//------------------------------// // Chapter 21: Revelation // Story: The Ultimate Sacrifice // by DarkWolf //------------------------------// Chapter 21: Revelation Andrei, Truck, and Grinch walked in a small cluster through the grand hallways of Canterlot castle, followed by the new recruits. They all had a lot on their mind. Assuming everything went as planned with Sandman and Frost and they recovered the tome, this could be their last day here. None of them were disappointed. “I still got a bad feeling about it…” Truck said solemnly. “Man, you got to let it go. I promise you, they will be fine. You know them. It would take a lot more than a forest with some animals in it to take them down.” Grinch said reassuringly, but it did little good. Something was up, and Truck could feel it. They turned the corner to meet up back into the training hall. The other recruits, excluding Wise Free, Storm Breaker, O’Tipsey, and Swift Wind, were already waiting for them. A lot of them put on surprised faces when they saw the new horde of ponies coming into the room with them. “Ok, you new guys can go get acquainted with the rest of the group for a bit. We need a minute.” Grinch said to the group, and they all did as they were told. They all went over and began mixing with the crowd. Grinch turned back to his friends. “Well, what are we going to do with them?” “We have to do the standard test with the new guys, and the rest of them can… well, what should they do?” Truck asked. “We can do actual TRAINING instead of this bullshit that we did yesterday.” Andrei cut in coldly. “Ok then, what do you have in mind?” Grinch asked hesitantly, obviously a little nervous about what he was thinking of. “I say we do the standard test for the new ones, and make the others run laps or do some other petty drill until they get done. Afterwards, we set up a tournament of sorts. Figure out who here is good enough to be here.” “What kind of tournament?” “One versus one, hand to hand combat… or in their case, hoof to hoof combat. Whoever yields first or is knocked unconscious loses. It would determine who here has raw skill and talent.” Andrei said proudly, as though it was the best thing he had ever come up with. “That… can slide both ways…” Grinch responded, thinking about the proposition. “It would work, and it would help us figure out what we got strength wise… but I preferably don’t want to have any of them taken out of the fight because of some dumbass move that breaks one of their legs or something.” “Well, it could happen, but if we are going to do all these pointless drills, how are they ever going to manage to stay alive in a REAL fight? They need experience. So what if they can run miles upon miles without getting tired? So what if they can do 500 push-ups and sit-ups? I want to know what they will do when they take a hit, when the going gets tough. I know all too well what happens when you send a soldier into battle who isn’t ready. It’s different when you have all the time in the world to train, but they don’t. For all we know, this may be their last time.” Andrei responded. “He’s got a point.” Truck said looking at the ground. “If this really is our last chance to train them, it would probably be best if we did do something along those lines.” Grinch sighed. “Yeah… I suppose so. Oh well, let’s do it.” The 3 humans turned back to the group of ponies. “Ok, listen up! All the new recruits, get up here. The rest of you, I want you all to run laps around the training hall until these guys get done. I want the Unicorns over with me, while the Earth Ponies go with Truck and Andrei.” Grinch said, pointing to the respective locations. After a few, “Yes, Sirs”, they went off into their designated tasks. “Hey, Truck. Keep an eye on those other ones. Make sure they aren’t slacking off.” Grinch whispered. “Got it.” The tests were rather uneventful, and mostly resembled the same scores that the others had the day before. A few of the records held before were broken though. For example, Buckwild got a buck-power score of 31.7, and Nexus was able to hold up the 300lb weight for 4 minutes, 51 seconds at 24 feet up. At the end of it all, the scores looked like this. Magic Endurance Nexus: 4:51 (24ft) Cold Hoof: 3:11 (14ft) Black Burn: 3:43 (18ft) Buck Power Buckwild: 31.7 Spade: 27.1 Jinx: 28.5 Nexus: 26.5 Cold Hoof: 26.7 Black Burn: 26.8 After all the scores were taken up, the 3 humans let the ponies rest for a few minutes while they discussed how this “tournament” would play out. “Ok, so… for starters, who will go up against who?” Grinch asked. “And what about the Unicorns and Pegasi? They have an unfair advantage right at the get-go against an Earth Pony.” Truck added. “Hmm…” Andrei grumbled, thinking carefully. “How many ponies do we have total?” “We have 14 right now. We have 6 Pegasi, 5 Earth Ponies, and 3 Unicorns.” “Damn, we really can’t set this up well. One vs. one on the first round will have 7 left over. Someone will have to sit out the second time around. Four left, then two, and then we have our champion.” Andrei reasoned. “That would work, but once again, how do we deal with the unfair advantages? A Unicorn will have to go against an Earth Pony.” Truck reiterated. “Plus, how would we determine who sits out for the second round?” “Maybe whoever wins the fastest?” Grinch answered, earning a nod of approval from Andrei. “Well that’s obviously going to be the Unicorn that goes against the Earth Pony. I’m telling you, the Unicorns will tear em up.” Truck retorted. “And they aren't ever going to have to face an unfair advantage in a real fight?” Andrei fired back. “I would think you all would know that better than anyone else.” “I’m not saying that. The only advantage an Earth Pony has is strength, if that buck-power test is anything to base it off of. A Pegasus can just fly around above it if it gets hurt or tired. A Unicorn can just blast it with magic or throw him into a wall.” “So, let’s use your reasoning.” Andrei began, who was beginning to get irritated. “If we take away their wings or magic, whichever applies, then the Earth Ponies will have the unfair advantage.” “How about we let them use their respective abilities, but only to a certain extent.” Grinch reasoned. “Why not let the Pegasi use their wings to attack, but not to run away? Let the Unicorns use their magic to defend, but not to attack outright, such as flinging them into a wall or shooting fire at them or something.” After a few minutes of thinking, Truck spoke up. “Ok, I can deal with that I suppose.” “As can I.” Andrei agreed. “However… I don’t think going until someone loses consciousness is a good idea.” Grinch added. “How about making it like wrestling or boxing? Fight until someone is down on the ground for too long or until they yield.” “I agree. Seems like a better alternative than possible brain damage.” Truck said with a laugh. “Very well.” Andrei responded. “I suggest we get back to them. They are starting to think that we have no idea what we are doing.” “Let’s be honest, we really don’t…” Grinch added, causing the group to share a laugh. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Luna had just checked the Library for the 2nd time and was becoming impatient. She had been looking for her sister for the past 30 minutes, but to no avail. She first went to the courtroom, only to be redirected by a guard to the Grand Hall. Once there, she was redirected to the Royal Chambers by another guard, and then to the Library. The cycle kept continuing. “Thou would think that thy own guard would know the location of their own Princess!” She muttered angrily under her breath. Finally, impatience got the better of her. “Sorry ‘Tia, but we need to speak to you.” She whispered to herself as her horn lit up. She sent out a wave of invisible magic throughout the castle, seeking out her sister. She ‘searched’ the upper floors and the Royal Chambers, but no Celestia. It was the same with the Royal Halls and the Training Area. “Where art thou ‘Tia…” She whispered again, not sure where to look. She checked the Royal Gardens, the outdoor training yard, and the guards Barracks, yet still no Celestia. After a few moments of thought, she sent out her magic to the basement and Canterlot Storage, where she finally hit a familiar magic. “There thou are…” She said with relief, and began to walk towards her destination. “Oh… wait…” She said to herself, as her horn lit up and she disappeared in a flash of light. The next thing she knew, she was in Canterlot storage, standing next to her sister. “Thank the heavens ‘Tia! We have been searching the castle high and low looking for thou!” She said angrily, but with a sense of relief mixed in. “What is thou doing down here?” Celestia merely looked at her expectantly. “What? Oh… um… What ARE YOU doing down here?” She repeated again with an annoyed expression. “You are only going to get better with your speech if you practice it.” Celestia said, noticing her sister’s plight. “But there is nothing wrong with the way we… err… I speak!” “Perhaps, but if you wish to regain the trust of the ponies, you need to begin to act like one of them. That starts with talking like a normal pony.” “You are dodging my question. What are you doing down here?” ”Yes, about that… I thought I sensed your magic floating around. Didn't I tell you how dangerous that is?” Celestia said with concern. “Other ponies can hijack your magic like that.” “Who in Canterlot would DARE to attempt such a feat? Especially on one of the Princesses?” Luna scoffed. “I do not even know of any mage who could be successful anyway, except maybe your student.” “You would be surprised sister. There are a great deal of enemies out there who would wish to do us harm.” “But, once again sister, you are dodging my question. What are you…” “I’m looking for something…” She responded quickly, looking around the stacked masses of items and crates. “Looking for what?” Celestia ignored her question, seeming to be lost in her thoughts, and merely moved on to another pile. She opened one of the crates, but sighed as whatever she was looking for was not in there. “Perhaps we… I mean...” She grunted loudly in frustration. “CAN I HELP?” She said a little too loud. Celestia turned around and looked at her in concern. “I… I am sorry… I just… I don’t like being left in the dark…” She said, her cheeks reddening. “No, I am sorry.” Celestia began. “I shouldn’t have ignored you. I am just lost in thought… but I am not sure if you can help.” She said as she moved to another pile. “I am looking for something that was recovered while you were…” She paused. “…away.” “Ahh… I see. Well, if you…” Luna began, but was interrupted by Celestia. “There you are!” She said happily, as she levitated out the items she had been looking for from a nearby crate. She began to lay out the items on a nearby table, although half the items looked completely foreign to Luna. The ones she could make out consisted of a tattered book, some colorful cloth neatly folded up, and a rather impressive sword. Among the things she did not recognize was a small bag of some greyish powder, another bag of some round metal balls, a long metal and wood… stick or cane or something, and a smaller version of the former. “What is all of this?” Luna asked, picking up the sword in her magic to examine it. “This, we believe, is the most current evidence of humans in Equestria. Well, actually, make it the second current now.” Celestia said with a chuckle. Luna set down the sword and began to rummage through out the objects lying before her. “So…” She began, picking up the long metal/wood thing. “This must be one of their weapons! It resembles the weapons the humans had before they left on the train... Oh, that reminds me!” Luna burst out. “Did you feel anything… strange… about the humans?” “You mean did I feel anything… such as, say, magic?” Celestia responded. “Yes… when I was speaking to the leader of their group… what was his name? Sandman?” She asked, receiving a nod from Celestia. “Well, I felt some form of magic radiating off of him… I couldn’t put my hoof on it… I was looking for you to ask if you had noticed the same.” Luna finished. “That is what I am worried about. I fear that they cannot stay here much longer.” Celestia said solemnly as she began to unravel the cloth on the table. “Wait, what do you mean by…” Luna began, only to stop in shock as she saw what was sitting in the middle of the unwrapped cloth. A small, dulled, golden necklace lay in the center, adorned on the front with the picture of an eagle. “Is that a…” Luna began. “Yes, an Element of Harmony.” Celestia finished. Luna just sat there, completely shocked. It took a minute for her to respond. “But… but how?” Luna asked, looking over at Celestia in an emotion mixed with confusion and fear. “This is why we believe that the Elements of Harmony originate from humans. This element is not of this world, but at the same time, finds power in this world. Luna merely continued to look down at it. “I don’t understand… What does this Element represent?” “We believe that this element is from the world that the humans come from, which makes it difficult to exactly pinpoint what it represents, but after reading this…” Celestia said as she levitated up the book from the table. “… I think I can give you a good estimation of what this one represents.” “What would that be?” “Freedom.”