//------------------------------// // Research // Story: Crimson Chaos // by Phobetor_Necros //------------------------------// "We've no leads on Crimson Al, so I think we should go back to Canterlot for now. I'm worried about his advanced pyromancy and this 'project' he's working on, " Twilight says, "Maybe we can find something at the Canterlot Library." "Yes, that does sound like a better course of action than trying to track him through the Everfree," Rarity responds, "Though, I've never heard of diamonds being useful in any kind of magic before..." "Alright, but first, a quick stop at the castle. We'll probably need more than the Canterlot Library for this," Twilight says as she teleports everyone to the throne room of Canterlot Castle. "That was quick," Spike quips as he stands from his chair next to Twilight's throne, "So, did you get them?" "Not quite. We've learned a little about one human, but we're still not sure if there's another and this one seems dangerous. Also, Spike, I need you to take a letter," Twilight explains. "Haven't heard those words in quite awhile," Spike responds while taking out some parchment and a quill. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Meanwhile, in the Crystal Empire, Princess Cadance sat on her throne listening to two nobles complaining about property issues. She had grown taller, matching Celestia and Twilight's height, and her mane flowed freely now, indicating her ascension to a true Alicorn. Her husband, Shining Armor, sat to her right, in full general armor with his mane sporting streaks of gray. Despite his middle age, he still possessed an air of authority over the proceedings. To Cadance's left sat her daughter, Flurry Heart, all grown up, matching her mother's height as an adult and her mane has grown long, but still has her signature curls at the ends. She wore her crystal regalia and also listened to the proceedings to learn how to manage a state like her mother and aunt have. Suddenly, a wisp of smoke trails into the room and bursts into green flame in front of Cadance, revealing a letter, which Cadance opens up and reads. "What is it, mother?" Flurry asks. "It's from Princess Twilight," Cadance responds, "She wants help with some research into... pyromancy strong enough to burn dragon scales and magical uses for diamonds?" She gawked at the apparent absurdity before continuing. "She believes Canterlot Library won't be enough to find her answers and is requesting us to search our library. What do you think, Shining?" "Twilight always has her reasons. It seems important if she's asking for help from us, but our schedule is booked for today..." Shining responds. "I can do it," says Flurry. "You sure you can? Our library is quite large," warns Cadance as she levitates the letter towards her daughter. "Well, I did learn a few things from Auntie," Flurry states as she takes the letter and stands, "I'm sure it'll be fine. I'll be back before you know it." "Alright, sweetie. We're counting on you," says Cadance. Flurry strides out of the throne room as the nobles resume their bickering. Once she knows she's out of earshot, she lets out a heavy sigh. "Finally something to get me away from those idiotic nobles..." says Flurry as she opens up and reads the letter. "Hmm... Never heard of either of these before. Wonder why Auntie wants to know about them." ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Many hours later and the Canterlot Library is covered in strewn books. Looking up pyromancy and any kind of use for diamonds other than decoration, the girls were not able to find anything. It was simply unheard of in Equestrian history for fire to be able to burn a dragon and diamonds had no business in magic. Even Zebrican potions never used diamonds. "Twi, it's getting mighty late, so we'll be heading off now," said Applejack. "Alright, girls. Thanks for the help," responded Twilight as she put the books back in their proper places while her friends shuffled out the doors. 'What do I do now?' she pondered as she also left the library to prepare to set the sun. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- An hour train ride later, the girls exit the train, chatting cheerfully with each other when they hear the sound of ponies galloping towards them. They look a see the Cake twins as well as Sugar Belle, seemingly in a panic. "What's wrong?" asks Applejack, obviously worried. "The children are missing!" exclaims Sugar Belle. "What?!" screams Pinkie. "We took our eyes off them for a minute to deal with some rowdy customers..." Pumpkin started. "...And when we came back, Little Cheese and Big Sugar were gone." Pound finished. "We already have all our friends helping us search for them." explains Sugar Belle. "Well, what are we waiting for, let's go find them!" Rainbow exclaims, flying out of the train station. They quickly meet up with Sandbar and his friends, minus Gallus. "They aren't anywhere around town." he says, disappointingly. Then, they all go to the Friendship school to talk with Starlight and her faculty. "They haven't snuck into the school or the castle." She states, with her faculty shaking their heads behind her, Applebloom looking especially worried for the well being of her nephew. Finally, the large group make their way to the farm, seeing Big Mac with Luster Dawn and her group of friends. "Nope" he says simply, head low to the ground. "Where could they have gone?" Fluttershy asks. "Do you two have any idea? Surely you must've heard something..." Luster Dawn asks the twins. The twins calm down and start thinking before Pumpkin says, "I actually did overhear them talking about the Tree of Harmony before they disappeared." "Sis, you don't think they actually..." Pound says as the two turn to the side. Everyone follows their gaze toward the Everfree Forest as Twilight sets the sun and raises the moon. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Cheese! It's dark already," Big Sugar stated as he and Little Cheese wandered through the forest, "We should go back." "Yeah..." Little Cheese said hesitantly, "About that." "We're lost, aren't we?" Sugar deadpanned. "Hehehe..." Cheese said sheepishly. Big Sugar grabbed Little Cheese by the shoulders, shaking her violently with tears in his eyes, yelling, "How are we supposed to get home?!" Little Cheese endured the shaking for a few seconds before escaping his grasp, going, "Relax, Sugar. We'll get out of here eventually. We just have to find someone who knows their way around here, like Granny Zecora." "And who else would be out here in the forest after dark?" Sugar asked. "I don't know, but I think I see the light of a campfire over there," Cheese says, pointing to a faint light through the trees. "Let's go check it out." She starts hopping over towards the light. "Don't you think that's suspiciously convenient?" Sugar asks, following her. Sure enough, looking through the brush into a clearing was a roaring campfire. Sitting by it was a biped dressed all in white and covered with blood. In his right hand, he hold a light grey sword with a broad, rounded blade with brown leather wrapping around the bottom of the blade and the relatively thin hilt. The tip of the blade rested on the end of a log that was stuck in the ground to make a support on the other side of the fire, while the flats of the blade faced up and down, making a makeshift cooking pan over the fire. On the blade was a slab of meat being cooked. The biped raised his left hand as it started to glow red, causing the meat to glow red as well as he levitated it and flipped it over, causing the meat to sizzle as the other side started to cook. All the while, it sang softly, mostly in a foreign language, revealing its masculinity to them. "We are maverick kyuusai nante iranai Donna rifujin osoou tomo Kateba ii dake no hanashi darou Kakehiki to sainou ga muhai izanau Umare naoshita inochi de tanoshimu sa Jibun dake wa jibun shinjiteru" After watching this, Little Cheese went, "Let's go say hi," starting to walk over before being pulled back into the brush by Big Sugar. "Are you crazy?!" he said in a hushed tone, "That guy's covered in blood and cooking meat! If we go out there, we could be next on the menu!" Little Cheese pondered the options of whether to reveal themselves or not.