//------------------------------// // Chapter 7 // Story: King: The Beginning // by DanishDash //------------------------------// "Long ago... Tirek and his brother Scorpan came here from a distant land, intent on stealing Equestrian magic, but Scorpan soon came to appreciate the ways of Equestria, even befriending a young unicorn wizard." "Scorpan urged his brother to abandon their plans, when Tirek refused Scorpan alerted us to Tirek's intentions." "Scorpan returned to his own land, and Tirek was sent to tartarus for his crimes." The officers and ministers listened closely as Celestia and Luna explained. All of them looked rather worried, if Celestia had called this meeting with all their high ranking officers and all the ministers, then it had to be pretty serious. "But it appears he has found a way to escape.." Luna nodded and looked around at them all as they sat around the massive table. "We believe it happened when Cerberus left his post at the gates." "But, that was a long time ago." One of the ministers pointed out. "If he has been out for that long, then how come he is only revealing himself now?" "Tirek was weakened during his time in tartarus, it has taken him a lot of time to become strong enough to gather enough magic to make enough harm that we would even notice him.. He has been out there for some time, but it is only now he has become strong enough to attack our ponies." Celestia explained and looked over the map of Equestria. "We got a report that an entire farming village has been attacked and deprived of their magic.." The mood grew heavier and one minister managed to stammer out. "An entire village.." "We should send out our troops to hunt him down and if need be, kill him.." The minister of defense said. "If he is still weak then it should be possible." Luna shook her head. "I fear he would simply manage to drain their magic.. My sister has a plan." She looked like she wanted to say more, but managed to hide whatever her feelings about Celestia's plan was, if she disagreed, then she would speak about it when they were alone, not in front of their cabinet and their officers. "Yes, I suggest we use Discord to track Tirek down and capture him." The reaction was one she expected, skepticism, disagreement and worry. It was the same exact look Luna had given her when she explained her plan before they went into the throne room. She was not keen on the idea, but she trusted her, which Celestia was grateful for. "Before any of you say what you think, allow me to explain. Discord can sense magical unbalance, he will be able to sense Tirek now that he knows what to look for, he will also be able to bring him in safely without any of our ponies being at risk." The cabinet ministers still seemed to dislike the idea, but even they could see the logic in that plan. That was why it shocked every pony in the room when an officer spoke up, not even a commander or a general, but a captain, Swift Strike. "Your majesty, if I may." The hall went silent, a commander was just about to tell him to shut his trap, but Luna raised a hoof and Celestia inclined her head towards Swift Strike, allowing him to continue. "To put our faith in Discord, I simply don't think it would be a wise move. If he was to join him, Tirek would be able to drain the magic of even more ponies much faster, at that point our forces would not have a chance.." Celestia nodded. "I understand your concerns captain, though I trust his wish to be redeemed." Swift Strike believed in her, but he didn't have faith in Discord, he was too unpredictable, a wild card. His job was to protect the prince and that meant he needed to be prepared for the chance Discord was going to betray them. He hoped he was wrong, but for now there was no use to argue the point. "I would like the guard to be on the alert, like Captain Strike pointed out, there is a chance my faith is misplaced, which is why I would like to be prepared for any scenario." Celestia continued to explain. "I would like you." She looked to her generals. "To begin drawing up plans to defend the city and the palace." "And the public? Should we alert them?" Minister of agriculture, Dust Hoof, asked. "No, it could create a panic." Minister of finance, Penny Worth, cut in quickly. "Your majesty, I would strongly advice against that, it could cripple the economy if ponies hide away, refuse to trade and travel the road, the flow could be halted and create problems on it's own." "Not to mention potentially create dangerous situations for our forces, they would be forced away from their positions to deal with any trouble that could have been avoided." Iron Blade, minister of defense added. "But if the press detect unusual troop movements, they will suspect something is wrong.." Celestia said with a frown. "Then they will speculate, making our ponies even more scared, scared of the unknown." This was the trouble, in cases such as these there was really no right answer. She did not wish to lie to her ponies, but things were not black and white. Luna knew of her struggle, but they needed to maintain order. "We mention the unknown threat, our troop movements will be mentioned as a precaution." She knew it was not lying, but it wasn't exactly reassuring either. It was however, the best compromise, it meant they could control the story when the press got hungrier. "Yes, I agree.. We will prepare a statement and of course it goes without saying that what has been said here does not leave this room." All the ministers and officers nodded, knowing they had to keep their cards close. "Then let us prepare." The ministers and officers all bowed before the royal sisters. As Swift Strike was about to leave however he heard his name being called. "Captain Swift Strike, if you would please stay." The other ponies left the hall, leaving only Swift, Celestia and Luna together in the hall, there were not even any other guards around. He turned to face them fully, standing a bit more to attention. "Yes your majesties?" He was almost a bit worried he was gonna get a scolding for questioning the princess, but he was ready for that, it was his job. "I have a special assignment for you." Celestia said as the two sisters approached him. "My sister tells me my son's life regiment is coming along nicely, you even special ordered new armor." "Yes your majesty, princess Luna approved it." He confirmed. "We have been using the weapons and armor for about a week now." "So would you say you are ready to put it to use for real if we were attacked?" Celestia sounded calm, but there was an edge to her voice, like the concerns he had raised before had been with her as well. "Yes." He replied simply, feeling like the regiment was ready for action, even though they were still not a full regiment as of yet. "We are ready to defend the prince with our lives if need be." Celestia nodded. "I hope it doesn't come to that captain, however, as I said, I have an assignment for you in case we are attacked. Please listen closely." ~~***~~ Swift Strike stood at the edge of the training yard, watching his regiment train, using their new armor and weapons, practicing the formations they had developed. Unlike the Lunar Guard and the Solar Guard, their armor focused on being light and fast, the armor was less heavy and less restrictive, but it did offer less protection too. It covered all the vital areas as it should, and they had developed ways to compensate for the lack of armor. Other than the short sword strapped on their backs and the classic spear, they had developed shields that could grow per command. It would help form a defensive line using the muscles of the earth ponies to hold enemies at bay, leaving the unicorns to perform the ranged attacks and the pegasi guards to overwhelm them. Right now they they had formed two teams, one team would be the guards, the other team played the enemies. They were trying to get past the earth ponies and into the defensive circle the other team had formed. "Hold the circle!" The team leader ordered the earth ponies who held the enemy back using the enlarged shields. As he watched them, he couldn't help but smile a little. They had gotten so far in just three months, but then again, all the soldiers in his regiments came from both the Solar and the Lunar guard, so they had to focus less on physical training and more on developing their fighting style. As he watched them, his mind couldn't help but to think back on what Celestia had told him. Her voice still echoed in his mind. "If the worst should happen, take my son to his father.. Make sure they both stay safe." That had been her words just before she had revealed the identity of the prince's father. He knew he was the first pony she had told this to, the shock on Luna's face told him enough to know this was the first time she had been told as well. She had revealed the biggest secret she carried in her heart to him and her sister. He knew he had been given a weapon, something he could use against her if he went to the nobles. Not that he would ever do that, but it spoke to the level of trust she had in Luna and by extension, him. He had not earned that trust, so now, by following her orders he would prove himself worthy. If Celestia and Luna should fall, should Tirek win, then it was his job to find the father, gather whatever forces they could and evacuate. If the father was not willing, then he would use force, he had his orders and he would carry them out no matter what the father thought. He could not reveal the information to his soldiers, only if the unthinkable were to happen and he would need to seek out the father, only then could he tell them the full details. For now however, he could do little other than prepare his regiment and stand by the prince, in life and if it came to that, in death. ~~***~~ This was a testing time, the day was spend with the guard patrols doubling, the walls getting more sentries and the princesses's announcement. Their honesty paid off, sure, the ponies were worried, but at least they had some way to prepare for it, in whatever way they thought best. Cadence and Shining Armor arrived late at night, Twilight and her friends had already been informed and Discord dispatched to look for Tirek wherever he might be hiding. All of them sat in the dining room, all discussing what might come and what they should do if Discord could do nothing or even aid Tirek. Fluttershy of course defended him, trusting him and approving of Celestia's decision, thinking it would be good to give him a chance, though none of the other five agreed. "I don't like this, princess Celestia.." Twilight said. "If something goes wrong, we would have gathered some of the most powerful ponies here for him to drain, all in one place." "I know Twilight, but divided we won't stand a chance against his might.. United we have a chance to overwhelm him, to defeat him before he has that chance." Celestia explained, looking to her son who was playing on a small blanket not far from them. Rainbow Dash was down there with him, keeping an eye on the little prince, and at times trying to make sure he didn't snack on her hair. "I understand princess, but still.." "We also have our soldiers ready to defend the city. They all know range is the key, making sure not to get to close." Luna tried to reassure Twilight, but even Luna knew it was not likely they would stand much of a chance. It was Rainbow Dash who spoke what many of them were already thinking. "And if Discord decides to join in his fun? What then?" Fluttershy looked at Rainbow. "Rainbow Dash, Discord would never-." "Ah have to agree with Rainbow, ah'm sorry Fluttershy, but we have to at least admit it's a possibility." Applejack agreed. Her ears fell and she slumped back into her seat. Rarity did not like seeing Fluttershy without allies, but what could she say? She had to agree, she feared Discord turning against them as well. Pinkie Pie bounced over to Rainbow Dash and Spero, sitting down on her rump as she watched the little foal play. "If he keep his word we can have a hero party! If not, then we can kick his butt and have a send off party!" She said trying to sound cheerful, but it didn't really help Fluttershy. "Besides, i'm sure princess Celestia would not sent Discord if she didn't have some faith in him, right?" Celestia smiled and nodded. "Indeed Pinkie Pie." This made Fluttershy smile just a little, happy to see Celestia and Pinkie were at least on her side, well, even if Pinkie had no problem kicking Discord's butt and then party after. Rainbow laid down on all fours, making a face at Spero that earned her a few laughs from the little prince. Smirking a bit, she turned to look at the others. "I'm sure we can handle anything that villain throws at u-OW!" Rainbow let out a yelp, cutting herself off. They all looked over at Rainbow, soon enough they all started to laugh. Spero had finally gotten close enough to bite down on Rainbow Dash's hair, munching on the colorful mane like it was candy. "Owowowowowowowowowow!" Rainbow Dash tried to get away, but she did not dare to move to hard or to fast as that would only pull on her mane even more. Pinkie Pie rolled onto her back and started to cry with laughter, even Rarity couldn't help but to giggle into her hoof. "Hey! Stop laughing, he is eating my mane! Come on guys!" Rainbow begged, but for now, no help came as the scene was just to amusing, and right now, they could all use a good laugh. ~~***~~ Meanwhile, in the dark allies of some far away town, a poor unicorn fell to the ground with a laud thump. His magic drained, his eyes unfocused and his body had gone limp. The big cloaked figure felt his body grow in power, enjoying every single drop of mana the unicorn had granted him. Before he could slink into the darkness he noticed yet another unicorn, seeming to tape up a box with his magic. The cloaked figure almost licked his lips as he slowly started to approach the defenseless pony. Silently the figure got closer and closer, his heart pounding fast with expectation to get even more magic. His thin, yet massive hands reached out to grab the pony, but just before he could even touch the fur, the head turned to face him with a smirk and a fine voice greeted him. "Tirek, I presume?" "Discord..?"