Episode 67: Elsewhere Across the Mirror
This hadn’t been the first time Princess Celestia and Princess Luna had visited Twilight’s castle, but it was certainly the first time under such unique and trying circumstances. Normally Twilight would be enough of a nervous wreck just trying to make sure everything was spot on perfect for such a royal visit, quadruple checking her checklist to ensure that all from the table wear to the exact placement of the chairs was absolutely up to her standards. Today, however, she’d had to toss the check-list out. Or rather Starlight had hidden the first one, burned the second, and then gave up on the third, which Twilight eventually tossed aside when she realized there wasn’t any established protocol for handling incidents involving interdimensional invasions.
Twilight made a mental note to either find a book on that, or failing such, write it herself. She didn’t want future generations getting caught without a properly written down set of instructions for how to deal with these kind of things, after all. Why hadn’t Starswirl written one, she wondered? He was the apparent expert on the subject of other realities. Then again, he was the expert on everything. Twilight sincerely wished she had any kind of reference for what to do, and still had no real idea of how to handle the present situation even as she walked the two royal sisters into the vast, central meeting room of her castle. It seemed the best place to have this discussion.
The room was much the same as ever, with its central dominating table of smooth crystal displaying a magical (if not at all to scale) map of Equestria. The table was surrounded by tall backed crystal chairs, each stamped with a cutie mark that matched either Twilight or one of her dear friends, all of whom were seated already, including Spike who had his own small chair next to Twilight’s. Space had been made for two quickly fashioned, tall and regal chairs for Celestia and Luna, set to sit opposite Twilight from across the table.
Flash Sentry had refused the need for a seat, seeing how crowded the table was getting, and was simply waiting standing beside and a bit behind Twilight’s chair when she entered with Celestia and Luna. He still wore his black Soul Reaper robes, despite some rather insistent badgering from Rarity to offer him any number of well tailored suits for the occasion.
Finally, Aria and Sonata maintained a steady hover up near the hanging roots of Twilight’s old library, now turned into a glittering array above the proceedings, its roots speckled with gems. Both sirens looked down on the proceedings, Sonata with a bored look as she batted idly at one of the hanging tree roots, and Aria with a heavily guarded stare.
Each of Twilight’s friends looked uneasy in their own way, save for Pinkie Pie who was animatedly talking to Flash Sentry when Twilight and the other Princess’ walked in.
“-so I tossed them out the window, and I feel much better, but now what do I do with all these letters?” Pinkie said, and Flash Sentry let out a hefty laugh. Twilight didn’t get it, but then again punch-lines usually needed context. As she approached the table Flash Sentry got his laughter under control and, upon seeing Princess Celestia, seemed to unconsciously stand at attention in a manner not unlike the Royal Guard.
Celestia offered him a kind smile, “You must be Flash Sentry. Twilight has told me much about you.” She turned a sly wink towards Twilight, “She certainly seems to enjoy your company. Allow me to welcome you formally to Equestria and extend my deepest gratitude for the part you’ve played in defending my little ponies from a most dire threat.”
Twilight swiftly took her seat, as did the royal sisters, and both her and Flash exchanged quick glances and briefly tinted cheeks before Flash said, “I’m honored by your words, Princess Celestia. I was only doing what my duty as a Soul Reaper dictated, but I was happy to play my part. Honestly though, Twilight and Rainbow Dash fought just as hard as I did, and Twilight actually landed the blow that ended the fight. I just gave her the assist.”
“And a hard fought battle it was, by the account we received,” said Princess Luna, both her deep cerulean features and heavy tone filled with grave focus. “I too give my thanks to you, but I hope not to spend too much time on pleasantries when we face matters of such serious import. Equestria is in danger, and I wish to come to grips with that danger as swiftly as possible. Every moment wasted gives our foes more time to gather power.”
At Flash’s blinking expression, Luna’s brow raised, “What?”
“My apologies,” Flash Sentry said, shaking himself, “I’m just surprised at how similar you and your sister are to the Captains I know. Our Luna also prefers to get down to business.”
“Then she is wise,” said Luna before turning a questioning look towards Twilight, “Just so I know, where do you have the prisoner secured?”
Twilight perked up, nodding her head upward, “I have Starlight and Trixie, our Trixie, watching her in one of the guest rooms. I, uh, don’t really have a dungeon to throw her in, but she’s bound very, very thoroughly in not only enchanted chains but within a reinforced barrier spell that also has an astral lockdown spell layered onto it. No movement, no teleportation. We even took her hat, since I suspect that’s where she summoned that strange armored stallion from.”
“My sister and I both brought a contingent of our guards with us,” Celestia said, mostly to Twilight’s friends since Twilight already knew this, “I hope not to disrupt the lives of Ponyville’s citizens any more than necessary, but I’d like to keep these guards stationed here for your safety. Twilight, I shall leave the guards at your command.”
“Y-Yes, of course,” Twilight said, trying not to fidget. She wasn’t even sure how to command guards. That was more her brother’s thing. Still it’d be nice to give Starlight and Trixie somepony to relieve them from watching the other Trixie. Bount Trixie. Twilight was at once both fascinated and still somewhat unsettled by what little she’d heard from Flash about these Bounts.
“Well then,” Celestia said, “I believe our first order of business is to determine whether or not we can safely re-open the portal to the realm of humans. Twilight, knowing you I imagine you’ve already experimented somewhat with the mirror?”
A broad if somewhat embarrassed smile crossed Twilight’s face, but it was fast replaced by a frustrated frown as she nodded, “I have, with Starlight’s help and Flash Sentry observing us with his spiritual senses. His senses are disrupted a bit by how much magic is present in Equestria, but he’s adapting to it quickly.”
Luna’s eyes grew shadowed, “That means our foes will also be adapting. We may not be able to rely on magic obscuring their senses for much longer. What did you learn of the portal?”
Twilight gulped, “Well, the human, or rather Bount, Trixie wasn’t exaggerating when she said we can’t force the portal back open with magic. The ritual she performed has plugged the portal with a barrier of spirit energy that renders the portal effectively inert. Now I’ve discovered magic and spirit energy can interact. In fact my magical barriers worked just fine to deflect Trixie’s hex abilities. Still, this barrier doesn't budge when either I or Starlight tried forcing magic through the portal. We tried combining our magic as well, but that... well there’s a whole other problem with that. When too much magic started to press on the barrier, it started to react with a violent resonance. I’m certain if we’d continued the portal would have, well, exploded. Or at least vented a dangerous amount of energy, enough to either destroy half of Ponyville, or wipe out Canterlot High and a good chunk of the town its in, depending on which way the energy traveled when it explodes. I don’t think we can safely tamper with the portal without knowing exactly how to take the barrier down.”
As she spoke Twilight’s horn lit up with a soft lavender glow, streams of wispy magic forming basic shapes in the air depicting two mirrors, one for both Equestria and the mirror in the human world. Her image showed a tunnel of multi-colored magic connecting the mirrors, surrounded by void. In the middle of the bridge of light was a massive knot of dense blue energy, opaque compared to the magic’s translucent nature.
“Basically Trixie’s barrier is a solid mass of intentionally unstable energy that is designed to explode if somepony tries to brute force their way past it. Now, all of us alicorns together could probably do so, and form a barrier of our own to protect Ponyville from the explosion, but that wouldn’t help the human world. In order to get past the barrier we’d need to know the right ritual to disable it. Trixie suggested enough spirit energy might be able to break the barrier, but to my knowledge nopony in Equestria has that kind of power. Um, unless either of you know how to access spirit energy, Princesses?”
Celestia and Luna exchanged quick, sidelong glances at one another, and Twilight could tell the two sisters shared a wealth of communication in just that one look. It was easy to forget just how old either royal alicorn was, and that they’d lived for many centuries together. Twilight had a momentary spark of hope that perhaps either Princess held secret some ancient knowledge of spirit energy that might help, but she saw the look pass between the two sisters in an instant before Celestia solemnly shook her head.
“I'm afraid that the mysteries of such power are of... realms beyond the experience and knowledge either I or my sister presently have. I don’t believe we can assist on that front.”
That seemed an odd way to put it. Twilight trusted Celestia implicitly, yet she couldn’t help but find the elder alicorn’s phrasing odd. Beyond the experience and knowledge they ‘presently’ have? She put it from her mind for now. After all, Celestia would surely tell her anything if it was important.
“Well, it was a long shot anyway,” Twilight said, her wings sagging slightly, “As it stands, that means any tampering with the portal should be put on hold until we learn more, otherwise all of Ponyville would be put at risk, not ot mention what might happen to the human realm.”
“Nothin’ against the Trixie over here, but dang if her dopplewhatsit ain’t livin’ up ta her name,” muttered Applejack, “Fixin’ up a’ nasty trap like that is pretty downright low.”
“Knew I should’ve hit her harder,” Rainbow Dash huffed, pounding her fore hooves together, “Next time it’s gonna be a Sonic Rainbow straight to the face.”
The prismatic flier had bounced back from her injuries sustained against Trixie and Eisenwand fairly well, but she still bore a cast over her right foreleg and had bandages wrapped around her head. Twilight would have preferred to still see Rainbow recovering at home, but it was all but impossible to keep her from wanting to attend the meeting.
“It certainly is more than a little concerning that we’re essentially sitting atop a potential town leveling bomb,” Rarity said, frowning at the portion of the room’s map that depicted Ponyville’s quaint, rustic buildings, “I don’t suppose it might be safer just to dismantle the portal entirely until we’ve found a way to diffuse our little interdimensional bobby trap?”
With a quiet raise of her hoof, Fluttershy said, “I, um, could see if maybe Discord would help us with it.”
Celestia turned to Fluttershy, the sagely alicorn’s expression knowing, “You needn't ask, Fluttershy, for I’m certain Discord has been considering the matter the entire time we’ve been talking. Right, Discord?”
Suddenly a deep chuckling voice radiated down from above, filled with a dark mirth. Aria and Sonata both looked at the tree they were hovering around in shock, floating back quickly as the rooted chandelier turned around with a cartoonish face popping out of its surface with a wide grinning snaggletooth, bushy white eyebrows, and deep red on yellow eyes that gleamed down on the gathered ponies and alicorns.
“Why Celestia your perceptive prowess never fails to amaze, although you spoil my fun too early. Oh well, I suppose the cats are out of the bag.” On cue a burlap sack appeared in a flash of light, upending and dumping a veritable rain of screeching cats onto the proceedings.
Celestia sighed wearily and used a wash of golden magic to catch said cats and quietly deposit them safely on the ground, where they proceeded to either start licking themselves or wandering around to rub against the ponies in hopes of being pet. Fluttershy glanced up at the Discord face in the tree with a slightly peeved but understanding and patient look.
“Discord, what have I told you about eavesdropping?”
“That it was impulsive and manly?” Discord suggested, and at Fluttershy’s water freezing stare he coughed and quickly added, “And that I shouldn’t do it. Yes, yes, but you have to admit you were about to invite me into the conversation anyways, so I was just saving you the trouble.”
“And I appreciate you were thinking about me,” Fluttershy said with a small smile, which didn’t remove the steel from her eyes, “Now please come down and join the conversation properly. Also, please don’t drop small defenseless animals from high places.”
Discord emerged from the tree like a phantom in all his lengthy, asymmetrical, draconequus glory. Few creatures in all Equestria could boast such an unusual and unique appearance as Discord, and that was exactly how he liked it. A oblong, goatish face caped off a long serpentine body that went from coarse, dark brown fur to smooth red scales forming a whip-cord tail. None of his limbs matched, whether pawed, scaled, or cloven, and even the horns sprouting from the crown of his white haired head didn’t match shapes, one conical and another twisted like an antler.
He popped in a top hat out of nowhere and tipped it to the two sirens, who were both staring at him, “Ladies, my belated condolences on your late sister. It wasn’t often someone came along who could cause as much mischief as I could in my hayday.”
“Yeah... thanks,” said Aria, barely containing a scowl that said she could care less about Discord’s words. Sonata tilted her head curiously.
“You knew Dagie?”
“Not personally, but...” Discord’s eyes flashed red for a second, “Let’s just say I once moved in circles familiar to your big sister.”
With that bit of cryptic phrasing Discord floated down beside Fluttershy’s chair and with a snap of his fingers dismissed the small army of felines, after which he cast an apologetic look to the pegasus beside him, “They weren’t real cats anyway.”
“Still, thank you for cleaning thing up, Discord,” Fluttershy said with an approving nod, “Now, um, I don’t suppose you might be able to help us would you?”
“You know there’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you at your merest request, but as much as it makes me gag to admit it, there’s not a whole lot I can do here,” Discord said, slumping in the air as if he were lounging on an invisible hammock.
“What do you mean there’s nothing you can do!?” Rainbow Dash blurted, “Aren’t you, like, the ‘do anything’ dude? Snap your fingers and bam, impossible stuff comes flying out of your eye sockets?”
Discord turned a smarmy snaggle-toothed grin towards the pegasus, crossing his miss-matched arms over his serpentine chest, “Why I certainly am, Skittles. I didn’t earn the title ‘Master of Chaos’ because I happen to look stunning in a zoot suit. I can imagine things into reality that’d turn your brain into a good approximation of scrambled eggs, but for all of that phenomenal cosmic power, and believe me I’m gagging inside as I admit this, I do have limits. Perhaps you remember the time a certain treacherous and utterly unsuave centaur was able to drain yours truly of all his chaos magic? Yes, sadly my powers do have a finite limit, and in this particular case snapping my fingers to remove your little cross-dimension roadblock is firmly on the side of ‘no can do’.”
“Awww, but why not? It’d make everything way super easy for us and the plot wouldn’t, like, take a bajillion years to progress,” Pinkie Pie said out of nowhere, drawing several glances, although little surprise that the party pony would say something more than a little weird.
Discord certainly wasn’t bothered by Pinkie’s odd words and leaned towards the mare, “I’m not much on exposition, and I tend to agree with you on matters of plot so I’ll keep this brief. My chaos magic can do just about whatever I want it to do, but it’s still magic. My power will make the barrier explode the same way the Princess’ magic would. Sure I might be able to snap away the explosion before it destroys either Ponyville or that delightfully marketable high school, but do any of you want to bet lives on how fast I can snap my fingers?”
“I think I can speak for most of us when I say we’d prefer not to risk lives on anything not firmly assured to diffuse this volatile barrier without the chance of anything exploding,” said Celestia, and Luna leaned forward intently, blue eyes glued to Discord.
“That being said it occurs to me that during your rather memorable attendance at the Gala you demonstrated the capacity to open portals to other realms, Discord. Perhaps you could allow us to bypass this problem altogether by opening such a portal to the human realm?”
“Sadly, o’ Princess of the Night, that too is... well it’s possible, but exceedingly unlikely,” Discord said, and he rubbed his talon and paw together for a moment before reaching out with the talon to rip into the air. A shining hole in the very fabric of reality was torn open, showing a dark void filled with a swirl of shifting colors that made Twilight’s eyes hurt just to look at. She saw random pieces of floating rocks and landscape hurtling across that churning maelstrom of chaotic colors, some of which Twilight was pretty sure couldn’t possibly exist on any color spectrum, and she spotted an oddly shaped ‘house’ sitting upon one of the floating rock formations.
“You see it's easy to open a portal to anywhere I’m familiar with and have been, like my old homestead,” said Discord, and with a casual flick of his wrist closed the portal to the chaotic realm. “However opening a portal to somewhere I’ve never been isn’t something I can do. If I open a portal with no knowledge of where I’m going...”
He tore the air again, and this time the world beyond the gleaming, blue rimmed hole was one of a twisted, vomitous green landscape, with a burning red sky and what looked like a shattered purple moon. Before Twilight could even register much more than that there was a horrific screeching sound as something fast, writhing, and made largely of barbed tentacles tried reaching through the portal with its hungry, slimy limbs.
Several of Twilight’s friends screamed, while both Princesses’ horns immediately lit up with magic, forming protective barriers around everypony present, while Flash had his Zanpaktou drawn in an eyeblink. However Discord closed the portal just as fast as he’d opened it, and all that was left of the tentacled horror was a single, flopping limb on the map table.
“...and, well, the portal opens up to a random dimension, as you just saw,” said Discord, casually filing his paw in a bored fashion, “I’ve gone on a few random interdimensional jaunts that way, just for funsies, but the chances I’d land on any specific world are trillions to one.”
Slowly Rarity poked her head up from under the table, eyeing the flopping tentacle piece with distaste, “You really could have just said so. The demonstration was not necessary.”
“Not necessary, but entertaining,” Discord replied casually, then blanched at Fluttershy’s stare, “But I do apologize. I trust you all understand, yes? I can’t magic away your problems in this case.”
“Even if you can’t help with the portal, there are other things you could help with,” Twilight said, turning a glance towards the map, “Such as finding out where the human world’s Starlight Glimmer and her troupe of troublemakers have hidden themselves.”
“Sounds dreadfully boring, but since I know I’ll be pestered until I agree I’ll just head off that boring conversation and say I’ll keep my eyes and ears out for them,” Discord said, popping his eyes out of his head and snapping his fingers to create an open window which he then proceeded to toss his eyes out of, which Twilight saw spout wings and fly off into the sky. Their eyes were shortly followed by a pair of hairy ears. By the time Twilight managed to tear her eyes away from the bizarre sight, Discord had already regrown his eyes and ears and was back to lounging in the air with a yawn.
Flash Sentry was blinking at him with a barely contained astonishment as he leaned towards Twilight and whispered, “Is he always like this?”
“No, he used to be worse,” Twilight replied in a low mutter.
Celestia cleared her throat politely, “Any assistance you lend us is much appreciated, Discord. Twilight, you’ve kept in contact with Sunset via the journal I gave you, correct?”
“Of course. Without that journal we wouldn’t even be aware that the human Starlight Glimmer was in Equestria, or that she’s brought such... dangerous individuals with her.”
“Good, then we at least can try to coordinate our efforts with our counterparts in the human world and share information. I’d like to know all I can about not only Starlight’s human counterpart, but all of those who serve her, starting with this ‘Bount’ Trixie. Luna and I will wish to speak with her soon, and see if we can’t convince her to tell us more about the ritual she used.”
“Before that, however,” said Luna, “We must decide how to deal with finding these invaders. No offense intended to Discord, but I’d rather not rely solely on his skills in this matter.”
“Hey, if there’s scouting to be done, totally count me in!” Rainbow Dash declared firmly.
“I could get in touch with Ember and Thorax and see if the dragons and Changelings would be willing to pitch in,” added Spike, pointing a thumb at his chest, “I am the official Friendship Ambassador to the dragons, and Thorax is a good pal. I bet we could get some volunteers for the search.”
“That’s a good idea Spike, although aren’t the dragons a little, er, testy, except for Ember?” asked Twilight, but Spike shrugged.
“They’ll do what Ember says, so if she tells a few of them to start flying around looking for anything weird, they’ll do it. And adult dragons can fly a loooong distance.”
“That’s an excellent start,” said Celestia, gesturing at one of the eastern portions of the map, “And although there’s no guarantee they will be willing, it may be of use to send word to Griffinstone to ask the griffins keep watch around their lands as well. After all, Starlight Glimmer could have gone anywhere.”
Twilight nodded, then gave the map a thoughtful look towards the south, “There’s still a lot of territory we can’t cover easily, given how far from Equestria’s borders some lands are. I’m not even certain what’s to the south of us beyond the Badlands. Hmm, maybe I should ask Zecora? She knows all sorts of mysterious things about far off lands.”
“By all means do so. Every extra hoof can only help in the search,” Celestia agreed.
“Oooh! Oooh! Does that mean I can go say hi to the yaks and ask them for help too?” asked Pinkie Pie excitedly, “I bet they’d love to help out!”
“By all means, Pinkie Pie. I’m sure Princess Cadence will need help watching the North, as there’s no small amount of icy wasteland to cover, and those frozen reaches would prove a most ideal place to hide,” said Celestia, and Pinkie grinned with a happy little ‘squee’. Considering how rough the party pony’s first foray with the yaks had been, Twilight was glad to see how much Pinkie Pie had warmed up to Equestria’s... unusual northern neighbors.
“But do we even have a notion of where to start looking?” asked Rarity, gesturing at the map, “It's not as if the map is conveniently displaying to us where these poor guests are hiding out.”
“Be nice if they had a big, giant, evil fortress with crazy storm clouds over it,” said Pinkie Pie, “You see this is what was nice about Chrysalis, she just had this huge hive in the middle of an open desert that all but shouted ‘Hey, I’m the bad guy and I’m over here!’, why can’t more villains but that easy to find?”
“She did steal an entire research lab that contained a tower, according to Sunset’s account of events,” Twilight said, turning to give Flash Sentry a questioning look, “I don’t suppose there’s any way you could find this lab with your spiritual senses? Once we find a way to adjust you to our world’s magic, that is.”
Flash returned a pensive look towards her, rubbing his chin, “I don’t know, Twilight. Even when I get my senses sorted out with all this buzzing, background magic, I’m not even certain what I’ll be looking for. This research facility was pretty top secret stuff by Soul Society standards, and if Starlight Glimmer is half as smart as Sunset’s report indicates she’s going to be taking precautions against any casual searches. At this point I’d recommend just casting as wide a search net as you can, while doubling up on any security measures you have around magical items or knowledge Starlight might be after.”
Celestia responded to this with a nod towards the map’s northern region, “We’ve already contacted Princess Cadence in the Crystal Empire to appraise her of the threat and she has increased the protections around both the castle and the Crystal Heart itself.”
“Crystal Heart?” Flash asked, and Discord snickered.
“A floating love battery shaped like a gaudy trinket from a child’s playset, but still quite powerful regardless. Properly charged with the love of the Empire’s citizenry the Heart can perform all manner of deus ex machina feats. You’ll discover, young Soul Reaper, that Equestria is filled with those kind of one-shot, instant win artifacts. Including the Elements of Harmony. I trust, Celestia, you haven’t left that silly tree unguarded?”
“Of course not,” Celestia said, giving Discord a flat stare, “We’ve ensured the Tree of Harmony is thoroughly protected, and any attempts to get close to it will trigger not only spells to alert myself and Luna, but will make the attempted intruder sorely regret their choices in life.”
“From Canterlot to Manehattan we have started to increase our defenses,” said Luna with flared wings, “But such defense will only serve for so long without a proper offense. Once we discover these fiends we require a suitable plan of attack for dealing with them.”
Flash Sentry cleared his throat, leaning up on the table with his forehooves so he could more easily look the two royal sisters in the eyes, although Twilight could tell from the slight, drooping flutter in his wings and twitching tail that he was nervous, “About that, I feel as if I have to seriously stress just how dangerous and powerful the people who’ve invaded your world are. I know you both are long lived and potent alicorns. I’ve seen Twilight’s magic and I won’t lie, I’m impressed with her-”
Twilight suppressed an embarrassed grin and blush at that, twiddling her hooves as Flash went on.
“-and from what she’s told me both of you are even more experienced and powerful in the ways of magic than she is. Still, that said, I’m not sure if you understand the full extent of what you’d be up against going head to head with Starlight Glimmer or those following her. Especially our world’s Chrysalis. Twilight’s explained to me you’ve already defeated the Chrysalis of your world a couple of times-”
“Three,” Twilight put in, “Once when she assaulted Canterlot, once when she tried to harness power from that meteor and foalnapped some local foals, and the third time when our world’s Starlight and several others faced her in her own hive, ultimately turning most of the Changeling race against her.”
Flash nodded to Twilight with a slight smirk and cleared his throat, “Right, and that’s impressive. The thing is, my world’s Chrysalis shouldn’t be underestimated. She’s the Second Espada, the second most powerful Hollow among a legion of monstrously powerful individuals. Pound for pound she’d be a match for any Captain, maybe any two Captains in the Gotei 13, which she proved by facing our world’s Celestia and Luna both at the same time. Even if this invasion was just her, I’d be sweating bullets. But by all accounts Starlight Glimmer and her pal Firefly are strong enough together to keep a leash on Chrysalis, and on top of that one of our own Captains, Platinum, has defected to the enemy’s side. That’s not a lineup to take lightly.”
Her frosty eyes regarded Flash critically as Luna spoke in a calm but slightly edged voice, “We hear your words, and understand the sincerity behind them. Understand that neither I nor my sister take any threat to our realm lightly. However perhaps you are underestimating us, Flash Sentry? We have defended Equestria against numerous threats in the past, and we are not unaccustomed to battling those with the strength to crush mountains and move oceans.”
“I’m not doubting your courage, dedication to protecting your world, or even your vast experience, Princess. I only want to make it very clear that you may never have faced opponents like these before, and when we find where they are a headlong confrontation might not be our best move.”
An understanding nod came from Celestia, along with an equally understanding and soothing tone, “I believe I understand your concerns, Flash Sentry. It makes perfect sense you’d advise caution, because you’re aware of what our foes are capable of. You’ve fought battles against such beings your whole life, as I understand it. Looking at a peaceful world like ours, I imagine it's easy to think our powers couldn’t match those from your realm, and the concern for our safety is admirable. I doubt my sister is advocating for a foolhardy assault once we locate Starlight Glimmer’s lair. When that happens we shall plan an appropriately thought out strategy, which I sincerely hope you’ll aid us in planning. However I suspect you want more than just words of assurances, don’t you?”
The last was said with a wink, and Twilight wasn’t sure what Celestia was talking about until Flash laughed and cracked a huge smile, “I should’ve known you’d guess at what I was after before I said anything. You really are like my Captain, Princess Celestia. So when would be a good time for you?”
Twilight tilted her head slightly, “What?”
Celestia let out a warm chuckle, “Well, Flash, I find these things are best done somewhere secluded, away from prying eyes. How about this evening, after dinnertime?”
Twilight’s head tilted even further, “I reiterate; what?”
“Evening after dinner sounds fine to me,” said Flash, “How about we do it in the Everfree Forest? I hear nobody goes in there, so we’re not likely to be interrupted.”
Face now shining like a fresh red apple, Twilight’s wings flared out and she reared up on the table, “Flash Sentry! Explain yourself!”
“Whoa, easy there sugarcube,” said Applejack, raising a placating hoof, “Thinkin’ they ain’t talkin ‘bout what ya think they’re talkin’ ‘bout.”
Celestia’s chuckle turned into an entirely immature giggle as she put a hoof over her mouth and glanced with glittering eyes at Twilight, “My apologies. Flash Sentry was merely challenging me to a duel. That is what you want, correct, Lieutenant?”
Flash coughed in embarrassment, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly, “That’s right. Both you and your sister, if that would be acceptable.”
“I don’t mind,” said Luna with a small shrug, “Although you may want to consider dueling us one on one, if only to gain a better gauge on our individual abilities.”
“Oh my, won’t this be interesting?” Discord said, perking up, “A spot of violence to curb the boredom?”
“Naaaah,” said Pinkie, “This is more like going into practice-mode. Flashy just wants to see how amazingly badflank the Princess’ are!”
“More or less,” said Flash Sentry, giving Twilight an apologetic look. Which she accepted with a faint, if somewhat huffy nod. It was hard to stay mad at that innocent, shy grin. “Sorry Twilight, I just think that for me to really get a feel for how strong the Princesses are, its easiest just to have a sparring match.”
“It will help us as well,” said Celestia, “While Twilight has told us of the strength of spiritual powers, and we’ve heard much from Sunset Shimmer through the journal, it will be much simpler to gauge such powers by witnessing them in action ourselves. Luna and I shall likely learn much from a practice duel with Flash Sentry, and I suspect he’ll learn much of us and our powers as well. From that knowledge can be born a better understanding of each other, and hence a more complete strategy for when we face Starlight Glimmer and her comrades.”
“Dudes, I can totally get front seats for this, right?” asked Rainbow Dash.
“I see no reason not to allow certain spectators that wish it,” said Luna.
“Awesome!”
Rarity cleared her throat and said, “Yes, well, I suppose there may be some value in watching such a duel unfold. I’m uncertain what help I can be with such overwhelming foes, but let it never be said I wasn’t willing to do my part.”
“Think that goes fer all o’ us, Rarity,” said Applejack, glancing at Twilight and the other Princesses, “I figure it goes without sayin’ that I’m in fer any brawl ta protect Equestria.”
Celestia nodded in acknowledgement, “I don’t doubt all of you will wish to do what you can to help in the coming days, and I invite you all to come observe my sister and I duel with Flash Sentry. It should be enlightening for all of us.”
“Well, I’ve already seen the dude in action, and he’s not bad. Still, I’m putting my bits on the Princesses,” said Rainbow Dash, which caused Applejack to roll her eyes.
“It ain’t a competition, Rainbow...” the farm pony said, then leaned towards Dash and whispered, “But I’ll put five bits on Flash.”
“You’re on.”
Luna cleared her throat loudly, “With that settled, I believe it's time I visit our prisoner to see if there is any more we can glean from her.”
Twilight raised and eyebrow, “If you feel you can. Trixie’s been pretty tight lipped since we caught her. Starlight suggested mind magic to make her talk, but I’m against using such methods, and I don’t think Starlight really wants to either, she just brought it up the one time.”
“Oh,” Luna smiled in such a manner as to make Twilight’s wing feathers ruffle and the fur on the back of her neck stand on chilled ends, “I won’t need any mental magic to get information from her. If she indeed knows anything, she shall tell me by the end of the night.”
Celestia smiled as well, but her look was a grave one, “Do what you must, sister, but practice some restraint as well.”
“You needn’t remind me, sister. I know what the boundaries are. I have no intention of pushing anything too far, but this Trixie has played a key role in endangering the lives of all of our subjects. She shall not enjoy a gentle rest this night, not while she has me to deal with!”
Twilight let out a nervous but polite cough, “Ahem, I’m sure you’ll, er, do what is necessary, Princess Luna. Now, um, does anypony have any other ideas or suggestions at this point?”
There was a round of silence across all sides of the table, and Twilight turned to Celestia, “Then for now may I suggest we adjourn and start putting to work what plans we do have? We have allies to contact, a prisoner to question, and-” she gave Flash a brief, cheeky glance, “-apparently a duel to conduct after dinner.”
----------
“Well, that was boring,” Aria commented dryly, floating back into the sizable library in Twilight's castle with Sonata flying in behind her.
“I dunno, this world’s Discord is way more fun to watch than the one in the other place,” Sonata commented idly as she swam through the air with small, deft motions of her fins, returning to a table where she’d left some half eaten chips and dip and proceeded to dig back in.
“He’s creepy is what he is,” Aria said, floating over to a table near where Sonata sat, where she’d left a few cracked open tomes before the meeting had been called. Sitting at it she rested a finned hoof on the side of her head and glanced in irritation at the books in front of her. “Not that the other one wasn’t. At least he tried to help us, though.”
“Yeah, I guess so. Mmmph, these chips are really good, Aria! You should try some!”
“Not hungry.”
“...Aria, you gotta eat more. We don’t have our gems.”
Aria blanched, her muzzle twisting in a sneer, “I know, Sonata! I can kind of feel the hole where they ought to be!”
“Geez, sorry, you don’t need to yell at me,” Sonata said, while snatching up the bowl of chips and dip and floating over to Aria’s table, setting them down next to her agitated sister. “C’mon, snack away. If Princess Bookhorse is giving us free food, no reason not to take advantage of it, right?”
“Ugh, okay, okay,” Aria muttered, hoofing some of the salty chips into her mouth and chewing them with a glare, talking around the mouthful, “There? Happy?”
“Yup.”
Sonata settled in next to Aria and they both looked over the books before them. They’d already pored over most of what Twilight had in her library on ancient magical knowledge and artifacts. So far none of it had given even the smallest clue on a way to help their sister. The frustration was building in both sisters as the days had gone by, but Twilight had been quick to point out it hadn’t been that long since the sirens’ search had started and that Equestria was a land filled to the brim with magic. Twilight’s library was hardly the only, or largest, collection of tomes in the realm.
“So if we don’t find anything here you think we should go to Canterlot next?” asked Sonata, to which Aria heaved out a sigh.
“I don’t know. Why not, I guess? Can’t be any more useless than here.”
“This place has been kinda a drag, even with all the free food,” Sonata agreed with a nod, plopping her head down on the book in front of her, “I always sucked at reading stuff all the time. Dagie always did the hard, thinking work.”
A pause stretched out to a heavy silence before Sonata whispered, “I miss her.”
Aria stiffened, then with a grimace slowly reached out to stroke the top of Sonata’s head fin, an old gesture of calming and comfort for the siren. “I know. Same here.”
She took a deep breath and then picked up the next book, “Alright, let’s finish what’s here, then we worry about screwing around with Canterlot.”
Just then a familiar and smugly amused voice echoed through the library, causing both siren sisters to float up in surprise and look around.
“Oh I wouldn’t bother with Canterlot. You won’t have any more luck there than you are here,” Discord said as his head emerged from the table, looking down at the books for a moment with an air of quaintly amused condescension. “Not that our resident Princess of Friendship doesn’t have a suitably expansive and unimaginatively educational materials, as does Canterlot’s ever grander repository of dust ridden ‘knowledge’.”
There was a fractal of light in Discord’s eyes that made them shine like freshly polished dice as he grinned, “Yet none of those books will do you ladies any good.”
Sonata’s face screwed up in confusion, “What do you mean they won’t? Twilight said she, like, had books on ALL the magic! And Canterlot’s supposed to have even more. There’s gotta be something in them we can use to help out Dagie!”
“Sonata, calm down,” Aria said, turning a look filled to the brim with mistrust towards the draconequus in the table, “Alright, cut the crap, what are you after?”
“Moi?” Discord held a paw to his fuzzy brown chest, batting his eyelashes, “After something? Why isn’t it enough that I want to help two flying fish people in need? Couldn’t I just desire to spread the magic of friendship?”
“Yeah, and I got some magic beans to sell you, buddy,” Aria snorted, crossing her scaled arms over her chest, looking down at Discord’s mock innocent face, “Just because you’re playing nice with the ponies doesn’t mean you can’t still mess with people for your own kicks.”
“Ah, well, we all have to find our entertainment somewhere, don’t we? It’s true I’ve cast aside notions of making Equestria my personal playground in favor of actually having a friend for a change, but that doesn’t mean I still can’t have fun when the opportunities present themselves.” Discord rose up from the table fully now, floating rapidly between the two sirens and snaking his arms around the pair, hugging them close despite Sonata recoiling slightly and Aria glaring death at him.
“As it happens I genuinely want to help you girls, and it just so happens to also correspond to keeping me entertained.”
“Ack, dude, it's called deodorant. I’m pretty sure Equestria’s invented it,” Aria said, wiggling free off his paw, with Sonata managing to do the same. Aria floated in front of Discord, pointing a hoof at his chest, “And I still don’t buy it. Why do you want to help us? The truth, otherwise I’m not listening to a thing you say.”
“Pfft, as if you have much choice. Go ahead and check Canterlot’s archives. After you waste days, if not weeks there, maybe then you’ll be more interested in hearing what I have to say.” Discord said with a huff, looking away from the pair.
Sonata glanced at Aria and held up a hoof, forestalling any scathing remarks Aria had ready to go. Sonata then floated towards Discord, peering over his shoulder at him, “You said you moved in circles that Dagie was familiar with. Does it have something to do with that?”
Discord glanced at her, and slowly stroked his beard, “Hm, perhaps you’re not as dull as you first appear. Yes, I may never have met your sister, but she and I share some... mutual acquaintances. Including the individual who taught her to use siren magic to sow chaos and absorb power from that delightful disharmony.”
That got Aria’s attention. A siren’s gem was a natural part of her being, but how that magic was used varied between individuals. A certain level of mind control was inherent in the songs of a siren, but the method of generating and fostering negative emotions to create havoc, and then feed on the resulting negative energies was not a natural use of the gems. Adagio had taught that magic to Aria and Sonata, but Aria had never discovered where Adagio had learned the magic herself. Despite herself Aria found she was leaning forward intently.
“So what if you know whoever taught Adagio?” Aria challenged, “How does that help us?”
“Why, because this individual owns a piece of your sister’s soul,” Discord replied simply.
“What!?” Sonata blurted, floating back in shock... then paused and glanced upwards in thought, “Uh... what does that even mean?”
Discord raised one bushy brow at her, “Perhaps I was premature on that ‘not as dull as you look’ comment. What it means is that it's entirely possible one of the reasons your dear sister couldn’t return to her normal body all that time wasn’t simply because her soul was injured, but because it was already missing a piece before you lot were even flushed into the human world. Get that piece back and return it to her and...”
“And we can save her!? She’ll be able to go back to her normal body!?” Sonata was practically shoving her face into Discord’s with how intensely she flew up to him. Discord, for his part, floated back and gave a casual shrug.
“Maybe, maybe not. I’m no expert on matters of the soul. It sounds more as if my counterpart is more qualified to answer that question, if what I read while peeking over Twilight’s shoulder as she wrote back and forth to that Sunset Shimmer pony was any indication.”
“Did she know you were reading her correspondences with Sunset?” asked Aria.
“Why would she? I was enjoying being a literal fly on the wall. Or a ceiling fan. It’s surprisingly relaxing to be a ceiling fan. In any case, I don’t know if returning your sister’s missing soul fragment will help her or not, but it's a far better prospect than you’re likely to find with hitting the books for weeks on end. And as a special bonus to myself, I get to watch you girls try to retrieve it from its current owner.” Discord’s face split in an anticipating grin, “That should be quite the show.”
Aria’s eyes narrowed, “Who has it?”
“Her name has changed a few times over the centuries, but if memory serves the last name I recall her wearing was Charybdis. Or was it Scylla? I can never keep those two straight. Either way she’s the one you’d want to see about your sister’s soul,” Discord chuckled as dryly as old sandpaper, “Although I should mention she’s not the friendliest sort, nor the easiest to reach. Even if you do find her, convincing her to give up her prize won’t be as simple as just asking. She’s rather fond of the trinkets she collects.”
“Our sister’s soul isn’t a trinket,” Aria growled, but Discord just shrugged nonchalantly.
“To Charybdis, it is.”
“So where are we supposed to find this Charry chick anyway?” asked Sonata. To this Discord made an off hand gesture and the table with the books on it suddenly shifted in a flash of light into a remarkably realistic map of what appeared to be Equestria’s eastern coastline and ocean.
“She roams from place to place, but there is one particular spot that is her ‘territory’, a deep and dark trench at the bottom of the world’s coldest ocean...” Discord said in an ominous tone, and Aria for a moment thought it was her imagination that the room was getting darker until she realized it actually was darkening as Discord loomed over the map, his talon pointing like a dagger at a patch ocean off the south east coast of the continent, where it seemed there was nothing but patches of ice drifts amid the frozen waters.
“...The Abyss.”
----------
The small, blue ball was tossed, bounced off the ground and up into the shimmering field of translucent teal magic, and then landed back in Trixie’s hoof as she lazily stretched out on her back on a large couch. She idly tossed the ball again, which repeated its process of bouncing off the floor, hitting the magic barrier, and landing back in her hoof. Again and again, filling the guest room with a monotonous sound of repeating bounces.
“Will you stop that already!?” shouted the other Trixie, who was sitting in the middle of the magical, dome shaped barrier. She was bereft of her hat and cape, with her hooves tied to the floor with steel manacles. A single metal ring engraved with several magical symbols was placed on her horn, effectively blocking magic. She was about as thoroughly imprisoned as she could be until she would be eventually moved to a more secure and dedicated incarceration facility.
Equestria’s Trixie didn’t respond save to turn a sardonic look towards her counterpart and pointedly continue to bounce her ball off the magic shield. Nearby Starlight Glimmer, who was sitting on a chair by the door and reading a book, glanced over the rim of said book and said, “Do I have to put a mute spell on you two?”
“I wish you would!” said the Bount in pony form, turning her nose up and sniffing, “That would be infinitely more tolerable than listening to this simpleton bounce that toy around.”
“It helps Trixie maintain her incredible hoof to eye coordination,” Trixie said idly, not even stopping her pace as she yawned and turned over on her side on the couch to prop her other hoof under her chin and smirk at the prisoner, “A magician ever needs to practice deftness of hoof, even while distracted.”
“I know that, I do practice stage magic too,” Bound Trixie matched pony Trixie’s smirk pound for pound in terms of arrogance, “And I require far less practice to achieve equally amazing results!”
“You mean the result where you’re chained to the floor, inside a magical barrier? Oh yes, I can only dream to match your accomplishments,” Trixie drawled, laughing dryly, “Perhaps for my next performance I’ll add your trick of getting my tail kicked by Twilight Sparkle and her friends.”
“I imagine you’ll find that trick easy to perform, given that Twilight Sparkle at least has some real power, whereas you are about as magical as a thumbtack!”
Trixie scrunched her muzzle up and glared at her counterpart, “I don’t even know what a thumbtack is and I feel insulted. Starlight, doesn’t that shield have, like, a magical shock feature or something?”
Starlight sighed, “No, Trixie, it doesn't, and even if it did, we’re not shocking the prisoner. Even if she’s kind of earned it.”
Meanwhile Bount Trixie was blinking in bafflement, “How do you not know what a thumbtack... oh, right, ponies. Ugh, don’t tell me they’re called hooftacks here?”
Before Equestria’s Trixie could answer that the door to the room swung open under a golden glow of magic and Princess Celestia strode in, her towering form having to duck to fit in through the doorway. Starlight immediately set her book aside and stood up.
“Princess Celestia! What are you doing here?”
“I wanted to talk with our guest,” said Celestia, turning a pleasant smile towards Starlight, “I trust she’s been behaving?”
Starlight glanced back at Bount Trixie, who was doing her best to look defiant and uncaring, but couldn’t disguise the way she looked sidelong at Celestia with curiosity. “She’s been a bit annoying, but otherwise she hasn’t given us any trouble.”
“That’s good. If you two would excuse me, I’d like to speak with her alone.”
Starlight looked uneasy with that, but Trixie just rolled off the couch, somehow managing to swiftly secret her bouncing ball away under hat as she poked Starlight’s shoulder, “I’m hungry anyway, aren’t you Starlight? This is one of the Princesses we’re talking about, so I’m sure she’ll be fine.”
“Yes, yes of course,” Starlight said, and after she and Trixie left the room, Princess Celestia approached the magic barrier and peered down at the Bount within.
“I hope by now you have had some time to consider your situation,” Celestia said in a quiet tone, “I’ve been told a little of your kind from Lieutenant Flash Sentry, but even he seems to be mostly in the dark as to just what a Bount is.”
“Hmph, and you think I’ll tell you anything? I think not! My lips are sealed as tight as a straight jacket!” Bount Trixie declared, turning away from Celestia, or rather trying to but the chains around her legs made that rather difficult and she ended up stumbling.
Celestia cleared her throat, hiding a chuckle, “What you do or don’t tell me is entirely your choice. My sister will be visiting you tonight, and I warn you, she lacks my gentle disposition, but I suspect you resolved yourself face such things when you came to my world. I don’t want to know anything compromising, Miss Lulamoon. It is still Lulamoon, yes?”
Trixie didn’t respond, but Celestia saw the unicorn’s eye slide curiously towards her.
“I understand you serve your world’s Starlight Glimmer. She must have offered you much, or been quite charismatic, to secure the kind of loyalty needed for you to come here alone, all but sacrificing yourself to block the portal between here and the human world. I don’t want to know Starlight Glimmer’s plans from you. Luna will do so, but for now I’ll forgo the interrogation,” Celestia said with a gentle voice, setting herself down to sit next to the barrier, “Instead I just want to know about you. Tell me of the Bounts. Tell me of yourself. Nothing you're not comfortable telling. Nothing that you think would put your cause in danger. Just tell me what you feel you can.”
“And why would I do that? Why ask at all?” Trixie asked with a snort, “If this is some attempt at using that so-called ‘magic of friendship’ on me, I’m telling you now it won’t work! I won’t be swayed from my mission by kind words or trying to treat me kindly. In fact I’d rather just skip to the real interrogation and torture.”
“I assure you, no matter how severe my sister may be, torture will never be on the list of acceptable means we use. Not here in Equestria,” Celestia said, never wavering in her calm, understanding voice, “As for why, I won’t lie; I hope to establish some trust between us. I could toss you in the deepest dungeon available to me any time I wish, but it costs me nothing to talk to you first, so why shouldn’t I? If nothing else I’m incredibly curious, and satiating curiosity is a joy I share with my former student. So I ask again, won’t you tell me of yourself?”
Trixie looked at Celestia for a very long, measuring moment, slowly going from frosty dismissal to slowly chewing her lower lip, before finally turning to face the alicorn and sitting down. Trixie’s face was a mask of disgruntlement, but she started to talk, slowly at first but gradually with greater ease. And Celestia listened, learning all the while.
----------
Evening fell over Ponyville with its usual easy stillness, but the town itself was not quite as relaxed as it usually was when Celestia lowered the sun and Luna’s moon started to take its place in a dusty sky. There was both and excited and slightly nervous buzz in the air as ponies went to one of the towns’ few taverns, talk of the events of the past couple of days on everypony’s lips. Not many knew much of what was going on, only that somepony had gotten into quite the scuffle with the Princess of Friendship and her friends at the edge of town, and now the other Princesses were in town with an entourage of guards. Twilight Sparkle had made a publish statement assuring the town that everything was well in hoof, but hadn’t given many details beyond that. Not that many of Ponyville’s long time residents were all that worried. By this point they were all quite used to the many unusual events that tended to happen around town, especially when it comes to the adventures their resident alicorn and her friends.
If Ponyville could weather Ursa Minors, bugbears, parasprites, rampaging dragons, and Pinkie Pie, then those living in the town assumed they could handle anything that might come their way. So while they chatted with somewhat nervous smiles about what kind of crazy trouble Twilight and her friends were getting involved in this time, they were still a little uneasy every time they glanced out the windows of their homes or taverns to see Royal Guard ponies, and even more than a few of Luna’s far less frequently seen Night Guard patrolling the streets.
Beyond the outskirts of Ponyville the Everfree Forest was as thick and foreboding as ever, the kind of place most ponies in town still thought of as a place to avoid despite many of them knowing that the forest housed at least one friendly zebra. The forest was larger than most gave it credit for, large enough that Twilight was completely confident that she, her friends, the two royal sisters, and Flash Sentry wouldn’t be disturbing anyone with the evening’s events.
“I still can’t believe you’re dueling the Princesses. I’d call it irresponsible if Princess Celestia hadn’t already agreed to it,” she chided, to which Flash Sentry managed another apologetic smile.
“I guess I did spring it up out of nowhere, but seriously I think it’ll be useful for both of us. I need to know what level of strength the Princesses are at, and they should at least get an idea of what a Soul Reaper can do. Besides, it might be fun.”
“Yeah Twilight, I brought popcorn and everything!” Pinkie Pie said, producing an outrageously sized bucket of freshly buttered popcorn, which Twilight blanched at, but Rainbow Dash was quick to snag a hoof of.
“Exactly Twi, you got to get into the spirit of things,” said Rainbow Dash, winking at Flash, “Try not to lose too fast.”
“Heh, we’ll see how it goes. I have no idea what either Princess is capable of. Kind of the whole point of this, gaining knowledge. You can dig that, right Twilight?”
Twilight gave a begrudging nod, “Yes, I suppose I can’t deny that. Still, if you so much as put a scratch on Princess Celestia...”
Flash held up a hoof defensively, “Hey, I’m more worried about what she’ll do to me. Remember, in my world Celestia’s my Captain. I still got memories of the bruises I took in the Academy from her kendo lessons. I’m sure the alicorn Princess version is no slouch in a fight.”
Further ahead, leading the party’s way through the forest, Celestia and Luna themselves strode closely to each other’s sides, sharing a quiet conversation of their own.
“Hmph, spending hours talking with our enemy. You never much change, do you sister?” Luna said with a wry half smile, “Did you even learn anything from the exchange?”
Celestia wore a knowing smile of her own, “While Trixie said nothing that we could use against Starlight Glimmer or her plans, I did find the conversation... enlightening. The young lady has many barriers around her ego and feelings that she doesn’t lower easily. I suspect she’s had to keep others at a distance for so long she doesn’t even know where the ego ends and her real self begins. Still, she told me much of what she is, and that in and of itself helps me understand our enemies better. Bounts are fascinating, and share much with Changelings. Both are species that hide among the population to feed on others, but where Changelings were once forced to feed on love, Bounts must feed on souls.”
Luna bristled at that, but Celestia went on to say, “I asked her if Bounts consume souls entirely, and she said that while they are entirely capable of doing that, it is taboo among them to do so. Even feeding on a living person’s soul is considered a crime among their kind, although she admitted she’d heard of a clan of Bounts that once broke those taboos in an attempt to fight the Soul Reapers. It ended poorly for that group of Bounts. Trixie herself claims to be from another clan, one that was hunted by both Quincy and Soul Reapers until she was the only survivor. While she didn’t say so directly, the reverent way she talks of Starlight Glimmer suggest to me the crux of Trixie’s loyalty is that Starlight saved her from those hunts and helped her hide. She’s young, by Bount standards. Apparently the Bounts don’t age, as long as they feed, but Trixie isn’t much older than she physically appears.”
“All interesting, I’m sure, but ultimately useless for our own cause,” Luna said, but Celestia shook her head.
“Not entirely, sister. With time I feel I can break down more of her walls and gain some measure of trust from her. Not enough, perhaps, to turn upon her allies, but enough that when the time comes she may be a bridge towards helping end the conflict... more peacefully than it otherwise might end.”
“Shall I forgo tonight’s intended questioning?” Luna asked.
“Oh no, I still want you to pay Trixie a visit as well,” Celestia said with a wink, “I’m sure she’ll find conversing with you... stimulating.”
Luna cracked a wider smile at that, “Oh, I intend it to be more than merely stimulating. While I do have sympathy for those who’ve gone astray due to... understandable reasons, I still don’t intend to take it too easy on this Trixie. She’s put much of Equestria at risk, and I want her to understand that we are not taking such a threat lightly.”
“Well, you needn’t always play the Princess of the Night routine quite so severely, Luna, but I suppose there’s value in the old carrot and stick routine. I dangle the carrots of understanding, you bring the stick of not-so-understanding.”
“A stick I am most familiar with wielding,” Luna said, through her expression turned thoughtful and introspective, “I’ll not bludgeon her too hard with it. I was given a chance to redeem myself, so I can grant the same consideration to others. Not that I feel we can afford to go too soft on those who challenge us. Speaking of which, do you truly wish to have both of us duel Flash Sentry at the same time, or shall one of us begin and wait to be tagged in?”
“Hmm, he seemed to want to test us both simultaneously, but I suspect he may be somewhat underestimating us. Would you like to start, sister? You seem eager to blow off some steam,” Celestia said with a sidelong look of amusement. Luna laughed under her breath and shook her head.
“By all means, go first, Tia. Once you’ve had your fun you may tag me in and I’ll finish the job.”
“Heheh, you know me so well, Lulu.”
The walk through the forest didn’t last much longer before they reached a rope bridge over a wide, foggy chasm that was quite familiar to many of those present. Twilight had a moment of brief reminiscence as she remembered Rainbow Dash stringing up this very same rope bridge, that long night when she and the ponies that would become her best friends went to face Nightmare Moon. She supposed she shouldn’t be surprised how long ago that felt, despite it not really having been that many years ago. Her life had just become nothing but a nearly non-stop roller coaster since then to the point that each year had felt like a lifetime in and of itself.
Glancing at Flash Sentry, she wondered just how much crazier her life was going to get. She’d thought she’d hit peak when she’d earned her alicorn wings. But the world kept growing, and along with it the threats to Equestria’s peace. Looking back at her friends, she could only hope that, like always, she and them would be up to the challenges to come.
Then there were was the question of exactly what she felt for Flash Sentry. That was a tangle she had yet to unwind. She hoped there’d be a few quiet days while they waited for the search for the human Starlight to bear fruit where she could spend a bit more time with him to maybe work out exactly what the felt about each other and what they were going to do about it.
Crossing the rope bridge the group soon found themselves at the entrance to a vast and moss entwined ruin. The one time castle would have been a grand sight in its glory days when it had been the home of the royal sisters, its tall spires of ancient stone acting as a beacon of glory in a deep sea of trees. Now it was a fallen and faded collection of stone walls, cracked floors, and small piles of rubble cloistered around broken windows and empty hallways.
“You know I keep thinking it would be a lovely idea to restore this old castle,” said Rarity, looking the ruin over with a critical eye, “A few choice rugs, the right tapestries, and a little TLC to get the walls and roof repaired and this could be quite the scenic summer home.”
Celestia laughed lightly, “I believe the castle is still technically owned by the crown, even through neither I nor Luna have been here for more than nostalgic visits in centuries. To be honest if anypony truly wanted to restore this place I wouldn’t object to the attempt, but I believe it would be a project of no small time and effort.”
Rarity made a thoughtful ‘hmm’ as she looked the castle over again, clearly considering the prospects. Meanwhile Twilight glanced at Celestia and said, “Now that we’re here, are you sure you all want to do this?”
“It will be quite alright, Twilight. You needn’t worry,” Celestia said, and turned around to face Flash Sentry, spreading her wings out. “I believe right here should give us more than enough space to conduct this sparring match. Twilight and the others can observe us from the castle steps. Shall we set the rules of our bout?”
Flash looked around, noting the size of the rather large clearing between the rope bridge chasm and the castle itself. It was roughly the size of the training fields back at the Academy, with the chasm extending off to the castle’s right side. The forest trees were quite sparse here, with only a few clumps of shrubs hugging the area and providing no obvious cover or obstacle to movement. He nodded firmly.
“This should be fine. As for rules, let’s keep it simple; we fight without restriction until either someone yields, or is incapacitated. Go all out and fight like you mean it, just holding back enough to avoid any serious injury.”
“That’s acceptable to me. However, while I know you wished to fight my sister and I both at once, would you be willing to begin with just me? If needed I’ll tag Luna in, but I’d like to start testing you out myself,” Celestia said, smiling thinly. Flash raised an eyebrow, but nodded.
“If that’s what you want...”
“Very well then,” Celestia looked behind her to ensure that Twilight and her friends had all gathered to sit on the steps leading up to the castle’s entryway. Pinkie Pie was sharing her popcorn with Rainbow Dash and Spike, who seemed to be the only one’s interested, while Pinkie herself had somehow managed to procure a foam, pink wing she was waving on her hoof.
“Yeaaaah, go team Princesses! Alicorn’s gonna take Soul Reaper boy down!”
Fluttershy coughed politely and said, “I, um, am rooting for everypony. G-good luck Flash Sentry.”
Pinkie Pie nodded, “Oh, I am too. Check it out!”
She raised her other hoof, which somehow had a foam Zanpaktou attached to it. Flash couldn’t even grasp where or how Pinkie Pie got a foam copy of his sword.
“Yeaaaah, go team Flash! Go Bankai!”
How does she even now...ugh, I’m not even going to think about it, Flash shook his head, and instead just focused his attention on Princess Celestia as he drew his Zanpaktou. It still felt incredibly awkward in his hoof, but he was getting used to holding it with the fingerless limb. Steadying himself, he took a deep breath and looked Celestia in the eyes. “Ready when you are.”
Celestia stepped forward, and assumed a wide stance. Flash blinked in surprise. Despite her quadrupedal form, the stance immediately struck him as familiar.
She holds herself the same way Captain Celestia does, he thought, but it was more than just the stance. It was the demeanor. It was like with just assuming that stance Celestia’s entire body language instantly shifted, transforming entirely. One moment she’d been a gentle, welcoming presence that held not a trace of ready violence in a single hair or feathers on her body... but now, with that one stance, Celestia’s posture radiated power and deadly lethality. It wasn’t a matter of spiritual pressure, either. This was just Celestia’s sheer presence that was striking Flash, and instantly took him back to being a raw recruit facing Captain Celestia that first day of sword training.
He gulped, feeling sweat bead his forehead. I think I might’ve made a slight miscalculation.
His thought only became confirmed as he saw a gleam of golden magic not only appear around Celestia’s long horn, but also wreath her entire body in a radiant aura. He couldn’t really feel magic clearly yet, as the whole world still buzzed with that background sensation of it, but now that buzz felt like an overwhelming roar, and he realized that while he might not be able to discern specifics about magical auras yet, he could tell Princess Celestia’s magical might wasn’t just stronger than Twilight's... it was was in a league of its own.
There was a clarion ring in the air as Celestia’s magic glowed brighter and in the air on either side of the Princess there was a heated shimmer. A second later a blazing pair of white flames appeared, extending and solidifying until they become two ornate golden longswords that all but bled sunfire, lighting up the entire night.
Celestia’s lips quirked in a smile, “I’m quite ready, Flash Sentry. May I suggest that perhaps, for your own sake, that you don’t hold back and activate your Zanpaktou’s Shikai now?”
Flash Sentry gulped, now more than a few beads of sweat on his forehead, as he nodded, “Y-yeah... that sounds like a good idea.”
Taking a deep, steadying breath he intoned, ”Serve faithfully; Kochi Yojinbo.”
His Zanpaktou flowed into the shape of the large, bladed tonfa strapped to his foreleg and he braced himself, letting his reiatsu flow out of him as he prepared for what he suspected was going to be an even harder battle than he’d anticipated. Just out of habit from his many practice sessions with Captain Celestia, he offered the Princess a formal bow.
“Ready.”
It warmed him a bit that she returned the bow just as formally, making him feel like he was back home a bit.
“Ready.”
The two faced each other for a tense, silent moment, then a swift wind passed over the area, stirring the trees and whistling through the old, ruined castle, shifting loose a single small rock from a windowsill. When the rock clattered to the ground both Flash and Celestia burst into motion at the same time, and the duel began.