Chapter 7
“Fire and Sword”
Perspective: Private Eye
“Prince Ember?” Celestia exclaimed in shock.
“Your Highness, everypony in this room has been deceived!” Ember shouted.
“Explain yourself, lad,” Thor ordered.
“There’s a reason that Onyx is so popular amongst his people,” I said, holding the black necklace up for everypony to see. “He’s controlling his people with this!”
“Onyx,” Celestia cried, looking at Onyx with a cold fury, “Explain yourself!"
I was about to continue, but Twilight ran past the other nobles to me. I opened my forelegs and embraced her. I whispered in her ear, “It’s okay. I’m all right.”
“Onyx said you'd been killed,” Twilight sobbed into my coat, tightening her forelegs around me. “Don’t ever scare me like that again.”
“I’m here now, Twi, and I'm going to end this,” I assured her. Looking up from her, I glared at Onyx, and announced loudly, “Everypony, Onyx is the real mastermind behind Prince Ember’s capture. Once I found him out he tried to have me killed.”
“What nonsense,” Onyx cried turning to Celestia. “surely you wouldn't believe his word over mine?”
“I don't believe a word that comes out of your mouth,” Celestia replied coldly, letting go of Voidera and approaching the king aggressively. Turning to me, she ordered, “Explain his crimes.”
Enraged Celestia was scary. I fought the urge to take a step back, and answered, “M'lady, Onyx set this whole thing up so that Voidera’s character would be called into question. Obviously, we can all see the result of that,” I gestured to the room around me, and continued. "King Onyx wanted to gain control of your kingdom. Originally, his plan was to marry Ember off to Luna.”
Celestia looked at Ember and asked, “Is this true?”
The young Alicorn nodded reluctantly, then bowed his head in shame; he replied, “Yes, but I really was in love with Luna. I only followed Onyx’s plan because I wanted to get close to her. Please, forgive me for my actions,” he said beseechingly.
“I noticed you didn’t call Onyx father,” Celestia observed, narrowing her eyes at Onyx. “He isn't your father, is he?”
“No,” Kindling interjected, stepping forward. No longer clad in Vulkyria armor, she addressed the Princess, “If I may be so bold as to speak, Your Highness?”
“Please do so.”
“Ember had the misfortune of being born an Alicorn,” Kindling explained. “Onyx, learning of his birth, forced us to give him up, and pretended Ember was his son. My parents and I were heartbroken, so I attempted to rescue him. Unfortunately, I ended up being captured and enslaved by King Onyx.”
I continued quickly, before anypony else had a chance to interrupt, “When Luna didn’t return Ember's affections, Onyx decided to try a more hooves-on approach. He persuaded Oberon to sneak into the Prince's room in the middle of the night, and steal his soul fire. A certain donkey informed me that Titania told him, Oberon threw the soul fire down the garbage shoot after a fight with her. Then we found Ember's soul fire hidden in the caverns below.”
Titania, glaring at Oberon, hissed, “That was Ember's soul fire?”
Oberon's mane blazed brightly as he shouted, “Whore! You were with another donkey!”
A guard was smart enough to remove the arguing couple from the room while the proceedings continued.
Twilight let go of me, standing beside me as I continued, “Once Onyx heard I was investigating the case, he simply waited for me to show up in the caverns. He planned on killing me and framing Voidera. That way he could have his revenge, and gain control of Equestria."
“None of your foalish speculation explains the fireball that attacked Shining Armor!” Onyx declared defensively.
“That was made by this,” Spike replied, igniting the rock and tossing it up into the air. “Moltanium, which is only found in the Firelands. Voidera wouldn't need to go all the way out there just to get one of these if he was the attacker.”
“Voidera never threw anything,” Shining explained. “That fireball came out of nowhere; it was just another ploy to cast suspicion on him.”
“Princess, all of this evidence points to Onyx being the culprit, not Voidera,” I said, pointing an accusing hoof at Onyx.
Voidera climbed to his hooves and faced Tia, confessing, “I fell prey to this trap, Tia. Forgive me?” Guilt and shame were evident in his crimson eyes, despite all that had been said.
“You have nothing to be sorry for, Voidera,” Celestia assured, smiling at him with a warmth and intensity that heated the whole room. Then she turned her attention back to the exposed king and declared, “Onyx, several witnesses have stepped forward, testifying against you. What can you possibly say to defend yourself?”
“This is madness!” Onyx shouted, his eye twitching. “You would believe these mongrel children over me! Equestria is a colossal mistake! These subjects only exist to serve us Alicorns! We are Gods, and they are merely insects! You must see the foalishness in trusting these pathetic mortals, Celestia!"
“Need I remind you,” Voidera interjected angrily, “t'was one of those 'mere insects’ that exposed your lies and deceit. He has shown everypony the way you truly feel about them. We are not gods, Onyx! We maybe powerful but we are just as flawed as everypony else.”
“No,” Onyx cried, his whole body bursting into flames. “I will not lose to you again!” He shot a fireball, aiming for Voidera's heart. Just as it was about to hit, a violet shield formed, intercepting the shot. I looked over at Twilight, to see her horn aglow.
She smiled at Voidera, and grudging admitted, “I guess you're not so bad after all.”
“Enough of this!” Onyx roared, his horn blazing blindingly. Suddenly dozens of Vulkyria teleported inside the room, along with three large golems made of molten rock. “Kill them all!” Onyx ordered, before teleporting away.
The invaders clashed with the royal guards, chaos ensuing inside the diplomacy chamber. Shining's eyes found mine and he called to me, “We'll handle this, you go tell Luna!”
“Right,” I said, nodding firmly. I turned to Twilight and Spike, asking, “Can you get everypony to safety? There’s bound to be more of those things around here.”
“We can handle it,” Twilight replied, blasting one of the golems with a magic bolt. As that one exploded, the golem next to it swung its massive hands at a solar guard. The golem was just about connect when a massive hammer appeared out of nowhere, smashing the golem’s face in.
I looked up and saw Thor standing proud, hammer slung over his shoulder, his pegasi warriors by his side. “All right men! Let's show these toasted bastards how warriors of the Cloud Kingdom fight!” he roared, charging the Vulkyria.
Thor and his pegasi engaged the Vulkyria, fighting with ferocious vigor. Looking around at the chaos of the room, I noticed Celestia and Voidera were gone. I figured they must’ve gone after Onyx. Looking over at Twilight, I grinned as she blew up another Golem. Now I understood how Big Mac felt when Fluttershy attacked Tangerio. I called over to my beautiful special somepony, “Ember and I are going to get Luna, once you guys get the civilians, look for Celestia!”
“Right!” Twilight called, as she began to corral the scared civilians. Ember and I ran out. I knew Luna could hold her own, but I still felt the need to try and protect her. I didn’t know if my feelings were due to Nocturne being my ancestor, or simply our friendship. Either way, I’m not going to let Onyx hurt anypony here.
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One of the Lunar Stallions got sliced across the chest by a Vulkyria’s blade. The rest stared at the advancing group of soldiers defiantly, even as their comrade fell back unconscious. They knew they stood little chance against six well-armed and trained soldiers, but that wouldn't stop them from protecting their Princess.
Just as a Vulkyria was about to bring down her sword on another of the Lunar Stallions, I shot it away. I narrowed my eyes at them; Blackbird wrapped in my magic and declared, “Nopony hurts kids on my watch!”
As the Vulkyria turned towards me, Luna's faithful devotees used this moment to rush the soldiers as one. They had the superior numbers, sharp fangs and undying loyalty. They needed little else to defend themselves.
I fired Blackbird at a Vulkyria that had broken away from the fighting. My bullet bounced off her helmet as she swung her sword at me. Luckily for me it was met by a large scythe, its edge glowing with a blue light. Princess Luna landed in front of me, the scythe levitated in her magic. “Nopony hurts our Lunar Stallions, or our friends!” she roared, protectively. She swung the scythe cutting the Vulkyria’s blade off at its hilt.
I bucked at another Vulkyria that was sneaking up behind me and hooves connecting with her necklace, shattering it. Luna was engaging two of the Vulkyrias in front of me. She was twirling her scythe with an almost unearthly grace. This is the first time I’ve seen Luna in combat before, and she was truly a sight to behold.
The second Vulkyria had her blade blocked by Prince Ember, who was wielding a flaming sword. He smiled over at Luna who gave a small smile in return. Ember’s blade sliced the necklace off his Vulkyria and called out to Luna, “The necklaces are controlling them!”
Luna nodded and her horn glowed a pale blue. She disappeared and the other Vulkyria stopped suddenly. Their eyes grew wide and they started screaming, desperately clawing at their necklaces. When Luna appeared again all of their necklaces seemed to short circuit, and then they stopped, looking around as though waking from a nightmare.
Ember looked at Luna with wide eyes and asked, “What did you do to them?”
Luna smirked a little and answered, “We convinced them that the thing around their necks were giant pony eating snakes. We wandered their nightmare's conjuring up the image. The rest was simply their own fear overriding the necklaces.”
Ember’s mouth dropped open and I closed it with a smile, “Drooling is unbecoming of a prince, Ember.” Looking towards Luna I swiftly filled her in on the current situation.
When I was finished, Luna nodded, “We will assist in this matter. Ember, will you aid us as well?”
Ember nodded firmly, “It would be an honor”
I turned and left the pair of them to find Celestia and Voidera. I didn’t have to look far as I spotted Voidera in the gardens outside the window, standing before Onyx.
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Perspective: Voidera
I slowly advanced on Onyx, my teeth bared, snarling loudly He wasn’t going to get away with this. He was staring at me with absolute disgust. “Well if it isn’t Celestia's pet beast,” he said with a sneer.
“You dare call me a beast while you do something like this?” I growled.
“Why do you continue to protect these mongrels?” he asked incredulously. “They are always so quick to turn on you. They never should have survived the cataclysm!”
“I seek to protect them because I believe one is not defined by the fate that Faust has placed upon them. While you see mistakes, I see potential. You speak like Lunard did all those centuries ago, you can't see beyond your own closed mind."
“Enough, you will die! All of this world will burn! I am a King, a God! My will is absolute!” he roared, conjuring ring of fire around me. The fact that there was no way out meant nothing to me; I had no intention of leaving.
I levitated a downed Vulkyria’s blade over to me. It was shattered and broken at the hilt, but enough of its raw material was still in there. I hoped I remembered how to use it.
My horn glowed blood red, causing sparks to shoot out from the blade. In a flash of red light the blade reforged itself, becoming a black sword with a red glowing red edge. Onyx summoned a similar blade of his own and I attacked.
I swung my blade twice but he dodged and weaved his way around me. I was still rusty, not having held a blade in 1500 years. He tried to cut me but red sparks shot out of my white shoes blades forming on them as well. I lashed out with a shoe blade cutting Onyx across the chest. He screamed in pain as I spun my other foreleg around, cutting him a second time with my black sword.
“Alchemy! You still rely on tricks, Voidera?” Onyx taunted, despite two thin rivulets of blood flowing down his chest.
“At least I don’t rely on deceit to get what I want,” I retorted, our blades meeting again. Suddenly Onyx fired a jet of fire from his horn and the blast hit me full in the chest. I fell back, my blade falling away from me. Landing on the ground, I glared up at Onyx, his aura dripping with evil.
“You are the close minded one, Voidera! You have the power and yet you fail to grasp it!” Onyx shouted, lifting his blade with a mad gleam in his eye. “You have the power to become a God amongst these worms and instead you choose to play lapdragon to Celestia!”
He was about to swing his blade when a golden magical bolt hit him in the side. He was knocked backwards and I looked up to see my beloved standing between Onyx and myself. She spread her wings in obvious anger and narrowed her eyes, spitting at Onyx, “He is nopony’s lapdragon! Voidera is a valiant warrior, but he also understands the power of kindness. You'll never be a true king because you do not understand why I stand with him, and not with you.”
"You are the worse offender, Celestia!” Onyx accused, “You actually care for these pathetic mortals when you could be an empress, or even a Goddess.”
“The last time somepony thought himself a god we had a little disagreement,” Celestia said, crouching into a fighting stance. I looked over as Private, Twilight, and Shining Armor entered the garden.
Twilight called to her mentor, “We got all the civilians out. Are you all right, Princess?”
“I’m fine, Twilight” Celestia reassured. Then she turned to her head to Shining and ordered, “Lend me your spear, Captain.”
Shining nodded and tossed the spear into the ring of fire, it landed in the ground directly in front of Tia. Her magic wrapped itself around the spear and golden sparks came out of it. The spear reformed itself with magical runes etched in the now metal rod. The spear tip glowed with a golden edge.
I stood, levitated the blade to my side, and looking at her with a smirk. “You still remember how to fight?” I asked her teasingly.
“Better than you,” she snorted acting annoyed, but her grin gave her away.
“Just want to make sure that flank of yours doesn’t slow you down,” I joked, eyeing it appreciatively.
“Keep that up, dragon boy, and you can just forget about that sapphire I promised you,” she teased back.
“You still owe me two rubies from last time,” I said, shifting into my fighting stance.
Onyx laughed diabolically, his aura growing even darker. “I will burn this entire world and start it anew! I will be a God among ponies, and nopony will dare defy me again!”
“I’ll give you a whole basket of gems if you help me shut his mouth,” Celestia said, with a small grin.
“Deal,” I agreed, charging in by her side. “You sure about this?” I asked, giving her a chance to back out.
“It’ll be fun,” Celestia said, her grin growing. “It’ll be just like Saddlem.”
“You and I remember Saddlem very differently,” I shouted, just before I rushed forward and swung my blade to meet his. He countered me then attacked with reckless abandon, making it hard to predict where to strike. Thankfully, Tia and I have done this before. After nearly fifteen-seconds of clashing blades I shouted, “Switch!”
I sprang backwards as Tia rushed in, thrusting her spear at Onyx. It hit the Alicorn in the shoulder causing him to shout out in pain. She then swung it again this time hitting him upside the head with the butt of her spear. Then she broke off her attack calling, “Switch!”
I rushed in and sliced the mad king deeply across one of his wings. That should keep him from flying around. I then cut him across the flank, causing him to screech in pain. He swung his blade catching me across the cheek. I grunted from the pain and shouted, “Switch!”
Tia appeared from behind him and thrusted her spear into his back. He screamed in fury and pain. He tried to swing around and face her but I attacked, forcing him to block my blade while Tia kept stabbing him. Our strikes were timed so perfectly that just when he thought he was getting the upper hoof against one, the other would come.
It was just like old times…
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Perspective: Private
“They fight almost totally in sync with one another,” I observed, watching the fighting continue.
“I guess I was wrong to mistrust Voidera” Twilight admitted “He really wants to fight for the Princess”
The way those two fought together, it was like they’d been doing it for ages. I gained a newfound respect for Celestia, seeing her fight so hard to defend her subjects from Onyx. It also made me wonder just how little we truly know about these beings we let be our rulers.
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Perspective: Voidera
Tia and I backed up; I'd suffered a sword cut to my side and Tia had been cut on her flank, and left wing. We breathed heavily as we saw Onyx standing before us. He was little more than a bleeding, dying, Alicorn but somehow he still clung to life.
He yelled, “You forget I know sorcery! I will burn you all to death!” he cackled manically, his horn glowing. He shouted and a large fireball came from nowhere, taking the form of a large serpent of flame. I looked over at Tia who nodded in turn.
“Now die!” Onyx roared, as he brought the flaming serpent down on us. He was still laughing as we appeared to be consumed by its fire. Then his eyes grew wide and he stopped laughing as he saw us.
Tia and I were floating side by side. Our eyes glowed as our hooves moved with the serpent. Our magic was reshaping the fire into that of a colossal dragon. The beast roared as Tia and I spoke as one.
"You have tried to tame fire and bend it to your will, but you're really just a foal playing with matches, Onyx. You will be consumed by flames in the end!"
The fire dragon hit Onyx full blast. He screamed in agony as his body literally burned away. When it was over, I stood beside Tia staring down at his soul fire. He looked up as I glared down at him with contempt.
“Voidera, have mercy!” Onyx begged.
“If I had my way I would stomp you into the ground right now” I growled, stamping my hoof emphatically, causing the ground to crack in my anger. “However, your judgment is not mine to give,” I turned to Tia and bowed my head saying, “It is yours, my love.”
Celestia looked down at Onyx with the same contempt I held “My decree is this; you will free all of your subjects from your control, and face the judgment of your people. They will decide your fate. If you ever even think of hurting my subjects again however,” she growled, stabbing her spear into the ground, mere inches from Onyx’s soul fire, “I will not be so merciful.”
“I surrender,” Onyx said, as the ring of fire around us died out, fitting since his will to fight had died out as well.