//------------------------------//
// Planning for Tirek 
// Story: Knights of the Realm 
// by Kinni 
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A couple of figures approached Canterlot Castle from the air. One of them seemed to be some kind of flying creature with disproportionally huge wings, while the other had an unchanging sillhouette that was almost but not quite completely rectangular, bringing to mind some sort of flying machine without any visible means of propulsion.

As they came closer, many guards reported their sighting, and they were closely monitored. But soon enough, their identity was confirmed, and most of the monitoring stopped (but not all, just in case), those two figures were being expected, and they easily got through the many layers of magical defenses around the castle.

Eventually, even the most casual observer would have been able to tell that those two figures were Knight Spike (who was the figure with huge wings, since he liked to change like that to fly long distances) and the trio of Knights Applebloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo (who were travelling via their usual magical flying disk).

They landed on a specific balcony and got inside. There were a few ponies on that room, which had the job of helping with anything the knights would need upon returning from a mission, up to emergency medical care (the number of ponies there would have been even greater if the knights were in the middle of an important mission), but since the four seemed perfectly alright, the only ponies who approached them were those who had the duty of providing water and snacks to Knights returning from a long mission, just enough to give them a pick me up.

Spike accepted a small emerald piece, but the Crusaders only drank some water, as they had eaten some of their carried supplies on the way back.

After that and a moment of rest (of course, their duties weren't time-sensitive, otherwise their entry process would have been entirely different) the four Knights made their way to the princesses, who were not in the throne room at the time, but inside a large private room (Luna had sent her magic to touch them upon their arrival, and it also guided them to the right place).

They exchanged nods with the six ponies that were guarding the room and got inside, the door opening as soon as they approached it.

And then the four were faced with a somewhat unusual scene: Rarity was lying on the floor inside a very complex magic circle in activity, floating above her were hundreds of small black bubbles that seemed to have the consistency of mud. Celestia was in front of the circle, focused on performing magic (obviously controlling said circle) and as they watched, a small portion of the bubbles formed a sort of whirlwind and descended upon Rarity, slowly infiltrating her body.

Even more surprising was the fact that, as her body was invaded by the bubbles, Rarity started letting out small grunts that were halfway between pain and anguish.

That was quite worrying. Rarity, like the other four who became Knights along with her, had gone through some very difficult training and then experienced a lot of harsh and bloody battles, eventually becoming strong enough to shrug off even major physical trauma. So anything that could make her unable to avoid letting out audible signs of distress was surely an extrely awful experience.

Each of the four had their own thoughts about that, but all of them were surprised enough that it took an extra moment to realize that the other Knights were also nearby, Pinkie Pie and Applejack lying on the floor a bit to the side and the others standing next to them, evenly divided between looking worriedly at those two and watching the magic in progress.

Princess Luna, who was on the other side of the room, gestured to attract their attention and call them to her side, apparently not wanting to speak for fear of disrupting the concentration of those involved in that working. They went over to her, and she spoke in a low voice:

"Give your report first. I'll explain what's going on afterwards."

Well, that was a very straightforward request. After a moment of thought, the one to step forward and speak (also in a low voice) was Applebloom:

"We checked all five spots that were mentioned in the reports about suspicious activity. Most of them weren't anything big." She spoke in a measured voice that sounded a little out of place on a filly, but that was just how she had been taught to give reports "The analysts on side should soon finish collating all the information and send their reports, if you're curious, but we got a hit on Marenagara Falls."

Luna nodded to show that she was paying attention and gestured for the filly to continue.

"It was pretty cleverly hidden since it wasn't behind any of the waterfalls, but we managed to find a secret cave." Applebloom looked at Spike "I don't know if we would have managed it without the help of Spike's Earth Dragon form, since it was underground and a long way down, and it was so heavily warded that it was difficult even then, but that also meant we got to test using Moondancer and Minuette's magic."

They meant using the Dragon Enhance magic Moondancer had once used in parnership with Spike, as well as the Grand Analysis that was Minuette's specialty (and the reason she had reached one of the top spots as a magical researcher in Equestria). Luna knew about, having been the one to advise them on that, so there was no need for them to elaborate.

"That place was almost certainly set up by Starlight Glimmer." Applebloom finally got to the heart of the matter "We didn't find her there, since she must have realized the place was discovered and decided to abandon it, but from the remnants of the magic tools, circles, as well as just the 'feel' of the magic traces left behind we came to the conclusion that Starlight Glimmer is the most likely candidate."

"We shall operate under that assumption, then." Luna replied.

"We believe that our arrival interrupted whatever preparations she had been doing there." Applebloom sighed "Sadly, we don't know what exactly she had been planning. I mentioned the remnants of things we found there because the whole place was destroyed in a very methodical way. Starlight Glimmer must have set things up so all the evidence of her plans would be destroyed in case she had to abandon her base. We sent all that was left to the researchers, but I don't think we'll get much out of it."

"Regrettable but understandable." Luna replied "But that interruption should at least set her plans back for quite a bit, which is very valuable in the middle of such a delicate situation, so your trip was certainly not wasted." She paused "Do you have anything else to report?"

"Well, actually..." Applebloom stopped and looked at Scootaloo, who stepped forward to speak:

"The only entrance to that cave was an underwater tunnel hidden inside another underwater tunnel with some pretty powerful and complicated veils." She hesitated for a moment "I'm not sure whether that means anything, but Starlight Glimmer seems to have quite some familiarity with water magic to think of that and execute it to that extent. Not to mention the place she chose to set up being where it was, so I think Starlight Glimmer's scheme may be related to water in some manner."

'Hmm, interesting. Perhaps it is Intuition as opposed to Rainbow Dash's Instinct?' Luna thought after a moment of consideration.

"Very well." Luna spoke after her contemplations "We shall have the data analysts pay special attention to any disturbances related to water."

Scootaloo nodded a little uncertainly, then returned to her previous spot.

"Now it is time for me to explain about this ritual." The princess spoke "To put it in the simplest way possible, it is our final, last-ditch plan for dealing with Tirek."

The four gulped, they had imagined it would have something to do with Tirek, but the sheer graveness they could feel from Luna's words was enough to give them chills. They remained silent, waiting to hear the rest.

"The Black Cells, those strands of magic that the Knights are receiving inside them serve two functions: They are both a target and a catalyst. They are a trap prepared for our enemy." Luna indicated the black bubbles "In case Tirek manages to use his Magic Drain on them, he will take that trap inside himself. But his magic is very precise, and he is very perceptive, so the Black Cells need to be buried quite deep inside the magic core of the Knights, and there can't be too many of them, otherwise Tirek will notice.

"The process for burying the trap deep enough is as unconfortable as you can imagine, and takes a lot of power and concentration, so me and my sister are taking turns doing it to each of the Knights." She sighed "And while the amount of Black Cells that can be put on a single Knight is limited, having it done to eight Knights is enough to guarantee they will be numerous enough to achieve their purpose."

Spike and Sweetie Belle looked at Rarity in sympathy for a moment, while the other two nodded in understanding.

"Like I said before, one of their functions is being a target. In case all the Knights are drained, we will use a powerful spell from here that will go around dimensions to reach Tirek without him being able to defend. But most of the power will be spent on the dimensional crossing, so that's where the second function of the magic comes in." Luna paused, seeming almost reluctant "It is a catalyst specifically designed to affect magic that has been drained away from the original user, it would cause a reaction on the magic of the Knights, which would then spread into all the other magic Tirek has stolen and forcefully shift it into an extremely high-energy state, essentially making him blow up from the inside."

Applebloom thought that it sounded like a clever way to take advantage of Tirek's constant desire for more power, but she knew that there had to be something more to it, considering the gravity with which Luna spoke about the plan. And as expected, she resumed talking shortly after.

"However, there is a problem regarding the stolen magic." Luna closed her eyes "While most of it will snap back to their original owners once Tirek is defeated, it is a different matter for the magic cores that were holding the Black Cells. Since they would be the beginning of the reaction, that means they wouldn't be able to avoid being affected as well, so those magic cores would be damaged before returning to the Knights.

"And it wouldn't be minor damage. It would be recoverable, but the Knights would be essentially magically crippled for at least a year." The alicorn finished, her words resounding like the falling of a gravestone.

The young Knights were shocked, Sweetie Belle sputtered out something that sounded like "But, that can't-" but was too muffled for one to be sure, and Scootaloo had her wings partially spread open, but Luna's serious but kind expression looking at them caused the four to calm down relatively quickly.

"I understand very well how you all are feeling." Luna spoke after seeing that they had gotten past the initial shock "But you should be aware that such a plan is only there as a failsafe for the worst possible case." She smiled "Those eight will be doing their own preparations, and I have no doubt that they will bring quite a shock to Tirek.

"In any case, your next orders are to remain on standby here in Canterlot in case of any other threats." Left unsaid was how, in the case they had to use their last ditch plan, those four would have to bear the burden of defending Equestria by themselves until the Knights recovered.

Spike and the Crusaders acknowledged that order with heavy hearts, but then they looked at their senior Knights and nodded, choosing to believe in their strength.

+0+

Eventually, the Knights who had already gone throught the procedure started to recover enough to be able to stand up and head to their own quarters in the castle to get some proper rest. Applebloom went with her sister, and the other three seemed to agree with the idea, as they began following suit when other Knights were done with their own rituals. Sweetie Belle went along with her own sister, Spike along with Twilight, while Scootaloo followed Rainbow Dash.

The pairs spent some idle time together, just enjoying some nice chats about light topics and eating snacks. Eventually that changed, however, starting with Trixie appearing in the room with the Apple sisters.

Well, it didn't change right away, as the illusionist Knight still needed to take some time and recover a bit herself before getting into any serious topics, but eventually she turned to her apprentice (which Applejack still counted as) and spoke:

"So, we need to think about your participation in the battle."

To which the older Apple replied "Yup, Ah know Ah'm a target."

There was no clarification about that, because none was needed, all that were present understood that the Eyes of Truth marked Applejack as a priority target for Tirek, as he had always been quite wary of their users and their potential for seeing through his magic, and it only became worse after his encounter with Eyes of Magic.

"I presume you are thinking of some way to take advantage of it, then." Trixie spoke.

"Yep. The most basic thing is the mutual sight." Applejack replied.

"That's the thing about being able ta see through somepony more easily if they are also looking at ya, right?" Applebloom asked.

"Yup. Ah'm gonna use that ta get all the advantage Ah can get."

"I taught you well." Trixie joked.

"Ya did. But really that's the ta best way Ah'll be able ta contribute. Ah should be able ta get some information about what he's gonna try next, and if Ah can manage ta keep mahself in the fight for long enough, Ah could possibly even see through some of his secret weapons, or even find weaknesses."

Both she and the other two ponies knew that was a pretty big if, but no one could really predict what would happen in that fight.

"How about ya, Trixie? Any special plans?" Applebloom asked her.

The unicorn sighed "Honestly, I'm more concerned with trying to stabilize my use of the Realms of the Unreal. Perhaps I could get inspiration to do something new during the fight, but just using that technique properly should be a great force multiplier while we're fighting Tirek."

"Being able ta make anything... Honestly, it sounds like something that would be invincible, but Ah know it doesn't work like that." Applebloom said.

"Nothing is invincible, and the most powerful things often also have the greatest demerits." Applejack spoke "In Trixie's case, the biggest issue is that if ya want the Realm ta have the greatest effect on the enemy, ya have ta put them inside it." She paused for a moment "But that also makes the Realm far more vulnerable ta enemy disruptions."

"Indeed." Trixie nodded solemnly, but then she smiled "However, that is just as well. A straightforward power one could use easily would not suit me. Having a power that's difficult to handle means that everything is up to how well I am able to use it. A performance that is worth more than any treasure, that is how I shall face the world."

The duo of sisters had nothing with which to reply to that, but that was alright. They did not completely understand her point of view, but they understood enough, since they were Knights as well.

Your magic, your self, your path. Everything was tied up in one, and Trixie was simply making it clear where she stood.

+0+

In another room of the castle and slightly later, there was another trio of ponies talking, they were Rainbow Dash, Scootaloo and Sunset Shimmer.

"Ahh... Looks like we're not gonna be able to complete our new special magic in time to be able to use it against Tirek." Sunset sighed.

"A new magic? What is it?" Scootaloo asked, then quickly added "Ah, you don't need to tell me if it's supposed to be a secret."

"No worries on that front, Scoots." Rainbow Dash shook her head "It's still far from anything usable in real combat, but it's supposed to be fate magic."

"Fate magic? You mean like... Changing fate?" Scootaloo asked "That sounds way too powerful to be true."

"Yes and no on two fronts." Sunset entered her version of the 'lecture mode' that the more experienced Knights often took when talking to their apprentices "First, it is not as glamorous as it sounds. It's mostly just another power-up to stack on top of those we already have, a way to increase our power without falling into the common pitfalls of doing so." She stopped for a moment "Second, it is not only changing fate, but also keeping it fixed."

"Huh?" Scootaloo made the universal sound of utter incomprehension.

"Yeah, sounds crazy, doesn't it?" Dash spoke "When we talk about fate magic, it's mostly using our power to change a bad outcome. But what if a good outcome is what's fated to happen, and the villains are the ones trying to change it?" She asked.

Scootaloo suddenly understood.

"Exactly. We're actually splitting our roles on this one. If the fate is something bad, then I will use my magic to defy fate, but if the fate is something good, then Sunset will use her magic to uphold fate." Dash clarified it.

"It has more uses than just preventing villains from changing fate for their benefit, but that's pretty much the gist of how things work." Sunset spoke with a sigh "It's kind of a pain to work on, because it's so much conceptual stuff that trying to reach there by first principles would take years, or even decades, if it succeeded at all. The only way to make real progress is by letting Dash's instincts free rein to do something in the same ballpark and then trying to reverse engineer whatever it was that she did."

"And it doesn't always work." Rainbow Dash said in such a deadpan tone that Scootaloo actually giggled, before quickly covering her mouth with a hoof.

"But either way, it's far from being developed enough to use any time soon." Sunset concluded "That makes my role even more important in the battle against Tirek."

"Yeah, I get it." Rainbow Dash agreed "Twilight and Trixie's abilities are also strong, but they're not as... steady, I guess?"

"They are a lot easier to disrupt. That means I'm the best choice for taking on the vanguard, both for using strong attacks to keep up pressure on Tirek, and for being the first line of defense to protect the others from his attacks." Sunset said.

"And Dash is going to support you in that, right?" Scootaloo asked.

"I guess so." The pegasus herself replied "It's just that I'm not yet strong enough to face off against Tirek as directly as teach. None of my alternate modes reach that level, unless I'm doing a limit break, and that has consequences, like you know, I can't use it mindlessly, since I also have the duty of helping with quick rescues and retreats."

"It would be good for you to find a way to use your limit break without breaking yourself" Sunset said with a sigh "But there's just so many things to develop, and so many crises happening, that we just couldn't focus on that yet."

"Breaking your limits, huh..." Scootaloo spoke idly "Generally ponies don't get that injured when they do that, but I guess breaking limits is a lot more extreme when you're a knight"

"Extreme..." Rainbow Dash repeated the world in an odd tone before turning to Sunset "What do you think would be the final extreme?"

Sunset immediately realized that her apprentice had entered an odd state, so she replied very carefully "Final extreme? The final limit? I would say that it's death. The final line to be crossed, one that we absolutely must not allow ourselves to cross."

"The final line? That's..." The pegasus blinked and then shook her head "Ah, I think I just got an idea for a new magic."

"So it's like that other time?" Sunset asked "Are you going to need a desperate battle to develop it?"

"Perhaps, but I don't know if even that would be enough." Dash admitted.

"I'm sure you can do it!" Scootaloo declared "And then you'll be able to help even more directly!"

"I'll do my best, then." Rainbow Dash replied, smiling due to the enthusiam the filly was showing.

+0+

And then there was one final room, where the last six knights were staying. Their conversation as quite a bit more lively than that of the other places, both because there were more ponies (and a dragon) involved, and because one of said ponies was the one and only Pinkie Pie.

"Really, I'm thankful for Coco and Suri." Rarity said when the conversation topic shifted to the preparations for the battle "Without their help, there would be no way to finish the new versions of everyone's armor."

"It's good that they are here to help, them." Twilight said "Every little bit counts in such a dangerous situation."

"Those armors are just refined versions of the ones from before, right?" Spike asked "No more special stuff added or anything?"

"No." Rarity confirmed "It was already difficult enough to keep repairing and upgrading the armors given how much we've been fighting recently. If you're talking about new things, there's just my new horseshoe artefacts. It's been a while since the old ones got broken so these are going to be pretty much wholly new."

"So it's like having four new abilities to use?" Her younger sister asked.

"Sort of. I've mostly focused on things to help make up for my weaknesses, that way it will be more difficult for Tirek to simply take me out." Rarity said "But unless I have some inspiration midbattle, I don't think there's any way I can bring him down directly."

"Speaking of that, what about the rest of you?" Spike asked the trio of teacher and apprentices, Twilight, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy.

"I'm kinda of in a weird situation." Twilight confessed "My Retribution magic relies on understanding of the enemy magic, meaning it's not as good against Tirek's unknown abilities. However, there are ways of using it still, and I can actually use it on the magic of allies as well, without needing to use it against them, so I have all kinds of ideas of things to try against that monster."

"I can scarcely imagine." Rarity spoke in a playful tone "Trixie showed me her memories of that fight, so I know what you could do after just doing the magic for the first time, so who knows what you're capable of now that you had time to really explore the possibilities of that magic."

There were a few scattered laughs before Fluttershy decided to be the next one to talk.

"My situation is kinda similar to Twilight's, since my most advanced magic follows a few of the same principles. So mostly I'm gonna act more as a guardian to protect the others from the worst of Tirek's attacks." Fluttershy spoke, and then her voice became somewhat uncertain "I do have something I wanted to try against him, but the conditions are so severe that I'll have to leave it as a last resort."

"How severe are we talking?" Twilight asked, concerned.

"My only shot at it would be right when he drained my magic." Fluttershy answered.

"That does sound pretty severe, yes." Pinkie nodded in agreement "Then I guess I'm the only one left." She shook her head "But there really isn't much to tell. I'm still trying to master all that I can do with my Emotion Charge, and I don't really have any plans for engaging Tirek, because I'm going to come up with them on the fly."

"I guess this is just another way of taking advantage of your chaos magic?" Spike asked.

"Yep, I feel like I'll do better like that."

The conversation continued on from there, as the Knights selected for the mission enjoyed their moment of peace before what would certainly be the hardest battle in their lives up to this point.

Tirek was waiting.