//------------------------------// // Act II - Triels and Harmony (part II) // Story: Princess Rainbow // by rphb //------------------------------// “I have never seen a pony so generous before” Pinkie Pie said to Rarity, as they trotted though Ponyville towards the entrance to the Everfree Forest. “Giving away a 200 caret flawless sky blue diamond, it must have been one of a kind” “It were” Princess Rainbow said tracing a hoof to the now big empty hole in her peytral. At the same time her lady-in-waiting rolled her eyes and mumbling “was” under her breath. “Oh pish-poch it was just a diamond darling. I’m sure I can find you another pretty stone that would suit you just as lovely when this is all over.” “It wasn’t just, any kind of Diamond Rarity. Mom had it enchanted especially for me after I had gotten my cutiemark as a cute-ceañera present. That was the last time she was actually proud of me.” “Enchanted?” Rarity asked now curious as to the gem she had just giving away. “What kind” “Yea what she did was eh, Twilight!” Rainbow looked hopefully at her lady-in-waiting for help. Twilight who had been busy studying the tome she received earlier but got snapped back to reality by Rainbows plead. Clearing her trout she gleefully went into lecture mod: “The diamond Rainbow wore is known as the “sky diamond” It was created twelve years ago by Empress Celestia herself to amplify pegasi wind and weather magic for its wielder. It was giving to Princess Rainbow Dash with the intent of making it easier for her to lean and master new spells within her special talent which is the sky. The enchantment of the stone is relic levelled as only the strongest of charms can affect let alone improve on an alicorns natural strengths. For an ordinary unicorn the sky diamond can grant him the full power of a pegasus giving him both horns and wings at the same time. However it won’t make him into a true alicorn, it won’t make him immortal or invulnerable and its effect will last only for as long as he wields it.” After having said the last “it” Twilight finally stopped to breath, everypony looked at her expectedly for her to continue, as it seemed like she ended her sentence rather abruptly, however no more words came. Everypony was just about to trying to go back to topic when Twilight started Talking again. “The diamond itself is however not so relevant to our situation, Rainbow have a little more difficulty using magic now but it would just be like talking the training wheels of a bike.” Taking a, this time, short break to breathe she continued. “What is relevant to our situation however, is this book she provided. It describes in great detail the Elements of Harmony, , a series of artefact that would make the Sky Diamond look like a filly’s first cantrip, including their final resting place. The Elements are in a place called The Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters. Apparently this was where the Elements were first found, and where Empress Celestia and her alleged sister led the resistence against Discords rule.” “Well then lets just go their already” Rainbow said impatiently, already on the brink of taking off. “Not so fast, there is a problem” Twilight said holding Rainbow in her tail in her magic, without really looking at her. “Yea Ah you are the only one except Fluttershy over here that can fly. Ah think it would be best if we stick together as a group. “A wise tactical observation Applejack” Lady Twilight said somewhat snidely, “but what I was really referring to was the fact that nopony knows where the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters is. Even this book didn’t mention anything about it’s location only that it is somewhere within the Everfree Forest. A region that aren’t easy to cover on hoof as it is almost 1.2 million square kilometres in size. “Wow that’s big” “Big doesn’t even begin to cover it. The Everfree Forest is the largest unclaimed wilderness in Equestria, we can spend our entire lives wandering around these trees looking for the castle and never getting any closer to finding it. “So ye’all saying that ye need a map of how to get there?” the orange applepony asked helpfully. “Why that would be spending Applejack a map of the Everfree Forest, why didn’t I think of that? I will just go to the nearest cartography office in Canterlot and asks them nicely for their best topographical map of the Everfree Forest.” Twilight said smiling manically at Applejack. “Except”, she continued “The Everfree Forest is a terra incognita there isn’t any maps, and WE ARE BUCKING WANTED CRIMINALS WITH HALF THE ROYAL GUARD AFTER US.” Twilight finished shooting. A large drop of her salvia landed on AJ’s face. She quickly dried it off with her hat, and then continued completely unflattened by Twiligts outburst. “As Ah was saying Ah think we might need a map, and Ah think Ah know a pony that has one.” “You WHAT?” Twilight screamed. “Why didn’t you tell us” “Well that was what Ah was trying to” “Applejack dear, you cannot be suggesting that we go talk to her?” Rarity said looking positively distressed “That is exactly what Ah am suggestion. Who knows the forest better then her and she still owns me a favour after how I helped her back when, you know” “Oh is this a game? Who is her? Is it somepony I know, somepony nice? Or OHH somepony new? We should hold her a party with cakes and balloons and warr…” Pinkies cheerful frantic voice fell over into a drool as she dropped stone cold on the forest ground with a needle sticking out her trout. Fluttershy had just enough time to scream before she too was put down, but her warning gave Twilight just enough time to put up a shield around the reminding four members of the group as they were assailed by a virtual storm of needles from above. *** For the second time that day, the stallion known as Panic Attack came rushing into the generals office. This time he didn’t even wait to explain his errand for Pennywise but busted right through the OG’s door horn first, right into general Stepwise. As he regained his bearing he noticed more then twenty pairs of eyes looking at him, earthponies, pegasi and unicorns, all wearing double laurelled peaked caps and all of them having golden stars on their shoulders. “If it wouldn’t be too much trouble major Pain” General Stepwise started with clenched teeth “would you mind taking your horn out of my, will you please get out” he finished almost crying. Quickly retracting his head, and seeing the two starts decorating his unfortunate victim’s shoulders, Panic said “Sergeant Major General I am sorry if I caused you any discomfort I had an important message to the Oberst General and I…” “What is the message Major Blunder?” the pony at the head of the table said. Doing his best to ignore his new nickname, the luckless major responded. “Oberst-General, your Excellency, ma'am, the stalkers, they failed.” There was a moment uncomfortable silence, as all eyes looked at him, then the revered Oberst General spoke. “It does not surprise me, considering it was your operation and your ponies major. That was why I called this war council. This isn’t just any groups of fugitives we are talking about. Did you at least learn of their location and destination?” “Yes your Excellency, they are travelling in the Everfree Forest, and I belive their destination is something called: The Palace of The Royal Pony Sisters, I don’t know where that is thought.” “I figured you wouldn’t, it’s a well kept secret that few ponies know of. Was there anything else?” “Yes your Excellency, while our targets were travelling thought the Everfree Forest the seekers noticed that the wild beasts seemed to avoid them, the team only barely avoided a manticore attack and lost one member to a rouge cockatrice. Hope to retrieve him later for depetrification but had to abandon him for the mission. For the light of Celestia we haven’t managed to figure out how they do that.” “Yes I wonder” the five star general said, chuckling to some inside joke. “Ma’am?” “Regardless there is no way they can get to the ruins without a map and I know of only one pony that could have such a map.” With an unspoken command her adjutant had went to her file cabinet and retrieved a single picture, then handed it over to the major, that graphed it with his magic; as he saw the picture, his eyes widened in shock. “I trust from your expression that you know who that is, or rather what she is” Nodding silently he put the picture down on the disk. “The best place to intercept our targets is right after they have left the periphery of her cabin.” “Why not before General? If there is truly one of them…” he led the last word hang in the air for a few moments with venom in his voice. “…living out there, couldn’t we catch both her and our targets at the same time?” “Are you questioning my orders major?” She said in a quiet but threatening voice. “No Ma’am, your Excelency, I would never do that, your word is my command” he said practically grovelling at her feet, despite her sitting on the other side of a table along with twenty other generals that all looked at him silently, except general Stepwise that just couldn’t seem to get comfortable and hadn’t been paying attention. After a long unnerving silence the honoured Oberst-General continued. “There was a reason why I didn’t take her in when I could, why I didn’t do ESCAPED’s job for them. Why work for them, when they can work for us” Like a supervillain from a James Hoof movie, the esteemed mare with five stars on her shoulder and an arrow in the bull’s-eye of a target on her flank pressed a red bottom on the side of her chair. A moment later a blue maned mare in a black uniform entered the office. “Major this is captain Nightshade from ESCAPED, captain Nightshade, this is major Panic of the unintelligence department.” This jest made the seriously looking mare giggle, and several of the generals couldn’t help but laugh too, you could say much about the OG but she still had a keen sense of humour. A moment later she raised her hoof ordering them to silence. “Captain Nightshade leads a highly specialised ESCAPED team called the shadowbolts” She said to Major panic, then turning to Captain Nightshade she added “I’m sure that ESCAPED and the army will work effectively together under my command for this most important mission.” She said looking at her with her one good eye. A moment later the normally stoic Nightshade visibly shaken by her gaze gave her a silent salute. “I called you here, because you are the fastest fliers available. You are to fly to these coordinates in the Everfree Forest with our newest weapon in non-lethal warfare, the terror gas bomb. You are to leave with all haste if you are to reach the destination before your target, Major PA will brief you on the way. That is all.” Satisfied with her order the OG turned her attention back to her generals to finalise the battleplans; however Panic Attack had one more question to ask. “Wait your Excellency it is theoretically possibly to resist the effect of terrorgas, it would be more effective if we instead just used lethal force in order to…” “NO” The Oberst General said in a voice as high as a normal ponies speech, which for her was almost the same as yelling. Her wings eject and her one good eye staring him into the ground. “You will not use lethal force under circumstance, the princess and her companions must not be harmed.” “But the empresses’ letter clearly stated that…” “I am the supreme commander of her armies. I stopped the Griffon incursion; I conquered Zebrica in her name, I alone interpret her orders; do not question my authority - ever. Have I made myself perfectly clear?” “Yes your Excellency” Panic said bowing his head not daring to meet his commander’s gaze. Nightshade stood at the side, glad the OG’s ire was not directed at her, for the moment completely forgetting her own anger in having to work for the army. “Once you have them in your custody, unharmed and in good health you will wait for me and my ponies to arrive, and don’t fail me again. Bowing silently and trying to shollow that lump he had in his troat he walked away, as he reached the door, he turned to the OG and the other generals again, raised his right hoof and with a high clear voice loud voice whit only the smallest hint of trepedition: “Hail Celestia” The hail Celestia’s from the generals were less enthusiastic and more of a mumble. After he had left the meeting room one of the generals looked at the OG and asked: “Your Excellency, forgive me if I am being insolent, but you don’t honestly expect that dimwit and these ESCAPED Shadowbolts to succeed do you? I mean this is a princess of Equestria we are talking about even if she is very young she is still an alicorn.” “Of course not” she answered quietly. But he doesn’t have to succeed; all he has to do is to slow them down, which will give us the time to lay our trap.” “Trap ma’am?” “Yes, once they arrive at the ruins they will be up to some surprise. Gather around gentlecolts, this is what we are going to do…” *** The six mares made their way thought the thick folia of the ancient forest in total silence. Pinkie and Fluttershy was still unconscious and was carried in Rarity’s magic field, despite her being the weakest magic user of the group. Originally Twilight was asked to carry them, but after the battle she had been tired and irritated and in her anger had said some pretty mean things about commoners and earthponies that she now regretted. Rainbow had immediately offered to carry then instead, but Rarity had said that that was no job for a princess, and despite her protest had insisted on carrying them herself. “Well here we are” Applejack said breaking the hour long silence as the reached a very creepy looking cabin in a hollowed out tree in the middle of the dark forest. “Oh thank you” Rarity said sweating in a most unladylike fashion as she struggled to hold Pinkie and Fluttershy afloat with her horn. Gently she placed them on the ground and then decided to collapse next to them. “What is this place? No pony I know would live in a place like this; and these masks don’t look like anything I have seen in Equestria before. “Slight offence sugercube but no pony ye know would live in Ponyville either, considering how overrun it is with commoners and earthponies and all” “I said I was sorry” “And Ah’ll forgive ye, eventually, but first you promise to stop that prejudice nonsense especially around we are to meet.” “Who is she anyway? You haven’t said much after you mentioned she had a map of the forest?” “Ah didn’t feel like talking, we needed to go walking, and you’ad said plenty. But now that we are here ah gotta be honest with you, she aren’t exactly a…” “Zegro” Twilight yelled, putting up a defensive barrier around her friends when the door opened to the cabin and a hooded figure emerged. “Oh boy here she goes again. Now Twi Ah can explain.” “Get back Applejack your friend have been abducted by a zegro” “Gosh darn it Twilight ma friend is a zegro” Applejack yelled, but immediately regretted it, seeing the hurt look on the zebra’s face. Twilight was so shocked that she momentarily let go of her forcefield, and Pinkie despite being unconscious seemed to frown. “I hear commotion at my door and see a pony that said I should never come back. And now I see you spread words most dire. Are you here to lynch me, for your hearts desire?” “What Zecora Ah would never…” Turning to Twilight she immediately continued. “…Ah for peas sake Twi, put that shield down before ye hurt somepony. “But she is a zebra a zegro, her entire race consist of nothing but vile cannibals that kills ponies for fun and food.” She shuddered at the last word and kept her eyes firmly locked on the zebra not taking her guard down for a second. Zecora however looked more amused the insulted. “Twi Ah got’a be honest whit you, zebra’s aren’t like that at all” “That’s not true, all the books I’ve read says that…” “All the books you’ve read are wrong Twi. Look Ah know your type Twi, our last librarian Dusk Shine. He was booksmart you know a real brainiac, thinking he knew everything, but he was also in many ways so incredibly naïve. He was much like you, even had the same colour of coat. He got a job as our towns librarian three years ago. At first he was happy with his books, thinking they had all the answers, but then he started seeing things. Things that didn’t match what he had read. So he started writing things down. That was his first mistake, his second was to actually send what he wrote up to Canterlot, thinking he could get it published. He got some surprise when ESCAPED agents suddenly came to his door.” “Escaped agents?” Twilight asked tilted her head looking quite befuddled. Where did they escape from? “yea ESCAPED” Thinking that that had cleared up everything. “Why do you think that the library was empty, and half the books were burned?” There weren’t much of Dusk and his research when these agents were done whit him.” “They committed libracide?” Twilight said with horror in her voice. “Libra what? No they just burned books, but that wasn’t the worst thing they did.” “What can possibly be worse then some escaped agents burning books?” “Dusk” Applejack signed took her hat off and holding it in front of her chest. Dusk and Ah we, Ah was just an old filly back then all depressed about ma folks being gone. Then Dusk came, he was so sweet, and said all the right things.” Applejack said whit a big smile on her face and a tear in her eye. “And then they took him too” She cried throwing her hat on the grown. “To the mines, they said. They always ships ponies to the mines. It’s almost been a year now. He is properly dead by now, for his sake, Ah hope he is.” Applejack, the normally proud stoic farmmare was in tears. She tried to hide it but it was obvious. Twilight was hugging her, her spell forgotten. “Please Twi, trust your eyes, not your books, look at Zecora and see her for what she is. Don’t make the same mistake Dusk did, Ah don’t wanna lose another friend.” Friend. The word rang in Twilights head. Applejack considered her a friend. She bared her heart for her, told her a story she properly hadn’t told to anypony before, despite how much it obviously still hurt, in order for her to see the truth. She looked at the zebra before her, the exotic jewellery, her strange striped coat and Mohawk mane, but also at her big blue eyes, that held much wisdom and none of the savagery and bloodlust she had been told would be their. “Taking a deep breath she stepped forward, and with a leap of faith she said “I trust you.” “Welcome” was all the zebra said. *** Zecora had indeed been wise and knew many secrets of the wild, including an antidote to the poison that had inflicted Pinkie and Fluttershy. An hour later and they were on their way with the map that showed the way. Pinkie was once again jumping cheerily as if nothing had ever happened, but Fluttershy seemed to be a little more wary and meaped in fright of every shadow that as much as resembled a pony. The group followed Twilights as she led them though the forest with the map Zecora had generously provided them floating in front of her. None of the six mares saw the darkly uniformed pegasi flying high above the Canopy, nor the strange flying machine that flew next to them. The seven pegasi flew in a V formation with the flying machine in their centre. A force field of four different colours surrounded each of the strange machines propeller to avoid it from making a sound. Inside the machine was eight unicorns all wearing a standard green uniform. Two of them sat at the helm trying to keep the maschine in the right position between the seven pegasi. Four unicorns was in the middle of the machines interior busy concentration on keeping it silent, while the last two unicorns were at the rear standing next to a fat bomb that was twice their size. “We are nearing the target area sir”. The only female member of the crew said to Major Panic that was looking nervously at the big bomb in front of him. “I have just been in contact with captain Nightshade and she informs us that our targets are right ahead. We will make context in T minus two minutes. “Do you think this will work, corporal Sunflower?” He said never taking his eyes of the bomb. The amber coloured mare seemed to be taken aback a little by his question. How do you respond to a commanding officer when he starts questioning the mission he is in charge of? Not knowing what else to say she started reciting the facts. “This is a level three, five tons chemical bomb. Even if we don’t hit our targets directly it covers over four square kilometres in psychosomatic gas, and with the Shadowbolts guiding us there is no way we can miss them.” “Yes we will hit them, but will it work?” “Sir I eh” Was all Corporal Sunflower would say, looking back at her apparatus she was reminded of the imminentness of their mission. “T minus 30 seconds, we must open the hatch and be ready to fire” Signing heavily Major PA responded: “Well then, let’s do this thing” Pressing a bottom with his hoof a large hatch in the back of the flying machine. The win immediately hit them in their faces. Below them was nothing but forest for as long as they could see. It was depressing to see so much untamed wilderness but at the moment but at the moment he wasn’t even exited at dropping a little bit of Celestia’s light on this savage wilderness. He did smile a little when he looked up and saw the blue sky covering nearly two thirds of the sky and the dark stars being pressed increasingly close together, but only a little. He had no doubt that his empress would win, he had significantly more doubt, that he would. With a sign he pressed another button and watched the bomb go down. *** “ So, giggle at the ghostly Guffaw at the grossly Crack up at the creepy Whoop it up with the weepy Chortle at the kooky” “They appears to be singing sir” Corporal Sunflower said as put down the headphones she had been using to listen in on their targets. Major PA didn’t seem to hear her, he was too busy spying on the targets himself with his hoof held telescope. Looking was a little difficult as he had started to shake violently. “NO!!!” he screamed violently throwing the telescope away. At the last moment before it would have been lost to the jungle forever Corporal Sunflower managed to grape it and levitate it back to the platform they were now sitting in. After they had dropped the bomb they had landed a safe distance to the side on top for the forest canopy. “So you army guys mission backfired eh?” Captain Nightshade said as she nonchalantly rested on a branch above them. “That is kind of typical for you isn’t it major?” “Shut up” Major PA said but Nightshade continued unaffected “And that boos of yours seemed real nice, she will properly reassign you to guard duty on the Evernight Tundra “Shut up” “I hear she has a little research facility up there where the sun never shines. It must be real fun to be a guard up there. Shut up” “Or perhaps you could transferee to us; we could always use another guard up in Gloom Valley” “I said shut up!!” Panic screamed sending hundreds grapping the pegasus in his magic and sending hundreds of birds flying. The other Shadowbolts were quick to react to the attempted strangling of their captain. This brought a very hostile mood on between the seven ESCAPED pegasi and the eight Army unicorns. The six pegasi looked like they were ready to attack the unicorns, and the unicorns four battlemages were likewise preparing spells. In the last moment the situation was diffused by captain Nightshade as she coughingly held up her hoof. “Stand down soldiers no harm done” She said to her ponies. Turning to the major she added. “I won’t turn this into a fight between the army and ESCAPED but know that I am reporting you for this, you’ll be lucky to even get guard duty after this.” Signing deeply the Major casually trotted below deck. There came a racket from below. Nightshade and her pegasi listened with puzzlement and didn’t see the cold sweat running down corporal Sunflowers forehead. A moment later a spectacle vaguely resembling a pony arose from the deck. Almost completely concealed behind the tinted glass you could just see the major’s emotionless face as he looked at the captain with an unreadable expression. “You wouldn’t, you can’t” Nightshade said obviously starting to panic, as she saw the two multi barrelled contraptions on the sides of the walking machine. However instead of doing what they all had feared he would do, the major turned his back to the Shadowbolt captain and jumped over the side of the platform. Three seconds later a large bump was heard. Both the unicorns and the pegasi went to the side of the platform to look for the major below. His machine had made a small crater where it landed but the metal contraption itself was completely undented. A single jump from the machines legs and he was up walking the forest floor. He walked with determination in a straight line and did not let a small thing like trees stand in his way. Nightshade wasn’t his problem. She was insolent like all filthy cloud kickers, but she wasn’t the pegasus that had put him out in this situation, put him out just to fail. He knew Celestia’s orders, her true orders; the supreme commander just wanted all the glory for herself. Well to the hell with the Supreme Commander and to the hell with her rule of none lethal combat. He had gotten a mission to stop this renegades, and he would do so, by any means necessary.