Man…I apologize for the rather long wait on this chapter but well I was dealing with a rather annoying problem on how to go about the rest of this story and to be completely honest right now, I kind of lost a bit of inspiration on this story. I think the biggest reason was that I got a bit too ambitious with how I wanted this story to go what with the whole letting you all come up with ideas for the dates and such. So with that, I plan on finishing this arc and jumping right into the last arc of the story. I hope you all understand and enjoy the chapter.
Chapter 23: Investigation
In the Royal Day Guard, there were two facts that every guard knew about. First, you never want to be the one to wake up Celestia whenever she taking a nap and two you never wanted to be on duty when Commander Solarshield is having a bad day. Unfortunate for the guards stationed at the dining hall, they were the unlucky ones to be caught in rule number two.
Commander Solarshield was currently pacing around the room in a vain attempt to release what appeared to be a large amount of frustration. Frustration born from the fact that she had slipped up and let what was probably a highly deadly toxin come within not only the Solar Princess but her number one student and guest. It was fortunate that the drink must have gotten mix up somewhere and ended up in front of said guest but it was still going to be a rather noticeable stain on her performance as Champion of the Sun.
Groaning in frustration, she turned her rage heated eyes as the Sgt standing nearby and said in a tone that was both cold and menacing “Where is he?” The guard in question took one look into those eyes and felt as if he was burning up on the surface of the sun. His throat felt dry as well as having a rather large lump in it that would not go down no matter how many times he tried to swallow. He wasn't the only one as every other guard was starting to feel a little hot under the armor.
Before the room felt like an oven, the silence was broken with the sound of a door opening followed by somepony saying “Dang, is there an oven on or is Solarshield having another one of her tempers.”
Now in addition to rule number two of the Royal Day Guard was the rumor that there was only one stallion who would have the guts to act in such a childish manner when the Champion of the Sun was having a rather bad day. The rumor eventually turned into almost fact as every fact turned towards the source of the voice.
There standing in the threshold were two stallion although it was hard to tell that one of them was a stallion due to the simple reason that he was wearing a tattered brown cloak that hid his face and body. The other stallion was an earth pony that had a dark blue coat and was wearing a modified version of the Royal Night Guard armor. His mane was cut short and dirt brown while his eyes were tinted blue. Across his back was an alternating blue/black stick that was about the same length as a spear shaft. Although his overall appearance made one think of a jokester or even a slacker; no guard was willing to voice say anything.
The reason was simple as this stallion in question was Moonsaber, Commander Solarshield’s partner, Champion of the Moon, and Commander of the Royal Night Guard. Moonsaber made his way towards Solarshield with the cloaked stallion following a few paces behind. The room was getting rather tense again as each Champion were staring into each other’s eyes; though Solarshield still had a scowl on her face while Moonsaber had a small grin on his.
When the two Commanders were facing each other, Solarshield said in her usual viper tone though some of the more veteran guards noticed that the fire behind that tone was slightly lesser then before “What are you doing here? This is under the jurisdiction of the Royal Day Guard.”
Moonsaber gave a small shrug and replied “The Princess of the Night has expressed interest and has ordered me to help with the investigations. I've already been brief on what has happened already and I decided that I wanted to make sure that our resident poison expert made it here without too many difficulties.”
Both Commanders turned their attention to the cloaked stallion who was currently examining the cup that had the poisoned drink in it. Obviously it was hard to tell what the he was thinking off as the hood covered most of his face. The silence in the room was madding and it didn't take long before Solarshield agitation got the better of her and said “Well Snake Eyes, what kind of poison is it?”
“Not a poison my dear Commander…but rather it issssss a type of potion.” The stallion known as Snake Eyes replied in his usual smooth and somewhat disturbing voice. Unknown to any guard below the rank of General, Snake Eyes was once a young unicorn who was an apprentice to a rather well known alchemist. However, an incident happened which involved him getting covered in a potion that was filled with essence of snakes. It resulted in him transforming into a kind of half pony half snake hybrid and such a radical change eventually forced him out of his hometown. Celestia found the hybrid and agreed to provide him with shelter and a safe haven so he could continue his craft as long as he agreed to act as the Royal Guards source for any and all manners of poisons and potions. An arrangement that Snake Eyes was more than happy to agree with and it wasn't long before every Guard was trained to recognize that familiar cloak.
However, the surprise that it wasn't a poison brought both a sense of relief and confusion within Solarshield. The confusion brought on by the fact that if it was a potion; then what was its purpose. Snake Eyes, who must have noticed the confusion continued “From what I am able to gather from thissssss drink; it containssssss a rather average amount of crushed moonstone coupled with a large amount of purified stallion genetic.”
Moonsaber then said “crushed moonstone can be used as a low level magic suppressant but I don’t understand why the culprit would use such a mixture if the intended target was Celestia. Her overall magical strength would have easily been able to resist the effects…unless…”
“The target wasn't Celestia at all” Solarshield pick up on, “But rather it was meant for the one pony whose magical level must have been low enough that moonstones would have affected her, Trixie.”
“But what I don’t understand is the inclusion of the stallion genetic?” Moonsaber asked while returning his attention to Snake Eyes.
Although difficult to tell from under his hood, Snake Eyes appeared to be deep in thought. Though that only lasted for a moment before he answered, “I believe that if a mare were to be exposed to a large amount of stallion genetic, while either in a comatose state or having their natural magic suppressed, it could theoretically turned them into a stallion.”
Both Commanders let out a mild gasp of surprised and Solarshield could help but ask, “You mean like a gender changing potion?”
Snake Eyes nodded his head in agreement before adding “It wassssss fortunate that you paralyzed the young mare when you did; otherwise she would have no doubt been turned into a stallion before I could prepare an antidote.”
Solarshield had managed to calm down and everypony present noticed the fire of determination returning to her eyes. Looking at Snake Eyes, she said “I want you to get right to work on creating a cure for Trixie.” Before turning her attention to the rest of the guards under her command “The rest of you, inform the guards that the castle is on lockdown level two until I give the all-clear. Nothing enters or leaves the castle and all air traffic is to be altered or force to land.” Her orders were met with a loud ‘Yes Ma’am’ from the guards and an ‘I will get right on it’ from Snake Eyes. In speeds that were born from constant drills, the entire dining area was clear of all guards and Snake Eyes, leaving only the two Commanders.
Moonsaber looked at his counter-part and he noticed that there was a sense of resignation hidden within those flames. In an almost trance like state, the Champion of the Moon brought his head over to rest on top of his counter-part; breathing in the familiar warmth that reminded him if a warm fire on a cold winter night. He felt her shuffling a bit before feeling a small amount of pressure on his shoulder as Solarshield returned the gesture. The two sat in silent for a moment before Moonsaber said “Talk to me Sol. What’s eating you?”
Solarshield couldn't stop the small smile that was on her face. No matter what, Moonsaber seem to always know when she was feeling like the weight of the world was bringing her down. She wanted to tell him that there was nothing wrong but knew that she couldn't. They had been through too much together to allow any kind of secrets between them. With that in mind, she gave a small sigh and replied “I think I know who the culprit is but…” she trailed off; the rest of what she wanted to say was caught in her throat.
She then felt a small shift in magic before feeling that familiar paw moving up and down her back. Those dragon claws, which appeared so sharp and menacing; were putting just enough pressure to give a massage that beat any spa she had ever been to. Taking comfort from the sudden but not unwelcoming back massage; The Champion of the Sun snuggled up closer to her coltfriend and started to make a soft humming sound. She knew that Moonsaber would wait for her to finish and to also let her know that he was here and would support her. It was those thoughts that managed to lift the weight off of her shoulder and regain her strength.
Getting some distance between them, but not removing their grip from each other; Solarshield looked into her cotfriend’s eyes and said “I need to do this alone.”
She saw the slight worry flash in his eyes before he replied “Are you sure?”
Smiling at the fact that he was worried, Solarshield gave a slight peck on his nose before replying “It’s an internal situation. Besides, you should know how strong I am.”
“Physically yes, but I’m more worried about your emotional state. You know you don’t have to do this alone.”
Her smile had only grown from hearing that and she couldn't resist leaning forward and capturing his mouth with her own. She enjoyed the feel of his lips against her own as she wrapped her front legs around his neck in order to keep him in place. Not that he wanted to go anywhere as after a quick reflex due to surprise; he melted into the kiss. Though as much as the two wanted to continue the rather enjoyable make-out session; they also knew that they were still on the job and with some minor reluctance they separated from the kiss and each other.
Shaking her head to re-gather her thoughts; Solarshield said, “I need to get back to work. I’ll see you during the changing of the guard.” Moonsaber nodded his head and watched as his marefriend turned around and made her way out the door.
After waiting for a spell, Moonsaber made his way out of the kitchen with his destination being the medical wing. He still needed to make sure that Trixie was alright.
I know that it's not much but I wanted to start slow to see if I can try and get my motivation up enough to finish this story.