards who'd come to assail us where as we simply see light alone."
"Wow... I never knew Luna did such a thing, I can see how it comes in good use." she replied knowing this particular tribe had no magic innately unique to them as they were reliant to their own bodies than mana, "You said you've had attempts though, does that mean they get through the initial inspection?"
"Yes unfortunately they do, dark magic and black magic can go through extreme means to hide behind a well crafted farce. Or lay in wait till the door is opened and attempt to use portals to get past the guards. We have secondary and tertiary guards posted here hidden away ready to spring when the heartless trash try to barge through." his voice dipped into rather harsh tones for a moment.
Amidst the commotion of every thestral beginning to take heed of the presence of royalty in their village, Sparkle tried to see through the haze of vagueness in his muzzle. He always seemed to be the kind of pony who'd weather anything, whether it was his station or his personality it would keep his emotions in check in an odd efficiency. Why that momentary speech seemed to contain venom seemed beyond the mourning state he was in, as if there was an incident which made him particularly hateful of the A.O.S.
Almost as if on queue, the commander changed face, "I appear to be ahead of myself, I... apologize princess, you are here to witness what no other pony than an alicorn has seen and here I taint it with my own dribble."
The mighty thestral moved onwards into the awe struck crowd who bowed before the young royal who sheepishly retracted at the attention. She wanted to excuse him and make nothing of the matter, but the way she was treated by the enthralled viewers made her catch her own words. Spike looked about himself, seeing the same manner albeit in a more conservative take, how the Crystal Empire received him to the manner of which Twilight was taken. It was rather amusing to say the least, how he finally got the mare to see his own pain and rather take the humble road. Foals soon clamored past their bowing superiors wanting to see the princess up close and one who wasn't just Luna. They were utterly enthralled by the lavender royal much as how a foal would a spectacular spell casting or a colorful toy, shimmering eyes enshrined the mare with their unadulterated adoration.
"Princess Twilight Sparkle, welcome to the thestral village in Mount Canterhorn... Tok Ob Han!" the commander smiled as he took a stance before the two visitors and bowed like the rest in silence so far that the entire sections of the cavern joined in in unison.
Twilight beheld the entire spectacle with utter strangeness, she knew not how to receive the reception much less what to say. As always she was far too shy to even hint at her status, preferring to ease anypony into knowing her as if she were a normal citizen. However, the way life seemed to be flying her in made it obvious to her that her preference in life would take a back seat at times, she was an alicorn and it was not so easily brushed off by a personal request.
"Wow, there's a lot of ponies here!" Spike said making a shot in the dark note.
True to his word there were at least a hundred thestrals of all age and walks of life, Sparkle noticed their individual queues right off the bat. Some were mothers and father with their foals, others were merchants of course, passing loaders sporting hefty bodies crafted into lifting with powerful wings. Of course there were young, old, middle aged, and young at heart such as herself who happened to be in the area at the time but all were civilians by classification clues. Some sported the garbs of a salespony, others wore gardener aprons dirtied by signs of work, and of course there were many many warriors hidden among them hefting many weapons from the discrete to the noticeable. All of which knelt to her status like a moth to a flame waiting for her to say something or mention a praise, an act which took Spike to enact as he elbowed her gently.
"I think they are waiting for you to say something... again." he whispered playfully grinning.
Everfree Forest, Northern Region near Dragon Mountain Ridge
The night was quiet, chilled by heavy humid air sucked in by a previous northerner generated by the machinations of the pegasus not far from the edges of the Everfree. Creatures chirped, sang, and roared in the full moon of Luna's beautiful cosmos. Insects to rodents, cockatrices to bears, and all the magical nocturnal entities went on their lunar routines to feeding rumbling stomachs or fighting for their territory. Trees swayed and whispered to each tidal wash of wind, the breeze rustling the leafy canopies in a livid fashion yet not enough to disturb the livelihood of the denizens lurking within.
Through the dense shrubs and trunks flickered the wavering brilliance of flame, even in the darkness of the unknown that was the mysterious and chaotic woody zone. If one were to focus through the hanging ivy and vines, the untamed nature which could choke a pathfinders knowledge and instinct within the abyss to be lost forever waiting to be eaten or killed. The source of the illumination was that of torches, it was as though there were inhabitants or some wayward convoy of travelers. By the track of the procession of light they were in no miring effects of the forest and its many dangers, they were calm and resolute, dead set on going where they intended to. They were not alone either, zipping from tree to tree with the stealthiness of an owl they made no sound. Maintaining a couple hundred foot distance, two pairs of keen investigative eyes were locked onto the stream of torches with ears moving about as they picked up on the vocalizations of their quarry. Gleaning through branches and tendrils of climbing plants as swift as a thrush through cactus, they clung onto bark effortlessly before heading to another perch. No one the wiser even to a pack of timberwolves they passed over, the golems made of forest debris simply trudged on in their normal routine. Completely ignorant that two Night Guards had flown overhead, one of which took pleasure in the fact alone and made it known as they stopped several black pines away.
A mare in sleek dull form fitting as it was practical scoffed, "Didn't think we were that good at evasion these days. What do you say about that Obsidian?" she spoke softly in low tones.
The stallion she was with wore the same trappings and grunted, "Focus on the mission Bright. Remember we haven't seen cultist activity for awhile now and here they are out in this death zone. The A.O.S. are up to something, so for the Moon's sake keep your head in the game!"
Giggling that she got under his coat, "Awww... you're no fun. Besides we've been tracking these guys for the last hour, don't you think we should get closer? Our Watcher gem has them pinged with the same black magic as any agent! That's grounds for arrest or at least reinforcements?" the pair stretched their wings out and moved to a new spot.
They were no closer to the convoy than before, "... but you got a hint don't ya?" she whined, "You always do..."
With a deep sigh, "We don't need to be closer to them to do anything, calling reinforcements will just scrub what they were trying to do. Bets on they have some way of destroying the evidence, remember the Lieutenant stationed in Trottingham? The two meetings they broke up... and right when they smashed in the necromancers decayed everything. Both operations went in before they got the meat of the gatherings."
His gaze never missing a single movement of the targets, "I need to see why they are out here first, and the reason we've been waiting has been to see if they have any hidden scouts waiting for us or reinforcements to act. That's why I thought to bring this." his right wing scrounged around in between the armor joints of his breast plate and neck armor.
Bright glanced over and saw what her partner was drawing her attention to. It was some kind engraved stone, layered glyphs hinted at a magical item though what it did she could not figure out right out of the cave. It was attached to a black metal chain which obviously tethered it to the guard, slightly bigger than a bit with the shame of a drop of water on glass.
"What? Are you proposing to me?" the mare grinned.
"No... I snagged this from the Arcana, some horns there developed this "Third Eye" that's supposed to draw in the bio-electric signatures of ponies, griffons, and minotaurs. Experimental though, the horns sought me out since well, we're recon. They gave me fifty bits to give it a test run ASAP, just gave me a quick overview and..." Obsidian halted when the mare issued a venomous glare though it had little effect on somepony like himself.
"You mean to tell me we were reposted from Manehatten out to this swamp? For some coin and trinket?! You know they are not to be trusted on top of that!" the sting of her vindictiveness towards the Academy.
Snorting as initiated another glide to another spot, "Yes, and I tricked the horns into thinking I was doing this for the coin, makes them believe I can be bought and that I'm not working under the guise for the Council."
The mare fluttered her leathery wings still miffed, "I'd kiss you if I still weren't angry about this. You know how long I was trying out of the next stake out in that city?! Five months! We were about to crack the A.O.S. presence there and the spots were limited!"
"Yes I'm aware... because all that time you kept telling me about it since you first submitted your papers. Now if you're done, let me finish speaking about the item?" something from the distant line of cultists caught both their ears.
"Fine! But you better tell me about this whole mess involving the Council, the elders committing to such a tasking to you... means there's bigger trouble happening." she grimaced for a moment.
Huffing in displeasure, "The item is supposed to receive the signature and activate all four glyphs on the top of it. However, it needs to scan the area by being pointed in the general direction for roughly thirty minutes. Since we have to keep moving it slows the registration. As you can see it's ready to give the body count." he once again extracted the stone, against its dark granite the etched markings all glowed red to which he used one of his wings to shield it from their quarry even as far as they were.
Before Bright could speak, a mist of mana swirled upwards five inches above the trinket. In a few seconds the cloud formed into a vague looking number that put the column at sixteen heads, using his other wing he tapped the stone and it deactivated. Stowing it back in his armor segments the guard nodded sternly as the two mutually understood what was just done.
"I also wanted to take the time to study them, see if there were anymore joining in or swapping out with any cloaked scouts. I saw nothing of the sort and they've been at sixteen since the start. So it's safe to say now that we can do something soon, but again we need to wait for the right moment. Besides we're reaching a clearing soon and I can only guess that is why they came out so far." he took off again with Bright closely behind.
As the grotesque foliage did indeed give way, the Shadow worshipers entered the small pasture which showed off previous activity and preparation. Oddly enough the zone had been readied for their arrival as it seemed, short stone structures were built appearing like obelisks. A few hastily built shrines made from branches and saplings stood erect on the outer fringe, appearing like giant multi toothed forks with grisly looking images of their deity. Using straw to craft the ambiguous iconography, it appeared to be either a bearded thing or something with strange bodily appendages the guards were unsure.
Perched deep enough into cover, the two watched as the misguided ponies filed in hidden away by flowing robes of muted reds and blues. No signs of wings, horns, or lack thereof could be made out, they were uniform in appearance in all but one. Led by what looked to be the head of the snake, a cultist walking with a golden staff, appeared to be what was was a drugged mare of cream fur and lemon yellow mane. The guards beheld the ornate dressings they gave to the unicorn, so much gold hung around her limbs, horn, neck, and even tying her tail in a way that the Crystal Empire ponies often adorned themselves with. A few bits of cloth were present in pearl white, washing in the breeze around her legs, midriff, and flanks which covered her cutie mark. Her half lidded eyes told the team the state she was in, captured like all the other poor souls in other stings before such rituals were carried out of course.
Obsidian mental prepared himself for the worst and slowly accessed a pouch by his thigh, holding the hoof over the portal summoning gemstone. Courtesy of the horns of the Arcana, specifically Adept Spectrum if he remembered right. It was a one time use piece of gear, containing a portal spell that was anchored to the reserves department where Night Guards stood ready for deployment should such a gemstone were smashed anywhere in Equestria.
The rouge elements spanned outwards into a circle with the leader directing the mare with him towards the center. All of the sudden, chanting, singing, and utterly alien noises all started up at once from the minions of darkness. Taken aback by the sounds which would madden anypony if stuck in a room with them for even five minutes, it was just utter noise that made griffon claws scratching on a chalkboard the pleasant sound of a century. Mixtures of howls, gurgles, hissing, and choking somehow were made into what passed for a hymn of some kind. For Bright, it made her hair stand on end as she realized it had magical connotations to it, something big indeed was going down.
Obsidian took heed as well, but he was far too enthralled with what was going on. The rest of the followers either sang properly in choiresque form or read over lines of memorized scripture. The signs were pointing to some kind of sacrificial rite, it had to be a necromancer at work with this trying to summon some abomination or gain power of some kind. They just needed to wait for the last moment where the cultists would reveal the goal and they'd pounce on them with the vigor of a tiger.
The breeze died out which was a rather disturbing reality to comprehend, the singing cacophony was altering the very air to still it for the evil act to follow. Insects and birds all stopped making calls to the starry night, nothing moved after that as the black magic worked its way outward in its miasma of fear invoking energy. The suspected necromancer removed his hood to reveal him as a unicorn, a dusty red one at that, a white mane streaked with black which was a common sign that one used black magic. He swung the staff he held in the air as if making signs or runes, seven were made before he stopped and his long horn lit like a candle at the tip.
The followers of the mad pony all went silent, as if they knew when to stop or were given a command to do so through wordless means. The obelisks took over next, manifesting green fire at their angular tips from whatever spell the fell caster started up. Runes of dark forbidden wisdom began to light up along the short structures which soon bled into the ground. The grass above the magic markings looked to be ablaze with inferno as a huge diagram began to take shape, Obsidian took out the portal stone and readied to smash it. He had to wait even more as voices from no pony started to whisper in the very atmosphere of the scene, voices speaking in anything but Equish. They made it almost intolerable to bear much longer, the adrenaline pumping in the guards veins made their limbs antsy to engage the threat and save a life.
Their chance would come soon enough as the mage spoke out loud, "Hear me Sleeping Powers! I, your humble servant, have brought you a sacrifice! I have followed your commands you've given to me in my dreams... many more shall know you exist. They all will."
"I got dibs on him first!" Bright hissed as she used her hatred of the agents to steel herself from the dark forces at work which threatened to collapse her mental facilities.
"Under rock and seal do you wait to be free, powers you grant to those who upset the order of she! May our offering please you and grant this one pony their wish!" that last word was the final tap to the hair trigger of the two Night Guards, they finally knew what was the goal of the A.O.S..
"Strike hard and strike fast, by the Princess of the Night don't screw this up!" Obsidian warned as he shot his wings out and took off like a mad hare, smashing the portal gem against a mighty conifer to bring in the muscle.
Bright followed in kind, "Only if you get that mare out of there!!" she forced herself so quick she even passed her partner overhead.
Like a mad arrow, she made a B-line for the necromancer who was blind and dumb to her jet approach. Even the followers on the ground who had just begun to sing again saw nothing but a blur that most ignored, the few who passed a wondering guess were attracted by a glowing electric blue beyond the perimeter. Leaving no one to protect the cult leader who was moments away from earning a well deserved serving of justice.
He had begun the next phase of the summoning, from his tongue came foreign words that could only be described as gibberish. The kind only crazy mentally instituted ponies spoke, lost in the fragmented minds that doomed a normal life. His pitch went everywhere as he recited the incantation which started to pull magic from the unicorn next to him, a faint custard yellow aura that lazily drifted to the air above the ritual. His mane rose with the mana he exuded to give life to the spell, acting as if gravity no longer existed.
Before he could draw another breath and continue, it was as if a crack of lightning had struck him appearing out of no storm cloud in the clear open night air. The singing died out almost immediately after the ear shattering concussion first boomed accompanied with an eye searing flash. Most were shielded by their hoods of the robe, but their ears rang in an insufferable agony being so close to the eruption. Some rolled on the ground screaming, others simple collapsed trying to nurse away the damaged eardrums, those close enough were knocked out by the sheer force of sound. As the small amount of smoke dissipated, it became all too clear what had become of the necromancer.
The patch of scorched earth indicated where he was and how far he flew, his form smoldering with both heat and haze. His wardrobe burnt black with remnant flames dying out slowly, he laid unmoving five feet away from where the staff stood unaffected. A few twitches of the limbs but nothing to prove he was conscious enough to recover if at all. Behind him at the very edge of the clearing were disturbed areas of earth which lead up to both Night Guard and the hostage, they had no landing as the act occurred within barely half a minute. Having acted upon years of training and field combat, the flyers managed to control some portion of their escape so that their wings were saved from the brunt of it. Obsidian held the mare in his legs using his own body to protect her like a pill bug rolling into a ball, some of his armor was missing in the bounces he endured. The natural durability of thestrals saved him from broken bones, but that did not excuse the bruising he'd welcome in the morning no less. His hearing also suffered from the burst of lightning, having no protection to sound all he could pick up was a dull ping which did not appear to be leaving.
To his right with a trail of shoveled dirt, leading up to her upside down form was Bright Nova who like the necromancer smoked from the attack and much of her armor rend beyond functionality. Her wings were distended out as she groaned in pain and deafness, empty pouches under her barrel were open with some still burning slowly like a candle wick as much of her fur as well. Soot covered her wings and her tail singed halfway up its length. She was down for the count and any movement made a days worth of practice in the ring far more preferable to her than what state she was in of her own doing. The trio entirely was out of the fight, but thankfully in the distance were swarming Night Guards geared for battle as the flew across the expanse.
Most were already arresting and capping any unicorns with magic restraints others hovered in the air to establish aerial dominance and scan for escaping criminals. Their armor christened by Luna herself, gleamed with protective wards, they were brawlers through and through and yet none put up a fight the least of the pawns. The necromancer however stirred with foul energies which begun to help him recover, even in his condition he continued on with the spell as he choked on the unintelligible words.
Those nearby swiveled their ears to the voice which croaked, but the guards were too late to act anyways. The drugged mare's mana began to leak away again and this time with far further flow, her guardian unable to do much himself as he tried to get his bearings back. This time however, the fell mage began to collapse during the act sensing his likely capture in the process of the caste, the interruption had broken the flow of mana and reestablishing the connection with the black magic was strenuous and taxing. Knowing he'd fail and be interrogated by the bat ponies, he switched the spell around and diverted what mana he tried to build up and absorbed it. By then the nearest guards swooped onwards with void stone nets and gum spheres to incapacitate the mage. Before they could act, the mage shouted in hopes the interlopers would hear him with anger and rage unbeknownst to any pony.
"Da'goh Me Tagrath Achshou!!!"
With another crack of sound, he teleported away spiriting a quarter of the mares essence with him though she was still too lost to even register it. The obelisks detonated as their use was attained, denying investigation into them through the fail safe. Runes and the diagram lost to time forever with no one to record it, and the recon team only knowing the purpose of it through intuition alone.
Guards arrived to the two who stopped the summoning, two medical operatives moved in to treat wounds and heal their perforated hearing. Thestrals dawning saddlebags brimming with healing salves, medical supplies, and potions who went to work on the three. With Bright Nova the worst off, the other two were stabilized and carried off by a gurney team to the portal which still swirled in the woods permitting access between the battle scene and the palace. The medicae could work on her for the moment under careful watch of fellow warriors and clanmates.
Though the mission was a success, the higher ups would have to wait before a proper report could be made. As only the two who rescued the mare knew of what went down and why a portal summons had been generated.