//------------------------------// // 1: Preperations // Story: Against Time // by GoldenChozo //------------------------------// Preparations Stella was exhausted, having used the teleportation spell so much in such a short time. She didn't have time to rest, though. She had to find the guards. She knew Nighthawk was currently on duty, so she decided to start there. She wandered the castle in search of him. "Hey, you! What are you doing wandering the castle this late at night?" A guard said upon finding Stella. "Nighthawk, thank the stars. I was just looking for you," Stella replied, her voice more majestic than usual. She turned around to look at him. "Princess Luna?" Nighthawk asked. He bowed down in front of her. "Rise," she said. "Take the night off, Nighthawk. I'd like for you to meet me at the northern gate by sunrise." "Yes, Your Highness," he replied, standing and preparing to make for the barracks. "And could you inform Chrysoberyl and Blaze to do the same?" Stella added. "Of course, Princess." Once Nighthawk was out of sight, Stella dropped her disguise. She returned to the guest room and lay on the couch, her mission complete. Holding the appearance of the Princess drained away the magic she had left. She slowed time around her to allow herself enough time to recover her strength. She quickly drifted off to sleep. *** Ace flew around Ponyville, looking for two specific ponies. He knew they were around somewhere, as he had experienced that night before. Twice, actually. A blue pegasus caught Ace's attention. He dove down, hoping it was the one he was looking for. He landed next to the pony in question. "Ace? When did you get back?" Thunder asked. "Just now, actually," Ace answered. "But that's not important. Do you know where Zephyr is?" "No, I haven't seen her at all tonight." "Anyway," Ace continued, "there's something important that I need both of your help with." "What is it?" Ace looked around, making sure no unwanted listeners were around. "Princess Luna's been abducted." "What!?" Thunder exclaimed. "Why are you coming to me with this? Why don't you alert the Royal Guard?" "It's my fault she's gone," Ace said quietly, looking down. "If the Guards find out, I'll most likely be imprisoned for life or even killed, and they'll never be able to rescue the Princess." "Why do you need me for this?" "I thought you would be able to help," Ace replied, turning to fly away. "But if you don't want to, that's fine." "Wait!" Ace had already jumped, but he fell back to the ground. "I'll do it." "Great, meet me at the western outskirts of town before sunrise." Ace took off, looking for his next target. Thunder went home, preparing to wake much earlier than previously intended the next morning. Probably should have told him to pass the message on to Zephyr if he saw her, Ace thought to himself. Whatever, it shouldn't be too hard to find her. A pink coat and contrasting blue mane really stands out in a crowd, and Ace had little trouble finding Zephyr. "Ace, you're back!" she exclaimed upon seeing him. "What about the others?" "They're somewhere in Sweet Apple Acres, I believe," Ace said. "What are they doing there?" "Never trust a tired unicorn to teleport you to a different town," Ace joked. "Especially if you can't fly." "Why did you teleport?" Zephyr asked. "Shouldn't the Royal Guards have escorted you?" "Normally, that would be the case, but I'm preparing to go on a secret adventure, and I need your help with it." "What is it?" Zephyr asked eagerly. "You can't tell anypony except Thunder, since he's coming too." Ace looked around to make sure nopony was listening to them. "Princess Luna's been taken," he whispered. "What!? Why didn't you bring this to the Royal Guards?" "It's best if they don't get involved." "But the Princess mmph--" Ace cut her off by putting a hoof to her mouth. "What part of not telling anypony do you not understand?" Ace whispered angrily. "It's my fault she was taken, and I intend to get her back without the aid of the Royal Guard." He retracted his hoof. "So why can't the Royal Guard be involved?" Zephyr asked. "It would involve me telling them what happened, which I can't." "And why not?" "That's what got us in this mess in the first place." "You're crazy, you know that?" "That can be debated," Ace replied. "Now are you in or not?" Zephyr thought for a moment. "What do you need me for?" she asked. "Your skills. I know you're an excellent flier, and that it a useful asset to have where we're going. And although you don't know it, you actually saved my life in the exact same situation, even if it did result in some hearing loss." Hearing this confused Zephyr. "Save your life? How did I save your life?" she asked. "Again, that would involve telling the truth, which I can't do." "Then why bring it up? Why would you mention it if you can't tell the truth about it? That just seems stupid!" "I can tell you if we complete the mission, but not before," Ace said. "It's something that you need to experience in order to know the truth of it. That's why Luna was taken. I told a few ponies the truth, and she sacrificed herself in our stead." "She's dead!?" Zephyr screamed, drawing the attention of many nearby ponies. Ace flew away without answering. "Get back here!" Zephyr yelled, quickly in pursuit. She chased him down to the same location that Stella's teleportation spell landed him, where she grabbed him and dragged him to the ground, pinning him. "You're not getting away from me without explaining this!" "It's not you I was trying to get away from, it was the crowd you attracted," Ace said, not even trying to escape. "And no, Luna's not dead. She's immortal. She's being kept somewhere, and we need to go save her." "How do you know where they're keeping her?" "I've been there." Zephyr loosened her grip on Ace as a thought struck her. "You're the one who got her imprisoned, aren't you?" she asked. "Ultimately, yes. But I regret doing so, and I need your help to get her back." "How do I know this isn't some trick to get me captured too?" "If it were, you wouldn't be on top right now." To prove his point, Ace rolled over and pinned Zephyr down. She struggled unsuccessfully. "Hey! No fair! I wasn't ready!" she screamed. "I have no reason to hurt you, Zephyr. But if you don't want to help in recovering the Princess, that's your choice." Ace dusted himself off and spread his wings. "If you do decide to come along, meet me at the western outskirts of town before sunrise." He took off, leaving a very confused Zephyr laying on her back in the apple orchard. *** Stella woke well before sunrise, her time adjustment working just as she had planned. She opted to walk rather than teleport to the rendezvous point. She exited the castle and made her way to the northern gate. She sped time up to lessen the wait. After a few minutes, the moon reached the horizon, and three ponies were quickly heading towards the gate. She returned time to normal speed. "I thought you said we would be meeting the Princess," the orange unicorn said. "She told me she would be meeting us here, Blaze," Nighthawk said. "That unicorn over there does kinda look like the Princess," the white earth pony said. "You sure it was the Princess and not her?" "It was definitely the Princess, Chrys." "That actually was me, Nighthawk," Stella said when they reached the gate. "I'm sorry for tricking you." "What were you doing looking like the Princess?" Nighthawk asked. "The Princess has been abducted." Stella paused as there was a collective gasp from her audience. "I impersonated the Princess so that I could get you three here and discuss this without raising the alarm." "We need to let the Captain know right away!" "No, we don't need--" "What's going to happen when Princess Celestia returns?" "There's no need to--" "Sound the alarm, we need to find the one who took her!" "Silence!" Stella yelled, utilizing her magic to amplify her voice. The guards all stopped and looked at her. "We'll get nowhere if we raise an alarm. It will just cause a needless uproar and the Princess will never be found. I summoned you three here because I know you can help get her back. "I've got an accomplice currently heading this way from Ponyville. He'll have some mercenaries who can also help. They should be here at sunrise. Once they get here, we're moving out." "Where are we going?" Chrys asked. "If we follow this road all the way to the border of Equestria, we should find a temple. That's where we're going." "How long will it take?" Nighthawk asked. "It should take two days to get there, and maybe a few hours to clear the temple." The sun started to climb over the horizon. Three oblong shadows along the ground bid Stella and the Guards to look up. Casting the shadows were three pegasi flying in from Ponyville. "This is it?" Stella asked Ace when they landed. "Expecting more?" Ace returned. "Yes, this is it." "By the way, I managed to grab this before we went back." A flash of blue turned into Ace's sword, which he left in the previous time. "How did you manage to get it?" Ace let Stella magically put the belt around his torso, under his wings. "I was with you the entire time." "Magic," Stella said, a blue spark emanating from her horn. "Where did you get it?" Nighthawk asked. "I can't answer that now," Ace replied. "The truth is what got us into this mess in the first place. Once we've got the Princess back, we should be safe to tell you all the whole truth." "We should probably be heading out now," Stella said. "That way, we can reach Whinniesburg by nightfall." They set out, going down the path and following it's curve around the mountain. It finally leveled out and fed into an expansive plain, one so large that it was nearly impossible to see any trees. The horizon was a clear line; above was deep blue, and below was bright green.