“Docking Command, this is Bureau Patrol Ship Arthra. Requesting permission to leave dock.”
Admiral Lindy Harlaown relaxed in her seat as her crew worked, listening to the communications officer speak. The final checks had been completed, and everything looked to be functioning well. The Arthra was ready to leave the dock and return to service.
“This is Docking Command, Arthra” came the response. “You are clear to leave dock. Please proceed along Route K to Point 012 prior to departure. Transmitting coordinates now.”
“Coordinates received and locked in,” the young woman at the helm announced.
“Route is clear on sensors, ma’am.”
“Docking clamps and umbilicals have been removed. We are clear for mobilization on your command, Ma’am.”
“Alright,” Lindy stood from her captain’s chair and walked over to look down at her bridge crew. “Ensign Elantra, take us out.”
“Aye aye ma’am. Activating drive wings now.”
Lindy felt the ship hum softly as the engines engaged, light playing along the edges of the Arthra’s Dimensional Drives as the ship left the dock. She had to admit, it was good to be on her ship once again. As much as she enjoyed the comforts of HQ, she was starting to get a little eager to get back aboard.
“Ma’am?”
“Hmm?” Lindy turned to face the voice. A slight, short young man smiled nervously at her, his platinum blonde hair pulled back in a short ponytail. “Yes? Ensign…”
“Monza, ma’am. Ensign Duo Monza. I have the data you requested.” The ensign extended the data pad to her.
“Ah, good.” Lindy smiled as the ensign quickly came to attention. “At ease, Mr. Monza. I take it this is your first cruise as an IR officer?”
“Yes ma’am. It’s a pleasure to work with you, ma‘am.”
“I certainly hope it is. With my other IR officer, Miss Limietta currently on Equestria, I need someone in the Information-Research room. Hopefully this won‘t be too stressful of a cruise for you.”
“I hope so too, ma’am.” Duo smiled weakly.
“That’ll be all, Mr. Monza. Return to your post. We should be getting underway here shortly.”
“Ma’am!” The young man saluted, then strode off.
Lindy smiled and shook her head as she took a seat, then quickly ran her fingers over the data pad and scanned the contents.
Something was bothering her, ever since she’d heard about the crew transfer. The Arthra had a lot of new crew on board for this cruise, not just Ensign Monza. There were the specialists in charge of the Arc-en-Ciel, a few new technicians, her new helmswoman, several new Enforcers, among other minor members of her crew. All of them had checked out with Personnel, and all of them had reasonably good histories. But something was bothering her about it, something she couldn’t quite put her finger on.
“Ma’am, we have reached point 012. Your orders?”
Lindy looked up from the pad in her hands and tucked it in against her Captain’s chair. “Good. Navigation, what’s our status?”
“Navigational coordinates for Equestrian Dimensional Territory set and locked in, ma’am.”
“Estimated time until arrival?”
“Assuming optimal cruising speed, we will arrive in forty-seven hours ship time, ma’am.”
“Well, that certainly shaves off a bit of time,” Lindy chuckled. The newly installed Dimensional Drives were much more powerful than the Arthra’s previous ones. Previously, the trip to Equestria had taken nearly a week. “Sensors, what’s your reading.”
“Area is clear on long, mid and close range sensors, ma’am.”
“Excellent. Helm, lock in course and take us up to full cruising speed, five-point-five Dimensional Nautical Velocity.”
“Aye aye ma’am, five-point-five DNV!”
Lindy leaned back in her chair as the Arthra’s Drive Wings glowed brighter. The swirl of D-Space became streaked as the ship accelerated to cruising speed.
---
The Royal Gardens were rather peaceful in the morning, a fact that Twilight greatly appreciated. When she was Celestia’s apprentice, she’d often wander out in the morning on weekends to enjoy the silence, the peace that was only ever broken by the calls of birds or the rustling of the wind. Given everything she had learned last night, she seriously needed some peace to sort her thoughts out.
For the longest time, ever since she was a little filly, Celestia had been her idol. And really, who could blame her for idolizing her? She was Princess Celestia, Princess of the Sun. She was her teacher, her mentor, her confidant, the ever-constant pillar of her life. She was perfect in every way; beautiful, brilliant and beyond reproach.
And in just one single night, Twilight had had that delusion neatly shattered. Celestia had lied. Celestia had been foolish. Celestia had been vain and arrogant. Celestia had failed, and failed so spectacularly that Twilight was surprised that Equestria was still standing. The Celestia she had seen had been the sort that upended her entire kingdom in a towering fit of rage, far from the calm and gentle alicorn she knew now.
And worst of all, Twilight knew there was more. There had to be more. What else was Celestia hiding from everypony? What else was she hiding from her?
“You alright Twily?”
Twilight blinked as Shining Armor addressed her, shaking her head as though to clear the cobwebs from her brain. “Huh? Sorry Shining, I didn’t even hear you come over. I was completely zoned out…”
“So I noticed. Have you been staring into space all morning?”
Twilight smiled weakly as her big brother, best friend forever took a seat beside her. “Yeah.”
“Bit for your thoughts?”
“Um…” Twilight let out a sigh. “I’m not sure I should say. It’s… sort of a private thing, you know?”
“Oh,” Shining nodded.
“Yeah.”
The siblings sat silently for a spell, before Twilight’s sigh broke the stillness.
“Shiny,” Twilight looked up at him nervously, “would you mind working through a… hypothetical scenario with me?”
“Um… sure?” Shining chuckled. “What’s up?”
“Let’s just say, hypothetically, that there was somepony you looked up to and admired,” Twilight scuffed the grass with one hoof. “Somepony you idolized and trusted completely. Somepony that you thought was perfect. And then, one day, you found out that there was a lot about them that you didn’t actually know.”
“Okay? And what sort of things would I have found out about this hypothetical somepony?”
“That they weren’t always perfect?” Twilight looked down at the ground. “That they used to be… well, not very nice? That they lied and did all sorts of awful things?”
“Mhmm…” Shining Armor nodded. “And?”
“Would you ever be able to look at that pony the same way? Would you ever be able to trust them?”
“Well,” Shining Armor scratched a hoof against his mane before continuing, “Not really. Not in the same way I mean.”
Twilight sighed, slumping a little.
“The thing is Twilight,” Shining leaned in, slipping an arm over her withers, “just because a pony was bad in the past doesn’t mean they’re bad now. And if somepony shared those sorts of things with me? I’d respect them for it, because it would mean they trusted me enough and respected me enough to show me that side of themselves.”
“You would?”
“Of course.”
“But… how could you trust somepony after learning about those sorts of things?”
Shining glanced over at one of the trees as a few birds alighted on the branches, chirping merrily at each other. “That depends on why I trusted them in the first place. Do I trust them because I idolize them? Or do I trust them because they‘ve earned it?”
“I… I don’t know.” Twilight leaned against him, Raising Heart’s jewel swinging slightly towards Shining Armor as she did so. “Both?”
“Then I’d try to keep those reasons in mind.”
“That’s a lot harder than it sounds,” Twilight grumbled.
“Hey, friendship isn’t always easy, you know,” Shining smirked.
Twilight paused, then smiled slightly and nuzzled underneath Shining’s chin. “You’re right. Thanks.”
“Hey, that’s what big brothers are for, right?” Shining Armor grunted, lifting himself to his feet. “I need to get back to doing my rounds. Hope you feel better.”
“Oh I will… once I get a hold of some parchment.”
---
“Alright fuzzy, let’s do this!”
Yuuno shook his head as Rainbow Dash bounced lightly from hoof to hoof on the soft sand of the practice field, the blue pegasus seeming quite eager this morning. Then again, given how aggressive she’d been the day before, he’d take eagerness any day. “Look, Rainbow Dash, I appreciate your enthusiasm. I really do. But I don’t think you quite understand the sort of difficulty this will entail.”
“Oh come on fuzzy,” Rainbow snorted, pawing the ground with one hoof. “It can’t be that hard.”
“We’re talking about translating Mid-Childan magic into something you can understand. And unlike Twilight, you’re not a unicorn nor do you have a special talent for magic.” He paused and raised both hands as Rainbow Dash shot him a glare. “I’m not saying you’re not one of the most radical-ist and awesome-ist ponies in Equestria. You are.”
“You bet I am,” Rainbow smirked.
“I’m just letting you know that this isn’t going to be easy. I’m still having trouble translating my style of magic to Equestrian style. And that’s with Twilight helping; I haven’t actually tried doing this with a non-unicorn pony.”
“Hey, don’t count me out that quick fuzzy,” Rainbow fluffed her wings. “I can do whatever it takes. So come on. Show me how to make one of those Barrier Jacket thingies!”
“Right.” Yuuno rubbed his head, then took a seat on the ground and ran a finger through the sand. “First, you need to understand just what a Barrier Jacket is.”
“Okay.” Rainbow Dash took a seat, her eyes focused on Yuuno’s finger as he drew in the sand.
“A Barrier Jacket is more than just clothes,” Yuuno explained, drawing a stick figure in the sand. “It’s actually a type of magical field spell. When a mage activates a Barrier Jacket, they’re actually cloaking their entire bodies in finely woven layers of magical energy to form a skin-tight magical defense grid.”
Yuuno‘s finger quickly drew several rings around the stick figure, layering them in a concentric pattern. “When you’re looking at the clothes a mage wears, you’re actually only seeing the outermost layer of the spell. It’s the layers below that really matter. They contain protective spells, spells that ward off extreme temperatures, passive and active augmentations, and so on. Of course, that mostly applies to more advanced Barrier Jackets, which are a whole different matter entirely.
“Now, most mages don’t have to worry about maintaining the spell personally. They have Devices to handle it for them. However, not all mages have Devices. That’s what I’m going to try to teach you. With me so far?”
“Uh…” Rainbow scratched one ear. “Yeah, kinda. Is that why Twilight and Fate have the whole glowy thing going on?”
“Glowy thing?”
“Yeah, the ENTD-whatsit.” Rainbow swirled a hoof over her chest as she spoke. “The glowy thing. That’s part of their Barrier Jacket?”
“As best I understand, yes. How did you know about that?”
Rainbow Dash shrugged and looked down, letting her rainbow-hued mane fall into her eyes. “I watched the recordings of the fight. I figured I could… I dunno, get some pointers or something.”
“Oh.”
“Not that I need pointers, understand?” Rainbow Dash grimaced and looked aside, her wings pulling tight as she flicked her tail, her ears folding back against her scalp. “It’s just… well, you were there. You know what happened. I don’t want that to happen again. Got it?”
No wonder she was so adamant yesterday, he thought to himself as he nodded. Getting taken down that easily can’t be good for somepony like her.
“So are you going to teach me, or what?”
“Sure. I’ll do my best, alright?” Yuuno smiled at Rainbow.
“Good. So, what do I have to do?”
Yuuno rubbed his chin in thought, then rolled to his feet and rose to a standing position. “Well,” he said as he dusted off his bottom, “let’s see…”
---
“So, you are having difficulty adjusting to the combat control system?”
Fate shook her head as Luna slowly turned Bardiche about in her telekinetic grip, standing before Luna in the alicorn’s chambers. “Well, not exactly ‘difficulty,’ Teacher,” Fate replied. “I just didn’t expect it to leave me so exhausted. Or with such a pounding headache.”
“An unfortunate problem.” Luna admitted, her horn lighting up. “Let us see what we may do to remedy it. Machine Spirit Bardiche, vouchsafe unto me administrative authorization.”
The golden triangle that served as Bardiche’s standby form chimed as it responded. “PERMISSION GRANTED. TEMPORARY ADMINISTRATIVE POWERS EXTENDED FOR MAINTENANCE PURPOSES. DEVICE MEISTER ACKNOWLEDGED.”
Fate watched as Luna’s horn glowed, a golden circle of light forming above the Device. The circle quickly resolved into a slowly rotating series of interlinked loops, each one containing thin lines of script in a language that Fate didn’t recognize.
“Hmm. Let us see… Ah! Here it is.” Luna swung her head to the side, drawing one of the loops forward. The loop quickly shrank into a magic circle, the odd script rotating around a many-pointed star. “I will adjust the primary mental linkage between you and Bardiche’s combat controls and battle response algorithms. It will decrease his performance somewhat, but it will leave you with far less mental strain. After all, it would be unfortunate if your Device left lasting damage, don’t you agree?”
Fate nodded quietly and watched as Luna did her work. The alicorn leaned her head in, touching the hovering circle with her horn. The glow intensified as the script within the circle began to change, characters shifting and altering under Luna’s watchful eye.
“There.” Luna flicked her hoof and sent the circle back to join the rest, the diagram expanding outwards into a simple loop of rotating text. “That should be more than adequate. However, be warned; you will be required to make up for the difference, my pupil.”
“I understand, Teacher.” Fate nodded as the interface faded and disappeared. “Thank you.”
“It is of little consequence, Fate.” Luna made a dismissive gesture with her hoof. “It would hardly do to leave my student encumbered so.”
“Still, thank you.”
Luna nodded, then tilted her head as Fate shifted on her hooves. “Was there something else you required?”
“Um… I was… just wondering if you were alright, Teacher.”
“Alright? I am passing fair… why do you ask?”
Fate glanced aside. “Well… you didn’t exactly stay around very long after we finished last night… you looked upset.”
Luna blinked, then sighed. “There is little need for you to worry about me, Fate.”
“I’m sorry Teacher. It’s just…”
“Just what?”
Fate glanced at Luna, then slowly walked over and climbed up onto the bed beside her. The golden-coated filly seemed to glow against the dark sheets as she sat beside the Princess, looking up at her. “After Twilight’s parents adopted me,” Fate said, “they told me that if I ever felt sad or upset, I could come and talk to them.”
“Indeed? A most kindly offer,” Luna conceded, folding her wings against her sides. “Did it help?”
“Sometimes. It… took a while for me to get comfortable sharing things with them.” Fate shifted slightly, her tail flicking as she smoothed out a stray wrinkle on the sheet. “I was sure they wouldn’t understand. Sometimes I…” she shook a little and glanced down. “You already know about what happened with Argent…”
“Ah yes, the young colt that you nearly electrocuted and subsequently threatened with grievous bodily harm. To quote Captain Shining Armor’s report, you said you would ‘take an axe to him’ if he touched you or young Miss Fireglow again.”
Fate’s cheeks flushed at the sound of Luna’s amusement. The dark alicorn leaned down and smiled faintly. “If I may be blunt my dear pupil, I, unlike my sister, did approve of your actions. Of course, as a Princess, I could not officially condone such things…”
“You would have approved if I had gotten expelled?”
“From what I have heard, the foal was a brat and a bully. It was good that somepony put him in his place. I always did say that the standards of discipline of my sister’s school were somewhat lax.”
Fate shook her head. “But… that’s what I’m talking about. I love my… new parents. But I’m not like them. I’m different. I’m more like you, Teacher.”
Luna frowned, looking at Fate. “Do you think so, my pupil?”
Fate nodded. “We’re… not very nice ponies. We both did bad things…”
“Think you can compare your sins to mine, young Fate?” Luna arched a brow.
“No. But… maybe I can understand you a bit more than others can?”
Luna stared at Fate for a time, then sighed and rested her chin on the sheets. “Aye. Maybe so.”
“Do you… want to talk about last night?”
“Nay. Not at this moment.” Luna closed her eyes. “But maybe in time.”
Fate nodded, her own slim horn igniting as she drew Bardiche over.
“Perhaps,” Luna said, interrupting the brief silence, “it is time I show you one of my more powerful spells. If we are to come into conflict with a grand foe, it would do you well to know a technique for cutting deeper than Bardiche’s crescent edges can.”
Fate smiled. “I think I’d like that, teacher…”
“Good. Now Fate, do you know why I am so often called ‘The Sword of Equestria?’”
---
“…and also, we received a message that the Arthra has left HQ’s docks and will arrive in Equestrian Dimensional Territory in approximately two days. Admiral Harlaown sends her regards, sir.”
Chrono nodded, sitting up straight in his chair as the officer finished his report. He quickly glanced around the table at the other Bureau members, then reached over with his good hand and gathered up his papers. “Excellent. Thank you Lieutenant. Now, unless anyone else has any other issues they’d like to bring up, I think this meeting is adjourned. Please notify me if anything out of the ordinary comes up.”
He let out a soft sigh as the Bureau personnel filed out, pushing the gathered papers into a file folder and snapping it shut. He stood and tucked the folder under his bandaged arm as he walked around the table.
Chrono had to admit, he was going to be happy to have the Arthra stationed above Equestria again. If nothing else, having ship support would help put his Enforcer instincts at ease. Especially if said ship was armed like the Arthra was.
“Enforcer Harlaown, may I have a moment?”
Chrono blinked and turned as Sister Schach approached him, her arms folded behind her as she walked. “Of course, Sister Schach. What’s the problem?”
“Oh, no problem,” Schach waved a hand with a faint smile. “I was just wondering when you were going to question the Wolkenritter.”
“Actually, I was heading in that direction now. Why?”
“I was hoping I could join you. Normally, I wouldn’t want to interfere in an Enforcer’s work, but in this case I think I might have something to offer. With your permission, of course.”
“Mm… actually, that would help. I wouldn’t mind having an expert on hand.”
Schach coughed softly into one hand. “Well… I wouldn’t call myself an expert, but being a Knight of a descendant tradition I might be able to advise you. To help you understand some of their behavior.”
“I see. And I appreciate your assistance. Walk with me, if you would.”
Schach nodded and fell in beside the Enforcer as they began descending the stairs. Schach glanced down at him as they walked. “Enforcer, if I may ask a question?”
“Hmm?” Chrono looked up at her.
“What exactly do you plan on doing with the Wolkenritter?”
“Well,” Chrono sighed, “normally I would have them turned over to the Bureau for sealing. Same goes for the Book. As for their Master, he or she would be brought up on charges and likely sent to prison. At least, that’s what the standard practice has been until now…”
“’Until now?’ So you‘re not planning on doing that?”
Chrono ran his good hand through his hair and shook his head. “No, I’m not. Originally, this was an open and shut case: defeat the enemy, stop the criminal, seal the Lost Logia and so on. But things have gotten complicated. Now I’m not so sure about what I should do.”
“I see,” Schach replied, reaching out with one hand and letting her fingers trail along the white stone wall. “Is it because of what happened last night, or…”
“Partially. But this is more than just that. I talked to the others yesterday, and I’ve been going over what happened in my head and things don’t add up…”
“What sorts of things?”
“Vita seemed not to know about the Book’s destructive capabilities. She didn’t remember what happened during the previous incident either… at least, not as far as…” he swallowed, “as my father was concerned. And Fate said that Signum stated that their activities weren’t ordered… that they were doing it to save their Mistress‘s life.”
“That implies that they have agency.” Chrono continued, hopping down the last few steps as they reached the ground floor of the tower. “They have the ability to make rational decisions, without input from their master. And from the sounds of it, they might be doing this without their master‘s knowledge. They’re not what I was expecting. They’re…”
“Human?” Schach quirked an eyebrow.
Chrono looked away and shoved a hand into his pocket with a heavy sigh. “I wouldn’t go that far. They’re still constructs. But… they’re not what I thought they were.”
“You thought they were just tools, then,” Schach ventured, causing Chrono to shrug his shoulders uncomfortably.
“Yes. I’m not proud of my behavior, but I admit it. And there are still so many other questions.”
“Like what?”
“Why would the Book create a set of Knights like the Wolkenritter? Why doesn’t Vita remember what happened to my father? Why didn’t she know about the Book’s destructive activation sequence? Why are they stealing Linker Cores if they weren’t ordered to? Why have they been leaving their targets alive?” Chrono ruffled his hair as Schach walked down the steps to his side. “There‘s too many unanswered questions for my taste. I need answers.”
“Perhaps you should ask them?”
“You really think it‘s that easy?”
“Not if you treat it like you’re interrogating a criminal,” Schach replied. “Would you like some advice?”
“Of course.”
“Perhaps you shouldn’t treat the Wolkenritter as criminals first and individuals second.”
Chrono snorted softly. “Trying to catch a fly with honey instead of vinegar, eh?”
“It certainly wouldn’t hurt,” Schach replied.
“I’ll take it under advisement. Now, we should probably hurry along. Can’t keep her waiting.”
“Her?”
---
Signum walked in silence, flanked by a quartet of Royal Guards as she was escorted down the sunlit hall.
On reflection, Signum and her comrades were being treated surprisingly well given their status as prisoners. After their stay in the royal dungeon, they had been escorted under guard to the palace proper, where they were provided with rooms with proper beds and other modest comforts. Of course, this came with additional security; Signum remembered the feeling of all-encompassing static from the wards that surrounded the room, not to mention the presence of the guards outside her door and patrolling just beyond the windows. She had to admit, even with the seal placed on her magic and her missing Device, the ponies didn’t seem to be taking any chances.
Signum couldn’t blame them, really.
One of the guards, a gray-coated unicorn, stepped just ahead of her, his horn lighting up as he opened a door for her. The other three guards came to a halt as Signum glanced at the door, then to the guard ahead of her.
“You’re expected inside, ma’am,” the stallion replied, nodding to the open door.
Signum didn’t reply. She simply nodded and stepped through.
The room beyond the door looked like something better suited for a meeting hall. It was roughly rectangular, with a long wooden table dominating the center of it. Sitting on one side of the table were two of the mages she and her subordinates had faced last night: the young boy she identified as Chrono, and the pink-haired knight named Schach that Zafira had told her about.
“Ah. Good. Right on time,” the young man said, gesturing with an unbandaged hand to the seat across from them. “Please have a seat, if you would.”
Signum looked at the chair, then slowly took a seat, her back straight and her hands folded before her. The other knight met her gaze, her posture much the same as Chrono flipped open the folder resting on the table before him.
“My name is Chrono Harlaown,” the young man began. “I am an Enforcer of the Time-Space Administration Bureau.”
“I am Schach Nouera, Wächter-Ritter of the Saint Church. Hail and well met Signum, Allgemein-Ritter of the Blazing Flame.” The pink-haired knight raised a hand to her chest in a salute to Signum, her head bowed slightly.
At least they comport themselves properly, Signum thought to herself as she nodded in reply, returning Schach’s salute.
“Before we begin,” Chrono said, resting his good hand on the table as he watched Signum, “I would like to clarify a few issues. You will be extended all rights granted by the Bureau to a human during this interview, including the right against self-incrimination and the right to silence. Do you understand these rights?”
“I do,” Signum replied.
---
She’s certainly imposing, isn’t she, Chrono sent telepathically to Schach as he folded his hands on the table.
I wouldn’t expect anything less from an ancient Knight, Schah replied. Now, remember what we talked about.
Show her respect according to her rank and station, allow her to keep her dignity, do not question her honor or her loyalty, and do not force her into a situation where she‘d be forced to go against her master. I got it.
Exactly. Remember, this will go smoother if we don’t try to provoke her.
Chrono cleared his throat as he began. “There are a few things I’d like you to tell me if you can. Just a few issues that require elaborating on. You stated last night to Miss Testarossa-Sparkle that you were not ordered to fill the pages of the Book. That you were doing this to save your Mistress‘s life. Could you please explain?”
“The statement explains itself,” Signum replied.
“It does, but I don’t like ambiguity, Allgemein-Ritter. Your testimony, assuming you cooperate, could make a great difference in how you, your fellow Wolkenritter, and your Mistress are treated. I’m informing you of this so that you understand where I’m coming from.”
Signum nodded, allowing Chrono to continue. “So, to begin with, if you were not ordered to fill the pages of the Book by your Mistress, then who gave you the order?”
“I ordered the Wolkenritter to hunt. As such, the responsibility falls on my shoulders.”
That makes sense, Schach supplied. She is their Allgemein-ritter. She’s the de-facto field leader of her squad. As such, any actions her squad takes are her direct responsibility.
Chrono nodded very slightly, his attention on Signum. “Under what circumstances was that order given?”
Signum’s expression darkened. “Circumstances that necessitated such orders.”
“A direct threat to your Mistress, I’m assuming,” Chrono replied.
“Yes.”
“From whom? Or should I say what?”
“I cannot say.”
“You cannot, or will not?”
“Cannot.”
Chrono’s mind worked quickly. She gave the order under duress. It’s unlikely that someone from outside of Equestria could be threatening her Mistress, assuming the Mistress is a pony. And if it was some outside force, I doubt whoever it is would be stupid enough to threaten the Wolkenritter’s Mistress. Whatever it is, however, is dangerous enough to force Signum from revealing it outright. Which means it’s either a force from Equestria, or…
“It has something to do with the Book, doesn’t it?”
Signum’s mouth became a thin line. Chrono could see her shoulders tighten slightly. Got you, he thought to himself.
“If your Mistress was being threatened,” Chrono continued, “why didn’t you look for help? Why try to complete the Book?”
“Given the circumstances, that was our only option,” Signum replied. “Alerting others to our true nature would have been an unacceptable risk to our Mistress.”
“I see.” Given their prior owners and their adversarial relationship with the Bureau, I can see why they wouldn’t risk it.
Desperation can make people do unfortunate things, Schach noted telepathically. The threat must be pretty dire if it’d force someone like Signum to go against the will of her Mistress. That’s one of the major tenets of the Belkan knightly code.
“Enforcer Harlaown,” Signum said quietly, pulling Chrono’s attention back to her. The Knight’s shoulders were set, and her eyes hidden by her long pink bangs.
“Yes?”
“What is it that you plan on doing, once you find the Book and our Mistress?”
“What do I plan on doing?”
Signum nodded. “Do you plan on treating her as a criminal? Do you plan to do away with her?”
Chrono bit his lip and leaned back in his chair, his arms crossing over his chest as he glanced down. That was a fair question…
“It depends,” Chrono replied. “It’s not my place to pass judgment. But I can tell you this much; if your Mistress is in trouble because of the Book, if she is blameless in all this chaos… then I’ll do my best to see her found innocent.”
“Do you swear it?”
Chrono glanced to Schach, who replied with a slight nod. “Yes,” Chrono replied. “I swear it.”
Upon your honor, Schach supplied quietly.
“I swear it upon my honor as an Enforcer,” Chrono added.
Signum exhaled slowly. “Forgive me if I do not put much stock in the oath of a child. However, I shall hold you to it nonetheless.”
“I wouldn’t expect any less. Now,” Chrono scratched at the bandages on his arm as he leaned forward, “let’s continue.”
---
“Hmph! Hah!”
Zafira growled slightly, his muscles flexing under his dark skin as he struck the empty air, working through the practice forms under the watchful eyes of the equine guards. His bare feet thumped heavily against the smooth wood of the practice floor, the black, leotard-like undersuit he wore under his Knight Clothing slightly damp with sweat.
It was nice to move like this. To practice like this. He honestly hadn’t expected the ponies to accept his request for a practice space, but they had. Zafira couldn’t decide if it was because they were being too trusting, or if they were that confident that they could keep him contained. The four guards, one in each corner of the room, suggested the latter.
“I figured you’d be in here.”
Zafira stopped, slowly withdrawing his extended arm before he turned slightly, glancing over his shoulder. Arf leaned against the doorway of the practice room, her arms crossed under her breasts and one leg crossed over the other at the knee, her tail swishing lazily and her ears perked forwards.
One of the guards looked at her, snorting loudly. “Miss, you shouldn’t be here. We’re to keep an eye on the prisoner…”
“Relax guys, I‘m not going to cause any trouble.” Arf raised a hand at the guard, then stood up properly and walked towards him. Zafira eyed her as she walked, her bare feet tapping against the wooden floor, her weight more on the balls of her feet. “Besides, I don’t think he’s going to cause any either. Are you, big guy?”
Zafira growled softly as he turned to face her. “No. Not unless provoked.”
“Funny you should say that,” Arf smirked “Considering how much you ran your mouth the other night.”
“Those were different circumstances,” Zafira replied. “What do you want, pup?”
“We never did get our rematch,” Arf replied. “Since we’re here in the practice room, I thought we might take care of that right now.”
“Hmph,” Zafira snorted, crossing his arms as he growled, “Pitiful. You think to take advantage of my sealed magic and imprisonment to have some revenge?”
“Nah,” Arf flicked her hair, then tilted her head to the side sharply, her neck popping before she stretched her arms back. “I just want a rematch. That’s all. Just work out some aggression and stuff. No trying to kill each other, no magic, just good old fashioned sparring.”
“Somehow I doubt your skills have progressed enough to give me a decent challenge,” Zafira countered, his eyes wandering over her form despite himself.
“Well, if you want to run off with your tail between your legs rather than find out, that’s up to you,” Arf replied with a grin. “But somehow I doubt the Shielding Guardian Beast would do something that cowardly.”
Zafira let out a low growl and turned to face Arf. “Tell me,” he said, his eyes narrowing, “are you always this much of a pest?”
“Only when I want something really badly. My Master says it’s a failing of mine.”
Zafira shook his head. “Fine. If a fight is what you want, then so be it. Don’t blame me if you end up with a bloodied lip for your troubles.”
“Likewise.” Arf bounced on the balls of her feet before settling into a fighting stance in front of Zafira. The Guardian Beast studied her stance as he took his own, his feet firmly planted and his arms bent slightly, fists a little below eye level.
Her stance is much more solid now, he thought to himself, his breathing slow and calm, his ears perked forwards as he read Arf’s body. She’s been practicing. Weight’s distributed forward… she probably wants to make the first strike…
Zafira shifted slowly, his feet scooting along the wooden boards as he circled around Arf. Arf returned the favor, her movements more fluid than his, her steps balanced on the balls of her feet, her tail swishing slowly.
Arf surged forwards, almost like a blur of orange hair and light skin. Zafira stepped back slightly, feeling a fist whip just past his nose. He ducked back underneath her second punch, then replied with his own, his fist driving upwards and aimed at her diaphragm.
His fist met air, however, as she dodged backwards. Her back leg snapped around, a low roundhouse arcing around to strike his side. Zafira shifted, bringing the missed strike back down to block, then raised it up again to block the second, higher kick with the same leg.
“As fast as before,” Zafira noted idly, shuffling forwards as she drew back from the kick. He jabbed quickly at her head, her arms moving to parry the strikes he rained down on her. “Your form, however, has improved.”
“I’ve been working on it.” Arf grinned as she circled around him, quickly ducking underneath another of his jabs and launching a counter. Zafira grunted as the punch landed on his stomach, then quickly drew back as she pressed in, her strikes coming quick and sharp, making the air snap with each blow.
Zafira growled, opening one hand. As her fist struck his arm, his hand snapped out, grabbing her wrist. His other hand quickly grabbed her forearm as he turned, shoulder-throwing her and slamming her onto the ground.
Zafira tsked softly as he leaned down to look her in the eye, his hand twisting her wrist. “Still not strong en-”
There was a loud whack, causing his vision to swim as Arf kicked a leg up, her calf slamming onto the top of his head. His grip weakened as his hand went to his head, allowing the slim wolf girl to hop to her feet and turn and face him.
“You know,” Arf flashed him a pointy-toothed grin, “you really shouldn‘t be so quick to judge people‘s strength.”
Zafira growled, rubbing his head before taking his stance again. “A mistake I won’t make a second time.”
---
“My memories?”
Chrono nodded. “Specifically, your memories of the previous incidents with the Book of Darkness.”
Signum was looking at him a little strangely. “I fail to see how such a thing could be relevant, but if you insist. Very well. What do you want to know?”
Chrono produced one of the pieces of paper from his folder, scanning down the writing before speaking. “Eighty one years ago, fifteen years before the adoption of the New Calendar, the four of you were activated by an Imperial Belkan extremist by the name of Graf Betonschleife. Could you please tell us what you remember of the incident?”
Her expression was quite stoic, Chrono noticed, but there were tiny little cues to her real mood. The faint tightening of her lips, the slight narrowing of her eyes, a tenseness in her shoulders. “I cannot provide specific information. My memory is hardly comprehensive.”
“I understand. Humor me though. Tell me what you can remember, anything at all.”
“Graf Betonschleife was a mage of some minor talent,” Signum said calmly. “He wished to use the Book to take revenge against the Bureau for the Belkan Empire‘s losses, or so he claimed. We were to attack Bureau installations and civilian areas on his home world, then fan out to actively hunt Bureau mages. We were ordered to kill any targets that resisted.”
“Do you know what happened after the Book was completed?”
Signum paused, then shook her head. “No. I do not recall.”
“Alright,” Chrono continued, producing another sheet. “Sixty two years ago, around year 0004 of the New Calander, the Book was activated again, apparently by a researcher by the name of Danica Stratus. What do you remember of your time under her?”
“We exclusively hunted Linker Core bearing wildlife and constructs, many of which were artificially created or modified for use in bioweapon experiments. We were also…” Signum’s mouth twisted, “vivisected… in order to better understand our mana morphology and construction.”
Schach inhaled sharply, drawing Signum’s attention to her. “Thankfully,” Signum said stoically, “our bodies are shells. If we are killed, the Book can simply reconstitute us from solid mana, though the act does cost a certain number of pages. And yes, we do still feel pain. All four of us underwent the procedure multiple times.”
“M-multiple times?!” Schach’s hand went to her lips in horror, her face a bit pale.
“Indeed.”
“What happened to Dr. Stratus after the Book was completed?” Chrono kept his tone even.
“I do not know.”
“Alright,” Chrono tapped the folder with one finger. “Fourty years ago. New Calendar Year 0044-”
“Is there a point to this?” Signum’s voice remained calm, though she lifted her hands and rested them on the table.
“There is. Tell me, Allgemein-ritter, do you remember anything of the Book’s actual activations? Anything at all?”
Signum’s brows furrowed as she looked at her hands. She was silent for a few minutes as she looked at her hands, her fingers clenching slightly. “No.”
“Don’t you think that’s odd? That you can remember things about each of your summoning except when the Book is finally completed?”
Signum didn’t reply as he slid the folder over to her, the stiff, kahki-colored edge thumping against her fingers. “According to the records we have,” Chrono continued as Signum opened the folder, “each time the Book itself was activated, its Defense system goes berserk. The results are catastrophic, to say the least.”
The pink-haired knight slowly opened the folder, spreading out the still images and records before her in a rough arc. The pictures followed a single theme; shattered planets, each pockmarked with craters or missing vast chunks of its surface.
“The only anomaly was the incident eleven years ago, where we managed to capture the Book before it could activate,” Chrono continued as Signum’s eyes scanned over the written words. “But aside from that, each world was consumed and annihilated by the Book of Darkness upon its activation.”
“Nothing survives the Book, not even its Master.”
---
Signum stared down at the images. The shattered worlds, the ruined moons, the fractured and charred hunks of stone and molten mantle floating silently in the void, all taunting her.
“No…” Signum shook her head.
“It’s not just those worlds either,” Chrono Harlaown continued. “I can list them all. Jamaal. Schwartzfeld. Herzogbach. Unsen-Dai. Kerrigen. New Velois. Forty nine worlds, gone. Reduced to nothing more than ash and dead rock. All of them killed by the Book of Darkness.”
“No… No, it…” Signum shuddered, feeling a heavy, heavy weight press on her shoulders. It felt hard to breathe.
It didn’t make sense. Their purpose was to complete the Book of Darkness. Once completed, their Master would have full access to the Book’s power. The Book would be under their Master’s command and obey its orders. That was how things worked. That was how it always worked.
Wasn’t it?
Signum stared down at the pictures. She searched her memories, only to shudder as her memories of each period of service simply… stopped. It made no sense. Worlds erased, not conquered. Destroyed, not held.
“You cannot be telling the truth. That no life remains…”
“Would you like me to get more pictures?” Chrono quirked an eyebrow. “Because outside of personally taking you on a sight-seeing tour, there isn’t much else I could do to convince you.”
“No.” Signum shook her head again. “This makes no sense. Surely someone would have noticed such a trend. Why would-”
“Power does a lot of things to people,” Chrono replied. “Those who want power will seek it out, no matter what the possible risk. Many have searched for the Book because they thought they’d be the ones to tame it, unaware of the inevitability of their failure. That’s my guess at least. And if there was nobody to warn them, well…”
“Is that why do I not remember?” Signum’s voice came out in a whisper. “So that I could not warn them?”
“It‘s possible.”
Signum’s eyes snapped up to Chrono as he answered, his expression morose. “I was hoping you could tell me. According to Twilight, Vita said the same thing. Somehow, I don‘t think this is a coincidence. Maybe it‘s a fault in the system that triggers when the Book activates. Maybe it‘s intentional, so that some of your memory gets… scrambled to keep you from realizing your part in the massacre. I can‘t say for sure. This is all just theorizing.”
Her fingers curled, crushing one of the photos. “You treat this matter lightly, child…”
“I’m not treating anything lightly, Allgemein-Ritter,” he replied. “I can’t change the facts. The Book destroys worlds. You and Vita have no apparent recollection of the Book’s actual activations. Which means that either your memory is somehow faulty, or you’re lying. And somehow, I doubt you would put your Mistress, whom you clearly value, in danger by lying to her.”
Signum surged to her feet, causing Chrono to rise with her. The Knight trembled, then slowly walked down the length of the table to one of the walls. She leaned against it, arm extended as she rested a palm on it, her head bowed and her long hair in her eyes.
There was logic to it. A cruel and ugly logic, but logic nonetheless. As much as she wanted to deny it, she couldn’t. What could she say in response? It made too much sense…
The bottom of her fist slammed into the wall, her teeth gritting as she leaned forwards, resting her forehead on the cool stone as her shoulders slumped in defeat.
“May I be damned and cursed,” she whispered. “May I be damned and cursed as a fool and a monster. Verdammt und verflucht mich, to the bottommost pit.”
Signum paused as she felt a hand rest on her shoulder. She raised her head, then turned, following the black-garbed arm back to its owner.
“Enforcer Harlaown?” Schach said, not moving her hand as Signum glared at her.. “Would you mind giving us a moment of privacy?”
“Are you sure that‘s a good idea?” Chrono replied cautiously, glancing over at Signum, then back to the nun.
“I‘ll be fine.”
Chrono shook his head, then rose to his feet. “I’ll be right outside,” he noted as he walked around the table to the door. “Call when you’re ready.”
Signum heard the door shut with a click.
“Would you like to sit back down, Allgemein-ritter?”
Signum nodded numbly, then walked over and took a seat, pushing the pictures away as she did so. Schach followed, reaching over and drawing a chair around the table before settling into the seat at Signum’s side, resting her hands in her lap.
“I won’t presume to know you, Allgemein-ritter,” Schach said gently. “And I’ll admit, I’m not particularly good at the preaching part of my duties. However, as a fellow Knight, I hope I can understand a little of how you feel.”
“I somehow doubt that,” Signum replied harshly.
“Okay, fair enough” Schach nodded. “Then tell me. Help me understand.”
“You cannot understand.” Signum turned to face Schach with hard eyes, her shoulders shaking as she gripped tight against the arms of her chair. Her carefully maintained poise was slipping, her control starting to fray at the edges. “It would be impossible. No one can… no other person has lived as we lived, suffered as we suffered. These hands of mine are so stained with blood that they may as well be dyed crimson. And for what? For the fulfillment of another’s power. Another’s glory.
“Had that been all, I could have accepted it. I had long accepted that we Wolkenritter were but tools. Weapons. Slaves. Nothing more and nothing less. But now, to be told that our duties were for naught!? That our Masters, to a one, have been destroyed by the very Book we serve!?”
Signum pushed herself out of the chair, sending it skidding back and slamming onto its side as she grasped Schach’s shoulders. The nun winced as her fingers dug into her collarbones, and her gaze wavered slightly from Signum’s.
“The Book we serve… the Book I serve…” Her voice grew choked as she trembled. “I am a blind fool. There is no saving our Mistress. The Book cannot be completed, or it will swallow this world as well. But if it is left as-is, our Mistress… the only person that has shown us common decency, that gave us hope, will die. And once more, we will be as tools again. And even our memories of her will be stolen, lost to whatever force that steals them away!”
“And the cruelest joke of all? I must live on. You could wring the life from my body, you could snap my neck, and I would merely rise once more.“ Signum’s hands darted down, grabbing Schach’s and yanking them up to her neck, forcing the nun to grip her neck. Her lips drew back, baring her teeth as a few lonely tears dripped from her eyes. “I cannot even be released by death! Even that cold comfort is denied to me! You know nothing of my existence; you are but a child compared to me! Truly, I am cursed and damned! Verdammt und verflucht mich, and may the dark mare who built my prison be cursed and damned alongside me!”
The hands around Signum’s throat loosened as her arms went slack. Schach rose to her feet as Signum stood there. The Knight felt numb as Schach reached out and touched her cheek gently.
“Your sins weigh heavily on you, Allgemein-Ritter,” Schach said softly. “That much is clear. You’re right; I can’t claim to know even a fraction of what lays on your heart. However, you are wrong.”
“How am I wrong?” Signum’s whisper was choked.
“You are amongst those who wish to aid you, Signum,” Schach replied. “There is salvation even for the blackest and most cursed, so long as you reach out and grasp it.”
“You are a fool to say so…” Signum shook her head.
“Maybe,” Schach shrugged her shoulders. “But that doesn’t mean you can lose hope. You and the Wolkenritter are not alone, Allgemein-Ritter Signum. If you wish for salvation, then you must take the steps, even if that means leaning on another‘s shoulder to do so.”
Signum stared at the younger woman’s face, then bowed her head, a hand wiping across her eyes. “Forgive my… unbecoming conduct,” she said with a soft sniff.
“There’s nothing unbecoming about it,” Schach replied. “Even the most restrained person will eventually break down. No shame in crying, after all.”
“Ahem.”
Signum turned, glaring red-eyed at Chrono. The young Enforcer was standing half-way in the door, a black card bearing a rhombus-shaped jewel held in one hand.
“I thought I heard,” Chrono began as Schach waved him off.
“Everything’s alright Enforcer. Just a brief moment of spiritual turmoil.”
Signum frowned at the nun, then looked back to the Enforcer. “Unless there is anything else, I would like to return to my room now. I have much to think about…”
“Right,” Chrono slipped the card back into his sleeve, pushing the door open a bit wider with his heel. “I guess I can talk to one of the others. Take however long you need to compose yourself.”
Signum nodded blankly as she walked out. The guardsponies quickly fell into step around her as she walked, their armored hooves quiet on the carpeted floor as they walked.
---
“That could have gone better,” Schach said as Chrono shut the door, wiping her hands against her skirt.
“True, but it still worked.” Chrono exhaled and leaned against the door, running his hand through his hair. “Thank you for the assistance, by the way.”
“I wouldn’t have had to step in if you’d kept things civil. Did you really have to push her like that?” Schach crossed her arms, looking down at the young Enforcer with no small amount of irritation. “Did you forget what I said earlier?”
“She was refusing to accept the truth,” Chrono replied. “She isn’t some fragile child, Sister Schach. The quicker she comes around, the better of for all parties involved, her included.”
“She’s still a person, Enforcer Harlaown,” Schach replied firmly. “She deserves the same consideration as any human.”
“I did give her consideration. But I also have to keep in mind that she’s not a regular human. She’s one of the Wolkenritter. She serves the whims of a rogue Lost Logia that we still haven’t located. I am giving her all due consideration, and I have remained polite and civil.” Chrono stood up firmly and met Schach’s eyes defiantly.
“You’re still letting your emotions-”
“I’m well aware of my bias, Sister Schach,” Chrono replied. “Believe me, I’m not blind to my personal failings. But I still have a job to do, and I plan on doing it.”
“So what now?” Schach replied, crossing her arms.
“Once Signum’s calmed down, I’ll talk to her again and present my offer,” Chrono replied. “In the meantime, I think it’d be best if you go and make sure she doesn’t do anything foolish. She may be under guard, but I’d prefer someone other than just the guards kept an eye on her.”
“Very well. And what do you plan on doing until then?”
“I need to check in with Shining Armor about the search teams. And I have to check on Arf’s status. After that, I plan on meeting with Princess Luna about something…”
Schach frowned as Chrono turned towards the door. “Enforcer… Signum said something about a dark mare. What did she mean by that?”
“It means she blames the one who created the Book of Darkness for her situation,” Chrono replied. “Why do you think I’m going to go talk to Princess Luna?”
Schach stared at him. “You mean-”
“Yes. And I’d appreciate it if you kept that information to yourself.”
---
Arf’s feet skidded along the wooden floor from the impact of Zafira’s punch. Her tail was stiff and her ears were pulled back, pain radiating along her forearms from the impact. Her lip was bruised slightly, and her breathing was heavy.
And she was loving it.
Zafira lunged towards her, his fist impacting on her upraised arms again and again. His blows were heavy, the strikes slowly pushing her backwards. The next one swung a bit wide, allowing her to duck underneath and nail him with a body blow. Her knuckles popped softly against his concrete-hard abs, but the wolf-man grunted in acknowledgement of the hit and drew back.
“Point to me,” Arf smirked, shaking her hand out before bouncing on the balls of her feet.
“The score is four to three, my favor,” Zafira replied, flexing his fingers as he slowly took his stance. “One more point and the bout is mine.”
“Look at you, all smug and self-confident” Arf smirked. “Just because you have a one point lead on me.”
“I’m hardly ‘smug,’ Zafira replied. “I’m simply stating a fact to remind you of the stakes.”
“Heh, you’re all competitive. I like that.” Arf grinned as the two of them slowly circled each other, Zafira’s slow steps making a counter-point to Arf’s quicker movements. “Are you always like this, big guy?”
“No.” Zafira replied, his tail slowly swishing as he shifted his weight. “I rarely spar for fun.”
“Not even with your fellow Knights? Sheesh, that’s boring…”
“Unlike you, pup, we do not have time for play-fighting,” Zafira replied coolly, then quickly dashed towards Arf. She danced back, avoiding jab before circling around him, ducking and weaving around his strikes.
“Maybe you should try to find some time. I’m sure your Mistress wouldn’t mind the two of us fooling around…”
Zafira halted his attack, stepping back and taking a defensive stance, his face unreadable. Arf did much the same, watching him cautiously.
“No… I think she would,” Zafira replied softly. “Especially after my failure…”
Arf whined softly under her breath. “Did I hit a nerve? Sorry… my mouth tends to get ahead of my brain sometimes. Did you…”
“A pup like you wouldn’t understand,” Zafira glowered at her.
“You’d be surprised,” Arf replied as she dashed in. Zafira’s arms moved to block her strikes, fist meeting flesh with a meaty thump. “You’re not the only familiar who failed their master!”
Zafira turned an arm inward and grabbed her punching fist by the wrist. “As the Shielding Guardian Beast, it is my duty to protect my Mistress. It is because of my failure that she’s…”
Arf frowned, unclasping her hand. “I know how you feel. I failed my Master too. I let my wonderful, kind Master get hurt and beaten when I should have sunk my fangs into her abuser’s neck.”
Arf brought her knee upwards and slammed it into Zafira’s stomach. The wolf-man winced, then released her arm. “And did she ever forgive you?”
“Yes.” Arf drew back and slowly took her stance again. “And yours will too, I bet. Point to me.”
Arf?
Well, if it isn’t the cute little soldier boy, Arf smirked slightly as she sent the message back. How’d the interrogation go?
Fine. Signum’s a bit worse for the wear, but I sent Sister Schach to talk to her. How’re things on your end?
The big bad wolf is starting to open up, I think. We’re sparring. I‘m winning… though I think he’s letting me get hits in on him.
Get anything useful out of him?
Well, he’s still cute, but a bit of a jerk… honestly, I’m not sure he’s into the whole ‘let’s make friends’ thing.
Focus Arf. Did you find out anything relevant?
He’s carrying around a lot of guilt. He thinks he failed his Mistress. Trust me, I know how that feels. Arf’s mental tone grew solemn as she blocked Zafira‘s strikes. That’s not the sort of feeling you want to carry around. Aside from that, not much…
Well, that’s something at least. Keep trying.
And then the roundhouse came in. Arf let out a strangled bark as it hit her in the ribs, causing her to stumble and land on the ground.
“I would think it‘d be wiser to wait until a lull in the battle,” Zafira said as he walked over to her, “before you start chattering to someone.”
“Nngh… ow. Was I that obvious?”
“Yes. You’re not very good at controlling your expressions, pup.”
“Heh…” Arf slowly sat up. “Guess you win the bout, big guy.”
“Hmph.” Zafira crossed his arms. “Your skills have improved, though your form is still lacking.”
“Coming from you, I’ll take that as a complement,” Arf rose to her feet, extending a hand to Zafira. “Want to do this again sometime?”
Zafira looked at the outstretched hand, his red eyes narrowing slightly.
“Look,” Arf continued, her hand still hovering before her. “You can put up the whole ‘high and mighty’ façade all you like. But we’re not all that different. And right now, you look like you could use a hand. So what do you say?”
“Hmph…” Zafira grumbled, then took Arf’s hand. “If nothing else, you’ll provide me with an adequate sparring partner, pup.”
“Friends do tend to make good punching bags,” Arf gave him a toothy grin, her tail wagging as she squeezed his hand.
“We’re not close enough for you to call me your friend, pup,” Zafira deadpanned as he let go.
“Hey, a girl can hope, can’t she? Now you‘ve got my blood really pumping.” Arf smirked, stretching slowly with her arms above her head. “Want to go another round? Or do you have something else in mind?”
Zafira gave her an irritated look at the innuendo. “Sparring is fine.”
---
“…and that’s how a Barrier Jacket is generated. Do you get it now Rainbow?”
Yuuno watched as Rainbow Dash glared at the equations he had drawn in the sand resting his chin on his palm, his legs folded together on the soft sand of the practice field. The blue-coated pegasus sat there for a few more moments, eyes narrowed, tail flicking and her nostrils flaring before she stomped her hooves in frustration.
“Ugh! This isn’t working fuzzy.”
“Does it have something to do with the equations? I could try to simplify them further if you-”
“It’s not the math that’s giving me trouble.” Rainbow’s rump landed on the sand with a thud as she grumbled. “Trust me, I do math in my head all the time…”
Yuuno blinked. “You?”
“Yeah.” Rainbow quirked an eyebrow. “What?”
“Well, it’s just you don’t strike me as the sort that likes math…”
“Hey, I don’t like it, but when you’re planning out weather patterns and tricks and stuff, you need some math. It’s just…” Rainbow grumbled, tapping a hoof on the sand. “I’m not sure what I’m supposed to do with these.”
“Like I said, the equations are designed to focus your personal mana and generate the necessary fields that form the Barrier Jacket.”
“I know that,” Rainbow snapped, “but when I try to do like you tell me, I just end up getting a headache. Come on fuzzy, you’re supposed to be like this child prodigy, right?”
“Well, I wouldn’t go that far, Ugh, this isn‘t working…” Yuuno replied as Rainbow grumped. “Maybe you should talk to Princess Luna. I mean, if you had a Device-”
“I told you fuzzy, no Devices.” Rainbow stomped a hoof.
“Okay, okay…” Yuuno raised his hands defensively. “I’m just saying that it’d make things a lot easier until we found a workaround.”
Rainbow huffed, causing Yuuno to frown. “What’ve you got against using a Device anyway?”
The pegasus exhaled and glanced away, her ears folding back as she did so. “I just… I wanna prove that I can do this on my own, okay? I promised Twilight that I’d stick around and help her fight the Wolkenritter… but when I did I… well, I kinda got trashed.”
“So you want to prove you don’t have to rely on a Device in order to keep up with Twilight and Fate?”
“Yeah. I mean, the way I see it, a Device ain’t much more than a unicorn’s horn, right? It’s just a thing that takes magic and turns it into other magic,” Rainbow Dash waved her hooves like she was casting a spell, “you know, abracadabra and all that stuff.”
“Huh…never thought about it like that…”
“Yeah. That’s why I grabbed you,” Rainbow reached over, tapping him on the chest firmly. “You don’t need a Device. Heck, you can do stuff with just your brain. So I thought you’d be able to figure out some way for me to do it too. I want to prove that I can be just as awesome at all this magic stuff as you and Twilight and the others are.”
“Alright, alright…” Yuuno gently pushed the poking hoof away. “I got you. Hmm…” Yuuno frowned at Rainbow. “Maybe we’re going about this the wrong way.”
“How?”
“We’ve been trying to superimpose my magical style onto yours. Now, without a Device or Twilight’s intuitive knowledge of spellcraft, that’s a bit difficult to do… but why don’t we work backwards? Why don’t we see if there’s anything you can do that resembles a Barrier Jacket, then see if we can’t, I don’t know, reverse-engineer into an actual Barrier Jacket?”
Rainbow smirked. “Now we’re talking fuzzy.”
Yuuno rubbed his chin as he looked at Rainbow. “The problem is, I’m not really all that familiar with pegasus magic. I mean, I’ve read about your flight and weather control abilities, but that’s about it. Is there anything that we could use? Anything you can think of?”
“Um…” Rainbow scratched one of her ears. “I dunno. I don’t think wrapping myself in clouds would help anything. The only thing I can do that other pegasi can’t is the Sonic Rainboom…”
Yuuno paused. “Hey, Rainbow… what exactly happens when you do a Sonic Rainboom?”
“Huh?” Rainbow blinked. “Uh.. I go really fast and break the sound barrier, causing a shockwave…”
“Yeah, but by all rights your body shouldn’t be able to stand against the energy you’re putting out.” Yuuno rubbed his chin. “There has to be something we’re missing. I think I’ve got an idea…”
Rainbow blinked as Yuuno stood up, dusting off his pants. “Come on Rainbow, let’s head over to the tower. I need to look at the recordings from the other night…”
---
“I still don’t see why you couldn’t just have me send it the normal way, Twilight.”
“Spike, we’re in Canterlot,” Twilight replied, the scroll floating quietly beside her as the two of them walked down the hall. “It’s not like I have to go pretty far to drop off a letter to the Princess. I can just leave it in her quarters for later.”
Spike shrugged. “Yeah, I guess so. I didn’t expect you to come up with a friendship report though. What‘s it about anyway?”
Twilight blushed, glancing at the scroll before sighing. “It’s a bit personal. Maybe I’ll tell you later.”
“Is it something like ‘Dear Celestia, I must confess my love for humans’ or something?”
“Spike!”
The dragon grinned at Twilight‘s scandalous tone.. “Just teasing. Sheesh Twilight, lighten up.”
Twilight shook her head. “Sorry. Maybe I am a bit on edge.”
Spike chuckled. “Well, you know what can fix that?”
“What?”
Spike grinned, clasping his little claws together. “Ice cream!”
Twilight laughed. “Trust you to think the answer to everything is ice-.”
“Look,” a young voice snarled loudly from around the corner, “just back off and leave me alone, alright?! Damn, you ponies are so annoying.”
“Uh oh,” Spike said. “Sounds like trouble.”
Twilight nodded and quickly rounded the corner. Down the hall a ways was a rather odd scene: a young girl with bright red pigtails in a simple black smock sitting sullenly against one of the walls, surrounded by seven very irritated looking guards with glowing horns, flared wings and leveled spears.
“Looks like it too.” Twilight breathed softly to Spike. “Maybe we should help.”
The dragon‘s eyes narrowed as he surveyed the scene. “Yeah. Maybe if we’re lucky you can blast Vita again.”
“Spike!”
“What? It’s true. She probably deserves it for whatever it is she’s done.”
“That’s not the point. Ugh, sometimes I wonder about you,” Twilight shook her head, then quickly trotted down the hall.
“But Twi-”
“Excuse me sirs,” Twilight called out as she approached the scene. “What’s the problem here?”
“Miss Sparkle,” one of the guards saluted. “The prisoner here was attempting to escape custody.”
“Escape nothing,” Vita growled. “I was bored waiting in my damn room so I decided to leave.”
“You kicked the door off its hinges and knocked out the guards posted at the entrance,” another guard noted angrily.
“They shouldn’t have been in the way of the door then! Besides, I told them I was sorry.”
“They were unconscious!”
Twilight coughed loudly. “Excuse me.”
The guards quickly responded, drawing themselves to attention. “Yes, Miss Sparkle,” one of them asked
“If it’s alright with you, I can handle things from here…”
A different guard shook his head. “I’m afraid that’s out of the question, Miss Sparkle. According to our orders, the prisoners are to be accompanied by at least four guards at all times when they leave their rooms. We can’t risk them escaping. Right now, we‘re going to escort the prisoner back to her quarters.”
“A fair point,” Twilight conceded, “but how exactly are you going to keep her in her room with the door broken?”
The guards paused and glanced between each other.
“Could shove her back in the dungeons,“ Spike groused softly under his breath, causing Twilight to give him a gentle kick with a hind leg.
“Tell you what,” Twilight said cheerily as Spike rubbed his stomach, “I’ll keep an eye on her while you guys go get somepony to fix the door, and then we can escort her back to her room. That alright?”
“Well, um, ma’am… orders are still orders…”
“Then you can have a couple of guards keep an eye on us while I keep her occupied. After all, she did say she was bored. Do you really want Vita to break anything else?”
As the guards turned to quietly confer with each other, Twilight glanced in Vita’s direction. The red-headed little knight was frowning grumpily at her from her seat on the ground. The look she was giving Twilight reminded her a bit of Applebloom when she was mad at Applejack.
Twilight did her best to put on a friendly smile. Vita looked at her, then frowned harder and glanced away with a huff.
I guess she’s still not feeling very friendly, Twilight thought to herself. I can’t say I blame her for it.
“Ahem,” one of the guards coughed, drawing Twilight’s attention back to her. “We’ll have you escorted wherever it is you need to go, Miss Sparkle.”
“Thank you sirs. I hate to bother you further, but could one of you deliver this to Princess Celestia’s room for me?” Twilight nodded to the scroll.
“Absolutely,” one of the pegasus guards leaned his head up, gently taking the message in his mouth before quickly trotting off.
“Now, as for you, Vita…” Twilight turned towards the Knight.
“What?” Vita grumbled as she looked back to Twilight.
“How does some ice cream sound?”
---
“Mmmf… can I get another bowl?”
Twilight glanced over at the stack of bowls beside Vita, then back at the nervous-looking serving-pony as the Knight scraped her spoon against the bottom of her bowl of chocolate and vanilla ice cream.
“Don’t you think twelve bowls is enough?” Spike pointed his own spoon at Vita, his own meager single bowl empty.
“Hey, it’s been a while since I’ve had anything sweet.” Vita wiped her lips on the back of her wrist and let out a satisfied sigh. “Besides, this is probably some of the best ice cream I’ve had in ages…”
“Well, heh, royal palates and all that.” Twilight grinned weakly, idly wondering how she was going to explain to Celestia how somepony had devoured at least two tubs of very expensive ice cream. “I’m just surprised you ate so much. Aren’t you worried about a stomach ache?”
“Nah.” Vita licked her spoon clean and dropped it into the bowl. The serving mare quickly collected the used bowls and scampered off as Vita leaned back in the dining room chair, one of the guards opening the door for her. “Unlike you or your lizard, I don’t get stomach aches. Or anything else for that matter.”
“Who’re you calling a lizard, you little-” Spike growled, tiny plumes of flame spurting from his nostrils.
“Spike, calm down.” Twilight sighed, pushing Spike back down into his chair as he stood up, then looked at Vita. “I’d appreciate it if you didn’t tease him like that, Vita.”
“Hey, just because you called off those guards and gave me ice cream doesn’t make us buddies,” Vita replied. The little Knight crossed her arms with a huff as she tilted her chair back, kicking up her feet and resting them on the table. “So don’t start thinking you can order me around. Only one person gets to do that, and she’s not here right now.”
“Jeeze, what a brat,” Spike grumbled under his breath.
“Spike!”
“What? Sorry, but I don’t really feel like being nice to the girl that threw me across the library.”
“Hey,” Vita growled, the feet of the chair thumping against the floor as she leaned across the table. “You set my hair on fire!”
“You were trying to beat Twilight to death with a HAMMER!” Spike snarled, planting his claws on the table as he leaned in as well.
“I wasn’t going to kill her, just knock her out!”
“Oh, like that’s so much better! I should have set your face-”
“Okay, enough you two!” Twilight shouted, calmly lifting Spike up into the air with her telekinesis. “You’re going to stop fighting right now, or I’ll… I dunno, make you sit in a corner or something!”
“Oh, like you could-hey!” Vita squirmed as Twilight lifted her into the air as well, kicking and flailing as she did so. “Let go of me!”
“Not until you two promise me that you’ll behave,” Twilight scolded, looking at Vita firmly. “I know you don’t like me all that much Vita, but you can at least be civil.”
“Yeah,” Spike snorted, “be civil.”
“Spike, you’re not helping matters. If you can’t at least be polite, then you can excuse yourself.”
“Fine. If you want to play nice with the girl who almost smashed your head in, be my guest.” Spike growled, glaring at Vita, his thin, forked tongue flicking out at her. “Just put me down.”
Twilight sighed, slowly lowering both of them down to their respective seats, then watched as Spike hopped off and walked out of the room, slamming the door behind him as best he could. She turned back to Vita, who was sitting in her chair quietly, head lowered and eyes hidden. “Sorry about that…”
“Don’t be. I’m kinda used to it by now,” Vita replied. “He’s a lot like that Hardhead kid.”
“Hardhead?”
“Yeah, the one in the black coat? The Enforcer?”
“Oh. You mean Chrono.”
“Yeah. Same kind of eyes. He’s got it against me hard.”
“Well, Spike is my number one assistant and surrogate kid brother. I’m sure you understand why he’s not exactly fond of you. I’ll talk to him about it once we’re done here.”
“I really wasn’t gonna kill you, you know,” Vita said softly. “Just knock you out. One quick tap on the head would’ve done it. Shamal said that it’s better than draining a Linker Core when someone’s awake.”
“True, but it still would have hurt. Besides, you can’t always tell how much cranial trauma a blow to the head will cause.”
“Nah. That’s what magic’s for.” Vita shot her a frighteningly calm glare before she glanced away. “Trust me, I know how much pressure to apply to knock someone out. I just don‘t tend to hold back that much for obvious reasons.”
Twilight paused, then swallowed. For a moment, she’d almost forgotten who she was talking to. She may look like a little girl, but she’s not… She’s an ancient soldier who’s lived for a very, very long time. And she’s spent most of that time doing who-knows-what sort of-
“New topic,” Twilight said cheerily, trying to derail her own train of thought. “Is there anything you’d like to talk about?”
“…Luna.”
“Huh?” Twilight blinked as Vita looked up at her with an odd, slightly wistful expression.
“Can you tell me about Princess Luna?”
“Princess Luna? Well,” Twilight coughed. That was an odd choice of topic. “What would you like to know?”
“Is she really in charge of the night sky?”
“Well, yes. Princess Luna’s in charge of raising the moon, the layout of the night sky, and of monitoring the dreams of ponies. She single-hoofedly set the stars in the sky above…”
Vita’s eyes grew wide. “You’re joking…”
“Nope. I have it on good authority that’s true.” Twilight started to grin. She may be an ancient soldier, but she’s still a kid…
“So she really is the night sky,” Vita said quietly.
“Hmm?”
“N-nothing.” Vita looked away with a huff.
Twilight couldn’t help but giggle softly, rubbing a hoof under her chin as she thought. “If you’d like, I could see if I could find a telescope…”
Vita jumped slightly. “Huh? W-what would I need a telescope for?”
“Well, I was going to ask if you’d like to stargaze sometime.”
Vita frowned, crossing her arms. “Hmph. I don’t need a telescope to do that… besides, I don’t like looking at the stars with other people.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah. Zafira teases me about it sometimes. He doesn’t get it though… Shamal and Signum don’t either.” Vita’s head dipped slightly, her chin resting against her chest.
Twilight frowned. “What don’t they get?”
“The night sky is special. Cause the stars, you know… they shine up there, looking all pretty…” Vita shifted uncomfortably, running a hand through her hair. “It’s just… rrgh, why am I even talking about this with you? It’s not like you’d understand!”
“Why don’t you tell me anyway,” Twilight asked. “I mean I can always try to understand.”
“No you wouldn’t, because you have stuff.” Vita huffed, glaring at Twilight. “You have… things. Places to live. Books. Clothes. Family. Stuff. But we didn’t. We had nothing but our Devices and our armor, and that’s it. You don’t know what it’s like to have nothing. And for a long time, that’s all I had.”
“And then… a long time ago, I saw the stars for the first time. Properly saw them. And they looked so pretty… that’s when I decided I’d have the stars. The stars were mine. Because you can’t take the stars away, you know? You can’t take stars away from someone…”
Vita slowly sank back in her chair, not looking at Twilight. “I bet that sounds really dumb, huh?”
“Not really,” Twilight replied, swallowing a little as she rubbed her eyes. “I think Princess Luna would be very happy to hear something like that. Maybe you should tell her.”
“Nah…” Vita shifted about in her seat again. “Can we talk about something else now?”
“Sure.”
---
The message arrived while Celestia was in her council chambers, discussing policy with some representatives from Manehattan.
As usual, a guard had surreptitiously slipped around the perimeter of the room to the head of the table where Celestia sat, his movements quiet enough that it didn’t draw too much attention from the bureaucrats she was speaking to. When the stallion reached Celestia’s side, he politely waited for her to finish speaking before leaning up and whispering into her ear, low enough that all the other ponies heard was a soft muttering.
Celestia kept her face in a placid, almost neutral expression as she listened, then nodded. She turned her attention back to the ponies she was speaking to and cleared her throat. “I must apologize my little ponies, but I must cut this conversation short. An issue has just arrived that I must see to immediately. I’ll have my secretary reschedule this meeting at the earliest, most convenient time.”
As the other ponies filed out, muttering amongst themselves softly, Celestia turned to her guard. “Fetch Shining Armor immediately. Send for Twilight and the others as well. Tell them what you‘ve just told me.”
---
“There’s been another victim?!”
Chrono and Shining Armor looked at each other, the Enforcer and the Guard Captain’s eyes meeting for a moment.
“Dispatching the search parties can wait for now,” Chrono said.
Shining Armor nodded. “Agreed. I’ll have guards dispatched to form a perimeter around the area at once.” The stallion turned back to the guardspony. “Where is the victim at right now?”
---
“The Royal Hospital?”
The guard nodded to Twilight. The guards glanced quietly at each other as Vita frowned sharply, her eyes narrowing.
“Do we have any other information about her right now?”
“Only that she’s in stable condition. Her Majesty sent us to fetch all relevant parties.”
“Right.” Twilight nodded, glancing back to Vita. “I’m sorry, but we’re going to have to cut our conversation short.”
Vita didn’t reply, her expression one of distraction.
“Vita?”
“Huh?” The little Knight blinked, then glanced up at Twilight.
“Is there something you wanted to-”
Vita shook her head. “No. I’m fine. I’m… fine.”
One of the guards coughed as he stepped forwards. “We’ll escort the prisoner back to her room, Miss Sparkle. Her door should be repaired by now.”
“Uh… right.” Twilight glanced questioningly at Vita as the young girl shrugged.
“Hey, it was cool talking with you, Sparkle. I’ll see you later…”
“Wait, Vita!” Twilight paused as Vita walked off, the guards quickly falling in around her as she left.
Weird… I actually expected her to react when the guard said there was another victim. Twilight frowned. Why didn’t she?
“Miss Sparkle?”
“Huh? Oh, sorry. Right.” Twilight shook her head to clear her thoughts. “Sorry. Let’s go, sir.”
---
“Indeed?” Luna frowned as the guard nodded.
Fate swallowed down her traditional, after-training potion, only making a mild grimace at the bitter taste. “I can’t believe there’s another victim,” she murmured over the cup.
“Nor can I,” Luna replied as Fate climbed off the bed, setting the cup aside. “No doubt your presence shall be required, my student. The lesson can wait until later. Go.”
“Yes Teacher.”
---
The Royal Hospital at Canterlot was a beautiful building. The plus-sign-shaped hospital was five stories tall and sheathed in pale white stone like many of the other buildings of Canterlot. The campus was surrounded by elegantly trimmed bushes and neat flower arrangements that lent color and life to the normally monochromatic area, and a large red cross hung over the entrance, signifying the building’s purpose as a hospital.
Of course, the hospital was also very subtly surrounded. Royal Guardsponies, sans armor, quietly winged their way about the air or walked with forced casualness along the grounds, doing their best to blend in with the normal ponies and not raise too much suspicion.
A fact Twilight appreciated as she, Fate, Shining Armor and Chrono entered the hospital, quickly approaching the front desk. The last thing they needed was to cause panic…
The yellow unicorn behind the desk adjusted his glasses and sat straight up as Shining Armor coughed. “Can I help you, sir?”
“We received word from your hospital about a certain patient,” Shining Armor replied. “Can we please have the room number?”
The unicorn glanced past Shining armor towards Twilight and Fate, then paused and stared at Chrono. Shining Armor coughed again to catch his attention. “They’re with me on official business,” Shining stated. “The room number?”
“Um… y-yes. Room 411. That’s in the north wing, fourth floor. The elevators are down the hall that way. Do you need security to-”
“We’ll be fine. Thank you.” Shining Armor nodded quickly, then turned and began trotting down the hall. Twilight and company followed, though she noticed a lot of eyes were following Chrono as they walked.
“Are you sure this was a good idea Chrono?” Twilight whispered to him. “I mean, humans aren’t exactly common in Canterlot.”
“I know,” Chrono replied under his breath. “However, I’m also in charge of this investigation alongside Shining Armor. I need to be here to interview the subject.”
“So long as I’m with him, we shouldn’t have too much trouble,” Shining replied as he glanced back to them. “Nopony’s going to harass the Captain of the Royal Guard after all.”
“I realize that, but…” Twilight shook her head.
“Relax Twily. We won’t be here too long. Ah, here’s the elevators.” Shining paused, reaching up and depressing the call button.
Fate glanced around quietly as nurses skittered around their little group. “I remember this place…”
Twilight blinked. “When were you in the hospital, Fate?”
“I met with one of the doctors here after… um…” Fate looked down.
“I had her speak with one of the psychologists here,” Shining supplied. “It was after the bullying incident.”
“Oh! I… I didn’t know. Wait, I thought Dr. Amygdala was a counselor…”
“He is. Dr. Fugue State at the clinic here referred us to him.”
“Oh…” Twilight glanced over at Fate as the elevator doors opened. The four of them stepped inside.
“It’s okay Twilight.” Fate smiled wanly. “It wasn’t too bad. Dr. Fugue State was really friendly.”
“I didn’t know you had to talk to someone in the psych ward though…”
“I asked mom and dad and Shining not to tell you.” Fate glanced aside. “I didn’t want to worry you.”
Twilight frowned, then scooted close and nuzzled Fate gently. The golden filly blushed and returned the nuzzle. “I’m always going to worry Fate,” she replied. “But you don’t have to hide stuff like that from me. I’m your big sister, remember?”
“I know. I’m sorry sis.”
“I hate to break up the sisterly bonding,” Chrono said as the elevator dinged, “but we’re here.”
Twilight nodded and inhaled slowly as they exited the door. “Room 411, right?”
“Yes. That way.”
Hooves and feet echoed against the sea-green walls of the hallway as the four passed by nurses and doctors on their rounds. When they reached the room at the end of the hall however, Twilight paused as she saw the name on the door’s label.
“Trixie? Trixie‘s the victim?!”
Chrono blinked. “You know her Twilight?”
“Sort of. We met once before… though not under the best circumstances. I had heard she was performing here in Canterlot, but…”
“This should make things easier then,” Shining Armor put on his best professional face as he knocked on the door.
“Come in,” a masculine voice called from the other side.
“She must have visitors,” Chrono noted as Shining pushed the door open, the four filing inside.
The hospital room was well lit, the curtains on the large window open to let in light. The walls were a soft cream color, and a magical lamp hung from the ceiling, though it was off. Various bits of medical technology were pushed against the wall on either side of the large, rectangular bed.
On said bed laid Trixie, the white sheets pulled up against he neck and her head laying against her pillow. She looked a bit worse for the wear, her mane thin and her frame more than a little skinny. Next to the window sat two other ponies. One Twilight recognized as Fancy Pants, but the other was a green mare Twilight didn’t know.
“Excuse me,” Shining Armor said formally, “but I’m going to have to ask you two to wait outside. We need to speak to Miss Lulamoon in private.”
“I don’t think that will be necessary, Captain,” Fancy Pants replied, adjusting his monocle.
“Fancy Pants?” Twilight stepped around Shining Armor. “Sir, it’s me, Twilight Sparkle…”
“Ah yes, I remember you Miss Sparkle.” Fancy smiled. The mare, however, seemed quite intent on hiding behind him.
Trixie, however, was glaring at Twilight. “So, we meet again, Twilight Sparkle…”
“Um… h-hello Trixie.” Twilight did her best to smile under Trixie’s withering gaze.
“Have you come to mock Trixie in her moment of frailty?”
“No. Actually, I’m here with Shining Armor on official business…”
“Ah. Hmph. Likely story…”
“Ahem,” Shining Armor coughed loudly. “Let’s try to keep this civil, shall we? Miss, my name is Shining Armor. I’m Captain of the Royal Guard here in Canterlot. This young human with me is Enforcer Chrono Harlaown of the Time-Space Administration Bureau. He‘s assisting me with this investigation. With him is Miss Fate T. Sparkle; she and Twilight are both here to see if any details of your story match their experiences.”
“Fine…” Trixie huffed. “Though they don’t really need to be here.”
Shining paused. “Huh?”
Chrono blinked. “Why do you say that?”
“I… I can answer that.”
All eyes turned to the pale green mare as she climbed down from the window seat and stood. There was a bright flash as her body glowed, then shifted into a human shape, one that Twilight had seen before. A familiar brown book hovered at her side.
“Twilight! Fate! Devices, now!” Chrono shouted, producing S4U from his sleeve, starting to activate the Device. “Wolkenritter, you are under arrest! Deactivate your Device and stand-”
“Stop!”
Trixie groaned and sat up, slowly crawling along the bed to sit between Shamal and Chrono, her blank and bruise-colored flank on full display.
“Trixie… will not allow you… to harm her assistant.”
Twilight’s jaw dropped. “WHAT?!”
---
“Welcome back Admiral Graham, sir.”
Admiral Graham sighed, nodding to Amy as his familiars stepped through the DDL gate behind him. “At ease, Miss Limietta,” he replied distractedly, giving a quick wave of his hand as she relaxed her salute. “Where’s Enforcer Harlaown?”
“He’s currently in the field, sir. Apparently there was a report of another victim.”
Graham blinked. “Another victim of the Book… ah.” His shock quickly faded. “It makes sense. There is still a fourth Wolkenritter at large.”
“Yes sir. Chrono and Captain Shining Armor went out to investigate. They should be back-”
“Miss Limetta!”
Amy and Graham turned as one of the officers spoke up. “Incoming transmission from Enforcer Harlaown.”
“Put it on speaker,” Graham ordered.
The young man nodded, then tapped on his keyboard. “Go ahead, Enforcer Harlaown.”
“This is Enforcer Harlaown, contacting West Tower base. We have secured Shamal of the Wolkenritter. Furthermore, the Book of Darkness and its Mistress have been captured.”
Graham gaped as Amy pumped a fist. “That’s great Chrono! Excellent work!”
Papa, Aria’s voice whispered in Graham’s head, does this mean…
It’s a sign of providence, Aria. However, we mustn‘t get ahead of ourselves. Graham coughed softly into his fist, then spoke. “Enforcer Harlaown, the is Admiral Graham speaking. Congratulations on your arrest. When can we expect the prisoners to be brought in?”
“There are some complications, sir. However, we will do our best to bring them to the palace at the earliest possible opportunity. For the time being, however, Captain Shining Armor and I will be interrogating the Mistress at our current location.”
“Your current location?”
“The Royal Hospital, sir. The Book’s Mistress is a patient here.”
Graham grunted. That was going to complicate matters. “Very well. Keep us updated on the situation.”
“Of course sir. Harlaown out.”
“This is great!” Amy grinned up at Graham. “With the Book captured, we can finally put this case to rest!”
“Indeed,” Graham replied softly. “Indeed…”
---
“So… that’s the situation?”
Shamal nodded quietly, her hands folded in her lap as she sat in front of the window. Chrono and Shining Armor sat across from her, the bed between them, Shamal and Fancy Pants. Twilight and Fate had taken up spots at the foot of the bed, where Trixie was busy giving them an unfriendly glower.
The past hour and a half had gone by quickly. Shamal and Trixie had given the four of them a quick, bare-bones version of what they had told Fancy Pants. Their reactions had been interesting. Shining Armor wore the impassive stoicism of a Royal Guard, while Chrono had shown a good deal of surprise that broke through his own professional expression. Fate and Twilight were looking at Trixie with a mix of pity and horror, which probably accounted for her Mistress’s glare.
“So,” Chrono said, his good hand tucked into his pocket, “you’re saying that Trixie’s current condition is due to the Book of Darkness?”
Shamal nodded. “It is. The Book is what caused my Mistress to lose her magic and Cutie Mark. That much is certain.
“I see.” Chrono turned to look at Trixie. “And you’re sure that you did not order the Wolkenritter to perform their collection duties?”
“Trixie said so, didn’t she?” Trixie sighed, running a hoof through her mane. “We already went over that.”
“I’m just confirming. I’m curious though. Where exactly do you come in, Fancy Pants?”
The stallion sighed, adjusting his monocle. “I was the one who helped convince Shamal and Trixie to turn themselves in. After I learned about their situation, I felt it would be best that they seek aid from the Crown.”
“I see.”
“That was wise of you,” Shining Armor added. “I’m actually surprised you didn’t come forward sooner.”
“Well…” Shamal glanced towards Chrono.
Shining Armor glanced between the two. “Oh. Right.”
“Um… I hate to ask…” Shamal leaned forwards, her hands on her lap. “But what happened to my fellow Knights? Are they okay?”
“The other Wolkenritter are in the care of the Royal Guards right now,” Chrono replied. “Aside from the seals placed on their magic, disarmament and the guards keeping watch over them, they’re otherwise unharmed and unmolested.”
“Thank the Kaiser,” Shamal exhaled softly. She glanced over as Fancy rested a hoof in her lap, her fingers slipping over to gently grip it in return.
“I’d like to see them as soon as possible,” Trixie said, looking over at the human, then over at Shining Armor. “Can you manage that?”
“Miss Lula-”
“Call me Trixie.”
Shining Armor nodded. “Alright then, Miss Trixie. Right now, the Wolkenritter are confined to the palace grounds and under escort. We would have to take you to the palace… and given your current condition, I’m not sure that’s wise.”
“Trixie has already spent most of today being poked, prodded and measured in every possible way by the ponies here in the hospital. Right now, Trixie has more faith in Shamal’s magic than in the doctors here. Trixie would like to see her friends. Now.”
“I‘m afraid that in my opinion-” Chrono began, but was quickly interrupted by Trixie’s angry snort.
“Trixie could give a flying feather of your opinion, Enforcer whatever-your-name-is.” The mare groaned and slowly wobbled her way off of the bed. “Trixie wants to see her assistants. You’re going to take her to them, now.”
“Miss Trixie, please calm down,” Shining Armor stepped in between Chrono and Trixie. “Unless you can give us a good reason, we can’t really justify you leaving the hospital…”
Trixie paused, frowning deeply in thought. After a few moments, she smirked and tossed her mane back. “Very well, how is this for a reason; Trixie has been personally speaking to the… thing in charge of the Book of Darkness.”
Chrono’s eyes went wide. “You’ve been doing what?!”
“Indeed. Ever since Trixie awoke from her comatose slumber, she has been having discourse with the Book. Now, if you want Trixie’s cooperation, you will fulfill Trixie’s request. Is that clear?”
“Miss Trixie,” Shining Armor frowned, “even if this is true, we-”
“Captain,” Chrono interrupted, gently tapping the stallion on the withers. “A moment in private, please?”
“Very well.”
Chrono looked over to Twilight and Fate, giving them a quick nod as Shining Armor opened the door. The two stepped out, closing it partway as they did so.
“So,” Trixie turned her attention to Twilight. “I see you’ve been doing well for yourself, Twilight Sparkle. Fallen in with some interesting individuals, haven’t you?”
“I could say the same for you, Trixie,” Twilight replied.
“Hmph. Though Trixie must admit, you have excellent taste in stallions. Tell me Sparkle, how did a know-nothing librarian from the middle of nowhere manage to charm the Captain of the Royal Guard? Some love spell or something?”
“Um…” Twilight’s ears flattened. “Actually, he’s my big brother.”
Trixie’s eyes bugged out. “Your… your… your brother!?”
“Yeah.”
“He’s… your brother’s the…” Trixie swallowed and coughed loudly, trying to recover her aplomb. “I-I mean, of course! Trixie knew the second she saw him. Trixie noticed the family resemblance…”
Twilight quirked an eyebrow. “Uh-huh,” she replied, dragging out the second syllable for a second or two.
“Is she always like this?” Fate glanced up at Twilight, drawing the blue unicorn’s gaze to her.
“And who is this? Surely not your little sister…”
Fate nodded politely. “Actually, yes. My name’s Fate. I’m sorry I didn’t introduce myself…”
“Hmph. At least somepony has some manners here,” Trixie smirked.
“Of course. It wouldn’t do for me to be rude. It might reflect poorly on my teacher if I was.”
Trixie blinked. “Your teacher?”
“Princess Luna.”
Trixie stared blankly at Fate. “D-did you just say… Princess Luna?”
Fate nodded. “I did. I’m her personal student. I‘m also attending Celestia‘s School for Gifted Unicorns, like Twilight did when she was my age.”
“Um, Mistress?” Shamal stood up and approached the bed as Trixie gaped, her jaw dangling loosely as she swayed slightly from side to side. “You don’t look well. Are you alright?”
“Trixie just feels slightly faint Shamal.” The mare flopped against her pillows, staring balefully at the two unicorns at the foot of the bed. “I hope you two realize how stupendously lucky you are…”
Twilight coughed uncomfortably. “Um… look, Trixie… I know we’re not exactly friends. But I’d like to think we’re not enemies either.”
“Trixie would prefer the term ‘rivals,’ Sparkle.”
Twilight rolled her eyes. “Okay, rivals. The point is that we’re here to help. I’m not sure I can speak for everypony, but I want to help you and the Wolkenritter. Do you think you can put aside your attitude for just a little while, at least until this crisis is over?”
“Hmph…” Trixie glanced over at Shamal and Fancy Pants, then sighed. “Fine. Trixie will graciously accept your aid, Sparkle.”
Twilight exhaled. “Thank y-”
“But know this!” Trixie pointed a hoof. “Once this is over and done with, Trixie will go back to being your rival. And you will pay for Trixie’s untimely humiliation! And Trixie will see to it that you pay dearly!”
Fate coughed and stepped forward. “Excuse me, Trixie?”
“Yes, little one?”
“I’d appreciate it if you didn’t threaten my big sister like that,” Fate said calmly but firmly.
“Is that so?”
Fate nodded. “I don’t like ponies who bully other ponies. And unlike my big sis, I don’t play nice. So, I’m going to ask you not to do it.”
Trixie stared at the little filly‘s very unamused expression, then hmphed. “Very well. Trixie will refrain from ‘bullying’ Twilight Sparkle for the time being, if that will satisfy you.”
“Thank you.” Fate stepped back as the door swung open again, allowing Shining and Chrono back into the room.
“Alright,” Chrono said. “We’ll have to get permission from Trixie’s presiding physician, but we should be able to move her to the Palace.”
“Good.”
“However,” Chrono gestured to Shamal. “I’m going to have to ask that you turn over your Device and submit to a temporary seal being placed on your magic. Technically, you’re still considered a dangerous criminal.”
“However,” Shining Armor added, “I can promise you that you’ll be treated with the utmost respect while in our custody.”
Trixie growled. “Shamal isn’t-”
“It’s okay, Mistress.” Shamal interrupted, slipping the necklace that held Klarwind’s standby form off her neck and folding it into her palm. “I expected this would happen. Is there anything else, Enforcer?”
“The Book of Darkness. Hand it over as well.”
“Of course.” Shamal nodded, grasping the Book and extending it forwards. A pale yellow aura of light surrounded it as Fate lifted it from Shamal’s hand. A pinkish-purple light surrounded Klarwind as Shining drew it up into the air.
“Careful Fate,” Twilight warned as Fate floated the tome over to Chrono.
“Young man, Captain,” Fancy spoke as he rose to his hooves, “would you mind terribly if I accompany Shamal and Trixie to the Palace? I have some business that I must attend to there.”
“I don’t see why not,” Shining replied as Chrono pocketed Shamal’s Device. “Any objections, Enforcer Harlaown?”
“No.”
“Alright. I’ll speak to Dr. Proper Practice about releasing Trixie.”
---
The actual transfer of Trixie to the palace was relatively simple. Though it took a bit of convincing, Proper Practice eventually released Trixie into the care of the palace. Thus, Trixie was wheeled out of the hospital in a wheelchair, then helped into a coach that she shared with Shamal and Fancy Pants.
Their arrival, however, was a bit more dramatic.
---
The side entrance of the Royal Palace tended to be used by individuals who preferred a bit of privacy. After all, when one didn’t want to make a fuss about their arrival, one tended not to use the front door.
Signum appreciated this fact. The rose-haired knight stood firmly at parade-rest, hands folded behind her back. She was trying her best to not let the situation get to her, her mask-like expression hiding her emotional exhaustion. Her eyes glanced over towards Zafira and Vita, then past them to the guards that stood at attention.
It was an odd scene, she had to admit. The entryway was dominated by the presence of the two Princesses, who stood quietly near the back of the room. A dozen guards formed a rough perimeter around the room, lined up against the walls as they kept watch on the three Knights.
Vita fidgeted nervously, glancing between Zafira and Signum as they waited. Zafira to his credit was keeping calm, matching Signum’s parade-rest stance with his arms folded behind him as well. Only the perked-forwards motion of his ears and the flicking of his tail suggested his actual mood.
The door opened, pulling Signum’s attention to it. There was a soft creaking as a wheelchair entered the room. Behind the wheelchair was Shamal, her human form decorated with a simple, familiar black dress. The individual resting on the chair, however, was the more important one.
“Trixie!”
Signum closed her eyes as Vita sprang forwards, running across the intervening space at full speed.
“VitaaaAAAAH!” Trixie squealed as the little Knight launched herself at her, her arms wrapping around her neck.
“Trixie! Trixie! You’re awake! You’re awake…” Vita’s cries of joy trailed off as she bawled, pressing her face into Trixie’s coat as her fingers clenched into the blue-white length of Trixie’s mane.
Trixie groaned, gently stroking a hoof over Vita’s hair. “Yes, yes I am… er… Vita? Not so tight, alright?”
“S-sorry.” Vita sniffed, letting go and wiping her face. “I’m just happy to see you again like this…”
“Well, I’m happy to be like this too.” Trixie reached out, rubbing her hoof on Vita’s head. “Now stop crying. Trixie’s back. No need to worry.”
“R-right.” Vita nodded, sniffling loudly as Trixie looked over her head toward Signum and Zafira.
“So,” she called, “are you two going to come over here or what?”
Signum and Zafira glanced at each other, then began walking towards Trixie. The blue mare grunted, pushing herself out of the wheelchair and getting on her feet, letting Shamal draw the conveyance back a little ways as she looked up at them.
Signum didn’t meet Trixie’s gaze as she knelt down, head slightly bowed. Given what she knew now, she didn’t feel worthy enough to do so.
“Welcome back, Mistress,” Zafira said gruffly as he knelt as well.
“Zafira,” Trixie said, reaching up and stroking one of his ears. “It’s been a while since Trixie last saw your face like this, hasn‘t it?”
“Yes, it has… Mistress, I hope you can forgive me for fai-”
Trixie snorted. “Enough Zafira. Look, you don’t need to apologize. I screwed up. You tried to protect me. I should be the one saying I’m sorry, alright?”
“Yes Mistress…”
Signum felt a shiver run down her spine as Trixie turned her attention towards her. “Signum,” she said softly. “Trixie has heard what you’ve been doing.”
She sighed. She knew it’d eventually come to this. She bowed her head deeply. “Mistress, I can make no excuse for my actions…”
“Signum, look at me when you’re speaking.”
Signum clenched one fist and complied, lifting her head to meet Trixie’s gaze. The mare was frowning softly; not an angry frown, but one of disappointment.
Signum didn’t budge. “I openly defied your wishes, and in doing so have caused a great deal of needless harm to many individuals. Furthermore, as a general, I ordered my subordinates to defy the will of our Mistress. I am unfit-”
“Stop. Just… stop.”
Signum’s mouth shut as Trixie sighed. “Look… I know you did. And I’ll admit I was a bit upset about it when I found out. But you did the only thing you could think of to help me. And for that, I understand. I don‘t like it, but I understand why you did it.”
Trixie shook her head, then touched Signum’s cheek. “I would have probably done something just as desperate if I were in the same state. So don’t start saying anything about you’re unfit or whatever. Understand?”
Signum nodded mutely, then closed her eyes as Trixie leaned up and wrapped a forelimb about her neck. Signum returned the gesture slowly.
“Welcome back, Mistress,” she murmured softly.
---
“I see.”
Graham slowly ran his fingers along the edge of the desk he sat at. Across the wooden gulf stood Chrono, the young Enforcer standing firmly at attention, his eyes focused and his expression stoic. It was a stance Graham was quite familiar with; Chrono typically adopted it whenever the two of them were speaking professionally.
“So you’re absolutely certain the Book is secure?” Graham’s fingers continued stroking slowly along the edge of the desk. His hand paused, however, as he noticed the nervous tic.
“Yes sir. Princess Luna herself saw to its containment.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes sir.”
Graham leaned back in his chair, his hands steepled in his lap as he did so. “And do you feel confidant that Princess Luna has the Book of Darkness well under wraps?”
“I do, sir.”
“Why?”
“Her Majesty has demonstrated capabilities, both in terms of magic and Device Meistership, that suggests that she will be more than capable of containing the Book of Darkness. However, I would suggest speaking to her yourself for further information.”
Graham nodded, giving a soft grunt in acknowledgement. “Enforcer Harlaown,” he continued, “what is your opinion on the situation as it stands?”
“Which situation are you referring to, sir?”
“The Wolkenritter and their Mistress. What is your current opinion of them, as an Enforcer?”
Chrono frowned slightly. “As an Enforcer, sir, my opinion is that the threat has been sufficiently contained. So long as they remain under guard, they no longer present a danger to Equestria or the Bureau, barring activation of the Book.”
“Are you confident, as an Enforcer, that the Equestrians have the Wolkenritter under control?”
“Given the degree of security demonstrated so far by the Royal Guardsponies, yes.”
Graham sighed. “I hope that your confidence isn’t misplaced, Chrono. The last thing we need is a repeat of a tragedy.”
Chrono frowned. “That won’t happen, sir.”
“I see. That will be all, Enforcer. Please go about your duties.”
“Yes sir.” Chrono saluted quickly, then turned and strode out of the room, leaving Graham alone with his thoughts.
I thought as much. I should have expected it, really. Chrono’s been working together with the Equestrians for quite some time now. I didn’t think I could count on his support, but at least now I’ve confirmed it.
His hand slipped down into his uniform’s pocket, then slowly drew out an object. It was a white metal card, about as large as an index card with smooth, rounded edges. A large, ice-blue rhombus-cut jewel decorated its front, framed by a pair of stylized wings. The Device felt cool to the touch, almost like a promise of coming winter.
Though I respect your opinion Chrono, I’m afraid I cannot share your confidence. I cannot risk another disaster under my watch. For the sake of this world, and for her sake, I must be a villain. Durandal, I hope that you grant me your power; I may soon find myself in desperate need of it.
YES, BOSS, the Device chimed softly as it replied telepathically.
Papa?
Graham returned the Device to the pocket where it was originally holstered. Yes, Aria?
Lotte and I have placed the observation sensors as you’ve requested. Once the final one has been placed, we’ll have them linked to your private terminal.
Good. Let me know if anything relevant comes up.
---
Chrono jogged down the hallway, his uniform coat rustling as he did so. His report to Admiral Graham had taken a bit longer than he‘d expected, which made him slightly worried.
You would think this business being almost over would put him in better spirits… Is there something I’m not seeing?
He quickly turned the corner. Whatever it was, it could wait until after he interviewed Trixie. Hopefully, he wasn’t late for the meeting.
At least, that was what he was thinking until he heard a familiar voice call out to him from behind him.
“Chrono!”
Great. Just what I need. Chrono slowed his pace and came to a halt, turning quickly as the Liese Twins approached him.. He braced himself as Lotte pounced on him, her arms going about his neck. “Oof! Lotte!”
“What’s got you in such a rush, Chrono? Huh?” Lotte smiled playfully. “Were you trying to hide from my affection?”
“Heh… like I could hide from you.” Chrono wriggled under her grasp as Aria sighed, reaching over and gently tugging on the collar of her sister's uniform tunic.
“Lotte, let the poor boy go.”
“But Aria,” Lotte whined, “we’ve been so busy…”
“If he’s in a hurry, it’d be best to let him do his job.”
“Fine,” Lotte pouted, releasing Chrono. He winced slightly, rubbing the back of his neck. “So, where’re you off to in such a hurry?”
“Well, if you have to know, I’ve got a meeting to attend to with the Wolkenritter’s Mistress. I’d rather not be late.”
“In that case, it would be best we not keep you,” Aria replied. “Come Lotte. We have our own business to attend to.”
“Aw… bye Chrono. Have fun with your interrogation!”
Sheesh, what was that all about? Chrono shook his head before he turned and took off again. He did admit, it was a little reassuring to see Lotte as her usual pounce-happy self, but it seemed an odd switch after the twins avoidance of him.
Whatever the case, he had a meeting to attend. And it would look poorly on him if he was late.
Thankfully, he didn’t have much further to go. If nothing else, it wasn’t hard for him to get from the western tower where the Bureau had set up residence to the palace proper. Finding the room in question wasn’t too hard either; all he had to do was look for the guards waiting outside. Given the situation, the guard had been increased; two guards waited on one side of the door on the handle side, while another two had taken up position across from the door.
He nodded politely to the guards, knocking firmly on the door before opening it and stepping through. “Excuse me. I hope I’m not late.”
“Actually, you’re just on time,” Shining Armor replied from his seat at the long table. The meeting room was quite crowded this time around; in addition to himself and Shining Armor, Twilight and Fate had also taken up spots on one side of the table. Yuuno had joined them, fidgeting nervously as he looked across the table at the assembled Wolkenritter. The four Knights flanked Trixie, two on either side of her in an almost protective formation. Of course, there were also the two guards that stood near the head of the table as well.
“I see.” Chrono nodded, taking a seat across from Trixie. “Though I have to admit, I was expecting-”
A sudden chill fell over the room as a thin tendril of blue-white mist swirled upwards from the head of table. The mist quickly billowed upwards, soon resolving into the navy-coated shape of Princess Luna.
“Pardon the dramatic entrance,” Luna said as the assembled ponies and humans rose to their feet. “Other matters slowed our progress here. We deemed it necessary to transport ourselves incorporeally to this destination. Take your seats, everyone.”
Chrono shivered slightly as he took a seat, thankful that Luna’s attention wasn’t on him. The Princess of the Night’s gaze was firmly fixed on Trixie, who trying her best to make herself look very small underneath those sharp blue-green eyes. Chrono could feel the press of Luna’s magical power. And from the looks on the others faces, he wasn’t the only one either; Fate had wrapped her thick mane about her forelimbs, while Twilight had taken shelter against Yuuno’s cloak. Shining Armor, however, merely winced and hugged his arms about his barrel.
“So,” Luna said calmly. “You have told Captain Shining Armor that you have spoken to the machine spirit within the Book of Darkness, yes?”
“Yes, your most glorious and terrible majesty,” Trixie squeaked.
“You will tell us what you have seen and heard. Speak well, subject, for our ears hunger for your words.”
Signum frowned at Luna, then slowly scooted forwards in her chair, placing herself between Luna and Trixie with a defiant look.
Luna quirked an eyebrow at Signum. “There is no need for you to defend your Mistress, lady knight. She has nothing to fear from us. We are an ally in this.”
“Um, Princess?” Twilight coughed. “You might want to relax a little…”
Luna blinked, then inhaled slowly. Chrono exhaled as he felt the pressure of Luna’s presence recede, taking the chill along with it. “Forgive us, one and all. We have come from a most taxing task, and in our weariness the dregs of it have spilt over into our glamour.”
“That’s okay, Princess.” Twilight replied, scooting out from under Yuuno’s cloak as she rubbed her hooves together.
“Nay. ‘Tis a most unfortunate display on our part. However, that matter is immaterial.” Luna drew her wings in close as she settled back into her chair. “Let us hear the words of the mare whose ownership of the Book is unquestioned. Speak with care, Trixie. The very fate of our land may rest upon your words.”
Trixie swallowed, then slowly pulled herself up and shook herself. “Alright… Trixie will dispense with her traditional… mode of storytelling for the time being. You all want to know what Trixie saw, yes?”
“That’s right,” Chrono replied.
“Alright.” Trixie ran a hoof through her mane, pushing it out of her face. “When Trixie’s unfortunate… mishap with the Book occurred, Trixie fell into what she believed was a coma. However, Trixie was not alone. Whenever Trixie sought to wake from her slumber, a presence would address her and pull her back into dreamless oblivion. Such was the nature of Trixie’s confinement.”
“This presence,” Yuuno spoke up, “was the Book?”
“Trixie believes so. It spoke to her in a gentle voice…” Trixie shook herself. “A-at any rate, it was not until later when Trixie discovered the purpose behind its actions.”
“Its purpose?” Twilight blinked as Trixie nodded solemnly.
“It seems Trixie’s power had been… drawn to nothing. The ‘machine spirit,’ said that it had trapped Trixie in the Dreaming in order to shield her from further damage.”
“The Dreaming?” Luna blinked. “You are sure of this?”
“Yes, why?”
Luna frowned quietly. “The Dreaming is our territory. ‘Tis the land of dreams and nightmares, a shared unconscious space that only we may access physically…” She paused, then shook her head. “Nevertheless, continue. You say this voice protected you?”
“Wait,” Fate raised a hoof. “Why would it do that? Why would it protect you from itself?”
“Trixie believes… no, Trixie is sure that the being that she spoke to and the one that wounded her are different beings.”
“Two different intelligences in the same Device?” Yuuno blinked. “I’ve never heard of something like that…”
“If you doubt Trixie’s story, human child, then-”
“Let us focus,” Luna interrupted calmly. “Continue your story, Trixie.”
“Y-yes, your majesty. It wasn’t until Trixie started to wake up properly that she actually saw the being she spoke to…”
At that, Luna leaned in slowly, her eyes focusing on Trixie. “You saw it?”
“Y-yes.”
“Describe it. Describe it as best you can manage.”
“Well… Trixie can only tell you what little she saw.” She sighed, closing her eyes. “It looked like a mare… a mare with a white coat, a mane like silver, with bright red eyes.”
Luna’s eyes grew wide. “Impossible,” she whispered softly.
“You know of this spirit she speaks of?” Signum asked quietly.
“Aye… I do. Well do I know her.”
“Well, then who or what is it?”
“Nyx,” Twilight responded as Luna fell silent, her eyes closed.
“Um… and who’s Nyx?” Trixie frowned as she looked at Twilight.
“Nyx is the original Master Program of the Tome of the Night Sky,” Yuuno supplied quickly. “Or at least, she was. I assume the Ancient Belka modified the original programming somehow.”
“The ancient what now?”
“Ahem,” Luna coughed loudly. The room quickly grew quiet as Luna looked towards Trixie. “That is a discussion for another time. What else did the machine spirit say to you?”
“Well…” Trixie inhaled, “when I was in Fancy Pants’ manor, we… had a bit of a conversation. About what was going on with me. I was a bit confused as to why I woke up. This… Nyx was it?”
Luna nodded.
“Nyx told me that it had drawn on Shamal’s energy. That it had been exposed to… this is going to sound ridiculous, but it drew energy from her love for Fancy Pants and grew stronger. Strong enough to let me out of the Dreaming.”
Chrono blinked as Twilight frowned. He could almost see the gears turning in her head as Trixie continued.
“There was something else. She said ‘Nachtwal is waking up.’ I don’t know what that is, but it’s probably not good…”
“Nachtwal?”
Trixie glanced at Yuuno. “You’ve heard of it?”
“No… but if what you said was true, then this ‘Nachtwal’ might be something the Belka installed… a separate intelligence from Nyx.”
Trixie swallowed. “Trixie… might have seen it as well. In a nightmare.”
“You told me about it, Mistress.“ Shamal added softly. “The snakes made of darkness and fire that spoke to you. Es ist fast zeit. ‘It’s almost time.’”
“Whatever it was, this Nyx of yours seemed terrified of it. She went on and on about how it can’t be stopped, how it was a ‘spirit of destruction…’” Trixie shuddered.
“Well,” Shining Armor quipped, “that’s all sorts of ominous, isn’t it?”
Trixie shook her head. “At any rate… Trixie… Trixie would like to make a request.”
“Aye?” Luna frowned as Trixie looked down at the ground.
“Trixie…” The blue mare swallowed, trembling. “Trixie doesn’t know what to do. That’s why Trixie came here. I… I need help. Please. Help me. Help us.”
There was a moment of silence before Luna rose to her feet, throwing her starry mane back.
“That, my little pony, I can do.”
---
Graham leaned back in his chair, staring at the observation screen hovering in front of him.
“That explains a lot of things,” he said softly, tapping on the hovering holographic screen as he continued listening to the conference.
---
“Alright,” Chrono rapped his knuckles on the table, as though to call order to the proceedings. “So… we’ve got the Book. We’ve got the Book’s Mistress. What do we do now?”
“Completing the book is out of the question,” Zafira grunted. “We know what will happen now if the Book’s pages are filled.”
Trixie blinked. “Um…what happens?”
“The Book goes berserk and destroys the world,” Vita replied bluntly.
“Oh, that make- wait, WHAT?!”
Chrono nodded. “Unfortunately, that’s correct.”
Trixie swallowed. “Um… a-are you sure? Trixie understands that the Book is dangerous, but…”
“Unfortunately,” Signum said neutrally, “given the evidence, I must say that what Vita says is true.”
Trixie looked up at Signum in irritation. “Were you four going to warn me about the fact that I was carrying something like that around?”
“It’s not entirely their fault,” Chrono replied. “If Signum and Vita are any indication, the Wolkenritter’s memories were edited to prevent them from revealing this information.”
“Oh…” Trixie glanced down, then inhaled. “Soooo,” Trxie drawled with a nervous smile on her face, “does anypony have a plan?”
“There are many factors that must be accounted for,” Luna replied. “The presence of both intelligences… the instability of the Book’s defense systems…”
Twilight hmmed softly, a hoof rubbing her chin gently.
“Is there some way that you could access the Book’s programming?” Chrono looked at Luna. “After all, if you could somehow-”
“Nay. Though that would make the task infinitely simpler, it would require us to have administrative access. And we find it highly doubtful that the Book would allow us that at this time. We also do not know what modifications have been made to its programming.”
“Can’t Trixie just give you access?”
Shamal shook her head. “Unfortunately, no. Until the Book is activated, it will not recognize commands from its user. That’s the whole reason that our Mistress is in the state she’s in.”
“And I think it’s safe to say that we don’t want the Book to activate,” Vita groused.
“If we can‘t do that, then why don‘t we just blast it with the Elements of Harmony?” Shining Armor frowned. “From what I’ve heard, it’s worked before…”
“A possibility, but one that would be best left to a last resort.” Luna shook her head. “I know not how the Elements would react with the Book’s core.”
Twilight’s eyes widened. “That’s it! The core! Trixie!”
Trixie blinked. “Huh?”
“You said earlier that the Book was able to wake you up because it could access Shamal’s love for Fancy Pants, right?”
“Um… yes. What’s your point?”
“If the spirit that woke you up is still Nyx, then she must have some connection to the Examia shard. Which means that she gains energy from emotions, particularly positive emotions. So if Nyx can gain power from love, then let’s give her love!”
“How… would that even work?” Fate looked at her big sister as Twilight began to grin.
“Simple! Love! If we hit the Book with a concentrated blast of pure love-fueled magic, it should supercharge Nyx. And I bet if we can get Nyx on our side, then this Nachtwal or whatever it is wouldn’t stand a chance!”
“An interesting idea, Twilight Sparkle,” Luna rubbed her chin contemplatively.
“Okay, wait.” Chrono raised a hand. “I’m a little confused here. You’re actually suggesting that we shoot the Book of Darkness with raw love?”
“Why not?”
“Well… first of all, how would we even manage that? I mean, I understand that the Examia translates emotions into power. How, I don’t know, but that’s beside the point. But you’re talking about channeling an emotion and shooting it at something. Is that even possible?”
“Emotional energy is still energy, Chrono,” Twilight replied. “We just need enough of it.”
“That leads me to my second question,” Chrono replied. “Where exactly are we going to get enough ‘love’ to hit the Book with?”
“Well, Chrono.” Twilight smirked. “I just happen to know somepony who has a special talent for love magic. Princess Luna, where’s Cadence?”
Shining Armor coughed. “She’s… um… on a goodwill visit to Saddle Arabia at the moment…”
Twilight blinked. “How did you know that?”
Shining Armor’s cheeks went a bit pink. “Um… Captain of the Royal Guard? Duh?”
“Oh. That makes sense.”
Yuuno chuckled, drawing a glare from Shining and a quizzical glance from Twilight. “What’s so funny?”
“Nothing…” Yuuno coughed and put on a stoic expression. “Nothing at all.”
“I still can’t believe we’re actually talking about using weaponized love,” Chrono said with a groan.
“Is it really so strange, Chrono?” Yuuno peered down the table at him. “Considering everything else we’ve seen?”
“I suppose not. Fine, let’s go with this. Why not?"
Twilight turned to look to Luna. "When should we get started, Princess?"
Luna was frowning at Twilight, causing the smaller unicorn to shift nervously. “Very well. Though we must admit that this plan is most unorthodox and fraught with peril, it may well be the most effective option. But do you think it wise, Twilight Sparkle, to place Cadence in harms way?”
“I know it‘s risky,” Twilight replied, “but right now it‘s the best strategy that I can think of. Besides, Cadence is the only pony I know who could even think of pulling this off.”
Luna hesitated. “We are unsure of this…”
“Your Majesty,” Shining Armor looked to her, “I will personally ensure Princess Cadence will not come to harm. I swear it as Captain of the Royal Guard.”
Luna looked to the stallion, then nodded. “Very well. We shall hold you to that oath, Captain. However, for safety we must suggest that we rally the Elements to our banner as well. If the Elements of Harmony will be necessary, then it would be wise to have their bearers at the ready.”
“Wait, Trixie is confused.” Trixie tilted her head. “Who exactly are the bearers of the Elements?”
Twilight smiled slightly at the showmare. “They’re my friends… You actually met a couple of them when you were last in town, Trixie.”
“When I… you mean…“ Trixie blankly stared at Twilight as her jaw gaped open.
“Miss Twilight,” Shamal said nervously as Trixie swayed, muttering under her breath, “our Mistress is in poor health as it is. Please refrain from giving her any further shocks.”
"Sorry."
---
“Knight Signum?”
Signum blinked as the voice addressed her. Her head turned slowly to face Princess Luna, the dark alicorn quietly looking at her as the meeting slowly broke apart.
“Would you please accompany us? We would like to have a word with you in private.”
Signum frowned, glancing over at Trixie. At the blue unicorn’s nod, she slowly rose to her feet and followed after Luna. As they exited the room, a pair of guards quickly fell into step behind her. Signum could feel their eyes on her, hear their hoofsteps as they thudded against the carpeted floor. However, she kept her attention on the mare ahead of her.
Signum was… tired. Though perhaps tired was not an adequate description of her state. The revelations she had received about the Book of Darkness, the reunion with her Mistress… it had all left her with an ache in her heart, like a muscle long left unstretched.
And then there was the matter of Luna. There she was… the one who had created the Book of Darkness. The source of her woe and the cause of so much pain. The mare whose voice reminded her of…
She shook her head, suppressing a shudder at the memories as she followed Luna out into the late afternoon sun.
“Leave us,” Luna commanded over her shoulder as they approached a wide, rectangular expanse of sand.
“Your Majesty, we’re not to-”
“Leave us.”
The guards bowed slightly at the command, backing away and trotted off as Luna stopped in the middle of the field.
Signum’s feet crunched softly on the sand as she came to a halt. Though she had not seen such a space in a long time, she recognized a practice field when she saw it.
“You seem to see me as an enemy, Knight Signum,” Luna said, slowly stepping out of her black shoes, floating them away with a flick of her horn.
“You must forgive me, Princess,” Signum replied. “But it is difficult for me to trust you.”
“Is it?” There was a soft click as Luna removed the gleaming black peytral from about her neck, the heavy collar settling alongside her shoes.
“Aye. What prisoner would trust the architect of the prison?” Signum shifted her weight slightly, testing the ground beneath her feet. The field was well maintained; the thin layer of sand forming a cushion over the firmer earth below.
“A fair statement,” Luna replied, removing the crown from her brow as she turned to face Signum. “I blame you not for such a sentiment. But you must understand; I am not thy true enemy.”
“But an enemy you remain in my eyes,” Signum replied harshly.
Luna nodded, her horn glowing. There was a faint flicker of navy blue light before a small talisman appeared beside Luna’s head; a thin, diamond-bladed dagger attached to a silver chain. Signum blinked as Luna smiled faintly.
“I believe this belongs to you?” The Device floated over to Signum. Signum reached up and carefully plucked it from the air.
“I believe you said, ‘if you want to prove your point, prove it with strength.’” Luna smile faintly, her wings extending and stretching with a loud flap. “There are some beliefs, some ideas, some views, that cannot be expressed well through pretty words alone. They must instead be shown through battle, through the glorious clash of arms.”
Signum looked up at Luna, her eyes narrowed. “You expect me to fight you, Princess?”
“Aye. Which is why I come before you not as a Princess, but as a fellow warrior.” Luna shook her mane out as her shadow lengthened. A pair of crescent-moon blades emerged from the darkness, glinting like mother-of-pearl colored ice under the slowly lowering sun. “I am Luna al-Mithra, the Sword of Equestria. These blades of mine bear no name, but sharply do their edges bite.”
Signum frowned, then slowly raised her Device up, the chain swinging from her fingers as she answered in kind. “I am Signum of the Wolkenritter, the General of the Blazing Flame. My sword is Laevatein.”
“Well met, Signum and Laevatein.” Luna said with a smile. “I have partially released the seal on your Device. Call your blade forth.”
Signum nodded slowly. “Laevatein! Set up!”
“JA!”
There was a loud crackle of flame as the Device ignited. The sword assembled swiftly, the pieces clicking into place with a crack and a swirl of purple embers. Signum reached up, grasping the scabbard as it too formed, slipping it onto her hip and sliding the blade home.
“As a courtesy, given your lessened state,” Luna said calmly, “I will only use these blades and the strength of my body, nothing more. We fight until first blood is drawn. Do these conditions satisfy you?”
“Yes,” Signum replied curtly as she shifted her stance, her sword hand gripping Laevatein‘s handle tight. With the seal still placed on her Linker Core and no cartridges, she wouldn’t be able to use her advanced abilities, nor her Knight Clothing. Despite the handicap, however, Signum could feel her blood grow warm again. This was something she understood. Something simple. Something clear.
From her stance and the glint in her eyes, Luna seemed to share her feelings. The blades hovered before Luna, held telekinetically at the ready.
A tiny breeze stirred Signum’s hair.
The two warriors sprang forwards at the same time, hooves and feet kicking up sand. Their blades locked with a ringing of steel on steel, sparks spraying out from the force of their clash.
---
“I see retirement has been treating you well, Fancy Pants.”
Fancy Pants shook his head, quietly sipping his tea as he sat across from his sovereign and former employer. “A quiet life of rich food and pleasant company in the center of Equestrian culture? I would certainly say so.”
“Cookie?”
“Thank you.” Fancy quirked an eyebrow as she presented the platter, levitating one up and nibbling. “Mmm, Trottingham shortbread with dark chocolate, unless I miss my guess. You’re spoiling me.”
“Hardly. If I remember correctly, your predecessor told me you scarfed these down whenever you got the chance,” Celestia replied playfully.
“Well, you can hardly blame an urchin for his table manners.” Fancy chuckled before munching contentedly on the cookie.
“Nor can I blame him for taking in someone like Trixie Lulamoon.” Celestia’s eyes narrowed slightly, her lips quirking “Or being quite taken by a certain member of the Wolkenritter.”
“Going straight to the heart of the matter, are we?” He sighed, taking a sip of his tea before clearing his throat. “In my defense, the revelation of their actual identity came as something of a shock to me. And I did implore Trixie and Shamal to seek the aid of the crown…”
Celestia waved a hoof. “It’s quite alright Fancy. I don’t see anything particularly wrong with your actions. True, bringing it to my attention directly would have been wise, but given your personal involvement it was only natural for you to hesitate.”
“Ah.” Fancy Pants exhaled, wiping his brow with a handkerchief as Celestia giggled softly.
“Of course, this doesn’t mean I’m not curious…” Celestia raised her teacup and took a sip, peering over the rim of the cup as she lowered it from her lips. “What is your opinion of Trixie?”
“My opinion of her?”
“In your opinion as a Kingmaker,” Celestia continued, setting her teacup down, “do you believe Trixie is a threat to Equestria, given her current possession and leadership of the Wolkenritter?”
I should have expected this, Fancy thought to himself as he levitated another cookie to his lips, biting it in half and chewing before speaking. “Mmm… that is a question, isn’t it?”
Celestia quirked an eyebrow.
“In my professional opinion… and mind you, this is merely based on what I’ve observed and from Shamal’s admittedly biased reports,” he said, stirring his tea with the bit of cookie, “Trixie is a prideful, ambitious, ego-driven individual with an exceedingly high opinion of herself. However, though her flaws are more than readily apparent, she is not a bad pony. She demonstrates a moderate degree of leadership potential, shows initiative and impressive drive, and has so far resisted the temptation to use her subordinates for nefarious purposes. As of this moment, I do not think Trixie is a threat to Equestria, so long as she has somepony to keep an eye on her and curtail her more negative traits.”
“Ah.” Celestia nodded. “Good. That’s good to hear.”
“Believe me, I’m as relieved as you are,” Fancy crunched his way through the rest of the cookie, swallowing before continuing. “I’d have hated to have to neutralize her. Despite her boastfulness she’s quite pleasant. And given whom she’s descended from, that’s saying a good deal.”
“You mean Mystica Lulamoon?”
“Ah, you’re familiar with her as well?”
Celestia smiled. “I’ll admit, I don’t often visit the movies due to my schedule, but I know of her. I’ve received reports on her from Silver Screen. Not pleasant ones, either.”
“I’ve similar rumors from my friends in Los Pegasus as well.” Fancy shook his head. “Shame. She’s quite a lovely mare.”
“Indeed. However, that’s none of your concern. You’re retired, after all. How is your eye, by the way?”
“Not bad. I may have to get a better prescription for my monocle, but thank you for asking.”
Then there was an urgent knock at the door. Celestia glanced up as Fancy turned around to look at the door. “Enter,” she called. The door swung open as a guard stepped in, looking worried.
“Your Highness,” he said, “it’s Princess Luna.”
“What of her?”
“It appears she’s engaged one of the prisoners in a duel.”
Celestia blinked. “She what?”
“They’re currently fighting on the practice grounds.”
The Sun Princess shook her head and sighed. “Fancy, do excuse me for a moment. I have to make sure my darling little sister doesn’t get into any trouble.”
“Of course.” Fancy Pants nodded as Celestia rose to her feet and strode out of the room. He paused, hmming softly as he rose to his feet and walked over to the window, peering down at the courtyard below. It was a ways down, but he could see two figures moving about in the pitch below, the area quickly being surrounded by other ponies. He levitated another cookie from the plate and nibbled idly as he watched.
---
Sister Schach Nouera stood just behind the ring of guards that had formed just outside the practice area. What had originally begun as an idle stroll to collect her thoughts had changed very quickly when she had followed a group of racing guards.
She stood there, slightly entranced by the scene playing out before her. Signum and Luna danced about each other, their blades casting off sparks in great arcs as they clashed. Neither fighter was giving ground as hooves and feet scattered the packed sand. Neither spoke, save for soft grunts from effort or hissed intakes of breath.
Luna’s movements were fluid and quick, near continuous as she circled around Signum. She didn’t move like a pony; she moved like a predator, like a hunting cat that just happened to have hooves. Her blades were guided by nothing but her will alone, the strikes flowing in quick, slicing arcs that seemed to make the air sing.
Signum, meanwhile, seemed more than capable of matching the dark mare. The Knight moved like a brushfire; swift and sure and ever-constant in speed. She kept Luna at length using her much longer sword, parrying Luna’s strikes with blade in one hand and scabbard in the other. Her own darting slashes and thrusts were precise and smooth, though her attacks were a bit more cautious than Luna’s much wider swings.
Schach considered herself a competent knight. One didn’t rise to the position she did without some talent. However, watching the two masters on the field made her feel like a novice again.
I‘ve never seen a duel this intense before, she thought to herself as Signum pressed in, her sword clashing with Luna’s blades, pushing the alicorn into a defensive posture. Not even the arms masters at the Saint Church fought at this level of skill. And yet, there’s no killing intent behind their movements…
“What in the hell is going on!?”
Schach blinked, turning as she saw Chrono and Shining Armor running up towards her, followed close behind by Yuuno Scrya. “Shouldn’t it be obvious?”
“How the hell did Signum get her sword? I thought the Wolkenritter were under control!” Chrono reached into his sleeve, producing his Device, only to pause as one of the guardsponies looked at him, his horn lighting up.
“Lieutenant Point,” Shining said as he stepped forward, “lower your horn and allow us by.”
“Sorry Captain,” the guardspony replied, “but we’re under orders to not let anyone interfere.”
“On whose orders?”
“Princess Luna’s, sir.”
“This is ridiculous,” Chrono growled. “You expect us to stand back while those two are fighting like that?”
“I’m afraid so. Her Majesty was quite clear on it.”
“And you’re fine with this?”
“Enforcer,” Schach said calmly, “I don’t think either Signum or Princess Luna intend on killing each other.”
Chrono glanced over to her. “Is that so?”
“You three have been in battles before, right. You’ve felt the tension, the killing intent in your opponents…” Schach shook her head. “But this… this is different.”
“Now that you mention it,” Yuuno rubbed his chin, “the atmosphere is different from the fight over Neighagra. It’s hard to describe…”
“It’s because it’s a duel between two individuals from an ancient era.”
Schach blinked as the sunlight intensified slightly. Princess Celestia slowly landed with a great, heavy wing beat, her eyes looking past the gathering to the dueling pair.
“Your Majesty,” Shining Armor bowed his head as Celestia cantered toward them.
Celestia inclined her head to him. “Captain. Enforcer, I believe Sister Schach is correct. This is no duel to the death. They are trying to understand each other.”
“They’re what?” Chrono blinked.
“The Ancient Belka had a curious tradition,” Schach said, crossing her arms. “There was a belief, particularly among ritter of a high enough standing and face, that dueling was a way to come to an understanding of one another. A way of stripping away pretense to reach the heart of one‘s opponent. The goal wasn‘t to ‘win,’ per se, but to know one‘s opponent. You could think of it as a very aggressive form of discourse.”
“That’s ludicrous…”
“That’s because you come from a different culture,” Schach replied. “Signum is an Ancient Belkan Knight. It’s likely, given her skill, that she herself has fought similar duels.”
“And my sister is much the same way,” Celestia shook her head as Luna sprang forwards, pushing Signum back as she clashed blades with her, forcing the Knight into a crouched stance. “Though I find the practice to be foolish myself. It‘s likely Luna initiated the duel herself.”
“So, you’re saying Luna’s trying to win Signum over by… by fighting her?” Yuuno blinked as Schach nodded.
“I think so. Signum is… torn.” Schach glanced back as Signum broke free of the clash, sliding between Luna’s legs. The Princess turned, parrying her stroke as she spun to face her opponent. “I don’t think she trusts Luna… or us. Maybe this is Her Majesty’s way of showing her that they’re not so different.”
“So what do we do?” Chrono grumbled, flipping S4U’s Standby Form over his fingers.
“We wait.”
---
Signum moved back, her feet shuffling across the dirt as she parried Luna’s strokes, her hair swaying behind her as she replied with a powerful thrust that was deflected by Luna’s sharp horn. She drew her arm back in a flash, Luna’s blade just missing her wrist as it scraped along Laevatein’s blunt back edge.
Her emotional weariness and stress had melted away, replaced by an adrenaline high fed by the rush of battle. Her muscles ached gently as she parried and retaliated, sword and scabbard flashing out to meet her opponent’s dual weapons, her breath coming out hot and quick, her skin slick with sweat.
So, this is Testarossa-Sparkle’s teacher, she thought idly as she broke away from Luna, the two circling each other slowly. Signum recognized the tiny hints and tells that Fate had when they had clashed over Neighagra; neck movements, flicks of the horn, tells that Luna shared. Tells that had been transferred from master to pupil.
Luna’s coat glistened with sweat, her lips marked with a hint of lather, though her eyes were locked on Signum. Her muscles, strong and lean, rippled under her dark coat as she moved. There was a sense of purpose in her movements, a poise and confidence that Fate lacked.
And though she hated Luna… she couldn’t help but feel a sense of admiration.
Why?
Signum blinked as she heard that foreign voice whisper in her mind. Her stance stiffened as her eyes hardened. Must you ask?
I feel that I must. Luna met her gaze, her blade raised high, her tail flicking as she slowly cantered sideways, matching Signum’s speed.
You are the one who created the Book of Darkness. You are the cause of all this. Why should I not loathe you? Signum leaped forwards, slashing down vertically at Luna’s head, only for the mare to swat her blade away.
I can not dispute my part in this tragedy. Luna stepped in, body-checking Signum to push her back. Luna launched her blades out again, one after another, forcing Signum to parry.
Then you admit your guilt! Signum circled around Luna, slicing at her open barrel.
Aye. Luna caught the blade with the inside of one crescent, pushing it up and away as she turned. But to lay the vast burden at my hooves alone is to miss the truth of the matter.
Signum stepped backwards as Luna began to slash at her, the shining blades like the claws of a great beast. Sparks sprayed with each parry and block as she kept distance between herself and Luna.
The Book left my hooves long before you were conceived, Knight Signum, and was made into what it is now by your own people, Luna brought her blades about, catching Laevatein in a pincer. With a swing of her neck, the sword was pulled from Signum’s grasp, the blade whirling in the air before landing point-down in the sand.
Signum turned and lobbed the scabbard at Luna’s head. The Princess knocked the projectile away as Signum dashed past, diving past Luna’s strike and grabbing up her sword once more. Signm flourished the blade, her scabbard reappearing at her hip as she sheathed it, her stance widening as her sword-hand rested in its hilt. It was the stance she used when performing a quick-draw. And yet, Signum replied coolly, it was your design that they built upon.
Aye. But now I seek to repatriate my old sin. Luna turned to face her, blades held before her at eye level, her gaze analytical. To help undo what has been wrought in my long absence. Do you hate me so that you would deny my aid?
Signum bared her teeth. Be gone from my mind. I place no trust in such words. Your whispers are as foul as hers.
Whose?
Signum’s hand tightened. She could hear the whispering from outside the field of battle. I hear her whispers when we are unmade. The whispers of a wretch, mouthing apologies in vain. The others may not hear her, but I do. Empty words begging forgiveness that it does not deserve, just like yours.
Whose?
I haven’t seen her face… but she calls herself ‘the last vestige of the night.’
That seemed to give Luna pause, before she sighed heavily. I see. So I remind you of her.
Yes.
Is that why you mistrust me? That I share her voice?
It is but one of many reasons.
Then what may I do to give you reason to believe me? I speak no falsehood…
Then cease with this meaningless babble! Signum could feel the tension rise. I have little patience for your excuses. Come! Come and show me your mettle if you dare!
Luna pawed at the ground, her wings flapping and then pulling tight against her side. Then dare I shall, Knight.
Signum let out a hiss of breath as Luna charged her. There was no oblique approach, no darting motion. Just a straightforward and direct charge. Did she expect her to dodge out of the way?
There was a rasp of steel on steel as Signum drew Laevatein, her strike as quick as lightning.
There was a noise like shattering glass as her blade cut through Luna’s crescent swords, the pieces flying in all directions. Time seemed to slow down as Luna lowered her head. Her sword slowly finished its arc up, then turned and began its downward swing, a swing that would easily cut through anything in its path.
Signum was vaguely aware of a distant shout when she felt a sting on her neck. Her eyes went wide as Luna stopped, her eyes glaring up at her, daring her to let the blow fall.
---
Schach tried to breathe as she stared at the scene before her.
Both fighters had frozen. Signum stood there, her sword pointed slightly upwards, eyes wide with shock. Slowly, she stepped back, her scabbard hanging limply as the hand that held it went to the hidden side of her neck.
Luna, meanwhile stood there, eyes narrowed and wings folded tight. The tip of her horn was dyed a dark crimson, a few drops slowly following the groove of her horn.
“First blood,” Luna said calmly.
Signum panted, slowly going to one knee. “You charged at me.”
“I did,” Luna replied.
“You knew what my stance meant,” Signum replied.
“I did. A direct approach was the only option that would not violate the agreement I laid down. Had you continued your strike, you would have likely taken my head.”
“And yet,” Signum closed her eyes, “you did so anyway.”
“Aye, that I did.”
Signum sighed, shaking her head as she thrust her sword into the ground, rising slowly to her feet. “I considered it… taking your head, I mean.”
“And yet you chose not to. Why?
“I…” Signum bowed her head. “You have been a worthy opponent. To do so would have been to defy the courtesy you have shown me. I have been a fool.”
“A great many are fools, Knight Signum, but few will admit to it.” Luna glanced off to the side. “Scrya!”
Schach glanced over as the young man stiffened. “Yes, your majesty?”
“Tend to Signum’s wound.”
“Y-yes ma’am.”
Schach stepped aside as Luna walked through the ring of guards, passing Yuuno as she did so. The night princess looked at the group before settling her gaze on Celestia. “Were you watching, sister?”
Celestia nodded. “I was. You were in fine form today, Luna.”
Luna flicked her tail and glanced aside. “Thank you.”
Schach coughed. “Your Majesty?” She bowed slightly at Luna turned to look at her. “It was a pleasure to watch the two of you fight.”
Luna smirked slightly, then quirked an eyebrow as Chrono coughed. “Yes, Enforcer?”
“With all due respect, your Majesty,” Chrono said calmly, “do you think this was a wise decision? Dueling her so openly?”
“I believe it so.” Luna glanced back as Signum knelt down, letting Yuuno’s healing spell work on her wound. “Perhaps this was the sort of release she needed…”
Signum turned to look over at her, then bowed her head. Her sword glittered, then glowed and shrank back down into its Standby Form, the tiny dagger landing on the ground.
---
As day slowly sank toward night, the palace seemed to quiet down. After the grand drama earlier that day, Shining Armor was thankful for it. If nothing else, it gave him time to think while doing his evening checks, particularly on the visitor that would soon be gracing Canterlot once more.
Cadence is coming back. That thought alone sent simultaneous shivers of worry and elation down his spine. On the one hoof, he hadn’t seen Cadence in… it felt like forever. Being a Princess, Cadence was always traveling about Equestria and through other countries on missions of goodwill and peace. And from what he’d heard in her letters to him, she was quite popular. Still, his heart ached to see her again; her all-too-brief breaks between trips were like brief oases in the huge, sandy desert that was his love life.
On the other hoof, Cadence was being called back to help with the Book of Darkness. As much as he loved his darling little sister, Shining Armor almost wanted to give Twilight a piece of his mind about exposing Cadence to such danger. True, he realized that Cadence was a Princess and could likely handle herself, but this was Cadence they were talking about. He’d never forgive himself if even a single hair of her flawless mane was harmed…
“Psst! Hey, Shining!”
“Gah!” The stallion jerked out of his reverie as he heard a voice. He quickly glanced around, only to pause as a small, purple-scaled hand gestured urgently to him from a nearby alcove.
“Spike?”
The little dragon peeked his head out and shushed him loudly, then violently gestured for him again. Shining quirked an eyebrow, then slowly trotted over and stepped into the alcove.
Spike was pressed up against the wall, peeking out furtively in the direction Shining came from. “Just the pony I needed to talk too. Were you followed?”
Shining blinked. “Followed?”
“Yeah.”
“Uh…” Shining leaned out of the alcove, then back in. “No? Spike, what’re you…”
“Shhh… dude, just listen to me for a second, alright?” Spike peeked out again, searching the hall quickly before turning back to Shining. “There’s something totally weird going on.”
“Weird?”
“Yeah. You know those two cats that General Gills Grahamcracker always has with him?”
“You mean Admiral-”
“Shhh!” Spike shushed him again. “I’m using an ally-as for him… You know, a fake name? That way, if someone hears us, they won’t know we’re talking about him.”
“Spike,” Shining groaned, “this better not be one of your pranks…”
“No! No dude, just listen. Anyway, you know those two cat-girls? I think they’re up to something.”
“Uh huh?” Shining Armor quirked an eyebrow.
“Yeah. Okay, here’s what happened… earlier this afternoon, before you guys went to get Trixie, I kinda wandered off to do my own thing. I mean, Twilight was hanging with that annoying little brat Vita, and you know I don’t get along well with girls her age, so I was like ‘to hay with this noise’ and I-”
“I know, I know, Twilight told me. So-”
“Okay, so after you guys split, I decided to take a walk around the Palace. You know, cool my head… and that’s when I saw ‘em. They were just walking around, looking real casual. Too casual. Now, I don’t know about you, but those two give me the heebie-jeebies real bad. So when I saw them, I decided to follow them. You know, sneaky. I don’t think they saw me because, hey, who pays attention to little ol’ Spike?”
“So you saw them sneaking around?”
“Well,” Spike scratched one of his ear-fins. “Kinda. A couple of times I lost sight of them because they’d turn into a cat or fly off or something. One time they split up, so I had to figure out which one to follow. Anyway! The point is, I saw them being all sneaky and suspicious, like they were up to something!”
Shining Armor sighed. “Has Twily been reading spy novels to you before bedtime or something? You do realize that ‘From Zebrica With Love’ is fiction, right?”
“No! Dude, I’m serious here!”
“Okay, okay,” Shining shook his head. “Let’s say that you’re right and the Liese Twins are sneaking around the palace for some reason. Why?”
“I don’t know!” Spike stomped his little foot. “I just know they were sneaking around a lot of weird places!”
“Like where?”
“Well,” Spike began to tick off his fingers. “Like the guard’s training area, the royal gardens, the entrance to the Royal Archives, the royal library, near the royal quarters, the roof of that weird northeastern tower nopony ever goes to…”
“Huh…” Shining frowned. “That does seem odd.”
“I know, right?” Spike nodded. “You gotta arrest them, quick!”
“Wait, what?”
“Dude, I’m positive they were up to something! What if they were… like… I dunno, planting something?”
“Planting something?”
“Yeah!”
Shining sighed. “Spike, look. I’ll admit that the whole sneaking around thing is a bit weird, but that’s going a bit far. The Liese Twins are Admiral Graham’s Familiars. If they were doing something like that, then that’d jeopardize the Admiral’s diplomatic relations with the Princesses. Did you actually see them plant anything?”
“Well… no, but-”
“In that case, dude, you need to chill.”
“You don’t believe me, do you?” Spike huffed, crossing his arms.
“It’s not that I don’t believe you, it’s that, well, maybe you’re letting your imagination get ahead of you. You can’t just make wild accusations without actual evidence. Now, if it’ll help, I’ll see if I can’t have some of the guards check the areas you told me about in the morning.”
“But what if something happens by then? What if they figure-”
“Spike,” Shining Armor sighed, “just calm down, okay? If there is something weird going on, we’ll handle it, alright?”
Spike grumbled softly under his breath. “Fine.”
“Good.” Shining reached up and gently rubbed Spike’s head. “Now why don’t you head back to your room? Twily’s probably worried about where you’ve been all day.”
The little dragon huffed and grumbled softly. Shining watched him pad off, then shook his head as he resumed his patrol.
---
“Have the arrangements been made, sister?”
Celestia nodded as she walked alongside Luna. “They have. I’ve received a reply from Cadence; she shall be arriving early tomorrow afternoon. The Elements of Harmony will arrive close to the same time.”
Luna nodded silently, causing Celestia to glance at her. “Is something the matter, Luna?”
“I am… worried, sister.”
“About Cadence?”
Luna nodded, glancing away as she stopped. “Aye. To put her at risk… Though well do I understand the necessity, I can feel naught but fear at the prospect.”
“Lulu,” Celestia turned and nuzzled the smaller alicorn’s cheek, “it’s okay to be worried. But Cadence has grown into a strong mare on her own. I’m sure that she’ll be fine. And she’ll have everypony with her to protect her.”
“Will such measures be enough, though?” Luna closed her eyes and shook her head. “Tia… I can nay risk losing her. Not as I lost Aria…”
“You won’t,” Celestia replied, lifting Luna’s head gently with one hoof. “I can promise you that. I’ll do everything in my power to prevent that from happening.”
---
“So, that’s their plan.”
Graham tapped on the glowing holographic panel, hiding it as he rose from his desk, stepping out of the office and flicking off the lights.