//------------------------------// // Prerequisite Exposition of Elemental Equines // Story: Angels in Equestria // by ArguingPizza //------------------------------// The throne room of Canterlot Castle cleaned up quite nicely. While it wasn't the grandest Royal Hall in Creation, it was still pretty nice. After the glass from the windows had been swept up, and the two Royal Guards' injuries tended to, I found myself standing in front of the dais beside Luna as Celestia led in the same half dozen ponies that I had frightened earlier. Celestia strode to the halfway point between the dais and the ponies. “Uncle, I would like to introduce to you six dear friends of mine.” with a slight nod of her head, Celestia motioned over the purple pony leading the pack. “This is my student and protege as well as the Element of Magic, Twilight Sparkle.” the purple pony bowed and gave me an unsure smile. “Next is Rainbow Dash, the Element of Loyalty.” Taking me by complete surprise, the pony with the rainbow mane and tail dashed(I'm so very sorry, but there really isn't any other way to explain it, and I'm almost entirely sure she did it intentionally) to the front and gave a halfhearted bow. “As well as Applejack and Fluttershy, Elements of Honesty and Kindness.” The blonde pony with a cowboy hat and the pink-maned Pegasus strode forward, while the pink one tried to hide behind the other. “Lastly there is Rarity, the Element of Generosity and Pinkie Pie; element of Laughter.” The last two walked, or in the case of the pink one bounced, to join their friends. After the introductions, all six mares stared at me with a look of expectation. For several tense moments they kept their big eyes locked on me. “.......And I should care why?” I deadpanned. The six mares wilted in cartoonish sync, and Celestia shot me a flat look. Luna jabbed me in the ribs with a hoof and pointed at the now-downtrodden ponies. I couldn't help but give a resigned sigh. “Hehhhh, fine." I took a deep breath and took a step forward, at the same time unsheathing Nameless and raising Her to shine in the sunlight coming in from the empty windows. “I AM THE HIGH ANGEL CORNELIUS! SOLDIER OF LIGHT AND DEFENDER OF THE ETERNAL HEAVENS!” The bearers were thrown blown backwards from the force of the Voice of Heaven. Five of them were left completely bewildered, though the one called Pinkie Pie looked like she had thoroughly enjoyed the experience. “Uncle!” scolded Celestia, “Please, stay yourself. My little ponies are not used to such.......forceful communication.” I raised an eyebrow. I seemed to recall it being quite popular last time I visited. I pushed the thought out of my mind. “Will you tell me why I had to meet them before you took me to see the Draconequus?” I asked. Celestia levitated a box from behind the her throne and opened it, revealing six different pieces of jewelry. Each piece had a symbol corresponding to the cutie marks of the six ponies in front of me. “.......no.” Celestia smiled haughtily and nodded. “Yes. It was these six mares who not only sealed Discord back in stone after his escape, but also purged Luna of Evil.” I couldn't believe it. I stared, dumbfounded, at the ponies who had managed to right themselves and were busily rubbing their no-doubt ringing ears. “You're actually telling me these little half-grown meat sacks bested Discord? Discord, evil draconequus, mismatched parts, about yay-high?” I asked, raising my hand to just over my head. Instead of Celestia, it was Rainbow Dash who pumped her wings and popped up in front of my face with a cocky grin. “You betcha!” she said proudly. “We kicked that mean old Discord's butt halfway across Equestria without breaking a sweat!” I glanced at the other five ponies who nodded fiercely. I had to give it to them. “Not bad, ponies. Not bad at all.” I gave them a grin of approval. Next thing I knew, the one I was pretty sure was called Rarity was just all up in my business. She was practically drooling on my armor as she looked over every inch of it. “Darling, where ever did you get this?!? The hoofsmanship is absolutely gorgeous! Its so simple, yet so fabulous! And the way the light catches it is just so-” Her increasingly incoherent rant was brought to an end by a cloud of purple-colored magic enveloping her. The white unicorn huffed as she was dropped back down to earth by the purple unicorn. “Thank you,” I said gratefully to the uni-Twilight. That one's name is Twilight. I looked back to Celestia. “I assume they're you're back-up plan?” She nodded sheepishly. I rolled my eyes. “Fine. But will you lead me to him now? Please?” I almost begged. As nice as it was seeing family again, I did come down for a reason. Celestia responded by igniting her horn. A rectangular segment of wall glowed, the outline of a door becoming clear before sliding out and revealing a passageway. Without waiting I entered, and saw that it contained a stone staircase that spiraled down. I managed to bite back any comment about the cliche and made my way down, eight sets of hooves following behind me. Several hundred feet down, I came to a large steel door engraved with dozens of magical runes designed to prevent forced entry. Some were actually quite impressive, and I noticed more than a few I remembered teaching Celly and Luna myself. I smiled with just a hint of pride. They always were quick studies. Instead of bypassing the door entirely, I waited for Celestia and the rest to catch up. To my slight surprise, both Celestia and Luna ignited their horns this time. The door glowed a spiral combination of gold and midnight blue, before splitting down the middle and opening into a large, well lit chamber. Inside was a single stone statue in the center of the room. Discord. He was posed strangely, with his face frozen in a scream. I walked forward slowly, examining the various spells carved onto the chamber's walls, ceiling, and floor. The array was formidable. It would have given even me some trouble, and that's saying something. I stopped a few feet from the statue, and noticed the others hadn't followed me in. I raised an eyebrow and Celestia and Luna both strode forward, though slowly and without any enthusiasm. The Element bearers followed in their wake, making sure to keep the two Alicorns between them and the statue. Even Rainbow Dash seemed unsettled, despite her brazen demeanor just minutes earlier. When the equines were close enough, I nodded, satisfied. I turned back to the statue and moved to only inches away. With a careful eye I walked all around the statue, examining every ward and bind that contained him. All told, it was a pretty piss-poor job. I tilted my head as I counted the cracks, dead spaces, and imperfections in the spell casting. Several areas were rapidly decaying, some had already disintegrated. Eventually, I furrowed my brow and pointed at Twilight Sparkle. “You.” I said, and the mare gave a yelp. “M-m-me?” she asked, scared. I nodded and motioned for her to approach. She shared a frightened look with the Princesses, who both gave nods of assent, and reluctantly approached. I pointed to a seemingly random section of the draconequus's torso. “What do you see?” I asked her. She looked at me in confusion before squinting at the statue. I face-palmed. “With magic. What do you see in the magic?” I clarified. She made a silent 'O' face and ignited her horn. The room was dead silent for several moments until Twilight's eyes expanded and her pupils shrank. She backpedaled back in terror until she impacted Celestia's chest. All seven observers began shouting questions as I nodded silently. “Silence!” Celestia shouted, quieting the others. In a calm voice, she gently asked Twilight, “What is it Twilight? What's the matter?” Twilight blubbered for a few moments before answering. “T-t-t-the spell! I messed up somehow! A-a-an now he's going to break out!” Twilight was nearly in tears, from fear or self-loathing I was unsure. Celestia and Luna both struck battle stances, and Celestia extended a wing protectively over the smaller unicorn. Luna looked at me as I slowly approached the group, my back to the statue. “When! Uncle, how long until the beast breaks free?!” she demanded in a slightly panicked tone, her horn aglow with defensive and offensive magic. I stopped and thought for a moment, rubbing my chin. “Right abooooooout..........now.” The stone exploded. Alright folks, you know the drill. Rate, review, reverse, relay, etc. Tell me what you think and as always, constructive criticism and pointing out grammar/spelling errors is always welcome.