//------------------------------//
// Chapter 8 - Preparation 
// Story: The Equestria That Never Was 
// by desertbat 
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The Princess' palace was a sight to behold. The edifice was built into a cliff with two waterfalls on each side. It seemed to had been made of crystal, something I had seen of the Friendship Castle and that of the Crystal Empire. Each side had two colossal pillars that supported the square foundation the cliff was carved into. The only way in was across a stone bridge - wide enough for five ponies to walk across at once. By the entrance were seven crystal statues: two were pegasus ponies holding spears, two were earth ponies wielding shields, two were unicorns in a stance for using magic, and the final statue was a regal alicorn on the top of the entrance - watching those that entered.

Violet and I were looking at the structure in awe and amazement. As we entered the large iron gate that added to the palace's fortification, we noticed that it was opened by a single earth pony - a red stallion in black armor, a spiral-horned helm, and had a cutie mark of a green apple. The pony didn't say a word to us, but we knew who he was. I could only wonder if his sister was somehow in the village - the bearer of the element of honesty.

Surprise stopped and in front of us was a tall elderly pony in an old black cloak. The pony appeared to be a vermilion unicorn with a ruby mane. "Well," Surprise began, "this is where I leave everything to Bright Eyes. She'll be sure to take you to the princess. Well, have fun you two, and, when you get back, I'll have your parties ready." Surprise flew out and we were left with the pony I assumed was named Bright Eyes.

"Hello, young travelers," she said in a wise and regal kind of way. " Allow me to escort you to the princess of the palace. I am known as Bright Eyes. May I ask for your names as well?"

"I'm Violet Lavender. It's a pleasure to meet you, miss. Are you her caretaker?"

I saw a smile on her face when asked that question. "In a way, yes." Her attention left Violet's and went to me. "And what is your name, handsome bat pony?" She said in a playful flirtatious way. 

I didn't know why, but I hesitated on what to address myself as. "I'm...Desert Bat." I heard Bright Eyes giggle at my nervous tone, though I would be simply coming off as shy to anyone else.

"Good to hear." She said with a happy expression on her face. "You both match the names Discord told me, so I guess this means we won't have to kill you. This way please." This made Violet and me kind of nervous and question if that was a joke or if the happy vibe I had in Ponyland was to trick any overconfident invader.

The inside of the palace was possibly more impressive than the outside. It too was made out of crystals of blue, purple, and pink. While I was expecting little light in the structure from the lack of openings, the entire kingdom was brightened by these golden orbs that levitated high in the air. The area was wide open and I could see spears, shields, and armor hanging by the walls. While it appeared as decoration, it looked well polished and sharpened - ready for used if necessary. When we passed the corridor, I could see many doors that I could only guess where they led. 

After a long trot - not because of the length of the structure, but because Bright Eyes trotted slowly for us to observe everything - we found ourselves in front of a large wooden door. Using her magic, she opened it and directed us to the ruler's throne room. As we approached her I was amazed that it wasn't who I was expecting. It was a normal sized unicorn pony. She was purple with blue eyes, and a mane that consisted of blue, pink and purple. On her throne was a symbol I assumed was her cutie mark. It was a large flower with a pink star, and in the middle was a blue gem, which was surrounded by seven little white stars. 

"I present to you," Bright Eyes announced loudly, "Princess Twilight Twinkle, the house of Amore, and princess of Ponyland." 

The princess stood up and looked at us with fascination. "So, you two are from another world? That’s really amazing.” She stated enthusiastically. From her stance and her appearance, I couldn’t help but see Twilight Sparkle in her, but I recalled Discord telling me she was already in this universe and Daybreaker's top general, so what part could she possibly play in this? Perhaps she was destined to replace the former bearer. 

"Yes, your majesty," Violet stated while bowing to her out of respect. "We had visions of a beautiful and peaceful Equestria and used the pendants you see around our necks to bring us here. Unfortunately, this wasn't exactly the Equestria we saw, and Discord told us what he did to your world. He should be punished and held accountable, your highness. He should..."

I stepped in and covered her mouth with my hooves. She was clearly still angry with him and I didn't feel this was going to help. "My apologies, princess, she's been under a lot of stress since we were separated and may not be in her right mind."
Violet pushed me aside and began to look at me, a little annoyed. 

"Oh, every pony knows what Discord's done to Equestria for a long time." This caused us both to look at her in surprise. "He came to us a few years ago claiming he was going to help restore Equestria. We thought he was dead until he showed up recently, and with Posey wielding the legendary element of kindness - talk about a welcoming gift. He told us everything he knew about you too, we just wanted some confirmation. I want to know what your plans are now, Desert Bat and Violet, scions of unity?"

"Scions...of...unity? I heard the element talk about waking them. Are you saying that's us?"

"Posey told me about the aura you had while fighting Taurus. I have every book from the castle of the two sisters and it mentions a magic aura that helps the wielders fight in dire situations. It has two elements to represent unity. You, Desert Bat seem to represent the scion of balance, and you, Violet, represent order. You two have brought the element of kindness to us, and now I ask, once again. What is your next course of action?" She gave us an intense glare - not out of desperation, but out of concern for the fate of the world. She saw us as a way for Equestria's salvation.

"In the Equestria that we saw, we had visions of the six bearers of harmony. Posey resembled one of the bearers and Surprise mentioned having visions, so I feel that she's one as well. Posey, along with Violet and me all had the same vision when we found the element of kindness and I feel that will happen again with the others. Discord might be able to help us locate the main area of the elements too if the previous magic from Taurus he absorbed gives him a way of tracking them."

"You intend to simply bring each bearer with you across the world to collect these elements?" We heard Bright Eyes ask. "Do you think, even with an army, that you could make it, or even keep them alive?"

"We have to try something," Violet added. "I feel it's the best option we have right now."

"I'm not saying we shouldn't, but I'm asking if you think you can do it? I saw that look in both your eyes. You both have your doubts, not to mention, you believe my sweet little Twinkle could be an element bearer, right?" We were silent, but that gave her the answer she was looking for. "I'll tell you what, if you can defeat me, we will go forth with your plans, but if you lose, well...I'll let you know afterward."

She stood between us and the princess and we didn't feel like it was right to attack an elderly pony. Violet and I turned back and started to walk away, only for the door to close on us. "Perhaps I misspoke. You will not be allowed to leave unless you two can defeat me." It felt intimidating and she sounded more powerful than I thought possible.

"Why are you doing this?" I asked nervously. " We don't want to hurt you."

"Can you even do such a thing?" Suddenly, she shot a magic beam from her horn. Violet pushed me out of the way in time and we hit the floor."

"Are you out of your mind?" She yelled out. " You could have hurt my Dessie." She charged at the old mare and attempted to blast her back. The attack was easily evaded and Violet got a swift kick in the back. I could hear her scream in pain from the impact.

"You think that hurts? Out there if you let your guard down like that you will die.” 

I found myself angry and charged at her, intending to hurt her in any way. I threw a barrage of blows - hoping I would hit with at least one. "Don’t...ever...hurt...my...VIOLET!" I thought I had hit her, but she blocked every blow with one front hoof and used the other to give me an uppercut to the face - sending me flying.

"Never lash out in anger. Your foe will take advantage of that and you will die."

Violet came rushing from behind her in a pit of rage and attempted to strike once again. Bright Eyes twirled around Violet, evading her blow, and sent her flying towards me. We both hit the ground very violently - both too injured to keep fighting for much longer. "Be silent when striking from behind instead of yelling. You're a beautiful mare. Have some class. Now get up you two."

"Enough!" Our attention turned to the princess and we could see she was in tears. "Please, stop it, you're going to kill them. We need them to help restore Equestria."

"Exactly, and they will die in the state that they are if we let them, dear sister." Her words startled us and we both saw an aura surrounding Bright Eyes. She became a pink alicorn with a purple, red, and gold mane, and on her flank was a cutie mark with a crystal heart. "They will not last long enough on their own if they cannot last against me."

I helped Violet up and let her hold onto me for support. Having meeting Twilight Twinkle, I did not even consider she was even in this world. "Princess Cadance? Is that really you?" She had a large grin and gave us a playful wink in response."

"That's princess Mi Amore Cadenza to you, little pony." We saw from behind the throne Discord and the pony that shouted at us. She was a dark burgundy unicorn with a crimson mane. She had a large scar on her right eye and a broken horn. Just from looking at her, you could also see healed wounds from countless battles in the past."

"Tempest Shadow?" I heard Violet say in surprise.

Tempest approached us and looked really happy about being recognized. "I see you heard of me. You're lucky you didn't harm her. She is Mi Amore Cadenza, the house of Amore, rightful ruler of the Crystal Empire and you will treat her with the respect she deserves." She was very intimidating and I actually thought she was going to harm us. I put Violet behind me and looked at her intently. 

"You're very brave, stallion, but can you truly protect her?" I thought she was going to attack, but she soon paused from a simple command.

"Fizzy, baby," I heard Cadence say in a flirtatious way, "I think you scared them enough, and I told you I'm more comfortable being called Cadance - not that long royal name. Now come over here, beautiful. I want some love."

"Ye...yes, dear." I saw a strong blush on her face and she trotted to her side - a wing embracing her and being nuzzled lovingly.

Violet and I were a bit surprised, and Discord could only laugh as he finally reunited with us. "Oh, come now. You act like you never saw Cadance and Fizzlepop Berrytwist together before."

"Hey, watch it, goat snake!" We heard Tempest say with a blush on her face as Cadance was still lovingly nuzzling her. "Only Cadance is allowed to call me by my real name."

"We mean no disrespect, miss Tempest." I quickly stated," It's just...from the world we saw, you and Cadance have had little to no interaction. She was married to a unicorn named Shining Armor with a baby and you just ended your position as commander of the Storm King's army."

We could see her broken horn igniting very threatening, and with hatred in her eyes. "Me...working for the Storm King? I got nothing but fifteen years of slavery and a lifetime of scars from him. All I want is to impale him with the horn he ruined and see what happens to his insides when I release my magic."

"There, there. It's okay, Fizzy, dear." Cadance calmly said, gently petting her mane. "Cadance will ensure he gets a slow and painful death, okay?" She gave Tempest a loving peck on the cheek, and she seemed to calm down from that. I felt this was getting more uncomfortable by the minute, plus I was feeling terrible for what happened to Tempest. I could only pray that such a fate wouldn't happen to Violet or me.

"I hate to break the mood you lovers are in," Discord said to Tempest and Cadance, "but I think it would be best if perhaps these two begin real training. We don't know when their next vision will come and I want to ensure they retrieve the remaining elements as soon as possible."

Violet and I were suddenly beginning to feel better. We turned and saw that Princess Twilight had cast a spell that healed us. "I'm sorry for my sister's violent test on you. I hope you're both okay."

"We're feeling much better, thanks to you." I stated, "but she does have a point, princess." Twilight looked startled that I agreed with the unorthodox methods that Cadance used, but I wasn't the only one that thought this.

"He's right, Twilight," Violet stated. "If this was out there we wouldn't have had someone holding back. We would have been killed and the fate of Equestria would fall." She then looked at Discord. "I know you heard my little outburst before the fight, but after getting beaten up and knowing Dessie and I couldn't do anything, I owe you an apology." 

Discord was a little baffled at the statement and I had a smile on my face. "Really, I don't deserve an apology. Not after creating this world."

"No!" Violet protested. "You deserve an apology. We have been a burden on you and you kept us safe. We're going to get stronger for you and we will help restore Equestria together." She suddenly gave Discord a hug, which he didn't see coming. "I'm glad Dessie met you, and that you helped bring him back to me."

Discord couldn't help but tear up from the gratitude. "Thank you, Violet."

"Aw, isn't this cute, honey?" I could see Tempest was unamused but nodded her head in agreement. "With that out of the way, let me properly introduce myself to you two." She had our full attention. "I am princess Cadance," she then gestured to Tempest, "and this is who I call Fizzy. She's my personal assistant, bodyguard, and wife."

"Cadance, don't tell them that," Tempest said all flustered and embarrassed. "They don't need to know that."

"Married, wow!" That was all I could say. I can't say I was ever for it back home, but I never cared enough to be against it either. I always said to myself 'It's cool, man, it's their business.' I was still just more surprised how different they were from the versions of them I recalled in my dream. 

"So how long have you two been married?" Violet happily asked. She was kind of on the same boat with me on our view, but she also didn't mind asking about it. 

"About six months now!" Cadance shouted happily. "Oh, and I can feel the love you two have for each other. Don't you feel their love, Fizzy?"

"Cadance," Tempest said calmly, "as happy as I am that I married you, we're getting off topic. You should remember to stay professional like you were before I walked in. These two need to be prepared for training."

Suddenly it's like everything hit her all at once. "Oh my, you're right, Fizzy. We need to prepare their living arrangements and give them their instructors. Violet Lavender, you'll be training with Twilight and me tomorrow. You're going to learn how to fight and use magic." Violet seemed very happy and I couldn't wait for her to get someone to teach her magic.

"Stallion," I heard Tempest call me, "tomorrow you will be getting intense training from me and Captain Firefly. You're going to learn to fight, fly, and dodge." As she said the last word, her horn sparked. I gulped at that. She then had a slightly different shift in tone with me. "I remember what you did when I approached you both. Your girlfriend is lucky to have someone that is willing to protect her over their own safety - I can relate. I'm going to make sure you can be the stallion you want to be for her."

This made me smile a bit. "Thank you, Tempest. I can tell Cadance sees how much of an angel you really are under all that toughness you have."

This caused Tempest to turn red a little. "Don't say that kind of mushy stuff, Desert Bat. Now go see your lover and enjoy the rest of the day." With that, she walked away with Cadance.

Violet, Discord, and I were left with Twilight Twinkle in the throne room. " You'll have to forgive my sister. She can act really ditzy whenever Tempest is around." We all started laughing at the obvious and things felt relaxing considering what happened moments ago. "Okay you three," Twilight said, "let me show you to your rooms."