ONE OF THESE DAYS
Chapter 9: Burning Down the House
~21 Aevum Illuminationis~
Alone in his dimly lit office, an earth pony sat at a ridiculously tiny desk, hunched over a sheaf of parchment, charcoal shard held gently in his mouth as he scratched away at the paper. The candle which acted as his only source of light flickered as it nearly reached the end of its life.
With a sigh of relief, he signed his name and gratefully spat out the charcoal. He rolled up the parchment and sealed it with some precious wax from the candle and affixed his seal of office to the rapidly cooling blob. Setting it on the edge of his desk, he rose and stretched, enjoying the popping sensation as his muscles released the tension that had building for far longer than he would have liked. He left the scroll sitting on his desk and slipped on his breastplate, showing his captain's rank prominently and took hold of a massive spear twice his length, with practiced ease and walked out the door, his ears brushing the frame as he did and went up the stairs.
As he walked outside and on to the ramparts of the small watchtower, he took a deep breath of the crisp night air. Soldiers almost half his size saluted, but he just nodded in return, allowing them to return to their duties of watching for trouble. A grizzled unicorn walked up to the ramparts and joined the earth pony which towered over him by more than a head. Looking out over the horizon to the north, he said, “Storm's a-comin', Cap'n Highwind.”
Looking down at the stallion, the larger pony replied, “Thy bones tell thee that, Sergeant Butterbear?”
“Ayuh,” he answered with a nod.
“Mayhap we shouldst lay in more firewood,” the captain mused aloud.
Another nod and a, “Ayuh.”
“Sergeant, if thou doth continue to wax loquacious, I shall be forced to order thy silence.”
Butterbear looked up at his captain and without a hint of remorse, said, “Beggin' the Cap'n's pardon Sir, but I'm just apprehensive as to the dragon's next move. Almost two years with no follow-up after Ironspear? E'en for dragons, that be slow.”
“Granted, Sergeant,” Highwind said. “The dragons have us all apprehensive, though if they wish to allow us time enow to gather our strength, I shan't be the one to hurry them along.”
Butterbear merely grunted and looked out again to the north. Highwind smiled and turned to leave. “Tarry not o'ermuch. The morn is upon us much sooner than thou might prefer.” When no reply was forthcoming, he stopped, halfway to the hatch back into the watchtower and looked back over his shoulder. “Sergeant?”
Still as a statue, Butterbear continued to look intently at the horizon. Highwind looked to the other guards, who were watching the both of them now, and just shrugged. The earth pony walked back to the unicorn and looked into his old, rheumy eyes, which were fixed steadfastly, his brow furrowed in intent concentration. All of a sudden, he burst into action, running over to the long, hollow brass bar kept next to the hatch and used the hilt of his sword to bang on it with all his might. A series of mighty peals of metallic thunder rang out loudly into the silent night. “Alarm! Alarm! Dragons!” he shouted.
Highwind was already looking to the north, and finally saw what his subordinate had seen. Three winged forms flew between a gap in the clouds, but disappeared quickly into the cover. With a great roar that actually covered the sound of the alarm, he shouted, “Battle stations! Ready the ballista and load for dragon!”
Ponies began scrambling out of the tower from the bottom and top. Pegasi and aganippe took to the air, some flying above the massing clouds which looked ready to unleash their thundery might at any time, but most took up station near the tower, flying in formation. Unicorns and earth ponies took up position on the ramparts, and behind strategically placed rock wall barriers on the ground. In the middle of the tower, wood paneling was taken apart to reveal a ballista, which was quickly pulled into the locked position with a windlass. A wicked-looking metal disk with glowing purple runes about a hoof and a half across and jagged blades radiating out in the four cardinal directions was carefully placed in a specially design shuttle, as a pegasus took the controls. She swiveled it towards the north where the captain was looking, ready to let fly at the order.
A soldier ran up to Highwind with his helm and he donned it silently. Taking his spear in hoof, he kept an eye on the sky, but an ear out for any report. The distant crack of thunder made an ear twitch, but he kept scanning the sky. “Captain, look!” a soldier cried out and pointed towards the northwest.
His head swiveled in that direction, and he caught sight of an orange-red light within the clouds, and just barely visible, a small, pony-shaped shadow falling to the ground. “Steady, ballista. Fire not until they presenteth themselves. We hath only so many of those shot.”
An aganippe suddenly dropped from the clouds and landed in a steaming heap at the earth pony's hooves. Half her face was seared to uselessness, and half her rear was purple from a fast forming bruise. Blood poured from wounds, with white bones poking through in several spots. “Th... th... three of them, Sir. One massive... black...”
Highwind shouted, “Unicorns! Acid protection!”
“No!” the aganippe gasped out. “Black... night...” was all she could say before closing her one good eye forever.
A frightful shriek from the sky split the night and seemed to echo all around the ponies, causing them all to look up in terror. Lightning struck a tree near the tower, setting it ablaze, but the flames were soon quenched by the deluge that began falling.
Without taking his eyes from the sky, Highwind said, “Sergeant, didst thou dispatch the messenger yet?”
Instantly, Butterbear was next to his commander. “Ayuh.”
“Let us hop she makes it, then.”
“Ayuh.”
A faint whistling sound, barely heard over the rain, perked the ears of several of the ponies. The three dragons, one much larger than the rest, suddenly dived out of the clouds, heading right for the tower. Immediately, the ballista fired, aiming the first enchanted disk at one of the smaller dragons, bringing him down to crash onto one of the stone parapets built on the ground. Firmly taking his spear in hoof, Highwind didn't wait for the fight to come to him, and instead leapt to meet the largest dragon head on, and spear first.
Seeing this stallion daring to face her personally, Nightmare smiled evilly.
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( . .)
*(“)(“)
~2015 Aevum Illuminationis~
Paladin walked next to Awesomeshine, interrogating the mare for more information about the pony they were trekking to find. “So what's she like? Has she been studying long? What's her name and special talent?”
Awesomeshine chuckled and bumped shoulders with the excited guard. “I'm glad to see you've regained your good spirits, but one question at a time, please!” A dreamy smile formed on the unicorn's lips as she thought of her best and oldest friend. “Her name is Silver Script, and research is her special talent, actually. She took a little ribbing from that, but she never let it bother her. Sil's very good at it, especially when it concerns magic and magical artifacts.”
“Is that the friend you kept talking about back in Foalton?” Kitten Caboodle asked as she flapped up to them. Landing on the ground on the other side of Awesomeshine, she trotted along with them. “She sounds like a fascinating pony from the way you described her.”
“Oh, but she is!” the healer replied. “She first made me these glasses before she even was apprenticed, but has improved them several times since then. She also has several other projects that she's been working on, but wouldn't tell me about them. I think she wants them to be a surprise.” Bringing her head down to Kitten's level, she winked and said, “Don't tell her I said this, but my little brother has had a bit of a crush on her since he was just a little colt. She's very sweet about it, and tries not to lead him on or crush his dreams. We think he'll outgrow it eventually.”
Kitten tilted her head in confusion. “You think she's into mares and not stallions?”
With a shrug, Awesomeshine replied, “Dunno. She's never really showed an interest in anypony. I'm not sure she wants that sort of relationship at all, which would be a shame. Nopony deserves to be alone.”
Behind those three ponies, Silver Bell bit her lip in confusion. On the one hoof, she knew that Paladin was very interested in her, but on the other, she didn't like the way she was buddying up with the lovely Awesomeshine. Sure, she lacks my elegant curves and refined manners, but there's just something about her that's undeniably... attractive about her. She's almost... magnetic.
“Bit for your thoughts.”
Silver Bell shook her head and looked to her side to see Knightengale and Ricochet walking next to her. “I beg your pardon?” she asked, blinking her wide, golden eyes at them.
Knightengale smiled and said, “I said, 'Bit for your thoughts.' You looked like a mare on the verge of committing murder... or suicide”
“Or booth,” Ricochet added.
Silver Bell shook her head. “No. I just... I'm just not sure what to make of her,” she answered, nodding towards the white unicorn ahead of them who was laughing at something Paladin had said. “I want to like her, but...”
“Yer worried she might try to steal yer bird,” Ricochet finished for her.
“Don't get me wrong. She seems to be a very sweet filly, but...” Silver Bell hastily explained before trailing off. “Paladin... she has a lot of admirers, both stallions and mares. Ponies vie for her attention, though not all for the same reasons. Some want to be with her for who she is, most want to be with her for what she represents, and some just want to use her to be privy to the princess' secrets.” She looked again at the sandy unicorn with a sad smile, and lowered her voice. “There's even a rumor going around Equus that the princess chose her more to be a body, rather than a bodyguard; a scurrilous lie if ever there was one.”
Ricochet looked at Paladin with an appraising eye. “Aye, I ken why they might say tha'.” Knightengale smacked the back of her head with a loud CRACK, causing her to look at her apologetically. “Wha'? I'm only sayin'.”
“And if you're smart, you won't say it again,” the aganippe replied.
A small titter from Silver Bell drew their attention, but she just waved them off. “It's nothing. You two are just so cute together.”
Rubbing the sore spot on her head, Ricochet said, “Aye, if ye think cooncussions are cute an' all.” Returning her gaze to the maid beside her, she added, “Look, I dinna think ye have any need to worry about Shiny. Sure'n she's a gorgeous mare, an' a delight to know, an' joost aboot the friendliest thing this side oof a magical friend-making machine, she also would nae take another mare's bird. She does nae think tha' way.” Using her body to shove the smaller unicorn forward, she said, “Talk to her an' see. She'll nae bite, e'en if ye ask.”
Silver Bell looked back at her with a smirk and trotted forward to catch up to the others.
Ricochet shook her head and smiled. A prickling feeling on the nape of her neck made her turn to Knightengale who was glaring at her. “Gorgeous, huh? A delight, eh? Friendliest thing this side of a magical friend-making machine?” the aganippe queried. The larger earth pony gulped, looking for an avenue of escape.
(\ /)
( . .)
*(“)(“)
Before they even could get close to the town of Yoke, Kitten's sharp eyes spotted the column of smoke on the horizon. She flew up to take a better look, but was called back down by Paladin. “What? I was just trying to see if that was Yoke or not.”
“In case you've forgotten, a pink pegasus against a blue sky is rather noticeable,” the unicorn admonished. “Not only do they have their own fliers, but you'd be like a beacon flying up there, right now, drawing ground forces down on all of us.”
The small pegasus looked downcast. “Oh. I'm sorry.”
Immediately, Paladin felt like the monster, and sighed. “No, it's alright. I keep forgetting that you all aren't trained for this. Just... just be more careful from now on, okay?”
“Okay,” Kitten agreed. She appeared lost in thought for a moment before her face lit up with an idea. She dug through her saddlebags for a moment before pulling out a bamboo tube and affixed a round piece of glass to each end. She looked through one end and jumped into the air, holding the device up for all to see. “Yes! With this, I can see all the way to that smoke and find out what's making it without revealing myself! I call it, the Tell-O-Scope because it tells your eye what's far away!” The others looked at her like she was crazy, but the little inventor was too elated to notice.
With a flap of her wings, she alighted onto a low tree branch, and by hopping from one branch to the next highest, to the next highest, and so on, she made it to the top of the tree, where she clung to the trunk with three legs, and held the tell-o-scope to her eye with the other. Though the magnification wasn't the best, combined with her natural pegasus keen eyesight, she was able to just make out several burning buildings, among many others. The town itself appeared to actually be smaller than Foalton, but the biggest structure was not a temple as was normal, but a strange, stone building. She could see several torches being thrown on the roof, but the slate tiles shrugged them off and let them roll off to the ground.
Kitten hopped back down the way she came, but slipped halfway down, crashing into several branches until she was caught in a grayish telekinetic field. It brought her down, and Paladin dismissed her magical energies back into dormancy. The pegasus ran up to her, and gave sloppy salute with a wide grin. “New intelligence, Sir!” she barked.
The unicorn was unable to keep a grin off of her face as she saluted back smartly and said, “Report, scout!”
“I do believe that's the town of Yoke burning up there. Only a few houses have been caught, and most of the enemy seems intent on burning a strange, stone building,” Kitten said.
“Strange how?”
“It was made of stone with a stone roof, but I don't think it was a temple or a fort,” the pegasus replied. “There were no religious symbols that I could see, and the windows were big, but plain glass. What do you think it is?”
“The archive!” Awesomeshine gasped. “That sounds like the archive where Silver Script works!” Turning to Paladin, she grabbed the edges of her breastplate and shook her. “We've got to help her! Sil would never leave the books to be burned, she'd stay and fight!”
The unicorn galloped off towards the town, forcing the others to do the same. Paladin came up alongside her, and without any sign of shortness of breath, said, “Hold on! We can't just go running into the teeth of an army! We have to scout ahead and see what we're up against! We can't help your friend if we just get killed as soon as we set hoof into town!”
“She right, Awesomeshine,” Knightengale added. “We all want to help your friend, but us getting killed because we rushed into this won't get her rescued.”
Awesomeshine started galloping faster, sending clods of dirt flying as she went full tilt, which was still considerably slower than the trained soldiers. “You don't understand! The most valuable thing in the world to Sil is knowledge. Those books and scrolls are as precious to her as children! She'd do everything in her might to protect them!”
“But that's just silly,” Silver Bell replied, lagging behind the group. “It's not like that archive will have any unique texts; it's too small. Any other library will likely have more copies of anything you might find there.”
“And what if all the other libraries burned down?” the healer asked. “You and I know that it's unlikely to happen, but she won't think so!”
Ricochet rolled her eyes as she ran. “Oh, for Celestia's sake! Ye mean she's one o' those 'preserve at all costs' ponies? Tha' was one o' the things I didn't miss aboot leaving the guard.” With an unconscious gesture, she checked with her head that her bow was unencumbered and ready to pull free at a moment's notice.
Awesomeshine glanced at her from the corner of her eye. “Trust me. I can make her go. You just leave her to me.” She looked ahead again, and grumbled, “She'll leave if I have to knock her out and escape with her over my back myself.”
They arrived to find most of the buildings merrily burning, possessions scattered on the road where careless owners or looters dropped them. There were surprisingly few bodies of any kind, but the majority of those were ponies. Silver Bell and Kitten Caboodle gasped in horror at the carnage, but the rest tried grimly to ignore them, though not without Awesomeshine stopping to check each and every one that wasn't mutilated beyond hope.
But Ponies weren't the only ones lying dead in the streets which had run red with blood. A few diamond dogs had joined the defenders in eternal rest, but it was the living of which they were most fearful. Their yipping, and barking, and howling could be heard as the ponies dashed from cover to cover and once, they had to stop and hide as a large group of them loped past, prowling for more victims.
The group stealthily made their way to the archive to find that twenty or so diamond dogs has gathered at the front and had pushed a wagon in front of the doors, which they had then set on fire. Though the doors were sheathed in bronze, the wood cores would eventually catch, and then nothing but a lone pony or two would be left to stand in their way.
They circled around to the back, noting that all the windows had been smashed, but empty shelves had been shoved against them, blocking the invaders' entry. Looking up, Paladin whispered to them,”I'm going to 'port up to one of the high windows and check it out. If it's clear, I want you to follow me in, carrying Awesomeshine.” This last she said to Knightengale, who simply nodded. “The rest of you, stay hidden. We'll be right back with our expert and out of town, hopefully before they notice we're gone.”
Without waiting for a reply, she disappeared in a flash, only to reappear in the frame of a destroyed window high off the ground. She looked in quietly, and saw a light blue mare trying to cram books into a hidden compartment set in the floor. Though her actions were hasty, she didn't look panicked. Something was off about her, but the guard didn't have time to figure out just what it was. Looking back, she beckoned with one gauntleted hoof, and quietly dropped into the room, using her telekinesis to cushion her landing.
Her entrance was far from unnoticed, as the mare looked her way with a slight crease in her brow that might indicate anger. “What are you doing here? Why didn't you leave with the rest of the ponies?” she asked in a dead level voice.
Paladin finally noticed what was missing from the picture and looked at her in confusion. “You're not a unicorn.”
“Congratulations. You can tell the difference between a mud pony and an unicorn. You must be very proud,” she said coolly, flicking a stray hair from her visible eye. “Now are you going to leave me to my fiery death like a good unicorn, or not?”
Unused to be spoken to thus, Paladin's face colored, and her brows furrowed in anger. “Now see here-”
“Sil!”
Both ponies turned to see Awesomeshine gallop up to the earth pony and embrace her tightly. Silver Script's demeanor changed ever so slightly as she hesitantly returned the affection, though nothing even close to what could be called a smile ever touched her lips. She pushed the unicorn back at arm's length and said, “Shine, what are you doing here? This building is about to be overrun.”
“Rescuing you, silly filly,” she replied simply. She grabbed a forehoof and started dragging her to the back of the library. “Come on, there isn't much time.”
Knightengale walked up to Paladin and whispered, “We better hurry. It won't be long before those mutts make it in here, and I don't plan on being in here when they do.” She noted the annoyed look on the guard's face and where- or rather, who- she was looking at, and asked, “Something wrong?”
Paladin continued to glare at the earth pony for a moment, then grunted. “Nothing.” Speaking loudly so all the ponies could hear her, she said, “We have to get moving. That door won't hold out much longer, and I don't know how long it will be before it occurs to them that they can just set fire to your wooden barricades on the windows.”
Indeed, the room itself was already sweltering, and the smell of burning wood filled the air, no doubt coming in through the broken windows. Silver Script looked at her defiantly, though. “Not until all the books are safely stowed in the fireproof chamber below.”
Paladin facehoofed and had to restrain her impulse to bark orders at her, knowing it would do no good. It was Awesomeshine who came to the rescue, however. She immediately used her magic to start moving small piles of books into the basement. Looking at Paladin, she said, “It'll be faster to just do it than to argue and have to do it later anyway.”
With a frustrated yell, the sandy unicorn stomped a hoof, cracking the thin, marble tile beneath. Her horn glowed with a gray aura and all the books still waiting to be put into safety, were lifted off the ground at the same time, and swiftly flew into the basement. The trap door shut with a dull thud, and a stone bench easily weighing several hundred pounds moved over it. “There. Can we go now, Your Highness?” she growled out.
The archivist shrugged on her saddlebags and nodded. “There is nothing more to be done here. Let us get Awesomeshine to safety away from those beasts.”
Rolling her eyes, Paladin grabbed the earth pony and teleported to the other side of the back wall. Knightengale flew through the window carrying Awesomeshine and set her down once they were outside. All four ran as quietly as they could to the alley where the rest were awaiting them. Silver Bell looked at the newcomer in confusion and said, “You're not a unicorn.”
Silver Script looked to Awesomeshine and asked, “Is this some new greeting among unicorns of which I was unaware?”
She shrugged helplessly. “If it is, it's new to me, too. Seems kind of silly to point out something that obvious.”
Paladin gestured for them to start moving. “Can we talk about this on the road? We still have to get out of this deathtrap of a town.”
As they left, Silver Bell walked up to the new earth pony and said, “My apologies, I did not mean to be so rude. It's just that from Miss Awesomeshine's description, I thought you would be a unicorn.”
Looking to her friend, Silver Script asked, “Just what have you been telling them?”
“Only the truth,” she protested. “I didn't think that you're not being a unicorn would make any difference, so I never really thought to mention it. You're the most knowledgeable pony in the world when it comes to magic and artifacts, see-”
“Princess Celestia sent me on a mission to find a set of magical artifacts,” Paladin interrupted. She came up alongside Silver Bell, looking over the archivist with a critical eye. “She believes that they are essential for winning the war against the dragons, and Miss Awesomeshine highly recommended your expertise in finding them.”
Ignoring her, Silver Script turned back to Awesomeshine and asked, “Is that the only reason? You needed help finding some artifacts?”
The healer nuzzled her affectionately, bringing a very slight red tinge to her cheeks. “Of course not. I was ready to pitch a full fit if they refused to help me find and rescue you, but luckily, they turned out to be nice ponies and came along without my needing to do something that embarrassing.”
Swallowing her anger at being ignored, Paladin said, “So how about it? Can you help me- er, us?”
Still looking at her friend, Silver Script asked, “What set of artifacts is it? Depending on what it is, we may need to go to another archive.”
Awesomeshine looked around her over to Paladin, who was nearly apoplectic. “What were they called, Dame?”
Paladin took a deep breath before replying. “The Elements of Harmony. Have you ever heard of them? If not, I can tell you what Princess Celestia has already taught me about them.”
Looking upwards thoughtfully, Silver Script replied, “Elements of Harmony. A mysterious set of five artifacts thought to embody and allow one total control over an aspect of harmony. Nopony who has ever laid hoof on them has ever been able to make them work, though they radiate omega level magical energies. It is speculated that the three alicorn princesses have some connection to them, especially the lost one, though they have never confirmed nor denied anything of the sort. It is also speculated that the five Elements represented are Kindness, Laughter, Generosity, Honesty, and Loyalty, though again, this is purely conjecture based on observations of their reactions to certain traits exhibited by the pony holding them.”
Glancing at Paladin from the corner of her eye, she said, “There's more of course, but much of it is technical studies made of the artifacts, as well as experiments performed upon them before the princesses spirited them away for 'safekeeping'; not exactly light bedtime reading for guards.”
Paladin glared at her until Silver Bell bumped into her, breaking her from her train of thoughts. “Oh, you're good,” she whispered. Then, something the earth pony said piqued her interest. “Wait, there's only two alicorn princesses; always has been.”
The corner of Silver Script's mouth ticked upward for an instant, and was gone so fast, it left Paladin wondering if she had imagined it. “Is that so?” she asked levelly.