//------------------------------// // The Royal Call // Story: Discords renascent // by Vidhwansak //------------------------------// The Royal Call (This is where the OC chapters and the story combine into one! So, unfortunately, if you enjoyed the OC chapters as a standalone from the main story, then I'm sorry, but on the plus side, they're interacting within the 'story' itself! Also, this is most likely the last of the dual-chapter releases. Don't worry, I might be able to pull them off a few more times, but I no longer want to spend the time making up two chapters at the same time.) Luna sighed as she held court once again for the aristocrats she had abandoned earlier. These ponies really didn't know just how hard it was to listen to senseless requests and appeals night in and night out without a break. Heck, some of them were even worse than Prince BlueBlood, and anypony that was even MORE so insolent and whiny than him almost deserved an award for sheer ability to annoy her. Combine that with the recent spell that freed Neutrality from his otherwise eternal cursed form that just so happened to weaken her greatly, and she was in no mood to deal with the aristocracy. Oh well, at least, with the invention of new flashy technology such as the internet, she could find some entertainment even while holding court, unlikely as that sounds. She pulled out her laptop, which was of a sleek, new design that was personally made for her, and started to browse a few stories, pretending to listen to the aristocrats complain and whine. She loved reading more than anything else, which, some ponies might say, was her weakness. It mattered not, however, and she loved reading what other ponies wrote down about, sometimes they were of herself and Celestia (Truthfully, she had read quite a few of the stories that were some of the more inappropriate stories about them (And liking them)), of the former Elements of Harmony (She especially liked the ones where she was 'shipped' with Twilight Sparkle), and if not those, were either stories of a few things called 'humans' entering this world (Even after searching on hoofle, she still didn't know exactly what a 'human' was, as it was open to debate among the pony community) and living with ponies. However, on this particular night, she wasn't in the mood for any of those stories. They were common, and she wanted something new, something that didn't involve any of those things. Realizing she had yet to find and read a story under the tag 'alternate dimension', she typed that in her search query, and began browsing various stories. She continued looking through a list of stories until, finally, one of them caught her eyes. It was labeled 'Discords renascent', made by an author named 'Vidhwansak', and after reading the short line of text that briefly described it, she clicked on it, curious, as it seemed similar to what had happened earlier in the labyrinth earlier. Not that it would be the same exact accounting of what had happened earlier, of course, that was impossible. A story like this that wasn't about shipping, humans, or the former Elements of Harmony was rare (Not counting those who wrote with their own made up pony characters), so she was extremely eager to go ahead and start reading this, even going so far as to shush the latest aristocrat in front of her. After reading through all of the chapters (Twice over), she simply stared at the screen, much to another frustrated aristocrats displeasure. She paid him no heed, however, as this was much more important than whatever it was he wanted. Somepony was writing what had happened earlier tonight? She quickly looked over at the dates of the chapters. It was impossible, the timing was all out of sync! And yet, somehow, this writer, this 'Vidhwansak' was writing down exactly what happened during this night alone. She had to know who this mysterious author was! Fortunately, there was an address next to the author's name. She immediately started to write down a message, then waited as her written message ran off the printer in her room upstairs. Waiting impatiently for the Royal Guard upstairs to deliver the letter to her, she went and closed court for the night, too giddy with excitement and fear to listen to anypony complain. Although many an aristocrat would be fuming at this, it was just as well; she was in no state to listen to these ponies, and they could always go visit Celestia later. Finally, a guard appeared, bowed respectfully to her, and left a letter at her hooves. She waved over another Royal Guard, a pegasus, one of the newer ones that had just finished his training, and he stood in front of her, snapping at attention. "Guard, what is your name?" "Princess, it's Roko." "Well, Roko, can you deliver this letter to Manehattan, apartment block five, room 227? It's a summon for this pony, and I will not take no for an answer from them. You may take a few fellow guards with you in the case they resist, and have my permission to take them by force to me. It is of utmost importance that I speak to this pony. Any questions?" The guard shook his head, and Luna smiled at him. "Good! You may go, Roko, and any guards you pick will be excused from other duties until they return." Bowing, the Royal Guard left her, and Luna was confident in the guard and whoever he would bring with him would bring back the author. It was troubling, really. An author of a simple story, writing an exact version of the events that happened? It was impossible. There was no way this could be happening. And yet, it was happening. Luna sighed. Although it had been a long time since she or Celestia needed his services, perhaps he would be able to explain this strange bending of time. While she would loathe having to sit through one of his lectures, she had no doubt that they would help her understand how this came to be. Stretching herself out, she prepared to go and retrieve Doctor Whooves to explain this phenomenon to her. A pegasus whistled softly to herself as she glided down from the sky, going home for her lunch break. They had managed to roughly put up half of the required amount of clouds in the sky, and were going to push the other clouds into position after lunch. Hopefully, Gydina didn't eat everything while she was gone. Landing gracefully in front of the apartment, she was about to go up past the lobby and into the her apartment room when the receptionist beckoned her over. Curious, the pegasus stepped up, wondering just what was the problem. She then groaned. If it was Gydina... "Yes, sir? Is there a problem?" The receptionist looked around the lobby for awhile, a fearful spark in his eyes, then dropped his voice to a whisper. "A few Royal Guards came by, bearing a letter. They asked me if I knew of some author named 'Vidhwansak'. Now, while I told them I don't know an author by that name, I did tell them that there was a pegasus living her under that name, well, you, of course. They nodded, seeming to be satisfied, and walked upstairs. No doubt they're up there, waiting for you to open the door. I just thought I'd..." The receptionist cut off as there was panicked screaming coming from upstairs, and Vidhwansak sighed. Only one pony she knew screamed in that voice, and unfortunately, it was Gydina. "Well, sir, thanks for the warning, but I'd best go upstairs and make sure that Gydina doesn't get hurt." The receptionist nodded, and shooed her away. The screaming stopped, and Vidhwansak double-timed it up the stairs. 'This is too slow', the pegasus thought, and started flying inside the narrow stair wall, which wasn't the safest of choices a pegasus could make inside an enclosed space. However, speed was going to be everything, and she didn't want to see Gydina get arrested right in front of her eyes when she could've been faster. 'Damn it, Gydina...' The pegasus thought, quickly flying up the stairs, ignoring the shouts and curses that came from ponies passing by. They could've used the elevator. When she arrived, slightly out of breath, she noticed that her apartment door was open. Bounding forward, she burst through the door, and checked her surroundings. There were four Royal Guards, all pegasai, and a sulky unicorn, bound and with a gag in her mouth, as well as an anti-magic device on her horn. There were signs of a rather mighty looking scuffle (In the pegasus' eyes) everywhere, ranging from burn marks on the walls to what looked like salad strewn across the floor. One of the guards, noticing the sudden arrival, raised a rifle at the pegasus, but another waved a hoof, and the one with the rifle stood down. The pegasus looked at the guard that was obviously the leader of the group, and smiled politely at him. "Hello...Mr...?" "Roko, mam. The other pegasai in my squad do not need to be named, as you only need to talk to me." "Well, uh, okay then. Hello, Roko. May I ask why you are in my suite and have my roommate bound, gagged, and with that...Implement on her horn?" "Mam, are you, by any chance, Vidhwansak, the author? I am not asking if that is your name, but rather your pen name, and if so, have you written a story labeled as 'Discords renascent', posted on 'fimfiction.com' quite recently?" Deciding that it was much easier to tell the truth than make up a lie on the spot, the pegasus nodded. "Yes, I am Vidhwansak the pony and Vidhwansak the writer. Has my story offended the princesses? I can remove it if it has." To her surprise, the Royal Guard shook his head. "No, mam. We are here to escort you to Luna herself, as she wants to...Question you, most likely about your story. We have been told to bring you to her, and we are authorized to use as much force necessary to bring you back to her. " Vidhwansak gulped as the guard said the last few words. Something felt wrong here, something very, very wrong. However, the pegasus couldn't just ignore the summons, and she reluctantly nodded in agreement. However, there was the question of her roommate, Gydina. She paused. Leaving Gydina for awhile would help her think straight...But she doubted that by the time she got back here that the place would still be intact and whole. Sighing, she pointed at the unicorn with a hoof, wondering if she was going to regret this greatly later. "Very well, then. However, may my roommate come with me? I assure you, she won't attempt to fight back. Isn't that right, Gydina?" The unicorn rolled her eyes, but nodded in agreement. The pegasus nodded, then asked another question. "What of my work in the weather patrol? They'll be expecting me back." Roko nodded at a few of his companions. "Ungag and unbound her, and remove the magic-dispelling horn lock. Don't worry, Vidhwansak, we have already dealt with that matter. You need not worry about it." The two Royal Guards nearest to the unicorn complied with their leaders orders, and soon enough, a very irritated unicorn was looking at the pegasus. "Right...So, uh, when do we go?" Gydina asked. She swore that she saw Roko give the faintest smirk ever given in ponykind. "Now. Come on, let's show you to your cloud carriage." Vidhwansak looked out the window of the cloud carriage. She had never been outside of Manehattan, so it was interesting to have a look out in the countryside. They had just passed Ponyville, and as Vidhwansak leaned over, she faintly saw what looked like an earth pony knocking out a unicorn before fading out of sight. Looking up, she saw the castle in sight. She suddenly had a sick feeling in her stomach. Canterlot, and it's castle where the princesses lived in were just up next. Trying to ignore the looming sense of doom that was trying to overtake her, she switched her gaze over from the castle to the front of the carriage, where the Royal guards were, pulling the cloud carriage to it's final destination in the castle. Although they all looked the same, she had to admit, they were really fast, fit, and had plenty of endurance. She looked to her side at Gydina, who was cringing in terror. Earlier, she had admitted to a fear of heights, and the pegasus couldn't help but laugh at her. "Don't worry, Gydina, this is perfectly safe. We're almost there to the castle, so you don't have to be scared anymore." The unicorn glared at her. "I'm not scared, Viddy! You of all ponies should know I'm not scared of anything!" The pegasus rolled her eyes in despair, and looked out the window again. The castle was in sight, and Vidhwansak gulped. 'This was it', she thought, 'This is where I get banished to the moon...' Her thoughts were interrupted as a Royal Guard called out, loudly, and she recognized it as Roko's voice. "We have arrived in Canterlot! Please, ladies, step out of the carriage, and we shall escort you to the castle!"