//------------------------------// // Chapter 5: Home of the Guards // Story: A Storm For the Ages // by DmitriTheWriter //------------------------------// When the train stopped at Canterlot Station, it was mid-morning, and the station clock struck ten. Everywhere Twilight looked, there stood unicorns with practical, yet fancy-looking accessories. There was one pony with a hoofwatch that seemed to be gold-plated. On the wall, there was a train schedule, changing as each train arrived and departed. Stationed haphazardly around the station were royal guards, armed with pikes and dressed in full armor no less. The guards looked warily at everypony in the train station. A long line that lead to the exit was supervised by two of them. Why there would be so many guards stationed here was beyond Twilight, but Chrysalis's invasion was probably involved somehow. Twilight and her friends, under close supervision, left the train station and into Canterlot proper. Immediately the air filled with the scent of freshly cut flowers and recently baked bread. Ponies called to the streets, hawking their wares and conversing with each other. Towering above all of the other buildings in Canterlot stood the Princesses' Castle. Decorated with gold and jewels, this colossal palace seemed fit for the reigning monarchs. In a dark Canterlot alleyway, Chrysaor made himself visible. From what he has seen, Chrysaor didn't like Canterlot much. The unicorns heavily adorned in jewelery and fancy clothing, obviously nobility, Chrysaor thought, seemed to give off this aura of condescension. He could see them turning their snouts upwards because he wasn't born to the noble House of Nopony-Givsafethr and didn't own any land or titles anywhere in Equestria. Didn't matter, Chrysaor thought. He wasn't here to make friends, especially not conceited ones. As Chrysaor walked along, he grabbed a newspaper from the stand, "The Turnip". This was Chrysaor's favorite newspaper. It was mostly all fake news, but it was hilarious and made fun of the reigning Princesses almost on a daily basis. Today's headline was "Princess Celestia Addicted to Exposition". Chrysaor read up the part where 'passersby were amazed by the unusual amounts of blood' when the brown-coated stallion running the newspaper stand called to him. "Oi! Ya gonna pay for that or what?" Chrysaor just stared at him, or rather it seemed through him. "Who are you to be making demands of me?" "Well, that newspaper ya got there costs ya five bits, so either cough the money up or put it back on the stand," Chrysaor placed two bits in front of the salespony. "How about I give you two bits and I get to keep this?" The salespony turned his head away from Chrysaor and closed his eyes. "Ya can't just bargain me down like that. Five bits or nothing!" When he looked back, nopony was there. "Okay...that was weird," Chrysaor went back to reading his paper, now in the unseen plane, which looked like a sort of abstraction of Canterlot. All color was desaturated, buildings were deconstructed into basic shapes, ponies resembled blank stencils with no features whatsoever, and the sky was perfectly pitch black, yet there was still enough light to read by. When Chrysaor looked up from his newspaper again, he saw something odd. A group of six ponies were headed towards the Princesses' Castle, but one of them was fully formed, and he could see her clearly. Her coat and mane were obnoxious shades of pink, at least for the unseen plane, and her odd way of moving that involved continually jumping just struck Chrysaor as odd. This pink pony then stopped and gazed at her surroundings, as if she could sense Chrysaor in the unseen realm. Preposterous. It was called the unseen plane for a reason. Chrysaor ignored this anomaly and headed straight to the barracks adjacent to the castle. He was fairly sure that was where the Hilt was. Twilight and her herd of friends were making good time towards the Princesses' Castle, when suddenly Pinkie Pie stopped and gazed at her surroundings. "What is it Pinkie?" Twilight asked. "Do you ever feel like somepony's watching you?" Pinkie replied. "I think that's just you, because I don't see anypony," Twilight said. "That's the thing! What if they're invisible?" "Pinkie, stop being ridiculous," Rainbow Dash said. "We need to get to the castle," They made it to the castle without anything else interesting happening. When they arrived at the grand throne room hall, Celestia was standing on her throne, expecting them. "Ah, Twilight, you've come," Celestia said. "I'm afraid I have dire news," "Is this anything to do with the murderous pirate on the seas?" Rainbow Dash asked. "Perhaps. I just got word from Griffonia that the King of Saxony is kind of...dead, and the other royal houses are falling like they're made of cards. Some griffon named Wolksfeuer is trying to recreate the Spear of Might," "Pardon me, what exactly is the Spear of Might, Princess?" Twilight asked. "That should be pretty obvious. The point is, he already has the Spearhead, so we need to guard the Hilt from his grasp, lest he grow too powerful," Princess Celestia strolled to a new stained glass pattern near the entrance. It depicted a griffon standing on a pedestal on his hind legs, thrusting a spear to the sky with a ring to his right and a necklace to his left, while the world beneath him was engulfed in flames. "I fear that if Wolksfeuer obtains Gungnir, then we are all doomed," "We'll protect it!" Twilight proclaimed. "You don't even know where it is," Celestia said exasperatedly. At that moment, Shining Armor burst open the doors and galloped towards Celestia. "Princess! I come bearing grave news!" "What is it, Shining Armor?" Celestia asked. "The Spear Hilt...is gone," Shining Armor said. "Excuse me?" Celestia's eyes bulged. "It's just gone. Somepony took it from under our snouts," Shining Armor gazed down at the ground. In the unseen realm, Chrysaor giggled to himself about the complete, utter idiocy of the EUP Guard whilst holding the Hilt. They didn't even guard the room at the back of the barracks the Hilt was in, just stuck a sticky note on it's glass case saying 'Please Do Not Touch'. EUP Guard, sucking at their jobs for just over a millennium. As Chrysaor as walking down the streets of Canterlot invisible, preparing to take off, he spotted that pink pony and her five blank cohorts again, and this time they had their big friend with wavy hair with them. "That's him!" Pinkie declared. "That's our guy!" "How can you tell, Pinkie? I don't see anypony there," Rainbow Dash questioned. "Who else be walking around invisible with a fancy bracelet like that?" Pinkie replied. "Pinkie...what are you talking about?" Twilight asked. Chrysaor wanted to just fly away and leave these ponies squabbling amongst themselves, but he couldn't resist making snide comments and revealing his abilities, so he revealed himself. Just as bad as Chrysalis if you ask me. "Yeah, I can turn invisible. Better power than friendship if you ask me. More utility and less rainbows," Chrysaor said. "What are you trying to say?!" Rainbow Dash shouted. "I'm saying that a storm is coming for you ponies. You'd best prepare yourselves now," Chrysaor said. "How conveniently vague," Celestia said whilst charging up a magic blast. "I'd love to stay and chat, but I have a date with my boss scheduled for, uh, now," Chrysaor took off, narrowly avoiding Celestia's blast as he turned invisible. "Come back here, you bucking-!" Rainbow Dash tried to take off after him in pursuit, but was halted by Applejack pulling on her tail with her teeth. "Now don't you go chasin' after him alone," Applejack said. "You should know, you're the one he almost murdered," "But I'm angry at him! And he has the Hilt!" Dash complained "Don't worry girls." Celestia said. "That masked pony is in for a nasty surprise. As long as we can prevent Wolksfeuer from obtaining any more relics, we should be able to defeat him." "Any more relics? There's more than just the Spear?" Twilight broke out into a sweat. "Of course. Wolksfeuer now has the Spear of Might, and by the looks of it, that masked pony had the Ring of Power. The only relic left that was on that stained glass window was the Pendant." "Pendant?" Twilight asked. "Yes, Brisingamen, the Pendant of Magic." Celestia answered. "We should probably find that before somepony else does," Twilight said. "I know what magic necklaces can do to a pony." Twilight shuddered at the thought of Trixie and her amulet. "Then let's go!" Rainbow Dash soared off in a random direction. "I guess we're doing this, huh?" Fluttershy said quietly.