Chapter XV
The Amulet
Crow Blackbird sighed as he walked through the stone halls of the Academy with a metal box secured under his right arm while his left occupied his signature cane. His steps echoed through the empty hallway and came upon a dead end with a statue carved into the wall. The statue depicted a phoenix rising from the ashes of it’s death and flying towards freedom.Unlike the white marble that graced the hallway, this statue was made of pure obsidian and it’s eyes were two rubies. The cane wielding man sighed and raised his cane, the man then tapped the head of the statue with his cane twice and the eyes glowed bright red before the statue started to shift.
It’s wings opened and the bricks in the wall started to shift and move. The statue and it’s surrounding area started to rise through the new opening. A set of spiral steps lead down into darkness. The sound of footsteps made the man turn around to see his secretary, Hazel. She was donning her usual brown jacket and skirt that matched her dark brown hair and eyes.
“Morning Headmaster.” She stated in her usual calm demeanor.
“Morning Hazel, what brings you here?”
“I could ask you that same question.” She said as she adjusted her rectangular glasses. Crow looked at the metal box he held in his hand.
“Just tying up loose ends.” The man and woman then descended the dark stairway that was lit by torchlight. the steps seemed to go on for an eternity and the spiral steps seemed to reach into Hell itself. The steps came to a stop and a large door with several glyphs carved into it stood before them. The large door was made of hardened dragon steel and had several incantations placed on it.
Only members of the council were allowed in the Vault where the most dangerous magical artifacts were kept. Crow reached into his pocket and pulled out an amulet marked with the nine pointed star of the council. He placed it into the key hole and funneled his magic through it. The large door started to crack and shift before it split apart revealing a large hallway with hundreds of shelves each with magic containment fields.
Crow and Hazel slowly made their way down the hallway towards the end, past several weapons, amulets, cursed artifacts and found an empty containment box next to a large red vial with a goblet inside.
“So what are you putting inside?” Crow opened the metal box and the woman gasped. The amulet was like an upside-down triangle with the figure of a dark Unicorn’s head at the top, wings on the side and a large red jewel in the center. “Oh. I see.”
“We never did finish that mission.” Crow stated in a low tone as he picked up the cursed amulet and set it down inside the vault and locked it away. As the two made their way out of the vault Crow’s mind drifted to the past.
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Many years ago.
Crow, now at the age of seventeen, stood beside the red haired sixteen year old girl and the other two boys in front of the current headmaster of the Academy. His rapier was secured at his side and his eyes were focused on the blue robed man who was standing over his desk that had a large map on top.
“Thanks to the intelligence recovered by the late Team Bishop,” The students remembered the funeral that took place three months prior. “our code breaking division has determined the location of the Black Fang Bandit hideout.” The man said as he pointed to a red dot marked on the map. “We’ve also received word that the bandits are in possession of an extremely dangerous magical artifact.”
“Which artifact?” Rose asked.
“We’re not sure, but from what we’re able to decipher it’s an amulet that supposed to increase a mage’s magical abilities ten fold, but at the cost of their sanity.”
“The Alicorn Amulet.” Crow spoke. The group turned towards the raven haired man. “An amulet left over from the Discord era, designed by Starswirl the bearded, stolen by the Scarlet Rogue and repurposed for his own design.” The older man scratched his chin as the other two boys looked at him in confusion.
“How come we’ve never heard of this?” Orion stated as he scratched his head.
“Because I don’t sleep in class.” Both boys growled at the remark.
“According to this intel,” The older man began. “the bandits are due to move in a week. This is our best chance to strike at their major trade route and get back that amulet before it falls into the wrong hands.”
“Yes sir!” The four stated.
“Crow Blackbird, you’re squad leader for this mission,” The other three fighters cringed. “Rosario Vermillion will be your second in command.” Crow gave a nod at the words. “You four will leave at fifteen-hundred hours so get your gear ready and report in front of the courtyard. This is a very delicate mission so be on your guard. You four are dismissed.” Crow gave a nod and left the room while the other three remained. The man looked at the three in surprise.
“Sir, I have a bad feeling about this.” Rose stated in a firm tone.
“You mean you have a bad feeling about Crow?” He said as he folded his hands. The three bit their lips at the words. “I know that Crow isn’t the most social squad mate, but he know’s what he’s doing.”
“He got the last squad he worked with killed!” Silver stated in a rough tone. Teach sighed at the words and shook his head.
“There was no other way. Had Crow gone to save them the he would have died as well and then we’d have no information at all.” Teach said in a firm tone.
“But we heard-”
“The soldiers under Crow’s command refused to follow his orders and they paid for it.” His tone was cold enough to freeze over Hell. “End of discussion. I suggest you lot start packing and try to listen to the boy, he may seem rough around the edges, but he does care for his teammates. Dismissed.” The three nodded and made their way through the stone corridors of the castle. Rose deviated from the boys and made her way to the East wing of the dorms.
She soon approached her door and entered her shared room. The room was simple with two full sized beds. The one on the far left was a cloud bed that was dyed a dark brown color while the one on the right was a dark red color. Towards the window, she saw a girl with dark brown hair and wings sprouting from her back. The girl turned around and smiled.
“Oh, hello Rose.” She said in her usual soft, yet happy tone.
“Hey Fern. What’cha up too?” Rose asked as she grabbed her mission pack and put it on her bed.
“Oh just making a potion.” The flyer then turned her eyes to the bag. “Going on a mission?” The redhead nodded. “With who?”
“Orion, Silver, and Crow, who is the team leader.” Fern gulped at the words. “I don’t like it that much either, but it’s Teach’s orders.” Rose walked over to her roommate and stared out the window. Across the courtyard and into the window where she saw the raven haired man sitting at his desk. Something caught her eye and summoned the scope for her rifle appeared in her hands. She turned the dials and focused on the teenager.
The redhead raised an eyebrow as she saw something fall from the raven haired teenager’s cheek. Rose raised an eyebrow as she pondered what could make Crow, the Black Phantom shed tears. The red head sighed and continued packing her bag and prepared herself for tomorrow.
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Present.
The sun shined over the small town of Ponyville, the air was humid and the dew on the grass shined like it had been dipped in gold in the sunlight. The red haired mage, along with his three teammates was busy giving Angel the grand tour of the small town. Rouge and Cobalt were exchanging nervous glances, while Ivy was constantly glaring at the ice conduit. The next place was one that Crimson was dreading, the Golden Oaks Library. Crimson stopped at the door and turned to face the ice mage.
“What are we doing at a library?” Angel asked in an irate tone.
“There’s someone I wan’t you to meet.” He said with a sigh. “You three stay out here.”
“Crimson-”
“I’ll be fine.” He said as he opened the door for the white haired mage. Crimson walked in behind her and saw Angel was staring at Spike who was carrying a stack of books. Several pillars of books were stacked around the library and looked like the foundations of one of his own book castles he built as a child.
“Hey Crimson.” Spike smiled.
“What’s with the book construction?” He asked as he looked at the stacks of books.
“Re-shelving day.” Spike groaned.
“Ah yes, the monthly ritual.” Angel had a surprised look on her face. “Do you know where Twilight is?”
“Yeah, hang on a second.” The hybrid got to his feet and walked down over towards the cellar. “Twilight, Crimson’s here.” Spike then saw the white haired mage. “With a guest.” The hybrid heard footsteps and continued on his way. The indigo haired girl walked up to see her boyfriend and smiled. Her smile then shifted when she saw the familiar white mage.
“Twilight, you remember my student Angel?” He said as Twilight approached the two conduits. Angel vaguely remembers the scholar during the trials.
“Um, we’ve never met professionally.” Twilight said as she stuck out her hand. Angel just stared at it and crossed her arms. Twilight retrated her hand and smiled nervously.
“Twilight here runs the library,” The man sighed at the next part “and she’s my girlfriend.” A long silence fell over the three. Twilight saw the white conduit’s blue eyes look her over and sharpen. The scholar felt goosebumps as the temperature dropped a few degrees. Angel’s right eyelid twitched and she cracked the vertebrae in her neck.
“Nice to meet you.” She forced out through her gritted teeth. After that the white mage left the tree in a huff. Crimson looked at Twilight who nodded, with that, Crimson went after Angel and caught up with her with his three friends.
“Angel, hold up.” The ice mage snarled and continued down the street. Cobalt then flew in front of her blocking her path with crossed arms and a glare that could make a rhino void it’s bowels.
“Out of my way.” She spat out. Crimson caught up with her and let out a heavy breath. He took her by the arm and lead her into an ally between two buildings.
“Look Angel, I know this is upsetting but-”
“Upsetting?” She said in a mocking tone. “I’ve been at your side for years and now just because some librarian shows up you bend your knee to her?” Crimson frowned at the words.
“Angel, we’ve been over this before.” He said as he rubbed his scalp. “I do care about you, I do, but not in the same way you care about me. You are my student and it would be extremely inappropriate.” Angel growled.
“I’ll make that woman-” Crimson shoved her against the wall.
“Her name is Twilight and you will not lay a finger on her.” He said in a serious tone.
“Or what?” Crimson cracked his neck and grumbled.
“You took the oath, you know what’ll happen if you attack a civilian.” Angel thought for a moment and chuckled.
“Don’t try to scare me with those fairy tales of the Shadow Legion.” She snickered. “They’re an old wives tale used to scare the children, and I am no child.”
“Then stop acting like one.” He said in a stern tone. Crimson was at the end of his rope and he ran a hand through his hair. He pointed to Angel, his eyes were like two red arrows. “If I hear that you do anything to Twilight, or anyone, then I will personally take you down.” Angel gulped at the words and saw the seriousness in his eyes. “That’s your one warning, don’t waste it.”
Crimson walked back out of the alley with Angel grumbling behind him. “Now, we have the rest of town to go through. I suggest we continue.” Angel sighed and made her way towards the train station. Crimson looked at Ivy and the other two warriors with concern in his eyes.
“I honestly don’t know what I’m going to do with her.” The three warriors looked at the man with a shrug. “Oh and before I forget.” He withdrew a small silver case like one that held a necklace. “Give this to Twilight.” Rouge looked at it and reached for the lid only to have the man’s hand stop her. “Not here. Not now.” With that Crimson went after the ice conduit. The three shrugged and went towards the library. The three entered to see the piles of books scattered around the library.
“Well, this is different.” Cobalt stated as though he was looking at a theme park attraction. The three heard a few stumbles and saw the indigo haired librarian stumble out of the maze of books. She dusted herself off and cleared her throat.
“Hey guys.” She smiled.
“I heard you met Angel.” Rouge stated. Twilight sighed at the words. “She’s...difficult to understand.” As Rouge continued to talk to the lavender mage, Ivy walked through the library and found the dragon hybrid stacking books.
“Hey Spike.” The hybrid turned to see the dragon slyer motioning towards her. The boy put the books down and walked over to her. “When do you have free time?” She asked in a hush tone. Spike looked at the clock and scratched his head.
“I should be done around three. Why?” The dragon slayer checked her corners.
“Meet me in the gems fields at three thirty. We’ll talk about-” The woman was cut off as they heard the purple haired Changeling scream bloody murder. The two raced back into the main room to see the silver box on the floor and Cobalt holding his girlfriend in his arms.
“Is he insane!?” Rouge yelled. Spike walked forwards and saw an amulet laid on the floor next to the open box. The amulet was dark red with silver trim and was on a long silver chain.
“What is it?” Twilight asked as she picked up the item.
“That is a Pious Amulet.” Cobalt said with a gulp.
“What’s a Pious Amulet?” Spike asked.
“One of the few things that can keep Angel at bay.” Rouge said as she took the necklace in her hand. “These can subdue, or kill a Conduit.” Both residents of the treehouse looked in surprise. “The amulet acts as a deterrent.”
“How?” Spike asked.
“Like Superman’s kryptonite.” Cobalt clarified. “Exposed for too long and it will kill them.” Twilight gulped at the words and tried to fathom why Crimson would give her such a horrible thing.
“Where did he get this?” Twilight asked.
“Most likely from Ivory.” Ivy stated.
“Ivory? Why?” The three looked at one another and scratched their chins as they tried to word their response.
“It’s complicated. You’re gonna have to ask Crimson about that one.” The Changeling looked at the clock and sighed. “Sorry Twi, but I gotta catch a train to Vanhoover.”
“I’m on my way to Trottingham.” Cobalt said.
“I gotta make sure Angel doesn’t freeze the guild over.” With that the three warriors left the tree house. Twilight set the amulet back inside the box and continued with her regularly scheduled shelving duties.
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The four teammates trekked through who knows how many swamps, bogs, mountains and any other natural landmass that got in their way. They were high up in the Silver Mountains, once flowing with rivers of molten silver from the forges that would blaze all through the night and day to make the richest silver known to man. Now it was nothing more than a relic of happier days. The mines had dried up about twenty years ago and was left to rot. Crow peered through his scope and spied two guards at the entrance to the mines.
“See anything?” Orion asked.
“Just two guards. The convoys not here yet.”
“When will it get here?” Crow looked at his silver pocket watch.
“In about five hours.” Crow and Orion silently got down from their look out perch and rejoined the other two at the campsite where they had a low fire going and a few meals ready to eat laid out. Crow grabbed his meal and went back to observing the bandits. The other three huddled around the fireplace.
“This sucks.” Orion hissed. “Why in the hell did Teach have to pick him for this job?”
“Man up.” Rose stated in a venom filled tone. “You guys don’t know what he’s been through.”
“And you do?” The red haired girl looked up to Crow who was watching the bandits with a look that could make a rhino piss itself.
“I’ll tell you later when we change shifts.” Hours ticked by and the three mages caught some shut eye while Crow kept watch over them. In an hour Crow woke up Rose for the rotation. Once they were sure he was asleep the other two mages met with the red haired girl and all eyes were on Rose. “Okay, Teach told me this after the fight we had in the courtyard last year and this is supposed to be confidential. Got it?” Both men gave a hearty nod.
Rose gave a deep breath before she started speaking. “Have you guys ever heard of Jade Fowl?” Both boys gulped at the name. Jade Fowl, or the Green Hawk of Death, was one of the most powerful mages of the last generation. Her ability to shape shift was legendary and was a brutal combatant. She was also considered the biggest traitor among the magic council for falling in love with a mage who used dark magic.
“Who hasn’t?” Orion stated. “She’s was the one who was executed for practicing dark magic with Onyx Shroud right?” Rose gave a nod.
“Shroud was on the run from the Council and Jade was tasked with hunting him down. She chased him to the furthest corners of the globe but she finally caught him and was instructed to bring him back alive.” The girl sighed. “This is the classified part, the two started talking, a relationship was forged and finally,” she looked over towards Crow. “a child was conceived.” Both of their jaws dropped as they looked at the sleeping mage.
“S-so Crow is-”
“The son of the strongest female mage of the last generation and the son of the most infamous dark mage.” She sighed. “Teach told me he was six years old when the council finally got wind of it. They caught Onyx first and executed him while Jade ran with her son, but no one can run from the Council. They found her and Crow watched as she was sent to the chopping block.”
She took looked at the raven haired mage before continuing. “The council saw that Crow was innocent in the matter and was taken in by the Academy.” Her mind then drifted back to what the headmaster had told her.
“Listen to me Rose, you know that constant scowl Crow wears?” The man did an almost perfect impression of the boy’s furrowed eyebrows. “He wears it like armor to protect himself and those around him. When I look at him, I don’t see the son of the greatest threat to the world or the son of a traitor, I see a sad little boy curled up and crying in the corner all by himself.”
The boys looked at one another and hung their heads as they began to understand why Crow pushed everyone so far away from him, it wasn’t that he thought that he was better than them, it was a kindness. The two boys went back to bed and tried to get some sleep while Rose remained awake. She didn’t even notice the crow that was perched in a nearby branch with a tear rolling down it’s beak.
A nudging of her shoulder and Rose sprang up ready to fight anything. Her eyes scanned the area and saw nothing but Crow standing there with his arms folded. “C’mon, it’s time.” She roused the other sleeping mages while Crow got back to the lookout point. He was soon joined by the other three mages. “Two convoys just went into the mountain three minutes ago, each with at least fifty guards.”
“Fifty?” Silver said in shock.
“Looks like our intel was off.” Orion stated. Crow turned around and sighed as several scenarios ran through his mind.
“Okay, this is the plan.”
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Crimson walked through the streets of Ponyville after getting Angel settled at the guild. He made his way towards the library. He saw Spike exiting and gave him a nod. The interior of library was back in order after Twilight’s crazy re-shelving day. Said librarian came down the stairs with a cross expression on her face.
“Hey Twi, what’s with the face?” Twilight reached into her pocket and pulled out the gem. Crimson immediately recoiled at the sight of it and gulped. “Twilight put that back in the box it came with.”
“Promise to tell me why you gave this to me after?”
“I promise.” Twilight walked over to the small metal box and set it inside before closing the lid. The man let out a sigh of relief and sat down on the couch. “Thank you.” Twilight sat down next to her boyfriend and pouted. “Right then, that jewel is in case Angel tries to attack you. Unlikely, but possible. That will keep her from trying anything.”
“Won’t it hurt you too?”
“Yes, that’s the point.” He took Twilight’s hands in his and sighed. “The demon in me is always trying to get out Twilight and the seal is deteriorating. I can feel it.”
“But I saw you beat him during the Trials.”
“That wasn’t even a fraction of what it can do. All I did was take him down a notch or two, I stalled. That’s all I can do, stall until the seal vanishes completely.” Twilight rested her head against his shoulder. “When that time comes, I can’t bare the thought of harming you or the others. That’s what this is for. To protect you from me.”
“Rouge said you got this from Ivory. Why would she have it?”
“Ivory’s mission in life is to kill me and those like me.” A long silence fell between the two.
“WHAT!?” Twilight yelled in a volume that could rival Princess Luna’s Royal Canterlot voice. “Why? I mean, sure you two are rivals, but killing you?”
“In the event that the demon in me gets loose, Ivory has the power and authority to take me down if necessary. Besides it’s in her nature.” Twilight looked at him in confusion. “Ivory is an angel.”
“I didn’t know you thought so highly of her.”
“No, I mean she’s literally an angel. Like the demon in me there’s an angel in her. Thought that whole halo and wings thing at the trials were for show?” Twilight thought back to the fight and it registered in her mind. “Angels and demons don’t really get along as you can imagine. Not to mention she has the right to kill me.”
“How does she have that right?” Twilight frowned.
“Her hometown is Willow city.” The scholar’s face grew pale at the words as she remembered the city of angry citizens. “I don’t know how, but apparently an angel showed up when the demon inside me did and was sealed inside her body. Deus found her after the battle and the rest is history.”
“So there are different types of conduits?”
“Yeah, three types. Theres ones like me who have a demon, then there’s ones like Ivory with an angel and finally there are ones like Angel.”
“I thought she had a demon?”
“No, her spirit was a human turned into a demon. While mine was born a demon. Angel’s is weaker because of that fact, but can still do some damage. I had to go up to level three the first time I met her.”
“If she’s so dangerous, then why is she allowed to walk around?”
“Same could be said for me.” Twilight immediately regretted the words. “I’m the only one that Angel knows who knows about harboring a creature that powerful, that terrible inside them. Besides she’s had to deal with it far longer than I have.”
“But she’s younger than you.”
“True, she’s got the brain and body of a nineteen year old, but she was sealed away with the Crystal Empire a thousand years ago.” Twilight put a hand to her mouth in shock. “Imagine, listening to a demon’s voice for that long and she’s still sane. That’s incredible even by my standards. I just want to help her.” Twilight rested her head on his chest and put her arms around him.
“You’ll find a way. I know it.” Crimson couldn’t help but smile as he ran a hand through her hair.
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Spike quickly found his way to the outskirts of the Everfree forest and saw the green haired woman leaning against a tree waiting for him. "You mad it." She said as she stood up. "so, Crimson says you want to learn how to control your dragon magic?"
"Yeah, he said since you're a dragon slayer then you'd be able to teach me."
"He was right. Although I'm not the best teacher so we'll see how this goes." The woman approached the young boy and cracked her neck. "Get in a fighting stance." Spike adjusted his footing and raised his fists.
"How's th-" Was all he got out before a hard fist slammed into his face and was sent flying back into a nearby tree trunk.
"Lesson number one; Dodging." This was going to be a very long training session.