//------------------------------// // Chapter Two // Story: One Last Job // by ZeroMonkey //------------------------------// [CANTERLOT PALACE] [DUNGEON] The dungeons under the palace didn't see much use. Twilight had received the closest cell to the stairs. Yet, somehow, despite the obvious proximity to one of the world's finest kitchens, all they served her was gruel. At least it wasn't quesadillas. Suffice it to say, Twilight Sparkle was not in a good mood. She had been caught by the authorities for the first time since she had began her criminal career and to make things that much worse, she had been apprehended by that old nag of a goddess, Celestia. By now, her face would be all over the papers. The notorious leader of the Elements of Harmony, finally brought to justice. She imagined that her family would be disappointed, if they weren't dead. A tear came unbidden to her eye, but she blinked it away before more could follow. They had tried to question her a few times now, but she knew better than to give up her team's identities. It wasn't like they could legally do anything more than ask nicely, anyways. Luckily enough, Celestia's magic draining stunt had ruined the enchantment on the sending stones in her mask, so there was no chance of her allies being tracked that way. It seemed she had a new visitor. She listened carefully to the approaching hoofsteps. They were louder than any regular pony could create and carried the telltale sounds of metal shoes. It was her. The Princess. "What do you want, your highness?" Twilight said with no small amount of venom at the moment Celestia reached the bottom of the stairs. "First of all, I would like to apologize for how I acted earlier, my little po-" "I am not 'your little pony'!" Twilight snapped, surprising both Celestia and, to a lesser degree, herself. She knew she was behaving irrationally, but she couldn't help it. "Alright, Miss Sparkle, as you wish. As I was saying, the sight of that sword dredged up some old memories and I lost control of myself. If I had been in my right mind, I likely would have taken actions less likely to result in your injury. Despite your... career, I wish no ill upon you. Now, on to the reason I came to talk with you today. I know you may be reticent to reveal anything, but it is a matter of national security that you tell me the location of the Elements of Harmony." "I wouldn't tell you where my team was if I knew. By now, they've fled across the world and gone into hiding. There's no chance of ever finding them." Celestia frowned, "Respectfully, Miss Sparkle, I am not talking about your fellow thieves, but the artifacts you helped them to steal." "Artifacts?" Twilight felt her least favorite feeling, confusion, creep up on her, "Do you mean the ones from the old mare's tale?" "I assure you, it is no mere tale. They are very real and the future of this nation depends on them. By stealing them from my personal vault, you and the others may very well have brought about the apocalypse." "You're joking, right? Trying to pull a fast one on me before you send me off to prison for the rest of my life? Princess?" "I am not joking. Miss Sparkle, could you perhaps find this team of yours?" Princess Celestia was, at least seemingly, dead serious. Twilight chuckled, "I'm not that simple, Princess. I won't believe in something so ridiculous as friendship power magic super weapons just because you're a convincing liar." "Forgive me, my little pony, what I'm about to do is not technically legal. However, I believe it is the only way that you will be willing to assist me in this endeavor. I will show you why we need the Elements of Harmony," Celestia's horn was enveloped with her signature light gold magic. Before Twilight could form a protest, her world went black. [SOMEWHERE ELSE?] Light, bright flashes of light. Then, darkness. Armies of the undead and magically enslaved, marching across Equestria. Days upon days of darkness. Night without end. Finally, clarity. Celestia sat in the throne of the sun. The throne of the moon stood regretfully empty to her left. Only now did she notice how much smaller it was in comparison to her own. If only she had seen it sooner, maybe she could have stopped it. A guard, who had been vying for the Princess' attention for a few minutes at this point, finally brought her out of her ruminations. "Princess Celestia, Nightmare Moon's horde is at our doorstep, what are your orders?" "Tell everypony to stand down. This is between Luna and I," Celestia's voice was firm and resolute, but tinged with a great sadness. The sword at her side felt so heavy. How had it come to this? A chilling voice echoed through the room, seemingly from nowhere, "I've told you time and time again, sister, that is not my name." "Show yourself. We might still end this through diplomacy. I do not wish to cut down my own flesh and blood." Horrible laughter the response Celestia received as the shadows congealed to form a mare who was her match in stature and size, "There is no need to lie. I know you never cared for me, not for a second. You still look down upon me from your throne. The only solution to be found is bloodshed." Begrudgingly, Celestia drew her sword and leveled it at Luna. There had to be a nonviolent way out of this, some way to fix things before it was truly too late. How could she... That was it! The Elements of Harmony. Would they even work? They had to, it was her best chance. Wait, where had Luna gone? Spinning around faster than lightning, Celestia only barely caught Luna's incoming strike with her sword. Luna had a dagger made of some wicked metal that emanated foulness. Where the two blades met, there was an intense struggle, but the superior combatant became quite clear as cracks began to spread outwards, along Celestia's sword. Dropping her weapon, Celestia flew for the display in the room's center which held the Elements. As she approached she took them into her magic before spinning to face Luna. "You truly have become desperate, sister. What good will those do, when they require the both of us to use them," Luna taunted. Celestia was desperate. She was begging the inert pieces of stone for help so fervently that she almost didn't notice when they began to spin around her. Luna could only cry in surprise as she was consumed by bright light and vanished. Princess Celestia drifted down to the ground as the elements stopped spinning. When their magic had left her completely, she collapsed to the ground and began to cry. [CANTERLOT PALACE] [DUNGEON] It had to be fake. That was the more rational explanation. At least, Twilight wished it was. But it wasn't. Fake memories could be constructed and forced upon a pony, but not emotions. Certainly not emotions that strong. Not to mention the sheer level of detail that would have had to go into it. The Princess definitely didn't have any kind of motive to lie about something so ridiculous. It had to be real. "Now tell me, Miss Sparkle, could you track down your team if you needed to?" More than anything, the dip into Celestia's memories served to disorient Twilight, enough that she answered without thinking, "Of course I could. I am the one who devised the plans. Wait! No!" She grunted with frustration. She didn't like Celestia, but that thing, Nightmare Moon, was a monster. It had to be stopped from destroying Equestria, that much Twilight had gleaned. She would have to go along with whatever the Princess had in mind. It wasn't like she was in a position to refuse, anyways. "Thank you for your cooperation," Celestia gave her an almost smug smile, "I have some preparations to make. You'll have to start your investigation soon if you want to stop Nightmare Moon from bringing about eternal night." It was a few hours longer before anypony else came down to visit her. Not that it was a pony who visited her. As before, she heard the hoofsteps echoing down the long staircase before she laid eyes on the source. Bipedal, wearing some kind of armor. She could hear this unknown quantity coming down the stairs. Interesting. Into her view came a, from the looks of it young adult, dragon. It was clad in the armor of a royal guard. No wings. He? Yes, he must have been born amongst or at least raised by ponies. That meant that his name was likely uncreative, a physical description of some kind. "Let me guess, Spines? Scales? Sparky? Something like that?" The dragon gave her an unamused look, "It's Spike, actually. And you're Magic. Or should I say, Twilight Sparkle? Finally behind bars I see." "Yes, I suppose I am. Well? Out with it. Why are you down here? I'm not much in the mood for small talk." "I must apologize, as I have not introduced myself to you fully, my lady," Spike said in a mocking tone, "I am Detective Spike of the Royal Investigations Bureau. I've had my eye on you for quite a while now." "What exactly do you mean?" Twilight couldn't tell what he was trying to imply. At this, Spike let out a deep sigh, "I have been trying to track you down and bring you to justice for over a decade. I'm a bit disappointed that I wasn't the one to do it, but I'm certainly glad to see you locked up." "So, you've come here to gloat?" "Only a little bit. Frankly, I'm not sure of why, only that I was ordered down here by the Princess. She likely knew how hard I had worked and wished to give me some closure. How kind of her." "Not quite, Detective." Celestia had returned. Twilight cursed herself for becoming too caught up in the conversation. Spike snapped to salute the Princess. "At ease. I hope you two are becoming fast friends, because that will make things easier for everyone." Spike dropped his salute and gave the Princess a confused look, "With all due respect, your highness, what are you talking about?" "I've come up with a solution to the problem of the missing Elements of Harmony. Twilight Sparkle can track her team down. Obviously, I can't trust her to undertake the mission alone. However, if I were to, say, assign my most trusted guardsman to keep her in check," Celestia paused for Spike's eyes to light up with understanding, "Exactly. Here's your briefing. I'll only say it once, so listen closely. You two have until the eve of the Summer Sun Celebration to return here with the Elements. If you fail, Nightmare Moon will be unchecked and bring death and destruction across Equestria. I have authorized the use of a Scout-class airship. You may use royal funds as you see fit, within reason of course. This mission is top secret. Do you understand?" Spike saluted the Princess again, "Completely, your highness." "Excellent, Miss Sparkle will be released into your custody as soon as you are ready to leave." With this, Celestia left. There was an awkward silence between Twilight and Spike. She couldn't believe that the Princess had given her such a ridiculous task, that would also have to accomplished in such a short period of time. Yet, as her painful trip down Princess Celestia's memory lane had shown, it was necessary. Finally, Spike broke the silence, "Well, partner, you'd better get some beauty sleep. We'll head out first thing tomorrow morning." She hoped that the dragon wouldn't be this annoying the entire time.