//------------------------------// // Chapter 26 // Story: War in Equestria: The Tale of Bright Blade // by Michael_Ravencroft //------------------------------// Chapter 26: Feelings Unsettling Six months have passed and the anniversary of when the war started was quickly drawing near. During this time Twilight and Bright Blade have fought numerous, grueling, battles. Thanks to Broadside and Twilight, through a combination of their knowledge, they have been able to pioneer new offensive and defensive strategies that have both repelled and thoroughly stomped out any Daemoni resistance. On the battlefield was a different story, both Twilight and Bright Blade were on the frontlines, Twilight having defaulted command of her battalion to Amethyst Star. What Twilight found scary, but at the same exciting was how well they were synchronizing with each other during a fight. Twilight would cast her spells, and Bright Blade would attack, watching her back and she in turn would do the same. It was hard to believe that it was almost year ago that she was ready to blow his head off at a moment's notice, now she trusted him enough to protect and fight alongside her. There was one thing that Twilight found inconvenient about not having any memories about Bright Blade, and that was remembering the colt's birthday. It was really awkward; Bright Blade just mentioned it a couple of days before it happened, which apparently fell on Hearth's Warming Eve. Twilight panicked, she had no idea and only a couple days to get him a present and a cake. At that point it dawned on her, she had no idea how old Bright Blade was, so through some exhaustive research on pony development she estimated Bright to be around twelve, which meant he was going to be thirteen. Luckily her estimate was correct, as far as presents were concerned…Since he was almost done with the Daring Do series Twilight had gotten him a new book series to delve into, Harry Trotter. There was something else, besides the lost memories, which were eating at Twilight. Something that unsettled her greatly, and that was the fact that she was developing feelings for Bright Blade – the older alicorn form, not the young earth pony form. A fact that she made note of in her journal entries, which ironically were becoming less and less frequent: July 24: I have no idea what to make of it, I mean part of me knows he's thirteen and still an adolescent colt! Okay, calm down Twilight; let's just think about this logically. Bright Blade is kind, gentle, a bit on the impatient side, and very nice. While in his alircorn form he's strong, intense, reliable, and everything else I just mentioned before…This isn't helping much. Ugh, I guess that letter I got from Spike a few months ago is still affecting me. Finding out about what happened at Fort Valor, it never occurred to me that his mental age far surpassed his physical age… Twilight berated herself as she thought back to those times long ago. When they grew up together in Canterlot she hadn't given much thought to it, Twilight simply thought that dragons aged slower than ponies, thus she never realized he was anything more than a "baby" dragon. Now upon hearing about his progressive aging, as well as his dating Rarity – a fact that was mainly the root cause of her recent feelings for Bright Blade. Of course Spike and Bright Blade aren't too different from each other. I just…When we're on the battlefield we're completely in sync with each other, fighting to a rhythmic beat that only we can hear and feel. The way he looks at me with those emerald green eyes, along with his smile, it makes me feel safe…hopeful…like he wants me to know that everything will be alright. It wasn't too long ago that I was ready to fire a magic bolt at his heart and head the moment I even suspected he was up to something. Then I started to consider myself his big sister, which wasn't too bad, I mean I always wanted to be one, but then…NO! I'm still on a mission from the Princesses! Oh Celestia why does my first crush have to be Bright Blade of all ponies, I'd prefer Big Macintosh or even Major Broadside…On second thought not Major Broadside, and for that matter not Big Macintosh, I can't really read him too well aside from his obligatory "Eeyup" or "Nnope." Love sucks… Twilight then braced herself, cringing, as if expecting some divine force to smite her for what she said. In this case the divine force being her sister-in-law Cadance, fully prepared to be scolded by her for even writing down such a thing. "Brawn Corp. 2nd and 4th Battalion advance!" ordered Major Broadside. The battlefield was littered with UEA troops; a surprise attack had caught many of the ponies at Fort Avalon off guard. Going for a frontal attack on their fortress and bombarding them from afar with horned Daemoni magic bolts. Major Broadside quickly mobilized the Brawn Corp. and Aerial Corp. to keep the ground Daemoni and winged Daemoni from causing any more damage to the fort, or from getting any further then they were. The Mage Corp. was using a barrier wall at least a hundred miles wide to keep the horde from marching forward, and to stop the bombardment from hitting their fort. "Miss Sparkle, have you found where they're firing from yet," asked Broadside. "The horned ones are being cloaked by something, I can't get a good lock on them from here," said Twilight. "Right now it's suicide to go out there…" Broadside looked to the sky and watched as Bright Blade flew down, landing next to them. "Without any backup, anyway!" "I couldn't find any trace of them from the air, and taking pot shots with my Magna Blast won't help matters…Why are you looking at me like that Major?" asked Bright Blade. Ten minutes later Twilight was flying through the skies within a magic bubble created by Bright Blade. The lavender unicorn was nervous about the whole idea, wondering if Bright Blade's concentration was strong enough to keep her afloat. With a big gulp Twilight asked "Sooo…Bright Blade, you've got this right?" "Don't worry Twilight, there's no way I'm going to drop you –!" Just then a winged Daemoni flew by them, nearly crashing into the bubble of golden light. The surprise attack made Bright's bubble flicker by interrupting his focus for a split-second, but luckily he was able to regain control before the bubble could disappear. "Heh-heh-heh, sorry Twilight..." Twilight had a mini heart attack, but gave a sigh of relief when they reached their destination. "This should be good enough BB, remember I'll be vulnerable till I've finished casting the spell," said Twilight. "Gotcha! With strength unmatched I sing this song, that might and magic be as one! Shine your light upon the land! Let evil's wrath be undone, mystic sword Excellion!" The magical sword appeared before Bright Blade in its usual white lightning descent; once it materialized he gripped the sword hilt between his teeth, poised for battle. Twilight was fascinated by the way Excellion always appeared like that, and how such a simple incantation could summon the ancient sword, or for that matter where it disappeared to whenever he didn't have use of it. But that was a matter for another day. Twilight closed her eyes, calling upon the power of her magic and armor as one, connecting to the Mana Network. "Collocare…!" Twilight's horn started to glow, emitting a purple glow that pulsated outwards in all directions, rippling against the invisible Mana Network. Within the darkness of her mind Twilight could see everything around her. Bright Blade's body glowed next to her, a being of pure golden light; even Excellion gave off a white glow just as powerful. Multitudes of unique magical auras were all around here, against the backdrop of the massive Mana Network. Twilight could tell already that something was wrong; the energy around them was off, unbalanced, chaotic. This is Discord's handiwork; he must've used his powers to hide them. Just then Twilight sensed a few winged Daemoni flying towards them; their auras were a sickening green and black as they zoomed towards them. Bright Blade intercepted, cutting them down with Excellion and firing a couple of magic bolts at two more attacking from the right. Ugh, it's too wide; I need to narrow the field down! Several more came at them; one came dangerously close to slashing its talon against the bubble. Twilight watched as a streak of white light sailed towards her and pierced the winged Daemoni like an arrow. Twilight sensed a powerful magic bolt launch from an unknown location, she was too engrossed in the Mana Network to pull her mind away from her locater spell, and a sudden jolt like that could sever her mind from her body. No not now! "Shield of the Just!" Twilight watched as a golden shield embroidered with Bright Blade's cutie mark appeared in front of her. The giant magic bolt smashed against it, effectively disabling the blast and scattering its essence. Twilight gave a sigh of relief, her mind's eye glanced towards Bright Blade, who was apparently giving her a wink or at least that's what she sensed anyway. More volleys of malice filled magic bolts continued to pound away at the Shield of the Just, but none could make it through. For Twilight this only served to aid her in her locating of the enemy. It took her some time but in the end she was able to locate the source of the attack. Distance: 5 klicks (which is about 3 miles) south southeast. Elevation: 365 ft., Wind Speed: approximately 20 mph. Accounting for gravitational and planetary rotation! Got it! Twilight broke out of her trance and gathered her power ready to unleash it. "Depellendam!!" a pinpoint shot of magical light fired from Twilight's horn, it went on for about thirty seconds before finding its target. An invisible wall started to crumble and fall, shattering like fragile glass being hit with a rock. And there they stood, at least a hundred and fifty horned Daemoni, all ready to fire again. "Bright Blade, TOGETHER!" Bright Blade nodded, Excellion left his grip and began to spin rapidly in front of him forming a magic circle with the swords emblem in the center. Twilight's horn began to shine with strong magical energy, drawing upon the power within herself. The two took aim. "Magna Blast!" shouted Bright Blade. "Magicales Cogere Somino!" shouted Twilight. The air distorted around Twilight till it released a pressurized blast of magical force, at the same time Bright Blades' beam of magical energy burst forth. The two attacks merged into one, a combination purple and golden light. Their attacks hit with resounding force annihilating all the horn Daemoni in one strike. The two ponies panted, having used a lot of power, but not totally spent. "You okay Twi," asked Bright Blade. "Of course I am, you're the one who looks like he got the wind knocked out of him," chided Twilight. "Hmph, really then let's see if you have enough for the rest of the horde," countered Bright Blade. Bright Blade zoomed off towards Fort Avalon; Twilight took over control of the bubble and used it to fly after him, a smile arching across her face as she did. Later that night, after helping with the cleanup and attending to the injured, Twilight and Bright Blade were back in their quarters. Twilight was at her desk going over some reports from Major Broadside while Bright Blade was reading the latest Harry Trotter book, Harry Trotter: And the Chalice of Flames. He recently took up drinking tea, but not unless it was sweetened. Twilight couldn't help but notice how engrossed he was in the book, she would ask about the book from time to time, since she was playing catch-up with that particular series. "So how's the story so far BB, anything interesting happening," asked Twilight from her desk. Not taking his eyes off the book, Bright Blade answered "Yeah real interesting, somehow Harry's name got put into the Chalice and it's causing some problems…" answered Bright Blade. "Oh really?" said Twilight, sorting through some more documents. "Hey Twilight…" "Yeah, what's wrong," asked Twilight. "What do you think will happen after the war is over? I mean, what's going to happen to every pony after everything's said and done," asked Bright Blade. Twilight looked back at Bright Blade, it surprised her how deep his thoughts were sometimes. With a comforting smile she answered, "Well, I'll tell you right now, nothing's going to be the same. A lot of ponies lives are going to be affected by this war, our own included. But the way things are going I'm sure we'll pull through, hopefully we'll all be able to regain some piece of normalcy. For now all we can do is take each event as it comes," said Twilight. That seemed to make him feel better as Bright Blade smiled back. "Thanks, I can't wait to see our friends back in Ponyville." That statement gave Twilight a devious thought, wanting to take a break from her work; she decided to slip into the role of a teasing older sister. "So do you miss the Crusaders, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo?" "Of course I do, they're my friends," answered Bright Blade. "Really…? So which one of them do you like," asked Twilight, nonchalantly. Unfortunately Bright was taking a sip of tea and spluttered it out in surprise. He coughed for a few seconds before regaining his composure, "W-what, like!? You mean which one of them do I like like!?" Twilight only nodded a smirk starting to appear on her face. "C'mon , I can tell those little fillies have some kind of crush on you. You can tell me, which do you like the most?" Bright Blade gulped, and was noticeably blushing. "I-it's not that I don't like them – I mean they're my best friends, and honestly I like somepony else!" "Oh, really, who is she? Is she a filly from Miss Cheerilee's class? Or is she from Canterlot," asked Twilight, her demeanor resembling a certain violet maned, white unicorn. Bright Blade remained silent, but Twilight's curiosity was starting to peek. That's when she remembered something, a certain spell she came across when she was reading. Twilight made her way towards the bookshelves, using her telekinesis she began to pull down several books and speed reading through their contents to find what she was looking for. Bright Blade put down the Harry Trotter book and looked at Twilight quizzically. "Twilight, what are you doing?" "Not this one, not this one, definitely not this one – Ah-ha, here we go!" Twilight put the rest of the books away and levitated the one that held the spell she was looking for. She placed on the floor between them so that Bright Blade could see what it was. "This is it, Reality Window. Let's see… 'This spell allows the caster to project a hypothetical future depending upon the answers to the questions listed below,' interesting." "Sooo, wait what?" "Basically this spell creates a 'what if' scenario, in a way it's kind of like fortunetelling. So what do you say, do you want to give it a shot, maybe you'll get to find out the kind of mare you'll end up with~" said Twilight. She could tell that Bright Blade was a little intrigued by the idea, and Twilight would be lying to herself if she wasn't a bit curious as well. "Alright, I'm game!" With that Twilight's horn glowed, a sphere of magic began to form between them, hovering on its own. "Alright first question, 'If you wish to marry, what kind of qualities are you looking for in a mare/stallion? Would they be a unicorn, a pegasus, or an earth pony?' We'll go ahead say mare, right." "Yes, a mare, a unicorn. As far as qualities…I'd like her to be nice, kind, pretty, smart, strong, and funny." Twilight's horn sent out a spark of arcing electricity towards the sphere, as if translating Bright Blade's words into energy. "Okay second question, oh my, um, 'Would you have children? If so what would be their names? Also how many would you have, and would you rather have a filly, a colt, or a filly and a colt?'" Bright Blade cleared his throat, shifting under the pressure of the personal questions, but neither did he seem hesitant to answer. "Well yeah, I would like to have foals when I get older. If I'm lucky enough I would like two, a filly and a colt. As far as their names…For my daughter I guess I'd like to name her Aria, and my son… Chevalier," Aria and Chevalier, I like those names, thought Twilight. She sent the next spark into the sphere, which was noticeably getting bigger. "Third question, 'Where would you live?'" asked Twilight. "Maybe in Canterlot, but I would like to have a place in Ponyville, so that I could come and see you and our friends," said Bright Blade. "That sounds nice," Twilight fired one more spark into the sphere. "Last question, this one's a miscellaneous question, so I'll make it up for you." Twilight thought hard about what this question ought to be, that's when it hit her, and it was a legitimate one. "Do you want to be an earth pony or an alicorn when you see this?" That one took longer for Bright Blade to answer, she knew it was a tough question since neither one of them knew if he would become an alicorn or an earth pony when he grew up into an adult. In the end he seemed to come to a conclusion. "I guess… Let's see what my future is like as an alicorn." With that Twilight sent the last spark into the sphere. Twilight stood beside Bright Blade, wanting to see what fate had in store for him, at the same time she also wanted to see the kind of mare he would end up with. The sphere then molded itself into a window, edged by purple light. The center screen wavered and rippled as it came into focus. And there it was, Bright Blade, as an alicorn stallion. He seemed to be playing with two foals, a filly and a colt. They were playing in a yard; behind them was a large and beautiful home that was obviously situated in Canterlot. They're sooo cute, Chevalier's an alicorn and he's handsome like his faaatthhh – And Aria's really pretty! Twilight watched as the two foals talked to their father, piling on top of him, while the older version of Bright Blade tickled them without mercy. "Isn't this thing supposed to also show me my future wife, fillyfriend, or something?" asked Bright Blade. "Yeah, that's what it's supposed to do. Maybe I cast it wrong," said Twilight. Their question was soon answered, as a figure started to appear from the door. To say that both Twilight's and Bright Blade's jaws hit the floor would be an understatement, because their jaws went through the floor. The pony who emerged from the doorway was none other than Twilight herself! Only older and more mature, the two foal's heads seemed to perk up and turn in the direction the older Twilight was at. They both ran up to her and nuzzled against their mother's legs. After a while the stallion version of Bright Blade trotted up next to her and gave older Twilight a peck on the cheek, the older Twilight nuzzled him and returned the peck. With that the family of four made their way into the house and closed the door behind them and along with it the magical window. What followed next was very long, and equally awkward, silence. Neither one of them said a word, their minds trying to make sense of what they just saw. I-I-I'm going to be B-Bright Blade's wife!? We-We're going to have foals, two of them, and I'm their mother! That's – I mean – he's –! "I-It was a hypothetical situation, right!? Fortunetelling, it doesn't mean that that's actually going to happen!" said Bright Blade, blushing profusely. Twilight wasn't sure who was he trying to convince, her or himself. She decided to go with the latter. "Y-yes, it's only for fun, nothing to be taken seriously! Heh-heh-heh…" said Twilight, laughing nervously. More silence. "Well I'm heading to bed, goodnight Twilight," said Bright Blade, quickly making his way towards the bedroom. "Goodnight…" When the door to their bedroom closed Twilight quickly reread the book where she found the spell, looking for anything that could dismiss or verify what she just saw. Under the caption was written "'Successful casting of the Reality Window spell will yield a 90% chance in said prediction coming true!' That means there's a 10% chance of that not coming true," to this Twilight didn't know whether she should be happy or sad about that. In the end she decided to finish up the reports and head to bed. The next morning the alarm bells were sounded, waking up everypony within Fort Avalon. Outside all the UEA ponies were gathering at the wall and battlements, all eyes staring at a lone winged Daemoni standing at the edge of where the drawbridge came down, unmoving, snorting and holding something in its mouth. The drawbridge finally came down and revealed Twilight, Bright Blade, Big Mac, and Broadside. The four of them trotted carefully towards the demonic creature. Big Mac armed with his phalanx shields, Broadside with his spear slung on his back, Twilight in her Element Armor, and Bright Blade in his alicorn form. When they were five feet away from the creature, the winged Daemoni released a scroll he was clutching between his teeth onto the ground before them. It took a few steps back, turned around, and took off. This was extremely odd to have a Daemoni messenger, which made it all the more dangerous, seeing as how the last message from the enemy was to tell them of their attack sites. Twilight carefully used her telekinesis to levitate the scroll and open it. She brought it closer so that all four of them could see what was written. Dear Twilight Sparkle The constant battles and loss of troops, on either side, in this area serves no pony. That is why I formally challenge you to a duel, to determine the fate of this region. If you win there will be no more attacks by Daemoni forces, if you lose then you shall forfeit this land to Tikara Balak. If you wish to sustain from further bloodshed then meet me on the battlefield at noon today. If you do not appear at the aforementioned time we will take this as a sign of surrender and launch a full scale attack on Fort Avalon! I await you presence… GPT "Trap," said Twilight. "Trap," said Broadside. "Obviously a trap," said Bright Blade. "Eeyup," agreed Big Macintosh. "And I'm going!" The three stallions looked at Twilight with disbelief; they had all agreed that this was a trap so why in the world would she say that she was going! "Miss Sparkle, with all due respect, you can't be serious!? This is one of the oldest tricks in the book! Lure one our strongest assets to a remote location, and when the time is right descend and destroy!" said Broadside. "I understand that Major, but if this is genuine, then we might have a chance at saving more lives than costing them, I'm going!" responded Twilight, firmly. "Well you ain't goin' alone, Bright Blade should go with you," said Big Mac. Every pony knew by now that Big Macintosh didn't speak in full sentences unless he had something important to say, or if it was necessary. So Twilight knew better than to argue with him. Major Broadside on the other hoof, while he did like that idea, he wanted to add one more thing. "This seems like overkill to me," said Twilight. Twilight and Bright Blade were trotting along towards the battlefield where the duel was to take place. A few yards behind them though were six battalions; three Mage Corp. and three Brawn Corp. battalions, above them were two squadrons of Aerial Corp. pegasi. The mini-army was keeping a fare distance behind the two of them, making sure to give Twilight as much space as they could. Along the way Bright Blade noticed that Twilight was deep in thought. "You alright Twilight," he asked. "What, oh yeah I'm fine. It's just that I swear I've seen, or at least heard, the letters GPT arranged like that somewhere before," said Twilight. "I'm not sure about all this. What if it's Tikara Balak himself, we'll need the other's help in order to beat him, because there's no way I…" Twilight saw the expression on Bright Blade darken, still filled with self-doubt about his own abilities. With a smile, Twilight nudged Bright Blade's shoulder. "I don't want to hear any more of that kind of talk. You're stronger than the first time you fought him and the same goes for myself! Between the two of us I think we can take him," said Twilight with wink. Emboldened by her confidence, Bright Blade held his head up high as they continued forward. They finally arrived at the destination. A lone figure stood at the center of the battlefield, its cape flapping in the wind. Far behind the figure, at least a mile away, was a Daemoni horde of all three varieties. Horned and ground types along with some winged Daemoni hovering in the sky above the main horde. They were waiting, red eyes glaring at them. Twilight and Bright Blade made their way to meet their enemy, putting some distance between them and the UEA army. The closer they got the more Twilight was starting to recognize her challenger. The challenger's cape was purple, with various gray, blue-gray, and golden stars, as well as a wizard's hat with the same design. The challenger raised their head and showed their face. Violet eyes, a silver mane, and azure coat, clad in platinum colored armor that shined brilliantly, yes to their dismay, Twilight knew this pony, she knew her well. "GPT, I should've known," said Twilight. "Yes Twilight Sparkle, it is I, The Great and Powerful Trixie!" indeed it was her, the mare who showed up in Ponyville two years ago, and was never heard from since, the boastful showmare unicorn, Trixie. "What – Trixie why are you!?" "Is it not obvious Twilight Sparkle!? Upon this battlefield, before these spectators, Trixie will show you once and for all who the greatest magician in all of Equestria is!" Twilight's having problems with her feelings towards Bright Blade, and that spell didn't exactly ease them in the slightest. To top it all off Trixie has returned and appears to have joined sides with Tikara Balak! The long awaited magical duel between Equestria's most powerful unicorn and most boastful unicorn is about to take place! Find out who wins in the next chapter of War in Equestria: The Tale of Bright Blade!