//------------------------------// // A Killer in the Night // Story: The Sun and the Clover // by BG9 //------------------------------// Vignette walked to the lowest level of the castle. Now without her father to stop her, she could finally learn the truth. The King's Archives were said to own information no one in the entire world knew of. If there was one place she could find the truth, it was here. The Curse of the Black Sun. What was its nature? Was there a cure? And did it really warrant all the punishment and cruelty she suffered over the years? She used her wand to cast a small ball of light above her head. This private archive seemed like it hadn't be accessed in millennia. Her father always said they were not to go down here. It filled her with rage. She just knew there was something down here he didn't want her to know. As she reached the end of the stairs, she was met with a wooden door. It was time to test her newfound powers. "By the Ruler's Holy Light, I demand thee open." she said A large eye opened in on the door and stared her down for a few seconds. A booming voice rang through the hall so loud it shook the walls. "There is no Rule before me. Begone." "What!?" She slammed the door hard with her fists "I demand by the authority of Vignette Valencia, youngest daughter of Tirek and 99th queen of the realm! Open this instant!" "I'm not surprised you don't know." a twisted voice whispered from behind her She nearly jumped out of her skin. When she turned, however, there was no one. "I demand whoever said that answer! I'll have you beheaded!" There was a giggle, distinctly female "You hear that girls?" the voice said mockingly "This little welp will have us beheaded." A deep chill ran down Vignette's spine. The voice was familiar, she'd heard it once before. It was a voice she'd never be able to scrub from her mind. "My, my sister. I am so very afraid." another voice chuckled "W-what?" Valencia gulped "What do you want?" "We'd like to make a deal. An exchange if you will. You give us what we want, and we will tell you how to truly become Queen as your father and his father before him had done." "For now, you are queen in name only." a third, slightly younger sounding voice said "And if you don't act soon, the noble houses may just see to unseat you." "I know better than that. Anyone who makes a deal with you always regrets it." "Oh we assure you, this will be mutually beneficial. We both have something the other desperately need. Sail to Avalon with the friends of a one Anon E. Mouse. From there we will explain our terms." "Yes, yes. Come to the Isle of Fruit and all shall be made clear." "What is your game?" Silence. Vignette slammed her fist against the wall again. She was caught between a rock and a hard place. That was her one leverage over Anon, the one method she could use to defeat him no matter how powerful he became. But what would be the point of any of it if she didn't find the truth? Everything she was, everything she strived for was for what lied in the King's Archives. She had no choice. As she came to the surface she was met to the face of Flim. "Flim." "Yes, my lady?" "You still have it, right? Glorias?" "Yes m'am. Who do you need slain?" "Not slain. Just protection. I'm sailing to the Isle of Fruit come morning." "What?" he asked, his face turning white "Whatever for?" "I've been summoned by the Nine Sisters. A trade. Anon's friends in exchange for information I desperately need." "Queen Valencia, if I may speak so frankly... I think this is a grave error." "I know. but if I don't get this information... I might as well be dead. So I stand to lose nothing." Flim nodded "Very well. I shall accompany you." Back in the north, the trio had returned to the Elk Kingdom, broken and empty handed. Golem ran to the three as soon as he saw them. "Please tell me you've got the Forever Rose." They all looked down "No." Sunset said "We were ambushed by Nightmare Moon. We tried our hardest but she bested all three of us." Golem's eyes flashed once. "That's ok... that's ok. There is still another method." "What is it?" Anon asked "You must free him. The Mad Druid." "Absolutely not!" Rarity said "Surely there is another way." "There is not. Please. You mustn't let the princess die! I beg of you." "What's so dangerous about the Mad Druid?" "As the legend goes, a druid lost his wife to an incurable disease. Overcome with grief, he began researching forbidden magic." Sunset explained "Necromancy and the like. It is said that his work is the origin for the dark magic we know as Curses and Hexes. As his name implies, his work drove him to madness. He became an unstoppable force of nature, threatening to destroy the entire world. With his last bit of sanity he literally sealed himself within the Great Northern Leyline, closing it for good." "So how will releasing him help Princess Skystar?" "Druids are protomages. They were among the first humans to be blessed by the Greater Magic. As such, they are not only incredibly powerful, but their mana is said to have healing properties beyond that anything known. In Princess Skystar's case, she could be revived and even regain consciousness so long as she doesn't completely die." "Then we have no choice." Rarity shook her head "Absolutely not. As much as lament Princess Skystar, this would be akin to opening the gates of hell. Who knows how strong he will be? A regular Druid was said to be able to far more powerful than anything we can account for, much less one drunk on the power of a Leyline." "I think I have something that could ease your fear. Here." Golem held out his palm to reveal a necklace with that appeared to be the blossom of a forever rose at its center. "They Eye of Eternity." Rarity said in a hushed tone "We can't use this. It's evil." "Evil?" Anon asked "The eye has a powerful Hex on it." Sunset said "Hexes are spells that draw their power from Curses rather than mana. This object in particular carries a great risk to it. Legend goes that centuries ago the king of the Elk Kingdom lost his son in battle. So angry at the loss, he found the mage who'd stuck him down in battle, pulled his soul out and placed it inside the amulet, along with all of his hatred, saying that he see suffering for all eternity, hence the name." "How would it help us win?" "Snapping it in half would release a tremendous amount of energy. Probably enough to defeat the Mad Druid or at the very least weaken him enough to allow an easy finishing blow. However... being it's a hex it's likely to hurt us just as much. It could range from as simple as getting caught in the explosion or as severe as madness." "It's not worth the risk." Rarity said "I know it may be tempting, but we must never use Hexes, regardless of the situation. No mage who's ever used a hex has ever been better for it in the long run." "There must be some way to defeat him." "I don't see how." Sunset said "Even with the eye, I'm not sure it'd give us enough of an edge. His power would be equal to that of Nightmare Moon, perhaps greater." "Then we'll have to wing it." Anon took the eye and put it in his pocket "We'll use it only as a last resort." "Anon!" Rarity said harshly "I forbid you." "You aren't someone who can control me." he said "I'm my own person." Rarity tightened her fists "If you go through with this... if you indulge in the power of hexes... I will no longer be able to instruct you in the Way of White." "Fine." Anon turned to Sunset "Coming?" She looked down and clutched her wand "Yes." "So be it." Rarity whispered before walking towards the castle "Tell me where to find him." "It's a bit of a trek. His laboratory was located in a cave in the mountains. This will lead you straight to it." He lifted up his hand and a glowing sphere of light appeared. "Just follow this and you'll be there." "Right. Thanks." After a bit of provision packing, the two were sent on the way. For hours they journeyed in complete silence. The scenery was idillic for a quiet walk like this. The forest was still, the only sound being the crunch of their shoes in the snow. It wasn't until the Sun began to set that Sunset said something. She gripped Anon's shoulder tightly. "We're being followed." she whispered "Do not turn around and act natural." Anon's heartbeat began to quicken. He'd not noticed at all. "Who is it? Nightmare Moon?" "Keep your voice down. And, no I have no idea who it is. But they're taking great pains to hide their presence. I only saw them by pure luck." Sunset strained her eyes into the horizon. "There. A cabin. We can take shelter there. Remember what I said: do not turn around and act natural." "Right, right." They walked down through a frozen lake to the cabin she spoke of. Despite the fact that it was just ten minutes to get there, it felt like every step was a mile. Every part of him wanted to turn around, perhaps run. Finally, though, they made it inside. "What the hell was that?" "It's one of the king's assassins." Anon looked in horror "Are you serious?" "Yes. Though he didn't count on me being here it seems. I've been trained to pick up on assassins, as being a member of one of the noble houses makes you a prime target for politically motivated killing. Whoever the new king is seems to know who you are and your secret." It hit him like a ton of bricks. A member of the royal family who knew he was Clover's successor? There was only one person who met those criteria: Vignette Valencia. "Shit." "What is it?" "I know who the new ruler is: Vignette Valencia." "That's troublesome. Very troublesome." Anon poked his head to the window and looked out at the scenery. Nothing. Not a sound, no footprints. "Is he gone?" "No. He's just waiting and watching." "What do we do?" "One of us keeps watch for the night. Unfortunately, until he makes a move, we don't have many options." "Who stays up first?" "I will. You can't sense him like I can." "How can you do that?" "It's not hard really, however you need a bit of training to do it. It requires you to be able to sense sources of mana. It can take a bit of practice." "You sure you're ok to do this yourself?" "I'm sure." "I'll leave it to you then." "I'll wake you up if things get dicey." "Right. Thanks, Sunset." "Don't mention it." As Anon drifted into slumber, Sunset couldn't help but stare at him while he slept. Looking at him made her think about the entire situation. When she really looked at it, it was much like how Celestia and Clover had their adventures. Was it some universal attraction? Perhaps reincarnation? Did such a thing exist? According to the epics however, the few they had that accounted for Celestia's life, it ended badly for the two heroins. Celestia's life after Clover's disappearance was characterized by tragedy and sadness. Would this history repeat? Would Anon end up vanishing to save the world the way Clover did? Sunset stared out the window and focused hard. She could see it clearly: a faint flicker of mana the assassin was using the hide his presence. He was sitting atop a tree a mere ten feet away. Why wasn't he attacking? What was he waiting for? If she made any moves he'd likely scurry off. If only Bonbon were here. She'd be able to do her dimensional magic to allow her sleep. She tried not to think about it. The destruction of her school, the place she felt most at home. Her friends held prisoner and awaiting execution. Every time she focused on it she could feel herself wearing at the seams. It made her want to fall into pieces. But she couldn't. Not now. She had to stay strong for Anon. If he saw her coming apart, a person orders of magnitude more powerful than he, who knows what effect that would have? Sunset felt her lip beginning to quiver. She hated the quiet, hated the stillness. It made her think about everything, think about just how dire the situation was. She had to do something to get her mind off of everything. She got up and opened the door slightly. looking out onto the snow covered forest. The assassin was still there, waiting patiently. Time to go ask him politely to move along. Sunset walked out, wand at the ready, to his location. She got closer and closer but he didn't budge an inch. "I'm warning you," Sunset threatened "If you don't leave I'll hurt you." Silence. He still wasn't moving. "Your choice." Sunset said She cast a stream of plasma straight into his hiding place. He was knocked back into the tree. Something was right. It was though he wasn't even awake. She slowly walked closer to where she flung the killer, getting a clear look at him. Immediately a few details jumped out at her: He was without a doubt in service of the king. He wore the white half mask that had a horn jutting from the forehead. The eye plates were made in a way to completely hide the movement of the eyes from the outside. The mask's sides extend to just below the chin and the only part of skin showing being the chin and bottom lip. The rest of the uniform of course being nothing but a black robe. The other detail that surprised her was that this assassin was not a man, but a woman. But that was impossible. Only men were allowed in the corp of assassins. And there was no way one could be trained in such a short time. Not only that, but one of her arms was missing entirely. She wasn't obviously wounded from what she could see. No wounds on the body and, as far as she could sense, wasn't hexed or otherwise magically injured. Sunset nudged forward, her wand pointed at the assassin's chest, and moved her hand to the mask. As her fingers touched the surface, the assassin sprung to life like a corpse awaking from the grave. With a machine like swiftness she swung her arm up to Sunset's wand arm and pinched her wrist hard, causing her to drop the wand. Before she had a chance to react, the assassin was already going for the next blow. Like clock work, the black clad figured slammed her fists first into her joints, then right into the back of her neck. That's when Sunset realized she couldn't move anymore. She knew instantly what had happened: she had injected a minute amount of her own mana into Sunset's body with each strike, causing a small, isolated version of mana sickness. It was an ancient technique that required years of practice and an incredible level of skill to preform without either killing the target or causing their magic circuits to burst. If even slightly too much mana was used with the strike, it'd hurt the target in a way that would blow their cover. The killer picked up Sunset's wand and placed it at her neck, whispering a spell that caused her vocal cords to fail. Sunset, one of the strongest mages of any noble family, had been completely incapacitated within the span of just a few seconds, all with just the use of a single arm.