//------------------------------// // The Crystal Empire // Story: Curving Bullets: A Dash of Fate // by Book_Wyrm //------------------------------// Chapter 2 Dash really wished she had one of those devices the Canterlot mages claimed to be working on. The ‘mind binders’ that allowed ponies to speak into each other’s mind seemed pretty cool. However, considering that as of the moment, the binders could only be used by a unicorn, and also the unfortunate fact that they often went haywire, either teleporting one pony’s consciousness inside the other, or simply creating a serious amount of static in the wearer’s brain, they had not made it past prototype stage. She was stuck with a good old-fashioned earpiece, and one partner, who happened to be standing right beside her as they exited the train from the outer Empire into the capitol, Crystallia. “You ready, Quartz Blossom?” she asked, looking at the mare next to her, using Twilight Sparkle’s fake identity. Quartz Blossom was a mare from the outer Empire, a unicorn born of a crystal mother and a half crystal father. Dash’s supposed identity, Prism, was the other way. According to their made up backgrounds, they were cousins, with ‘Prism’s’ mother and ‘Quartz Blossom’s’ father being siblings. “Ready as ever, Prism,” came the reply. Twilight was watching everything around her, even as Dash was. Most would assume them sightseers, gawking at the wonders of the Crystal Empire. In truth, the duo were on the lookout. One suspicious pony, and they’d be out of the ridiculous dresses that were in style in the Empire. For that matter, Rainbow Dash adjusted her gown. She had always found courtly attire unnecessary, but she had been shoved into the unwieldy hunks of fabric more times than she could count. “There’s the Crystal Palace, dead ahead,” Twilight pointed out. Her sparkling navy gown flowed elegantly from her body, seeming to naturally fit her. She walked as if born for a dress and heels. Dash, however had elected for somewhat more practical sparkling boots. They complemented her dress, and her personality. To make things easier, their disguise’s personalities had been crafted to as closely match theirs as possible. Twilight was the nerdy daughter, while Dash was the athletic one. Both had been sent to the capitol to better acquaint them with court life, and to hopefully find a suitor or two. Dash realized that this meant having to endure flirting. It wasn’t optimal, but it was the easiest excuse to send two young mares into the royal court. Supposedly, they were both nineteen. Dash herself was twenty two, and Twilight was twenty four. The marketplace seemed all quiet and calm. Then in the matter of moments, pandemonium broke loose. What Dash first heard was the sound of gunshots. Then, screams filled the air. In seconds, the square became a rioting mess, threatening to trample anypony in the way. Twilight and Dash tried to push themselves to the edge of the square. A shooter somewhere in the middle was firing randomly into the crowd. Ponies dropped, and with each one, the shouts of panic became louder and louder. A bullet hit a mare right next to Dash, as she fell, the crystal pony’s blood splashed the cyan pegasus. Dash stared at it for a moment. The blood was ruby colored. It almost sparkled in and of itself. She gulped, watching the mare on the ground, before she was grabbed from behind and yanked away. “We need to get to the castle,” Twilight told her, “Remember, the mission is everything.” Surrounded by the chaos, both were confident that they wouldn’t be heard. The shooter seemed to be moving. “We need to sneak around the square,” Dash replied. She looked toward the buildings surrounding it. “Come on.” The pair galloped through the mess, making for the grand library towering over the square. Large and recognizable, it was the perfect target for if they got separated. They reached the library, but seeing no way out, climbed up to the base of one of the statues flanking the stairs of the building. Dash turned. Her eyes widened. “Get behind me!” she screamed at Twilight. The purple unicorn, in shock, ducked behind her. Rainbow Dash watched, as if in slow motion, as the shooter, a stallion with a black mask, pulled the trigger, the gun aimed at her. The bullet shot through the air. Dash stared, watching it fly towards her, the aim perfect, the hit inevitable. Instinctively, she reached out with her mind. In mid-flight, within a few feet of her, the bullet’s trajectory began to bend. The bullet flew, bending to Dash’s right. Time sped up again as the little piece of metal shot by, recurving and hitting the stone directly behind her. The shooter stood there for a minute. Then, recovering from his shock at seeing a bullet change its flight, pulled up his gun. A shot rang out, and the shooter looked. Coming down the road were soldiers with rifles and armor, galloping towards the square. At that point it was near deserted, except for the two mares and the armed stallion. He watched them come, before taking aim, this time at the troops, and shot again. Within a moment the shooter was on the ground, pierced by two bullets. The soldiers approached carefully. It seemed the stallion was alive, though barely. Two medics came and grabbed him, loading him into an ambulance cart, while around the square, other arrived and began to do likewise. Two of the soldiers came up to Dash and Twilight, who were staring around the bloody square. One of them took in the blood on both their gowns. “Are you hurt, ladies?” he asked, looking them over. “No,” Dash replied, looking at him, her eyes wide. “Its somepony else's.” her mind was coming out of its brief period of shock. “You should come with us,” the soldiers helped the two mares down, They led them over to one of the armored carts, sitting them down. “Can you tell us what happened?” the commander asked. “We understand if you’re too shocked to speak about it though.” Dash decided to tell them. Her mind was still processing what had happened. Even for her, the attack had been horrifying and shocking. “W-we were just walking through the square,” she began, “We’re new in town, just got here a few hours ago. We were heading up to the castle, because that’s where we’re staying. As we were walking, suddenly there was shots and panic. We were trying to get out of the mob, so to not get swept up in it. T-there was this mare, right beside me. She got sh-shot. That's when I got blood on my gown. We ran towards the library to escape, and climbed the statue. Than the shooter...he shot at us, but the bullet missed. And then you showed up.” The commander nodded, “Thank you.” Then her turned to Twilight. “Did you see anything else, Lady.” After Dash’s mention of the castle, any fool could piece together that they were nobility, and the commander was no fool. “No. That’s all I saw either,” Twilight replied. “Thank you again,” The commander said, “And what are your names, ladies?” Dash answered. “ I’m Lady Prism, and this is my cousin, Lady Quartz Blossom.” She watched the commander as he once again thanked her, then excused himself to receive a report from his troops. When they were alone, Twilight looked at Dash, awe and shock in her eyes. “I had heard about your ability. I never imagined I would see it in action. Its shocking, that power of yours. I can stop a bullet, if I have time to prepare a high quality shield, but no unicorn could bend them like that.” The cyan pegasus nodded. “I was born with that. Nopony knows why. But after it was discovered...my future was pretty much decided.” She chose her words carefully. Even though the nearest guard was ten feet away, she was careful. The commander came back. “Well, thank you, ladies. Now that we’ve collected your statements and are sure that you are unharmed, I’ll send some stallions to escort you to the castle. We have some investigation to do. And you my ladies, will be safest in the castle. This is the third such shooting this year. They’re obviously connected, and for the first time, we actually caught the culprit alive. Let’s just pray he stays that way.” He looked at them again. “But don’t worry too much. We will find out who’s behind this, and the Empire will sleep safe again.”