//------------------------------// // The Fifth Awakening // Story: Night Patrol 2: Awakening // by Foxgear //------------------------------// Night Patrol 2 Chapter 65 By Foxgear Equestria 2 hours before Shaka’s Assassination attempt There was a rumbling in the air. Queen Cadence of Equestria could feel something was amiss but lacked the extra senses to discern what. Impatiently she paced the floor of the room that housed her bedridden aunt. Doctor Blue Cross had yet to arrive, and the soldiers she sent to investigate the weather anomaly have not reported back. The waiting was proving to be the most challenging part of the job. Cadence could empathize with Celestia waiting for Twilight to come back from a job well done now. Or, more likely, worry and imagine everything that could have gone wrong. (Thinking positively is a lot harder with this job.) Cadence lamented. Her brain could not help but think of any and all things that could have gone wrong. (What if the investigation team was killed? What if Blue Cross’s train derailed?) Things like that plagued her worse than allergies. Try as she might, Cadence couldn’t calm her mind. Yes, she was doing her breathing techniques, but that really only helped so much. “I’d wish you’d wake up. That sounds selfish, but I’m not ready to do this without your council.” Cadence lamented to Luna’s still form. In a moment of childishness, she shook her aunt like a needy child wanting its mother to wake up from a nap. “Please. I know your not well, but please wake up.” Luna did not. Knowing she was only driving herself mad. Cadence left the room to busy herself. Her first thought was to go do some paperwork. The never-ending battle of her life, but as she passed her private room. A strange urge overtook her, and the Queen entered her private bed chambers, entering the secret room that housed her battle armor. It was the same armor Sombra had crafted, based on her mother Symphony’s armor. Besides some recoloring and Night Patrol upgrades, it was still the same armor the dark King commissioned. Even her weapons were the same. The twin Gatling lances rested on the wall. As sinister-looking as the day, she acquired them. Not even a new paint job could hide that. There were the spears Kira and Nippon had given her as a belated wedding present. Two Nippon style spears better for slashing than stabbing. Cadence forgets the official name, but they looked like katanas on poles to her. Another weapon was the crude crystal spear she had fashioned. It was more a display piece, but it was the first weapon she killed with. A part of her thought it was twisted to keep it, but she couldn’t imagine throwing it away. Finally, there were her most recent lances, the ones she hasn’t gotten a chance to use in real battle yet. It had been a gift from Essex of all ponies when her pregnancy had been announced. Her words behind her reason were, “I guess we’re family in some sense, so, here.” That was what the rinin had said when presenting the spear, Gae Bulg, to her. It was a wicked barbed weapon with a sinister aura. In her research of the spear, it had once belonged an alicorn from Clydesdale. The spear gained its infamy by being made from the bones of sea dragons and countless battles. Many of the stories she found of its original wielder were heart-wrenchingly tragic and made her not want to use the dreaded weapon. It was used by a father to kill his own son—one of many tragic tales of the weapon. The fact the original user died tied to a stone by his own guts was another disturbing reason she barely, if ever, took the spear off the wall. “Does Essex secretly what me to die? No, we’ve barely had… any interaction. I don’t even think we’ve had an actual conversation. Maybe she just didn’t know.” That was hard to believe. Essex was basically a Clydesdale historian compared to Cadence. So, the Queen chose to think the rinin got the spear because it was legendary and thought it was an appropriate gift because of that status. All those negatives aside, the unease building inside her gut made taking the spear almost tempting. Cadence dreaded to think what looming threat could force her to take up such an arm. Her runaway imagination wasn’t helping. “Better just check to be sure.” Tapping the purple jewel on her golden yoke. Cadence was enveloped in a shining light. The armor on the stand shined and appeared on her body, adjusting automatically to her form. Cadence did a few movements to ensure everything was still appropriately adjusted. “This Tele-Equip is almost cheating.” Usually, it would take three ponies to adorn her armor. Putting it on via levitation was doable but troublesome when you had to adjust every strap yourself. Tele-Equips’ only real benefit was it put your armor on already fitted and adjusted. The only problem is if you got fatter since you set the straps, things could get tight. “Glad to see I haven’t expanded that much,” Cadence said happily, unequipping the armor. Her weapons were already synced, so she only had to choose which one she wanted. So long as she wasn’t out of range, she could don her gear at any time. The minor side quest finished, Cadence felt some relief that her weapons and armor were ready if needed. Back in the hall, the Queen chose to go to her office rather than Luna’s room. Diligently she began reading through document after document when a knock came at her door only thirty minutes later. “Come in,” She droned, still focused on her work. “Captain Specker, reporting ma’am!” Cadence discarded the civil paperwork to give Specker her full attention. Much to her relief, he appeared unharmed. In fact, there was hardly a scuff on his armor. “How is the status of Grimsville, Captain? Everything alright?” The Captain gulped, looking uneasy. “Is something the matter? Is that strange weather anomaly a concern?” “Well, ma’am. The anomaly dispersed before we could reach it. Since the town was nearby, we thought to ask the local garrison what they saw, but…” The Captain turned ill; Cadence gave him a minute to steady himself. “I’m sorry, the town is gone.” “Define gone.” “It was, by the looks of it, trampled by a massive creature. Every building was pulverized into the Earth. Not a pony to be found. There were no remains, but we found what seemed to be blood on the ground, with many, many tracks. Though scared, we pressed towards the gates of Tartarus… we found… two massive dog legs along the way. With bites taken from them. When we arrived at the gate, we found Cerberus missing and Tartarus… empty.” Cadence’s blood turned to pure ice. Her entire body involuntary shaking with goosebumps. “Tartarus… empty?” “Yes, ma’am, we searched the deepest levels. All the cells were empty. There was no sign of the jailer, either.” Rising out of her chair, Cadence wandered aimlessly around her office, her brain trying to process the information and what it could mean. And what she should do. A sudden headache struck her. Like she just tried to chug an icy. “GODS! What is this? This pressure?” The pain was sharp, like a knife in her brain. Sharply she looked at the Pegasus Speck, who seemed unfazed. “Ma’am?” He tilted his head, confused. “Go to communications, Call Aunt Celestia, get a hold of her no matter what! And while you’re at it, send word to Queen Kira, tell her we may need her soon. For what I don’t know, but something is wrong!” “Ma’am, are you ok?” “I said go!” Cadence barked, Specker, scurrying out of the room. Still holding her head. Cadence called her armor and Gatling spears. The pressure in her head worsened, but she could feel something, a powerful magical presence. “Clear your head and imagine the location… find them.” Blocking out the pain, Cadence cast teleport and disappeared. Canterlot Catacombs: Celestia’s secret vault. Daring Do, Celestia’s secret agent, and Rogue Wonder deposited her most recently discovered treasure into the anti-magic sealed vault. Her latest find was the Rose Alicorn Amulet. “Here we go, right next to Black and Purple you go.” She narrated placing the gem in line with the others. Briefly, she took stock of Celestia’s collection of Amulets. Between her mother Tomb Raider, and herself, they managed to find twelve Alicorn Amulets for the Princess over the years. There was another whose location she knew off, the Green amulet buried with Emerald Cutter in the Night Patrol Graveyard, but that was sealed inside the Patroller’s coffin. Trying to retrieve that was not worth angering the Night Patrollers. Unbeknown to her, another Green amulet was found by Sixes in Clydesdale. Spinning around, Daring could only sigh at the high ceiling with shelves reaching all the way up the twenty-foot roof. Each row contained several stands with a specific color label. “How can there be hundreds if not thousands of these things and still be so hard to find?” Daring lamented. The ones hidden in temples were easier to find. Those were the ones that hadn’t been stolen. To find the ones found by other ponies, Celestia gave her a great fortune to use for the black market and information finding. Any Amulets in private collections that refused to sell soon disappeared thanks to a particular group of well-known thieves. That may or may not appear in her books. “Sometimes I feel dirty.” Double lives were tough. Actually, forget double, Daring was living a triple life. She was a registered Wonderbolt, author, and treasure seeker. “I even hold rank in the Equestrian military. There are so many webs, I don’t know what I officially do.” Her actual job has been, do as the Princess requests. And with Celestia on the verge of retiring, Daring started to think maybe she should do the same. The adventurer was pushing thirty now and had a lost little sister she had yet to reconnect with on a meaningful level. There were some weird adventures, like the time Rainbow Dash came to one of her Daring Do conventions. That was awkward. It was all getting too much to juggle. Plus, Daring was starting to feel the strain of her adventures. That pony that was weirdly critical of her problem-solving skills in the books brought up a good point. She was getting rusty or complacent. Or several dangerous blows to the head really reduced her cognitive ability. The editors removed the gorier parts of her adventures. Like the time she nearly lost her leg to a rusty arrow tip or when a native bashed her upside the head and fractured her skull. “And this is supposed to be my prime, but I’m nothing but aches and pains. Forty is going to be a bitch if I don’t get in shape again.” Daring grumbled while walking to the exit. She’d have to lock up first, but the adventurer was looking forward to a long weekend when she stopped short. Her entire body felt cold, and it was suddenly hard to breathe. The air was frigid as the frozen north. “What cute little pegasus,” A voice said from the entrance of the vault. A tall shadowy figure posed in the doorway. Their tone sent shivers down Daring’s spine. “A little on the older side for me, but, after the dry spell, I went through…” The being stepped into the light. It was an alicorn. And one Daring didn’t know! “Who… who are you?” Daring demanded. The Alicorn was a pinkish color, not Cadence pink. A softer, fluffier white pink that wisped in the air with a phantom effect. Her eyes were a deep purple, with star-shaped pupils. Now Daring was just guessing, but she was taller than Celestia. Her head was about the level with the end of Celestia’s horn. So really tall. All in all, she looked like cotton candy, but when she showed off her mark. Well, Daring felt a terror like never before. Her mark was an Iron maiden. Not some cool rock band, but an actual iron maiden. The torture device. Blood was depicted flowing from the eyes in detail. Daring didn’t think it was possible to show such a level of detail on a mark. It was more like a painting. The Alicorn continued to mutter to herself, slowly stalking around Daring like a predator. “My name, hmm, I’ve been called so many things. I guess I should just pick one. I despise my last name so much but telling you my birth name is almost meaningless. I know, I’ll go with my most famous one. Surely, you’ve heard of the Alicorn Carmilla? Alicorn of barbs and thorns, right?” “Sweet fucking Celestia, your Campe!” ‘CRACK!’ Daring found herself floored. A stinging raw pain ran down her body. She looked up, Carmilla standing over her with a disapproving look and a magic whip. “Now, now, dear, I went to the trouble of introducing myself. It’s not nice to refer to me with that hideous name. But that’s a pegasus for you, boorish to a fault.” “How is this possible? You should be guarding Tartarus…” Daring struggled to rise, but her body was going numb. Carmilla clicked her tongue, “Aw, that old job, well I was freed from my curse by a dear old friend. Now onto more important things, your muscles are so taught… but your blood… yes, your blood. It still has that youthful energy. It’s almost like you’re a virgin.” “I don’t get around much thanks to my job, but I’m not a virgin.” “I know, but compared to other mares of this era, you’re very unsullied. I think I’ll draw a bath.” Carmilla grinned sinisterly. Daring’s eyes widened to absolute horror! “You can’t! This was why you were cursed in the first place!” “Oh, I know, but who’s going to stop me?” Carmilla asked cutely, forging a bath with earth magic. “Now to wring you out.” Daring screamed as her body began to twist. The crime that got Carmilla banished to Tartarus and forced to be its jailer was horribly simple. She tortured and mutilated young fillies and bathed in their blood. The accounts of her deeds were so horrible and gut-wrenching she was all but erased from history. Some acts were never even written down, so disgusting they were, the scribes could not bring themselves to put them to paper. “Your blood will do wonders for my coat!” As Daring felt her legs begin to crack and snap through her flesh, a barrage of magic bullets peppered Carmilla, freeing her from certain death. Her savior was Cadence decked out in full battle gear, blasting away with her Gatling lances. The Queen looked her way and shouted something. Daring felt her fear leave her, and though her body hurt, she got back up. “You ok?” Cadence was now beside her. Still firing. “You were under a fear curse!” “Curse…” Daring frowned, fishing her key ring of magical tokens out. A number of them were supposed to stop things like this. All of them were shattered, having done their job and still failed. “No wonder I was such a pansy.” It irked her to be forced to just lay down and take Carmilla’s abuse like that. The more concerning thing was even with seven anti-curse artifacts, she was still affected to the point of being immobile. What sort of wreck she would be without her trinkets was something Daring could not nor want to fathom. That said… “Cadence…” “I know,” The Queen lamented, stopping her attack. The barrels of her lance glowing a bright red. The dust cleared, and Carmilla stood unharmed. In fact, she seemed happy. “Oh my, one of my kind. Whose kid, are you?” Carmilla held up her hoof, even though they made no move to interrupt her. “Your name is based on music, so that would make you either Orchestra or Opera’s descendent. Can you sing for me? I’m sure I can narrow this down.” “My mother was Symphony,” Cadence answered flatly. “Or so I am told. I’ve never met her.” Carmilla’s brow frowned, “Symphony… Orchestra’s little girl? She was… seven last I saw her.” The deranged Alicorn began to salivate. “Oh… I remember her so well. I wish I could have seen her in her prime… how lovely she must have been. I would have loved to take a dip when she was in her prime.” “After fraying her flesh and branding her, I bet,” Daring sneered. “You’re a fucking monster!” “And you’re a pegasus, Tempest’s stupid attempt of Gaia’s even stupider idea. Ponies that aren’t alicorns? What nonsense! But you know what’s even more nonsensical? Destroying our own race over it! Earth ponies, Pegasi, Unicorns! They were all just inferior copies of us alicorns, the supreme beings of the world! We were gods! Even the Dragonlords were but ants before us! Those fools threw that all away for worthless MUD PONIES!” “Times are different! The age of Alicorns is over! So why escape now? What’s the point?” Cadence asked the seething Alicorn, who was quick to regain her composer, her smile faker then an apple pretending to be an orange. “Well, why are you here?” Carmilla sighed, sporting a bemused expression. “Do you think I could have escaped by myself? Trust me, I tried. Fairly recently too, but thousands of years had worn away my sanity. I was functioning on pure will rather than thought. Bound by my duties, I tried to exploit the bounds of my curse. But I was thwarted by your dear aunts.” She smiled, seemingly remembering something funny. “And then I was visited by an old friend.” Cadence and Daring back stepped as Carmilla began to stalk around predatorily. The ancient Alicorn prattling on about her ‘friend’. “I couldn’t believe it when I saw her! She didn’t look anything like she did in the past, but I knew who she was by her soul. That boundless, beautiful soul, overflowing with power and authority. Our kind was referred to as gods, but SHE! She was a god among gods. One of the original three!” Carmilla seemed to be experiencing real joy as she stared at her captive audience. “You should know who I’m talking about, Cadenza. Surely Celestia taught you about such an important historical figure?” Cadence chewed her lip at a loss. “You’re referring to one of the three mothers, right? The ones that created the three original races?” “DING, DING! You get an A! HAHA! I thought all three of them died in the war, but she’s alive! Minerva, the mother of the Unicorns and Magic, is alive!” Carmilla began to laugh historically. “She flew down like an angel! Freeing me from my hell! Of course, I’d agree to return the favor!” Carmilla’s laughter became more insane, the Alicorn finding something funny, but Cadence and Daring weren’t in on the joke. However, what they were aware of, was growing power, building around Carmilla. She seemed to be gaining strength by the second, and neither pony could figure out why. “I don’t like this,” Daring stated, her entire body shivering. “Every sense I have is telling me to run.” “Same here,” Cadence replied, bringing her weapons to bear, but she didn’t attack. There had to be more they could extract from the deranged Alicorn while she was gloating. “What’s Minerva’s plan? What does she hope to achieve?” Carmilla stopped laughing, cocking her head creepily sideways, her eyes wide with shock and contempt. “That’s should be obvious. She seeks to revive our race and restore the proper order of the world. Only this time, there won’t be any rebellious fools. All she needs is… oh, there it is!” Cadence and Daring followed Carmilla’s gaze to the purple Alicorn Amulet. Carmilla wasted no time lunging for it, and Cadence unleashed a Gatling barrage of magic bullets while screaming, “Daring, turn into Rainbow Black, now!” Growling at the command, Daring did as told, muttering the activation code, she felt the tremendous power within her unleash. Daring fired magical attacks otherwise impossible for her to cast with a crackling black horn of lightning. It was better than last time when she became Dusk’s puppet. After five years of intense training, she could activate the mysterious power willingly and act with her own free will. The downside was the power was barely controllable and didn’t feel natural to her. Maybe because it was dark magic. Also, without a doubt, it would catch her attention—that of her foolish little twin sister. With a growl, Daring was determined to finish the fight before Rainbow Dash could appear. Carmilla may be powerful, but she thought with Queen Cadence’s help, they had a chance. They blindsided Carmilla, preventing her from obtaining the purple amulet, but she snatched the black amulet in the struggle. And just by the color alone, Daring felt that was even worse. “Oh… so that’s where you were…” Carmilla drawled, slipping the black amulet into her saddlebag. Patting the item affectionally. “Don’t worry, you’ll be out soon. Priorities, you know.” “Don’t think it’ll be that easy!” “Daring wait!” Screamed Cadence, but the Pegasus wouldn’t listen. A frustrated growl escaped the Queen as the command codes for Rainbow Black eluded her. She could only watch in silent horror as Daring raging assault was halted by a simple jab to the neck. The strike barely had any force behind it. Carmilla seemingly love-tapping the Pegasus. Yet Daring was withering on the ground, gasping for air, her pupils dilated. A small trickle of blood dripped out from under her hoof, yet it was the purple veins rapidly spreading across the Pegasus’s coat that had Cadence concerned. “What’d you…” Cadence didn’t have the chance to finish. Carmilla was done talking, the other Alicorn appearing in front of the Queen. A sharp pain appeared in Cadence’s breast as she retreated. Much to her horror, there was a deep dent in her Peytral. “Hmm, tougher than it looks… alright then.” Carmilla rushed again, her right foreleg cocked back like a scorpion’s tail. Each strike of the hoof was as powerful as the first. Cadence soon found it hard to breathe as the dented metal restricted her airways. Sacrificing one of her lances, Cadence hurriedly unbuckled the Peytral, the dented breastplate bouncing uselessly to the ground, while she unloaded with her remaining lance. That, too, was taken from her when Carmilla smashed her discarded weapon into its twin. Unarmed and pressured by her enemy, Cadence summoned her Nippon polearms, creating a swirling wind of slashes to keep Carmilla at bay. Carmilla merely continued to strike with that one hoof. Deflecting the finely crafted blades with ease. Upon closer inspection, Cadence found Carmilla was wearing a very discreet horseshoe that extended over her hoof’s toe. On said toe was a small, stout spike. That was more than likely poisoned. “I see your trick!” Cadence filled her two polearms with magic, giving them a deadlier edge, confident they could cut through the horseshoe. Her blades were stopped cold. In fact, the knives were quickly corroded, the edges turning into a fine rusted cloud. “What…” “Let me show you how to fight,” In a flash of movement, Cadence’s shoulder exploded in pain. Her pauldron crashed into the wall of the vault while purple veins quickly spread across her body. She twitched, feeling like an ogre was crushing her shoulder. “Don’t worry,” Carmilla assured her. “It’s not poison, merely a small curse.” “Small?” Cadence said with a pained wince. Carmilla chuckled. “Well… small for me, I guess.” The deranged Alicorn looked at the Queen and then to Daring, struggling to stand and fight once more. Black Lightning pouring from the Pegasus’s horn like a faucet. “Oh, pipe down.” Daring was struck three more times. Once on the forehead, and both forelegs. The Pegasus collapsed to the ground, her legs turning purple while blood began to pour down her head like a freshly dehorned bovine. With her opposition on the count down, Carmilla flew up to collect her objective unhindered. Taking the purple alicorn amulet for herself. By why stop there? “Celestia certainly made this easily,” She gushed, dropping amulet after amulet into her bag. While occupied with her looting, Carmilla failed to notice the presence of a third party, but she certainly felt it when a double flying kick connected to her face. Rainbow Dash, as Rainbow White, was on the scene. “What’d you do to my sister and the Queen!” Much like Daring, Rainbow Dash developed her mysterious powers. The ordinarily blue Pegasus hoped it would be enough to join her dream team, the Wonderbolts, or Night Patrol, but that has yet to materialize. So, she’s been acting as a freelance hero for hire. Taking any chance to test her abilities. One ability was to appear near Daring if they were both transformed. Though she had spirit and determination, Dash was equally outclassed. Even her surprise, mock one kick hadn’t even budged Carmilla from her position. “Bunch of annoying brats!” Grasping Rainbow with her magic, Carmilla whirled the Pegasus around like a lasso before brutally smashing her into the bedrock floor. “Why bother showing up if you can’t do anything!” Carmilla huffed. “It wasn’t for nothing!” Cadence barked, levitating her last spear, Gae Bulg. The barbed spear eating her magic like mad, gaining a sinister pink/red aura. “Now, fly!” Carmilla knowing the weapon well teleported away, but that wasn’t enough. The twisted cursed spear proceeded to drill through the bedrock, giving chase even after its master collapsed from magic exhaustion. “No, no, no! It can’t be! This can’t be how it ends! DAMN YOU CU!” Carmilla screamed as she bolted across the sky to her savior, to Minerva. “She can save me. She has to save me!” It wasn’t well known in modern times, but Gae Bulg was a sure kill weapon. That would chase its target to the ends of the Earth, even if its master died. It would not stop until it’s pierced its enemy’s heart in vengeance. “Great mother! My Queen! I fulfilled your request! Please help…” Carmilla didn’t get to finish as the red spear skewered her. Her body dropping at an indifferent Minerva’s feet. “Please… I’m… still useful…” Carmilla pleaded to the strange pink and black being with a crooked horn and feathered and insectoid wings. The being, the god reborn, merely shushed her. Forcing her eyes closed. “It’s time to sleep, child. Sleep.” Minerva said gently as Carmilla’s body crystallized and shattered. The shards of her body compressed, forming a blood-red jewel with a pink swirl pattern. “So… this was the color of your soul.” Levitating the twelve Alicorn amulets from the discarded saddlebag, Minerva took the purple one, smiling at it like an old friend. This was her, her other half. The half of her soul she separated from all those years ago to keep on living. “It’s been so long that I’ve almost forgotten about you, no, I did. I forgot myself. But no longer. Time to give my children a firm spanking for disregarding their mother.” Absorbing the Amulet, Minerva’s body pulsed with power that shot into the sky. “To all my children! To all of my blood and magic! Obey your mother’s words and crush all that make a mockery of existence! Wipe out the treacherous Children of Tempest and the pathetic worshipers of Gaia!” Streaks of purple rained throughout the sky like fireworks. Minerva watched the sparkling mist of energy envelop the land. One by one, she could feel the link between her and her children reestablish. Such an amount of information would typically kill a pony. For her, dedicating a mere ten percent of her focus was enough to efficiently control every Unicorn. The mother of Unicorns frowned, “I guess every Unicorn is a bit too liberal. Still, two-thirds of the unicorn population isn’t a bad start. I even managed to sway Twilight with that spell. Oh, and she’s… oh… OH! How juicy! She shot Celestia?” It didn’t feel as satisfying as she thought it would be. “I suppose being surprised attack by your trusted student isn’t very sporting. Hmm, now she’s firing at Sixes. I’ll order her back and have her use the Unicorns at the peace summit to take out the ponies left behind.” It wasn’t because of her VeeVee persona she was letting Sixes go. No, it was nothing like that. After all, when she had been Vi Violetblood, Night Patrol had all but killed her. Still, she did live them for over a decade. Ate with them, healed them, dare say they were… “Tsk, such plebian feelings from a false persona. They will fade in time.” The Alicorn goddess sneered. Levitating the amulets from Carmilla’s bag. Minerva wondered who she should revive first when a thought occurred to her. “You know,” She drawled, looking towards Evernight castle. “I’m sure Luna would be thrilled to see YOU again, Emerald.” With a smirk of devilish delight, Minerva took flight towards Evernight, playfully skipping among the clouds. Another devious thought coming to her. “I suppose I should be fair and revive Overheat too. Now, where did he end up? I’ll put some of my children on that. Also sending some to detain Cadence and the other two in the vault. It wouldn’t do for Cadence to miscarry when I’m trying to revive our race.” Humming a soft lullaby, Minerva smiled at her vision for the future. Whether her children wanted it or not, she would give them a mother’s love. And they would give her the world.