//------------------------------// // Mezzo Forte // Story: Ace of Hearts // by blowngasket //------------------------------// Chapter 14: Mezzo Forte Twilight paced around her living room floor, looking nervously at all the guests in her house. "Why do we always have to gather here in my house?" she asked, not really at anyone, just for the sake of knowing. The room was crowded, with all of her friends, along with a few other guests, sitting about here and there. Applejack had taken Twilights desk chair, while rainbow perched on the desk itself, sitting cross-legged. Rarity, Fluttershy, and Pinkie took the couch, sitting on edge, with the exception of Pinkie, who didn't have a hard time taking it easy despite being kidnapped. Lucky Strike was currently outside, along with Perry, Spike, and Catacomb, who decided to watch him when he wouldn't stop complaining about taking a smoke break. They also wanted to give the women room, as this was alot to take in. Finally, Celestia took a stand in front of the group, looking over all of the others in the room. "Well this does seem like deja vu." Celestia said jokingly, though no one laughed. Everyone, again with the exception of Pinkie had a nervous look, and for good reason too. "I am sorry, I guess that was inappropriate. I know that what is happening is serious, and I assure you that we are going to do what we can to keep you safe and stop the ones responsible." Celestia spoke with a more serious tone. "Why us..." Rarity spoke up, looking around. "We haven't done anything to these people. Why do they want us?" She asked, bordering the edge of crying, but holding herself back. "I wish I could tell you, Rarity." Celestia said quietly. "I wish I had something to tell all of you. We have been dealing with the Diavolo di Stallone for some time, but every time we thought we learned something about them, we actually went backwards. All I really know is there are many groups that make up the gang, united under a leader only known as Dante, most likely an alias." "Have ya tried asking that scrawny twerp?" Applejack asked. "We have a specialist coming in." Celestia responded. "You are going to have them protecting you at all times." Twilight decided to speak, giving Celestia a blank look. "You mean my brother and that other fellow, am I right?" Twilight asked. Celestia smiled and nodded. "Forgive me, I figured it would be a better surprise. Yes, Reader and Shining Armor should already be here, reviewing the...well what is left of the bar for clues. Catacomb and Perry didn't necessarily leave enough to go by." she sighed, glaring out the window towards the two men guilty of wanton destruction. "I swear neither of them know the meaning of discreet." "You can say that again." Twilight commented. "I could see that spell from Fluttershy's. I didn't think anyone still knew how to use Night Light." "Yes, you can blame Luna for that..." Celestia sighed. "I swear, a couple of glasses of wine and she is practically putty in his hands." Everyone stared at Celestia, their mouths wide open, but none of them capable of asking the question on their minds. "No, nothing like that. He would be taking a nice vacation on the sun itself if he ever did anything like that, and I am sure he knows this as well." She smiled, though everyone flinched slightly, seeing the intent in the smile. She wasn't kidding and everyone knew it. "Yes, that is fine and all..." Rarity said, trying to change the direction of the conversation into less creepy territory."...but what is this Night Light you keep talking about?" she asked, looking over at Twilight who almost jumped at the opportunity to talk about magic. "Night Light is a spell created over a thousand years ago, as a means to use ambient light as an energy source. The spell would collect all the light in a large area into a single spot, and then the caster would charge it with mana and focus it towards a target. Depending on the amount of light collected, depended on the power of the spell. It's massive power is made even more dangerous with the inability to properly aim it, being in total darkness for several seconds. It was made forbidden at the end of the Great Uprising, and very few know of its existence." "Excellent description, Twilight." Celestia said, causing Twilight to smile happily. "And yes, I guess my sister decided to inscribe it onto a shell for Catacomb, in which I am going to have to give a serious lecture about." Celestia said, sternly. Twilight figured this was the reason Luna decided to stay at home. ---------- ---------- ---------- Luna paced about her room nervously, wearing her usual night themed dress. Her face was scrunched in thought and worry, and her hair was practically everywhere. She barely remembered that night, though she is sure it was her that casted that spell, as she could easily feel the energy from the blast. There was much about that night she didn't remember. It started out with friendly conversation and a bottle of wine, and somewhere along the line she must have agreed to inscribe a few shells for him. "That blasted Catacomb, using that spell of all things! We are in trouble if sister finds out it was us." She said to herself, more loudly than necessary. She already knew the answer, though. If she could figure out it was her, Celestia wouldn't have any problems doing the same. She was glad that there were some things she didn't remember, and wished to forget others. She hoped that her sister wouldn't find out about the rest of the spells, or that dance...she was glad that he at least had the common sense to leave before they were both in trouble. She sighed, thinking back to that night. It was a magical and wondrous night, reminding her of how much fun someone can have. She laid down onto her bed and sighed happily, not wanting the memory of it to ever go away. ---------- ---------- ---------- "Been awhile since we have done something like that..." "I do agree. I guess old habits do die hard, but at least I managed to not ruin my clothes yet again." "Ya know...you two don't strike me as normal lap dogs for them princesses." The three men, and young teen stood outside the library, enjoying the cool night air. Catacomb and Perry stood between Lucky Strike, who was casually puffing on a cigarette. Spike stood a slight distance from the three men, watching them. Catacomb was leaning against the wall, or tree trunk, which ever would better describe the strange building, taking time to clean out the residue in his rune guns from the last battle. Perry casually stood there, simply looking around. "Lap dogs, huh? Hell, maybe we are." Catacomb said, chuckling as he removed the small brush from the barrel. "I am retired, thank you." Perry said, looking over at Catacomb. "I am a simple party planner, nothing more. I only wanted to make sure my friend was ok." "Oh Perry, I never knew you cared!" Catacomb said, acting sarcastically happy. He went to rush Perry for a fake hug, but found himself being clotheslined by him instead, hitting the ground on his back with a hard thud. Catacomb chuckled stupidly, staring up at the sky. "Catacomb, don't make me kill you." Perry said to him, Lucky just staying back to avoid unnecessary bodily harm. He inched closer to Spike and started to whisper towards him. "Umm...are they safe?" Spike shrugged his shoulders and watched them. "I guess, as long as you don't do something stupid like kidnap their friends..." Lucky lurched back, detecting the sour tone in the kids voice. He went back to watching the others, who started to wrestle each other, Catacomb somehow tripping Perry onto the ground as well. Spike and Lucky just watched the two wear each other out. They were both laying on their backs, laughing merrily. Looking away from the duo, Spike noticed a few figures walking towards the library. He immediately recognized the one in front as Shining Armor, but couldn't exactly pin the other two with him down. "...I don't think I really want to know..." Shining Armor said, staring at Perry and Catacomb. He looked up towards Spike and Lucky. "Hey bro, long time no see. You're growing up quickly." He smiled at Spike, who smiled and nodded back. "And I take it you're the one who will be aiding us?" Shining said, looking over at Lucky Strike. "Yeah..." Lucky said, sighing, taking the last drag from his cigarette and throwing it on the ground. He stepped on it to make sure it was out and looked back over at the trio. Shining Armor was obviously someone just about everyone could recognize. But the other two were someone new entirely. Catacomb and Perry got up and brushed themselves off, and donning a more serious attitude. "Reader, anything to report?" Shining asked the one in the blue robe. He took out his wand and focused through it. The glass ball at the end started to shine, showing to the group the entirety of Ponyville as he seemed to be doing a scan of the area. "Alas, Shining, nothing in which to be deemed unordinary is within our vicinity." Reader responded, the glow fading from the wand. "We should take this time to acquaint ourselves with our charge." Catacomb stared for a second, looking at Reader. "...What?" he asked, unsure of what he was talking about. "He means get to know who they are protecting." Perry said, answering Catacomb[s question. "Indeed, young changeling. It is nice to see you again. I hope your vacation has been pleasant." Reader smiled as he spoke to Catacomb. Lucky curiously raised an eyebrow at the comment, wondering what he meant by that. "It has been alright, I guess. Could have used less gunfights and explosions..." Catacomb said, everyone staring at him. "What, unlike Mr. McKilly here..." Catacomb pointed at Perry. "I do have a preference to nice quiet days...sometimes." "You just do not prefer to work." Reader said, letting out a quiet chuckle. Catacomb looked at the other person, who had been so quiet, that he almost forgot he existed. "So...who the heck are you?" he said, directing his question to the quiet man. He wore a simple gray jacket, with a hood covering up most of his face and head, minus a few stray strands of blond hair floating down. He wore a simple pair of jeans and dark colored shoes. His hands were kept in his pockets the entire time, and he was constantly slouched, staring at the ground. "His name is Ark. He is the one replacing Perry's position." Catacomb shuddered slightly at this. "Don't mind him too much, he is rather quiet, but so far his skills have proved effective at the job." "Well, you killer types still creep me out, but if Shiny here trusts ya, I guess you're alright." Catacomb said, holding a hand out towards Ark. "Nice to meet ya, Ark. Name's Catacomb!" He stood there, not taking the hand, and instead just nodded to acknowledge that he was at least listening. Catacomb sheepishly pulled his hand away, letting out a nervous chuckle. He walked over to Shining Armor and wrapped an arm around his shoulder, pulling him away from the conversation slightly. "Why the hell wasn't I informed that we have added someone?!" Catacomb said, slightly annoyed. "Take it easy...It isn't a done deal. He was only brought in last week, and is on a trial basis for the position. Reader scanned him, and besides being all dark and brooding, he is mentally fit for the task. He does well, he stays. If not, we wipe his memory of all knowledge of the team...or are you jealous about your favorite clown being so easily replaced." Shining said, grinning towards the peeved Catacomb. "No, I would have hoped that you would at least ask me how I felt. I am a member too, and working with someone I don't like would prove to be more than a bit difficult." Catacomb said, Shining nodded in agreement at his concerns. "Don't worry, you will also have final say if he stays, okay?" Shining Armor said, Catacomb simply nodding in agreement. "Good, that out of the way..." Shining turned towards Lucky, sending him a slight glare. "Now the Princess has informed us that you are willing to cooperate with our investigation into the attempted kidnapping of the Elements of Harmony. You are to go back to the castle when the time comes, there you will stay until a new identity can be established. Remember that these are privileges we need not give and can revoke at a moments notice, do you understand?" "Yeah...loud and clear. Those guys were fanatics anyways." Lucky sighed. "Promised me wealth and power... fantastic choice there Lucky..." He laughed at himself, though the rest of the group didn't find it nearly as funny, so he quickly stopped. "Let's start from the top then..." Shining said, pulling out a scroll and quill almost out of nowhere. "What can you tell me about Diavolo di Stallone and their leader?" Everyone, with the exception of Ark who seemed to be content distancing himself, moved in closer to Lucky, making him nervous. "Well to start with..." Lucky began to speak, but the rest of the words never came out. The group found themselves stunned as an arrow quickly made its home inside Lucky's right eye. There was a small squirt of blood from the wound, followed by his gurgling final breath as he fell to the ground. The group took only a few more seconds to register what had happened before jumping into action. "Damnit!" Shining Armor yelled out, his first instinct to raise a barrier around the group, protecting them from the next few arrows that managed to strike the barrier. "Reader!" he turned towards Shining Armor, slightly stunned. "I thought you said the coast was clear." "It was...I can't fathom how these foul beasts managed to come close without alerting me of their presence." Reader responded, looking slightly stunned and disappointed. "Fantastic, there goes our lead..." Catacomb said, staring at the lifeless body of Lucky Strike. He noticed Perry staring at the body, not saying a word. "Perry...you okay?" He didn't respond, making him slightly more nervous. "PERRY!" The loud yell jolted him back into reality, coming to terms with the assault. The commotion, not able to be ignored, had finally drawn in the attention of the group of girls inside, as they peered out of the window. Shining extended his barrier to surround a good portion of the tree, managing to maintain it against the arrow bombardment. "Shining!" Celestia said as she watched the arrows fly towards him, each one seeming to chink away at his stamina. "What happened?" "Shining is a bit preoccupied...but yeah, Lucky ain't too lucky and we got ambushed." Catacomb answered for Shining Armor, who seemed to be focused on protecting the group. Celestia nodded. "Alright, everyone. Stay inside until the problem is taken care of...you can handle this right?" Celestia said, asking the group with a bit of concern. A soft quiet voice spoke from the back of the group, causing a few heads to turn. "Let me out..." The voice was Ark's who proceeded to walk towards the edge of the shield. "You know once I open it for you, you're on your own, right?" Shining said, grunting slightly. "Let me out..." Ark repeated, not bothering to look back. Shining sighed and constricted the barrier, forcing him to the outside of it. He removed his jacket quickly, stretching a pair of dark grey wings. He reached into a small sheath attached to his belt, previously hidden by the jacket and removed a large knife. Spinning around in his hand expertly, he managed to deflect a few arrows coming his way. Catacomb watched in approval as Ark took off towards the source, looking like a grey blur, almost like a knife gliding through the sky itself. It didn't seem to take all that long for the arrows to halt their attack, the grey blur slowly turning red. Ark returned, his entire outfit stained red, his knife still dripping the crimson water of the attackers. Almost all of the girls inside of the library were staring out of the window. The scene was terrifying for anyone to see, and thankfully he was able to do it from a distance, but the red visage of Ark was still something of a quiet death, quite unlike Perry's. Shining let down his shield, and walked over towards Ark. "Did you at least leave one..." he asked Ark, who was wiping his knife clean on one of the parts of him not stained. "No..." Ark responded. "I did the job...nothing more..." Ark grabbed his jacket and threw it over his bloodied clothes, and went back to attempting to blend into the background. "Well then..." He turned his gaze towards one of the windows, facing Celestia. "Princess Celestia, did you have the chance to inform them of the plan?" "Yes, though needless to say, they are not to thrilled with having full time bodyguards." Celestia responded. "Wait...what's going on now?" Catacomb asked, again not informed of these plans. He was starting to get annoyed at being uninformed in almost everything. "With the threat of this group, and especially with tonight's surprise attack, I have decided to assign each of you to one of them." Celestia said to answer Catacomb. "Wait...I am on vacation...what...aww screw it." Catacomb grinned. "I'm in." "I am glad to hear it." Celestia said happily. "Pierrot!" Perry stepped forward, taking a comically strict stance. "Since you are close to Fluttershy, I would like you to maintain a constant watch over her. I don't expect you to say yes, since you are a civilian...but..." "It would be a pleasure, Princess." Perry said chuckling slightly under his mask. "Jack!" Celestia called out. Reader stepped forward, looking slightly annoyed. "I keep asking you to forget that name...it is simply Reader now. I put that life behind me..." Reader said, slightly upset. "I am sorry, it is still something I will need to get used to." Reader's look said all the words that needed to be said, and Celestia understood that he accepted her apology. "Reader, I would like you to keep watch over Pinkie Pie, as I see you are most capable of... do you mind?" She stopped in the middle of the sentence for a few seconds, before both of them nodded. "Spade!" Ark stepped forward now, though with less enthusiasm than the others so far. "I task you with keeping watch over Rainbow Dash..." "OH HELL NO!" a shout of obvious disapproval was heard from the library. "I will not even think of letting that bloody psycho into my home. I was ok with the idea of it because I knew them, but he creeps me the hell out!" "I'll sleep outside..." Ark said in response, his voice without any real care or emotion. "I accept this task." "Thank you. Rainbow, he is one of the only ones who can fly...I understand, and tonight probably didn't help...but trust me." Celestia pleaded, causing Rainbow, after much deliberation, to sigh. "Fine...but he does one thing to bother me and he's outta here. I can handle myself fine anyways." Rainbow said proudly. Ark sighed and went back to standing around carelessly. "King!" Shining stood forward, saluting proudly like the soldier that he is. "I task you with Applejack." His demeanor suddenly cracked like an easily shattered window. "Princess! Why not Twilight! I mean, she is my own sister. I should be the one responsible for her safety!" Shining Armor was shocked. It was safe to say that quite a few were shocked by this. "I knew you would object, but do hear me out, please. I wanted to balance you all with someone who you would be best suited. Applejack can not use magic, so you would be more capable in protecting her than others, same reason for Reader and Pinkie, Perry and Fluttershy, and Ark and Rainbow." She smiled, a slightly sly smile. "I may not look it, but I do know what I am doing." Shining went to complain, but the truth was his personal reasons were getting in the way of his judgment, and she was correct. "This isn't a problem, right Applejack?" Celestia asked. "Nope. Could use a strong hand around the farm anyways until Big Mac gets better. What do ya say?" "I guess...I was just kind of looking forward to spending time with Twily..." He sulked slightly. "Don't worry, Shiny" Twilight said, from the window. "You can still spend time with me. It isn't like I am going away." "Of course! I have alot to tell you, but lets save the good news for later!" Shining responded, smiling back at Twilight. "Ace!" Catacomb coolly stepped forward, nodding towards Celestia. "Twilight will..." "NO!" Shining Armor interrupted. "NO NO NO!!!" Catacomb slowly backed away, fearing slightly for his own life. "I was ok with not being able to guard her...but I refuse! I refuse to let him stay under the same roof as her!" "Shiny...calm down." Twilight said. "Why are you so upset?" "I...uh...he..." Shining Armor tried to speak, but being inflicted with a combination of rage, jealousy, grief, fear, and confusion can do some strange things to ones ability to communicate properly. Catacomb sighed and looked at Celestia. "Since he is going to be a baby about it, just let me watch over Rarity." Catacomb said. "Me and her get along fine, and I am sure whoever you got planned for her will do just as well as I could." Shining took a moment out of bashing the dirt with his forehead to look up, slightly happy to hear him say that. "I wouldn't have an issue with that, but the one I asked to protect her had requested Rarity especially..." Celestia said, sighing slightly as well as Shining went back to forehead plowing. "My dear Celestia..." A smooth voice came from the shadows, moving towards the group. Everyone's gaze shifted towards the source of the voice, a tall grey haired man, with odd yellow and red eyes. "...I think you might have broke the young captain here."