//------------------------------// // Plans // Story: Sweetie Belle and the School of Shadows // by Blackdrag-rose //------------------------------// The Everfree Forest, home to dozens of monsters that ponykind has feared for many years and the resting place of the Royal Sister’s first castle. The small town Ponyville rested near it, but far enough that the citizens could sleep easy and not be scared of what could come out of the woods. It was also the home of a very witty zebra that went by the name Zecora, though she was currently not home. She had returned to her homeland to spend time with her family. And deep underground it was home to the vast catacombs that housed the reanimated army of ponies that served Thrack. Ever since Blackwood, the unicorn in charge of the Unicorn Division, had been reawakened the activity around the cemetery was building. With a special barrier devised by their master they had a way to work without sound escaping or images being shown. Just behind the barrier stood a wall that started at the edge near Ponyville and stretched across the whole of the forest, eventually ending up at where it started. They had changed the old castle into the beginnings of a tall fortress that would serve as Thrack’s palace. The workers hauled carts to and from, dropping off materials and picking up completed portions of structures. The portions would be driven to their destinations and dropped off before being placed within the desired spot. And overseeing the construction was Red Star, who was shouting orders at everypony around him. Blackwood had been spending time in front of an orb that showed him how the dead’s master was doing in the School of Shadows. It was he who discovered the resting place of Darkstar and had broken into the tomb to speed up her regeneration. It was he who discovered the arrival of the one named Midnight, an alicorn whose magical power could threaten their master. He was not worried and knew that Thrack had a plan for both Midnight and the filly whose body she was trapped in. With the utter destruction of Darkstar the unicorn sighed and stored the orb inside a bag that could contain the magical properties of the very orb he held. The other commanders watched Red Star from within the palace of Thrack, taking turns every couple of hours. The black throne itself stood near the back of the room, empty of the one who was supposed to sit in it. Blackwood was sure that the four would soon start fighting with each other to determine who was best suited to lead the undead until Thrack returned. “Must we constantly fight over who rules while the Master is gone?” Shadow Blitz asked, throwing down the newspaper she had been reading. “Some of us aren’t fighting,” Queen Allure answered, discarding the silver unicorn disguise she had been wearing so she could get updates on the rest of Equestria, “We’re simply studying our adversary’s movements before we make our move.” “Take me for instance,” King Silverwing said, settling down on a couch before turning his attention to the others, “When I was alive the griffins would study the magic holding our opponents shields together and powering their disastrous weapons. The same could be said for right now; I could study Blackwood and easily defeat him if the need were to arise.” “But you won’t be fighting me,” Blackwood remarked, “You’ll be fighting the citizens and the remains of the Royal Army of Canterlot when the order is given. Even now I can feel Sweetie’s will breaking under the stress of keeping our master locked up. Darkstar, on the other hoof, will not be joining us anytime soon.” “It happened again?” Allure asked, receiving a nod from the unicorn, “She went and got herself destroyed by another opponent again. First Reginald and now the one you call Midnight. At least nopony else knows of our existence or our plans.” “And that is the way it must stay,” Blackwood said, pulling out a second orb made of pure ruby, “This orb will allow me to invade the mind or dreams of Sweetie Belle so I can weaken her to the point where she will break. Once her will is broken Thrack will escape and assume control before she destroys Celestia once and for all.” “The one called Midnight might find out before the others do,” Shadow Blitz commented, “If he’s powerful enough to take down the Shadow of Celestia then he might do the same with our Master when she escapes.” “If Thrack were to escape soon Midnight wouldn’t be able to stop her,” the unicorn stated, “He’s expanded too much of his energy fighting Darkstar and won’t be ready for another fight for some days. It is my hope that Sweetie breaks and Thrack escapes before Midnight has the chance to recover all his strength.” “I’ve heard rumors about a Changeling mare that knocked Thrack back into her prison while she was on the train,” Silverwing said, turning to the Changeling Queen, “a young filly by the name of Princess Mea, the daughter of Chrysalis herself. Care to explain that one Allure?” “Certainly you jest at the idea of me divulging ancient Changeling Secrets,” Allure dramatically said, faking her emotion towards the griffin king. “I do not jest,” the griffin growled, looking the Changeling in the eyes, “and unless you want to die a second time I suggest that you tell me about this ‘ability’ that the young princess seems to possess.” “Very well then,” Allure sighed, “It is an ancient Changeling power that awakens within the body of a Princess Changeling either once every thousand years or whenever it is needed. It gives the Princess, in this case Mea, the magical power to command the very minds of those she comes into contact with. Or, as she demonstrated on the train, it can be used to silence those who have great power of their own. Right now she’s in the first stage of the power, the stage where she can break minds for minutes at a time, but she’ll eventually reach the second stage. Once she reaches the point where she has either used the ability long enough or has suffered a personal loss, like her mother for instance, the power grows. It is at this point where she can manipulate the physical realm and twist it to her will, much like Discord does. If she were to achieve that point she could stand hoof to hoof with Thrack and could quite possibly destroy her. This stage has another name amongst the Changelings; it is referred to as the Eternal Stage.” “Can Mea be defeated?” Shadow Blitz asked, though it was clear that Blackwood was thinking the same thing. “She is but a filly,” Allure stated, shaking her hoof in the air, “A young filly who doesn’t realize what power sleeps within her, waiting to be unleashed on whatever she uses it against. And the reason I know so much is because I was the first Changeling Princess in all of Equestria to obtain the power. With my Eternal Stage power I could render the filly harmless in seconds. Nothing can stop us from freeing Thrack.” -The School of Shadows, Morning- That’s it Thrack, Sweetie shouted in her mind, I am through listening to you day in and day out about your evil plans. I’m tired of watching you kill ponies for the sake of destroying Celestia. I’m tired of being treated differently because of you. What are you doing you foolish filly, Thrack commanded, my plans cannot be made known to anypony just yet. Stop, I command you to return to your bed and forget about this plan of yours. You will listen to me! I will not, Sweetie countered, the energy of her words hitting the spirit of Thrack hard, I am not your plaything. You think that just because you’re so ancient and powerful you get to boss me around and expect me to listen. In case you haven’t noticed, Thrack, you lost the last two times you tried to take over Equestria by killing Celestia. This time I will destroy her you insolent filly, Thrack shrieked, you cannot stop my undead army from destroying everything in their path. They will eradicate Ponyville and Canterlot before they board the special train that comes here and destroy the entire school. Sweetie, about to throw another comment at the spirit, noticed the Royal Family directly ahead of her, though their expressions weren’t what she was hoping to see. Celestia looked absolutely furious, almost like she knew exactly what Sweetie wanted to tell her. Cadence was looking around the group as if she was trying to determine where so much negativity was coming from. And Luna had an excellent poker face on; Sweetie couldn’t tell if she was angry or just calm despite her family’s expressions. And walking behind them was the alicorn she had seen yesterday during her class, Midnight. Umm… hey Sweetie Belle…, Thrack said, though Sweetie could hear the fear that lingered in the spirit’s voice, we really should be going to the mess hall and not directly into the path of those four. Now the high and mighty Thrack is scared? Sweetie asked, surprised, you were trained by Luna, or Nightmare Moon if you prefer, and Cadence has almost no power over you. I need not say what happened between you and Celestia. Midnight may be the Prince of Magic, but I doubt you’re scared of him too much. That’s just the thing, Thrack whispered, He erased Darkstar when she attacked his precious Bastion of Magic. He’s got the power to do almost anything he wants. “Ah, Sweetie Belle,” Celestia said, cutting into the talk by dragging Sweetie back to them, “Midnight here wants to see if Thrack is…misbehaving…in any way that might raise an alarm for us.” “Misbehaving like raising an army of undead ponies, griffins, and Changelings to do her dirty work and build an empire for her?” Sweetie innocently asked, shaking as the four alicorns faced her fully. “Something along those lines, yes,” Midnight quickly answered, staring into Sweetie’s eyes, “Are you saying that you might know something about her unusual ability to reanimate the undead?” “I reckon that is what I meant,” Sweetie said, gathering her courage before she spoke again, “Thrack’s memories showed me that whenever she killed a pony she brought them back to serve her evil deeds. Slowly she began to gather enough ponies to build a vast underground burial chamber that rests directly beneath the Everfree Forest. The Catacombs have been awakened and now the undead army rests in the forest, tearing it apart as they prepare for Thrack’s final war. A war between the Living and the Dead.” Midnight studied the filly standing before him, analyzing the magic that held the monster Thrack deep within her body and the second layer that prevented her from leaving. The spells were the correct ones that he would have used in the situation, but he discovered a tiny flaw that he was sure Celestia didn’t know about. A flaw that allowed the memories of Thrack to pool into Sweetie’s dreams and that would have, eventually, led to her escape. “I must say that you are quite skilled with such powerful magic Celestia,” Midnight said, giving this realm’s version of his sister some praise, “but that is expected of the Solar Goddess. There is but one small crack in the spell that has been allowing the memories of the monster to reveal themselves to Sweetie in her dreams.” “And if what she says is true I have to ready my guards,” Celestia stated, turning for where the train was located, “and prepare for their arrival.” “Yes, but first I must do something,” Midnight said, placing a hoof on Sweetie’s chest, “I must break the bonds that keep the monster tied to Sweetie and force it out of her body.” Sweetie was about to ask what the stallion meant when the shackles on her limbs suddenly turned to dust and were swept away by the wind. Before she could even move she felt all the hate and negative emotions of Thrack suddenly leave her body. Sweetie collapsed on the ground and weakly looked back to see Midnight holding Thrack with his magic. He had literally shattered the bonds keeping her trapped inside Sweetie’s body and had dragged her out into the open. “I will destroy you Midnight,” Thrack spat, struggling against the magic that held her, “and everypony that has come to this cursed school.” Midnight blinked one eye and Thrack went flying into the center of the school, hitting the prison of the runeblade Frostmourne. Thrack smiled and smashed the remaining ice before gripping the handle and pulling the blade out. The cursed weapon was in her hands at last and now she could devour the souls of whoever she wanted. She turned the weapon on Midnight and stood there, waiting for the Prince to make his move before she showed her hand. At least that was what she was going to do before a portal opened beneath her hooves and she fell into open sky, directly above the Everfree Forest. “Gather all the fighters you can,” Midnight said, barely facing Celestia, “I’m heading down to put an end to all this trouble that she has caused. Oh, and this gate will stretch as wide as it is needed, so feel free to send an airship or something through it.” What that said Midnight spread his wings and leapt into the portal, entering the skies above the cursed forest that contained the dead. This time he planned on finishing off the monster so the realm could finally be at peace and he smiled. The sun was just a little after six in the morning and it was barely windy out. It was a good day for a war.