Once again the sun shined upon the very Equestrian landscapes. Birds were singing, foals were playing and the government was moving along like it usually did. That actually meant that nothing was going on and everypony was a panicking mess due to everything that was going on.
“Princess Celestia we’re investigating more into the Shadow Knight but there have been next to no sightings of him.” One noble shouted over the rabble.
“Princess Celestia, is it true that this rogue knight is blaspheming your name by handling problems out of your control! And what of these monsters? What are they? Inquiring Equestrians are itching to know!” One newspony cried out before being dragged out by one of the guards.
“Princess Celestia, my business has taken a dive after the attack on Manehattan. Please do something to ensure that the common pony can live through this… horrible drabble.” Another noble feigned concern as they were to do.
“Auntie Celestia please you must make sure my townhouse is protected from anymore incursions!” Blueblood shouted over the other ponies clearly trying to make himself heard.
“Enough! Please. I shall take care of everything but for now Solar Court is now over. Leave in an orderly manner.” Celestia commanded almost breaking out the Royal Canterlot Voice.
The herd of ponies all left the throne room after light prodding of the guards around the area. It had taken five minutes before Celestia could finally release a sigh of relief at least in some form.
“Lieutenant Mourning Mist please get Princess Cadenza so we may begin.” Celestia ordered to one of the few ponies still in the room.
“At your leave.” Mist saluted before trotting off to get her charge.
Mourning Mist was not a morning pony, something her fellow guards would rib on her because her first name was Mourning. It was funny the first time but then it got old real real fast. A unicorn with a white coat and black mane she fit in with the guards all too well looking almost exactly the same. The only thing going for her were her amber eyes and gravestone cutie mark. Even then she had hated the attention since it went against her special talent. Nopony could find her when she didn’t want to be found. She had yet to meet her match in a game of hide’n’seek.
As she was part of the unicorn corps under Shining Armor’s command it was her duty to protect Princess Cadenza from any harm that would befall her. They had done a piss poor job during the Manehattan incident. It didn’t piss her off that she had to run laps for days after that. She wasn’t frustrated that their entire regiment was forced into new training programs due to the pony that saved them and did everything by themselves.
“Mist your crushing your helmet again.” Sharpened Wit mentioned as he trotted pass.
“Huh? Oh, right.” Mist absentmindedly replaces her helmet back on her head after smoothing out some of the crumpling she managed. Gold plated armor was a bit too weak in her magical grip.
Trying her best to be professional, she returned back to her task at hand at getting the Princess to meet with the other princesses. It was a practiced route that came from the months of drills she had been put through. She was certain the only reason she was chosen to get Princess Cadenza was due to being one of the few mares on the squad.
There were a few jokes that the guards were all stallions because Celestia liked staring at younger stallion flanks but not even Mist knew if that was true. She had tried to find out… but Celestia had been so subtle that she still didn’t know what half the gestures she made actually meant yet.
“Princess Cadenza! Princess Celestia and Princess Luna require you for counsel!” Most knocked on the door breaking her thoughts before a slightly ragged princess trotted out of the room.
“Um… yes. Right away.” Cadence coughed as she used her magic and brush to get the knots out of her mane.
“Princess… have you seen Captain Shining Armor?” Mist asked almost poignantly.
“He’s busy… on a secret mission of unparalleled importance.” Cadence quickly answered as she teleported her brush back to her room and looked… presentable. She also lit her horn up and the strange smell had also disappeared. “Don’t worry about him, worry about you if he sees what you did to your helmet… again.”
“Yeah…” Mist cringed as she got the message of ‘stop asking questions’ laced in her warning.
With a quickened gallop the two appeared before the doors. Mist saluted and waited outside the door which Cadence took meaning that only she was supposed to enter.
“Sister, Calm thyself!” Luna shouted as she tried to stop Celestia from gorging herself on triple banana deluxe cake. The very comfort food of alicorns everywhere… unless you were Luna, or Cadence.
“I am calm! I’m the very picture of calm!” Celestia claimed as she stuffed another slice down her gullet. She was covered in frosting and fallen banana slices as she paced around with general fear stricken on her face.
Cadence entered the room and quietly tiphoofed over to Luna’s side. Celestia was too worked up to notice but Luna gave her new niece a quick hug.
“Did you get Blueblood back yet?” Luna asked as she held up another cake to keep Celestia from freaking out about another thing.
“He’s playing up his playstallion image right now to keep the media focused on something stupid. He should join us in ten minutes or so.” Cadence admitted. She had sent a small note to him before she had gotten distracted with Shining’s visit.
“Hopefully he remembers to keep it only an image.” Luna balked at the notion that one needed to have an image instead of being who they were outright.
“Auntie Luna, please… he’s not that dumb. I’m pretty sure.” Cadence slowly trailed off Clearly not wanting to put any words on stone at that point.
“Okay… I’m fine. I’m fine. See. I’m fine.” Celestia mumbled as she used her magic to peel off the excess that she had gotten on her coat. Then she flopped down on her flank and stared off at the door as if waiting.
“Auntie Celestia?” Cadence stepped up hoof ready to touch her when Luna stopped her.
“Let her be. She’s in safe mode right now. Her happy place to be sure.” Luna mentioned as she sat down as well.
“Why aren’t you freaking out?” Cadence brought up before sitting as well.
“I have had many nights and dreams to freak out. I stretched out a dream long enough for me to freak out the freaking out out of me.” Luna explained as she gave a little flourish of her hoof. Her mane was slowly regaining its ethereal feel.
“I have returned.” Blueblood announced as he stepped into the room.
“Good. We can begin.” Celestia places her mask back on becoming the very picturesque image of a princess of Equestria. Luna stifled a giggle as she cleaned off several more slices of banana that had got into her mane. Celestia ignored it as she summoned up a ghostly image of the knight in her magic.
“Yup… that’s him.” Cadence pointed out as obviously as she could.
“This is the knight. Age is unknown. Gender is stallion. Race is unknown. Cutie Mark is unknown. We can only tell his gender… is this really all we have on this figure? Isn’t there more?” Celestia balked at the lack of information.
“Honestly I’ve been trying to find his dream in particular but it has been difficult. The knight either doesn’t sleep or is a lucid enough dreamer to hide his thoughts well. I’ve met many a foal who’ve expressed interest in becoming a hero of justice like he was.” Luna droned on a she rested her head on her hoof almost looking bored. “There have been some developments in that department though due to one filly in Manehattan though.”
“Do tell. This sounds important.” Blueblood chimes in as if it was a gossip circle though his eyes sharpened… clearly ready to take in any new information.
“One, Babs Seed, saw a thestral upon a building. She has forgotten what the cutie mark was but she clearly saw them dawning the armor of the knight in question.” Luna smiled and pride beamed from every part of her. “Truly best ponies have made great strides once again.”
“Quite… but we now have a lead. We have a foothold into the identity of this mystery stallion and we can find him and make him tell us about the threat we face.” Celestia quickly hopped on that train of thought with a quick clop of her hoof against the table they were currently sitting at.
“What if he is part of the Badlands thestrals we still can’t find?” Blueblood spoke up quickly dashing Celestia’s supposed cunning plan.
“He also seems highly resistant to dream walking and scrying. I’ve also not met him personally outside the armor so I wouldn’t know what he looks or sounds like.” Luna added quickly afterwards.
“He also made me make a deal with him. I still don’t know what that entails just yet but it seemed serious.” Cadence sunk the dagger even deeper into Celestia’s plan.
“So… we are at the mercy of another for the protection of ponies everywhere because these monsters have proven more formidable than our own guard!?” Celestia cried out which made Luna glad she had cast a sound protection spell over the courtroom.
“It doesn’t seem like mercy. They are willingly giving their help if the blood that spilled from their body meant anything.” Cadence quickly pointed out. It silenced the small gathering… and while they had collected blood samples something went wrong.
“Blueblood… did you find anything out about the blood?” Luna grasped at straws.
“Yes… the royal alchemist tested it… but it came back inconclusive. Tainted by the shadows that had been attacking that day. Whatever these heartless are they are a corruptive influence on ponies if the sample we got was anything to go by. The ponies also affected by his healing spell were fine as well… though they noted that they were still tired from all the running. So it doesn’t restore stamina.” Blueblood listed out as he looked over whatever notes he received from the alchemist. “And that is all we know.”
“That is almost nothing!” Celestia wailed as her head hit the table.
“We have one lead!” Cadence shouted out to make Celestia stop wailing in frustration.
“Niece… do you know what you are asking us to do?” Luna questioned giving the young alicorn a stern look.
“Yes cousin. You are involved with that stallion already. I don’t think offering you for information is a good idea.” Blueblood announced his disgust with the aforementioned plan. “We don’t even know if he wants you for said purposes.”
“Yes thank you cousin for putting those images in my head.” Cadence grunted in disgust. “Besides if it saves Equestria then so be it.”
“Cadence no one will fault you for saying no. In fact I’m vehemently trying to make certain you go on with your life. One of us shall offer ourselves to get more information.” Celestia mentioned trying to get the young alicorn to change her mind.
“We are assuming the worst…” Luna groused slightly. “What if we are overreacting?”
“I know we are! Luna I know! But we need to protect our little ponies and we can’t do that if we know nothing of these enemies. This is a desperate measure beyond all desperate measures. I was even going to offer myself for that if Cadence didn’t stop me!” Celestia belted out before resting her head on the table.
Blueblood patted his aunt on the back. He didn’t know what else to say and there were no words to make this better. The sound of sobbing broke the silence.
“Celestia…” Luna softly whispered.
“I don’t know what’s going on. I have nothing to go on. All these creatures are an unknown. We’re not even certain of what they are after except for what Cadence spoke about. How do you quantify a heart… even a heart of the world? Is it not just an organ that pumps blood? Is it not the symbol of love for one another? There is too much we do not know.” Celestia quickly dabbed her cheeks with a conjured up handkerchief. “Sorry… I lost myself.”
“Don’t worry Aunt Celestia… I know what I’m doing.” Cadence quietly countered though whether it was to comfort Celestia or erase the doubts she was feeling.
The whole aspect of going through with this was… honestly an overreaction. She knew this. She knew it was wrong to assume since the stallion did nothing but save her life.
She also knew the paranoia and wrongness was only her fault. She had only told both Princesses the bare minimum like she was told. She never mentioned anything about Star Swirl or the secret reports that he wrote. She had even been told that she would eventually help save Equestria. Honestly, it would be better to just tell the truth… but she needed to earn trust.
He had said trust is earned, never given. That sparked a small curiosity in her. The circumstances that led to a pony thinking that way must have been astronomically horrible. Even in this day and age love and friendship seemed to get the world through a rough spot regardless of what was happening.
For somepony to be so utterly opposed to immediately give trust to a fellow pony… it was a strange yet not unwelcome train of thought. Cadence had already seen how naive the common pony could be… something Blueblood took advantage of to keep the really unsavory elements out of the limelight.
There was a reason that he was their foreign diplomacy expert. It was something she would never forget because she had nearly bucked up once with a meeting with the deer officials and he managed to change her life threatening faux pas into the story of the evening channeling all his charisma to weave a tale that won their hearts. He was still a flankhole from time to time but he did care for Equestria at the very least.
“If only we could contact this knight… maybe we could broker an alternate deal.” Blueblood mused aloud breaking Cadance from her own thoughts.
The meeting continued on in meandering circles until they had worn a groove in the floor metaphorically. Nopony got up from the table. It was still afternoon and the servants had brought in their late lunch. Luna was slightly haggard and exhausted but Night Court had been cancelled that night in particular so she could rest.
Cadence was certain that it was more due to the fact that Celestia wanted Luna around more often to make sure she wasn’t dreaming that she was there with her. She didn’t ask though. Celestia was more tight lipped about her joy only getting caught prancing like a little fully every once in a while.
“Honesty, we should adjourn the meeting. We’ve made no progress and we have no actual way of confirming or denying anything. Until then we shall have to wait upon Cadence’s success.” Blueblood summarized and stood from the table.
“Yes… I suppose so. Cadence should you make any progress please inform us. I wish this knight to speak in the flesh with Luna and I.” Celestia informed her niece.
“Of course. I’ll work hard.” Cadence agreed as the ponies dispersed from the table back to their natural schedules.
Blueblood quickly shook his shoulder and face until the mask he wore returned. Cadence kept her smile as natural as possible thinking about anything other than her task. Celestia and Luna also replaced their masks to hide the turmoil their imaginations wrought upon them.
‘Princess Mi Amore Cadenza… pleasure to mindchat with you again.’ I called out to the newly bewildered princess who stopped her trot but hid her surprise.
‘Now!? But the Grand Galloping Gala isn’t for a few more months!?’ Cadence slightly panicked in her mind while I just chuckled.
‘Oh this isn’t about you becoming a keyblade wielder just yet. I suppose… this is a test to see if you are truly ready for seeing what I’ve seen. Do you accept?’ I asked as my mind decided where we could meet.
‘Do I have a choice?’ She mentally muttered or the equivalent of said action.
‘Yes. I won’t force you. It is in your best interest to learn though I admit I’ll be kidnapping you technically for an unknown set of time. So whether you wish to inform your aunts is up to you. You’ve earned a measure of trust for not mentioning Star Swirl yet.’ I congratulated her on keeping the secret. It must have been tough.
‘Well… all you have is one paper signed by him so I couldn’t in good faith push that forward when our own search proved fruitless.’ Cadence mentioned though she needed to amend something. ‘Mind you I never said anything about him. They just looked to his works in case he met these creatures before.’
‘Understandable. If he did… he hid their presence well. Either by himself… or another. It’s hard to say.’ I admitted though not even I knew the breadth of his involvement other than that he knew of them alongside these Pillars of Equestria.
‘So what do I have to do?’ Cadence chimed in clearly wondering what she needed to do.
‘Go to Downtown Canterlot outside of a jewel store called Shiny Baubles. I’ll pick you up for your first test into the grander world.’ I announced before cutting off the line.
Earlier…
I woke up very much stuck in a pony pile. This was a common occurrence whenever we were all together. The fact my bed was made for Minotaurs just incensed them to do it more often.
“Can’t feel my legs…” I mumbled though luckily everypony was still sound asleep. At ten in the morning it was surprising though we had been put through a ringer. Fighting off the undead and meeting with what could constitute as a lich. It was a hell of a way to spend our time together.
From the looks at the calendar Fresh Coat had placed within the room everypony would be stuck in work detail for the rest of the week. Spitfire was an obvious reason since she was the leading Captain of the Wonderbolts. Octavia had practices set up for the GGG. Vinyl did as well but for a club out in Las Pegasus. It wasn’t till Friday but I was planning to join her to set up a wider net for places that I could jump to.
Redheart and Sunshower had shifts at their respective jobs. Fresh Coat seemed to get a gig painting Twilight Sparkle’s treehouse which was a bit weird. I didn’t ask about it though. There wasn’t any point to worrying about the implications and whatever happened would come at a later time.
That left me… alone for a short while. I would have to make my own time. As much as I wanted to go out of my way to find keyholes I had been effectively grounded on that front due to Spitfire. She had been very clear on the fact that I needed at least one wingpony with me at all times. The puncture wounds that the Dark Hide has caused were still fresh on her mind.
I didn’t argue that point. I just nodded. Even with my dislike of being ordered this was reasonable enough to follow. She didn’t command so much as demand which was enough of a difference to me.
That left me with either going out into town and talking to other ponies… or doing something else entirely which was more preferable every second. Pinkie was still out there and like a shark smells blood; she was ready to frenzy.
My constant escapes had probably driven her a little batty. The irony wasn’t lost on me since my wings were bat like.
It took another hour before everypony woke up and finally let me stretch. I fell on the floor flat on my face as my legs tried to readjust to circulation. A few giggles with the express intent of helping me up and we all trotted downstairs.
“So… whatcha gonna do today Nebby?” Vinyl spoke up as we sat around the table. Fresh Coat was busy making our late brunch.
“I don’t know. Lotta options but I have nothing concrete.”
In truth, I had nothing I wanted to do. It wasn’t apathy that made me say it, but it was uncertainty that led it. Too many options but not enough to actually commit to.
“Perhaps it’s time you go out to meet more ponies?” Octavia offered.
“If the eldritch being known as Pinkie is out there, there are better ways to walk to my doom.” I cringed at the thought.
“Oh right. She still hasn’t thrown you a Welcome to Ponyville party.” Redheart places a hoof against her mouth. “She must be going nuts because of that.”
“Heh heh heh… you see Gummi. My plan is foalproof. I lead him here and the. Using this industrial light bulb take away his shadow. Then using this cellophane wrap I keep him nice and fresh until his party is thrown. Genius!” Pinkie laughed unhingely as her mane turned straight and her eyes slowly rotated in different directions.
Gummi licked his eyeballs slowly which got Pinkie’s attention.
“I’m not crazy! You’re crazy!” Pinkie shouted point a hoof accusingly at Gummi.
“I think you’ve hit your peak.” A ghostly image of a cupcake appeared before her.
“Shut up ghost of cupcakes I have eaten!” Pinkie shouted.
Mr. Cake took a deep breathe and shot Pinkie with a tranquilizer dart. The message on the dart bow read, in case Pinkie starts talking to imaginary cupcakes, before Mrs. Cake and him placed her back in bed to rest.
I looked around half expecting Pinkie to try kidnapping me before I even realized what happened. She didn’t but it didn’t dull the edge I felt I was walking on.
“Yeah… let's keep that as a plan… Z.” I muttered out.
“Hm… well we’ll figure something out before we have to head out. We should get you a day job…” Spitfire mentioned before remembering how nocturnal I was. “Maybe a night job would be better.”
“We could see if we have any openings in the hospital… though it wouldn’t be anything glamorous.” Redheart cringed.
“Nah… I’m pretty sure Dr. Stable hates me. Also I had to beat him up because he was possessed by a remnant of Nightmare Moon.” I laid my head against the table as Fresh Coat places several grilled fruit plates on the table. Grilled fruit was weird but they were still pretty juicy for some reason.
“Oh right… he’s still being checked for dark magic.” Redheart frowned as she remembered what had happened.
The nonchalant nature in which we spoke of things made me realize how much I had changed these six. It was for the better though there was always that small twinge of regret whenever I noticed that they treated their regular life as wholly mundane.
I liked some mundanity… if only because my old life was one roller coaster ride downhill with no stops. New life still had some downs but there was more ups lately that it evened out.
“I would suggest coming with me but you mentioned Twilight wanted to study you. I’m all for a mare showing some interest but she seems like the kind to try something invasive.” Fresh Coat voiced her discomfort.
“We still don’t have a night group for the Wonderbolts but then again most thestrals prefer Luna’s Guard.” Spitfire shook her head.
“Tavi and I are practicing so all you’d be doing is being there smiling and nodding.” Vinyl spoke around munching on her food which Octavia covered her mouth with a napkin.
“Please swallow before you speak. You’ll choke… again.” Octavia reminded her which made Vinyl swallow before rolling her eyes.
“I’ll figure something out don’t worry too much about it.”
After food had finished everypony got ready. I had to take Spitfire outside past a part of the Everfree Forest if only because she didn’t want to be swarmed by fans. Vinyl, Octavia, Redheart and Sunshower left together through the front door. Since my home was so far off the beaten path it at least looked casual for them to sneak away home. Fresh Coat took the longest as her things had been shipped to me. They arrived around noon and I was the one who set them up in her room.
“Thanks Gray. I have to head out to handle my gig. I’ll be back tonight.” Fresh called out as the door closed.
Thus I was on my own. It didn’t take long before I had set up her things. When she had decided to move in was not ringing any bells but it was nice to have someone else living in this big house.
After finishing her room I slowly traipsed room to room cleaning up anything that needed it. It didn’t take very long and at two I ate some apples. I settled into a very… mundane style of living. The solitude was stifling though. As much as I would have wanted to speak to others… I didn’t have anything really to say.
I trotted downstairs with the intent of getting the small music player Merlin gave me to listen to some more books on tape. I was in the middle of one before I had fallen asleep when something caught my eye.
There on the pedestal was the small book that Merlin had gifted me with the star embedded within the cover and each page I found. Two pages which seemed to hold some magic behind them had been added. I looked at how they were added and several pages had come from only one page.
This was what I was going to do. I had it figured out now. There was still the problem of figuring out who could go with me though. Everypony I knew who knew about me was busy… except that one.
Cadence had made a deal and while I hadn’t answered her previous attempt at a conversation perhaps now was the time to make that attempt. It was nowhere near the Gala as I remembered but that could be amended by making this a test to prove her trust. A small stretch since a part of me selfishly wanted to go exploring more locales but until Vinyl came back from practice Las Pegasus wasn’t an option.
All I needed to do… was contact her under the premise of making it a test. A half truth honestly, but at the same time it would be a good chance to see how she would react to something like a different world.
It was something that was going to happen eventually. With this being a test for the future development and the fact I wasn’t leaving the house made it technically fine.
...I was going to get yelled at later. I just knew it.
After our conversation I placed my armor on and went up to Canterlot. It was already turning to dusk and I was ready to take her for her first mission. Before anything else happened I messaged everypony.
‘Everypony read me?’ I called out in my mind.
‘Yup/Yes/Uh-huh/Reading ya/Huh?/Yes.’ Several replies came at once but thanks to our long time of doing things like such made it not give me a headache.
‘I decided what I’m going to do for a bit. I have that book in the basement and I’m going to use it.’ I explained.
‘Gray…’ Octavia was the first to speak up.
‘I’m going to use it to test the princess.’ I quickly cut off any ire for going out of my way to find danger. ‘I know that eventually we’re going to need more ponies to help us in this fight. In fact I need to make sure we have at the very least one of every race being a keyblade wielder. It’s the only way I can be sure that we’ll have this world completely safe. I can’t be everywhere and neither can all of you. Eventually whomever is out there messing with the barrier that surrounds this world is going to break it. I will get this world prepared before that will ever happen.’
‘Is it safe?’ Octavia questioned as did everypony else.
‘As safe as it could possibly be. Nothing is truly safe though.’ I admitted since I had never used the book yet. ‘This will only be a preliminary adventure since I only have two pages of the book.’
‘Okay… when we get home, should we be in armor in case she comes out?’ Fresh Coat asked immediately.
‘Yes. As much fun as it would be to bask in glory… we are technically working in secret. Eventually we will be out in the open but until then we keep a low profile.’ I stated in simple to understand terms. They knew attention would only make things go bad for everypony there. With the eyes of everypony on us we wouldn’t have a chance to really do anything. Maybe later on we would reveal ourselves but until then secrets need to be kept.
‘Be careful Nebby… who knows what the princesses will do to meet with you.’ Vinyl chimed in before she cut off the link.
There were several ascents voicing the same opinion but the trust they placed in me made my actions seem vindicated. I saw Princess Cadance trotting along with a small detachment of guards.
“This seems unnecessary.” Cadance mentioned as she was escorted by several guards. All under Shiny’s orders. It had proven to be a real pain in the flank.
“I’m sorry Princess Cadenza but Captain Armor made it clear that we are to capture this knight after he made it very clear that he was going to, in your own words, kidnap you.” Mourning Mist chided her making the problem very obvious that she messed up the wording. “Still… I wonder why this place.”
“You think he frequents this place Mist?” Private Feldspar brought up. He was the highest ranked private and was instrumental in keeping the Manehattan incident from becoming an even worse problem.
“Nah… I think it’s just the easiest to get lost on. I mean look at this street. Almost everypony uses this street to get from the entrance to the castle. This is probably just a ruse to put us on guard while he does his magic. Keep an eye on all shadows.” Mist ordered as she kept her horn lit.
Cadance was about to say something when said knight swooped in from the alley right in front of the group without nary a care in the world. He was holding a book that seemed to glow… but nopony seemed to notice.
‘I see you brought a contingent with you. They can’t see me by the by. This book has the power to make illusions reality. Honestly I never thought I’d ever get to use it but her we are.’ I chuckled slightly as I stepped around the guards and stood before her.
‘So… it would have been this easy for you to get me if I stayed in the castle?’ Cadance thought as she looked at her guards continuing their patrol with a slightly translucent Cadance following with them responding to their queries while nothing else seemed remissed.
‘No. I can’t get into the castle through the shadows unless I’ve been there already. Also the fact that you cake outside means you were either looking forward to this or you were planning to capture me. No matter what I probably would have escaped either way.’ I explained as I spread my wings in my armor stretchin out slightly.
‘Yes… so what now? I mean I get you’re taking me away but what are you going to do with me? I know you said that you would make me your protege but what does that entail? Do I have to sleep with you just to get power?’ Cadance stumbled over her emotions letting forth a lot of frustration.
‘What!? Who ever said that was what I was going to do must be either really horny or sick in the head. Or both. You are going to help me save a world and I’m going to gauge your reactions on how you fare in a different world. Your test is to remain rationally calm no matter what happens and show me you have the ability to be a warrior. Sleep with you indeed.’ I muttered in indignation at my portrayal in whichever princess’ mind conjured up that particular image.
‘Sorry… Auntie Celestia was just panicking since she had no information about the heartless, the hearts of world or anything else. I haven’t said anything about Star Swirl either because her own research with Star Swirl never said anything about heartless yet that page you showed me had his signature in his horn writing word for word.’ Cadance profusely apologized trying to justify the labels. I laughed it off.
‘It’s fine but now is the time for your test all I ask is… do you trust me?’ I placed my hoof out for her. She looked at it warily.
‘I… I… Yes, I trust you.’ She grasped my hoof and instantly I pulled her into the shadows.
“That coward did nothing, eh Princess?” Mourning Mist boasted only to receive no answer from Cadance.
She looked at her noticing something was off even though it looked like Cadance was smiling. Then she vanished in a shimmer of light and all that was left was a piece of paper.
Got her.
Mourning Mist felt faint and Feldspar shaking her shoulders wasn’t helping. She had just failed… and the knight had captured a Princess. Hyperventilating was the only course of action.
We landed in my basement where I pointed to a book with a star on it. She was too busy gaping at the treasures I had brought from Atlantis to actually note the book.
“Cadance. Pay attention.” I belted our breaking her from the trance she was in.
“Where the buck did you get all that!? You’d tank the economy faster than a strawberry daiquiri gets Twilight sloshed!” Cadance announced loudly. You were glad you sprung for the noise dampening walls.
“My adventures so far… now pay attention. This book is magic. You get magic, right?” I mentioned almost disparagingly. If she noticed she was too surprised to voice umbrage with it. “Now we are entering this book and before you ask it’s magic. So long as you follow orders and keep things about other worlds to yourself, you’ll get information about the heartless, the World Order, and what hearts are. Break the very simple rules of follow orders and you get less and less info. Got it?”
“Uh… what are the rules? Sir. I meant to add sir.” Cadance fumbled with her etiquette.
“Follow orders. Don’t mention other worlds. The second rule just requires you to be vague. First rule, for now follow my orders to the letters. When you’ve earned your keyblade then you can afford to be a little reckless.” I admitted though this was the bare minimum.
“I don’t get one now!?” Cadance squeaked out though just as quickly quieted herself.
“This is a test. Your first test. When you got the handle for something like this I’ll give you test two at a later date. Then test three and if you pass that one you get a keyblade.” I explained and opened the cover of the book.
The book continued to glow heavier and heavier drowning the room in a bright light. Cadance covered her eyes while the lenses over my eyes on my helmet blocked out the glare. We were pulled into the book and All Cadance could do was scream as the vortex pulled us further into the story.