//------------------------------// // Prologue // Story: Evening Crown // by Onyourleft //------------------------------// Rarity was in a few words, completely befuddled. One moment she had been enjoying an unadorned cup of coffee with her newest friend Twilight, and the next, she was being violently hauled into a carriage. Not just any carriage at that, a military transport carriage. Under normal circumstances, Rarity would have been caught in utter distress at the prospect of being kidnapped. But today was anything but straightforward. The terrifying masks, the sound of clinking chains, and the deathly cold temperature plunged the dramatic mare into a state of unconsciousness. Thus, freeing her from the ever-increasing terror. While the beautiful unicorn slept in the back, the two royal agents were having an interesting conversation. “You think it's for real this time?” The pegasus stallion questioned, sarcasm creeping into his tone. “Nah. We’ve chased this damn ghost for so long that I don’t even think she’s real.” The second stallion completed his statement with a ‘hmmph’ and shot the ground a resenting frown. “Well, I think we might have something this time. It's not every day that a powerful unicorn appears out of nowhere.”  “I’ll tell you one thing. If that mare is really ‘Her’, then I want a private interrogation.” The older earth pony directed this statement at his young companion, easily putting him in a state of unease.  “Loosen up kid. I’ve been working behind the scenes since before you were born. And I’ll tell ya, having stiff legs will make for one boring ass life.” The stallion leered, nudging his companion in a friendly manner. For a while, the two carried on in silence. The younger, shifting every few seconds the silence remained, obviously on edge. Their awkward moment was saved by a loud ‘BANG’ that originated from the carriage. “Heh, I guess that mares got a little fire in her. Most ponies can't wake up after a scare like that for another couple of hours… She just might be the real deal.” He took a moment to glance back. While there were no large holes in the armor, his sharp eyes detected movement from inside. The older stallion smiled to himself. It had been a long chase, and he wouldn’t be awfully surprised if this mare was another dead end. At least though, he could have a good show. It wasn't every day that his eyes were gifted with a beautiful mare such as her. Unfortunately, he would not be allowed the privilege of the interrogation. But oh yes, he would watch. Side Slash always put on a good show, and today was no day to miss. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- After what had felt like an eternity Rarity finally felt the carriage screech to a halt. She had originally curled up in the corner, allowing her fear and anxiety to rule her with an iron fist. But as the hours began to increase, her fear was replaced with a much more dangerous feeling, indignation. Rarity was not a warrior, and she most certainly did not agree with any form of filthy roughhousing. However, a lady must protect herself and her dignity. And in this moment of frustration, she was more than willing to strangle her captors. It was one thing to kidnap a divine mare like herself. But to keep her waiting, bound and sightless in the back of a rickety carriage? That was unacceptable. She could understand a criminal's desire for her. After all, what is there not to like? And she was the perfect model to play the damsel in distress. Even if it was less inspiring than she had imagined. Her first attempt at escape was simple negotiation. To her dismay, her captors would not speak a word to her, or each other for that matter. Second, she had searched her cage for a sharp object or possible tool to aid in removing her bonds. This also proved to be fruitless. Her prison was expertly designed and gave her access to nothing but smooth and cold iron. As a final attempt, she had screamed at the top of her lungs. After destroying her vocal cords she realized her stupid mistake. They had not bothered to gag her, this most likely meant that her favorite carriage was soundproof. Once this conclusion had been drawn, she had no other option but to sit silently and await her impending doom. She waited an exasperatingly long time. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The door was flung wide open, and Rarity felt strong hooves grabbing her torso and less than delicately removing her from the carriage. Momentarily her panic returned in full force, but after a moment, she regained composure. There was no way she would allow them the pleasure of her fear. The walk was not as long as Rarity had assumed, so the shock of her inevitable fall was more than intended. Letting loose a yelp Rarity fell a fantastic meter before colliding with the ground. Before she could even recover, her bonds were removed, and her captors hastily exited the room. The white unicorn remained stunned on the ground for quite some time before realizing her partial freedom. Rarity vigorously tore the bag off of her head and allowed the sweet smell of fresh air to fill her nose, well, somewhat fresh. It only took Rarity one inhalation to detect the dank moisture permeating the room. On another day, Rarity might have wrinkled her nose in disgust, but she had no time for such frivolous things. Her sharp eyes swept around her new location, absorbing her surroundings and attempting to evaluate as best as she could. Rarity would not claim to be a detective, but she could not deny her natural knack for small details and problem-solving. The room was not much. Three light gray walls, most likely stone. One wall constructed of what appeared to be one-sided glass. And a single table accompanied by two metal chairs. From the few novels Rarity had read about government/police work, she could determine that she was indeed in an interrogation room. That realization opened up a whole new void of questions and theories about her situation. Luckily, Rarity was well raised and wrapped herself in composure once again. She had the sudden desire to use her horn, it had felt out of sorts since her abduction. Rarity moved the chair with a simple levitation spell. Or, would have, if not for the shiny ring around her horn. She elected to take a seat. There was no point in allowing herself to spiral. She raised her head high and tried as best as she could to straighten her mane. It was a mess, and that was a horror in itself. Luckily enough for her, the wait for answers was over. The glass wall shimmered as a lean unicorn mare strutted through. She walked directly to her seat, observing her papers all the while. Rarity was minorly offended at being ignored but did not show it. "So. Rarity is your name," said the mare as she shuffled the documents in her hooves. She set them down on the table and stared at them before continuing, "You live in Ponyville," she said, sounding surprised. The lime mare continued to stare at her papers, casually flipping through what Rarity had gathered to be her bio. “I beg your pardon, but I do believe that you have the wrong mare. I am a law-abiding citizen.” Rarity attempted to sound confident, but she was not trained to feign such emotions, and her captor saw right through. “So, you are not Rarity?” The unicorn raised an eyebrow while casually flicking her shortcut mane to the side. “Well, yes, I am Rarity.” Her eyes unconsciously rolled, she was not in the mood to play games. This day was just the worst. Side Slash internally grinned, the fun was about to begin. With a loud pound on the table, she shot up from her seat. “If you are Rarity, and you are innocent, then why are you here!!” She circled her prey, purposefully driving close behind. “My sources have confirmed that you have been in contact with a highly dangerous individual and failed to report this traitor to the authorities. Thus, making you a traitor as well.” At this point in her speech, she had returned to her starting point and glared daggers at the annoyingly gorgeous mare. “I-I don’t-- I really do believe that you have me mixed up with some other mare! I would never stoop so low as to aid a villainous traitor!” Her desperation was evident. She had not been expecting such a sudden rage from the previously calm interrogator. Their conversation had only lasted for a few seconds! To Rarity’s relief, her adversary visibly calmed. “Well, I was hoping for such a reaction. You Rarity are in fact, not the pony we are looking for.” She paused and gave her target what she hoped was an apologetic smile. “However, we do believe that you are unsuspectingly in contact with the dangerous thief known as Cassio Nebula or Nebuless.” Rarity observed as numerous pictures were placed in front of her. Most were blurry shots, only capturing a leg or hoof. But one presented a cloaked unicorn mare leaping over a wall while casting a rear shield spell. The figure was still vague, and the pony’s features were not visible, but Rarity still felt the strange feeling of recognition. The final picture was thrown atop the rest. It was an obvious picture of Twilight Sparkle. Her heart leapt into her throat, and butterflies took off in her stomach. She had only known the mare for a short amount of time, but she could not deny their true friendship. Or, was it all a lie? “Our spies heard about this Twilight Sparkle and did further research, we found nothing. Though we are skeptical of how obvious and open she is acting, the power level and physical build are similar…” Side Slash tilted her head to the side and looked down at her files.  “Rarity, can you tell us anything that might be of use? We do not want to accuse an innocent pony, but our suspicions are high. If you want to help your friend and yourself, you need to tell us everything you know.” She sat down, intently watching the white unicorn’s reaction.  “Oh, dear. I was not aware of these circumstances. And while I do not approve of your uncouth methods and actions, I do not wish for my friend to be falsely accused. She really is a gem, Twilight Sparkle would not harm a fly.” She spoke with confidence and more than slightly shattered Side Slash’s hope. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The lights died in a flash. With a single concentrated pulse of massive power, the underground base was thrust into darkness. The emergency red lights came to life and served to only increase the growing fear. Celestial and Lunar agents ran around in organized hysteria, all attempting to reach the rear safe house while the guards rushed towards the front gate. The gate itself was nothing special. A small metal fence, reinforced with two sturdy wooden doors. It was simple and easy to hide, but also effective… to a fault. The platoon of well-trained soldiers formed an arch around the entrance, earth ponies in the front, followed by unicorns and hovering pegasi. Each ground troop bore a standard shield and broad sword, while the pegasi held silver spears and small crossbows. All in all, it was a formidable force. The loud boom of artillery spells against the gate was louder than the deepest thunder, and it shook the guards to their core. The smell of nervous sweat and armor polish was thick in the air, and all present felt as if they were constantly inhaling steam. While they stood regal and waiting, the doors began to crack. Readying their weapons and spells, they stared dead-eyed at the sliver of light breaking through. They trusted that they were ready, but their trust was misplaced. With an ear-splitting crack, the doors blew off their hinges, revealing a blinding white light that pulsed with power. The soldiers were momentarily stunned, but training kicked in. With a mighty roar, they charged into the blinding light. The few that got close would forever regret their decision. Bolts of lightning struck out from various locations, knocking the charging ponies off their hooves. Left and right, bodies hit the ground, steaming and crackling with remnant energy. For the platoon, the charge had been a mistake, but the bright light was only the start. In an instant, pure darkness returned. In the seconds that the light had appeared, the guards had allowed their eyes to adjust to the light, so now that it was dark. They were better off blind. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Twilight Sparkle was dancing. It was a ballet and a battle at the same time. Her perfected night vision spell allowed her to watch as her adversaries blundered around in pure confusion. She had entertained concerns about her plan, fearing that a few seconds of light would not be enough for their eyes to adjust. As always though, her plan was perfect. With her dual enchanted blades unsheathed, she leapt to and fro, each strike dropping one or more enemies. For the time being, her job was easy, but gradually more soldiers could spot her approach and fight back. From their perspective, a cloaked demon was teleporting all around, killing them in darkness. So nopony could blame them for fighting so desperately, but it was an inconvenience to one Twilight. She blocked a pegasus spear with one blade, shifting it over her shoulder, while her second blade fell on her enemy's exposed wing. The pegasus fell with the momentum of their spear, revealing Twilight’s next foe. She leapt forward and engaged in direct combat, the sword and shield of the earth pony barely protecting them from Twilight's quick and precise strikes. A second guard joined his struggling friend, attempting to kill the beast from behind, they failed. Twilight backflipped over the blade, landed and shot a stun spell into the stallion's exposed stomach. Her original enemy tried to take advantage of the situation by launching an offensive, Twilight had foreseen this play and easily rolled beneath his charge. She turned and fired a strong lightning spell, anticipating a shield block. She was correct. As Twilight whirled around she realized that she was in fact alone. The final movement she caught was the prison sector’s door slamming shut. She sighed as she calculated the probability of high resistance. It was very likely, and she also had a sneaking suspicion that a certain old friend might coincidentally be in the way of her and her target. Twilight gave the room one last glance before heading for the next door. It was a standard high-security HoofLock119. She laughed at how easy this was going to be. If only battle technique followed a similar pattern she might be better at it. Twilight took a brief moment to reflect on her situation. Well, she made her decision quite some time ago, and there was no going back.  -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rarity was freaking out, again. It had only been a few minutes since the blackout, but the scary red lights, running ponies and loud sounds did not help to ease her already spiked nerves. Though she was elated to be out of her cell, the prison sector safe room was not much better. Especially when the door had not yet closed. The technician had tried and failed to repair what he called to be ‘time damage’ on the old contraption. This left Rarity gazing down a long and eerie hallway lined with tense guards.  When she thought things couldn't get worse, they did. The single door between her and whatever danger was present opened wide. The figure that remained in the door, was terrifying. A unicorn mare, coated in slim armor and a masquerade mask consumed her vision. She seemed to radiate infinite power, and her smile betrayed nothing but confidence.  To her surprise the soldiers did not open fire, they instead trembled in place, electing to pretend not to exist instead of fighting back. The mare drew two short blades that glowed a deep violet, adding to the eerie red. At this point, a pegasus soldier realized that there were no commanders left, and took it upon herself to initiate the slaughter. “FIRE.” The battle cry broke the eerie silence and blew open the floodgates of hell. Rarity was an artist and no matter what the circumstances can appreciate a masterpiece when she uncovers one. This warrior was possibly the greatest masterpiece she had ever been granted the pleasure of seeing. She wove in and out with timeless grace. Her every move was precise and planned. The petrified and panicking soldiers never stood a chance. Though it was a small relief, Rarity could tell as the battle slowly progressed towards her that the warrior's blades did not in fact kill anypony. The magical enchantments that caused the glow acted as a stun spell upon contact. She smiled a little bit, that is interesting. Rarity realized that she was losing it. Too much had happened in too little time. With that final thought, she saw the final soldier crumple to the ground. Rarity was next in line, so she fainted.