Once again Anthea found herself on the Avalon, but it was different this time around. She felt more confident and stronger than ever, maybe it was due to the ring, or maybe because her self-confidence was steadily growing. Whatever the case, Annie felt good. During the first day out, Twilight had taken it upon herself to help Annie learn how to read words. Having been blind for most of her life she was used to feeling braille, but now that she could see, Annie knew she had to learn what certain words looked like. Luckily she was a quick learner, although she had some ways to go, Annie had a good enough grasp to at least read the signs in the corridors.
There was one thought, one worry that made Annie cringe before she left home. Given the events that occurred in Minotaurus during their first visit, it was made clear that Annie was hilariously unskilled in the ways of combat and combat magic. She only managed a single magic bolt and a flimsy shield spell that shattered upon getting hit once, once! If they were going to encounter more griffon resistance, it was clear that Annie’s current level of fighting skill was nowhere near adequate enough to make a difference, let alone survive a fight. The only thing that evened those odds was the Star Sapphire ring, but even it was limited by her lack of combat knowledge.
“So you’re saying that as long as I have love in my heart, I can create anything I imagine?”
[That is correct Annie; my primary ability is to create objects, of almost any form, shape, and size from the violet light of love. Whatever you imagine, within reason, the violet light can make reality. However, what I can and cannot create is limited by your imagination. The more you can imagine, along with the level of your creativity and concentration, can make constructs either very strong or weak.]
Well that explains why Starburst was asking Claire and me about concentration and energy conservation techniques. She was learning how to maximize the amount of power of the ring so she could create more elaborate “constructs”.
It was clear now what Annie had to do, there were three ponies she could ask whom she knew would help, but whether or not they were going to was another matter. Though they have been supportive, Annie wasn’t sure how thrilled they would be about her coming to them for lessons in fighting, the idea of hurting another living being didn’t sit well with her. But it was necessary if she was to be of any help in this mission.
And so, here she was, standing in front of the door to the training room. Annie knew her friends were inside for their daily training exercises so she wouldn’t have to worry about tracking each of them down. Taking a deep calming breath, Annie used her magic to open the door. What she saw was surprising.
Hot Head currently had Amber in a headlock; the earth pony mare was struggling to get free of his hold. Their eyes were narrowed with determination, one not willing to let go, and other not willing to submit. Both were standing on their hind legs, with Hot Head using his wings to give him better leverage. Lucky Star was standing by a couple of feet away, horn aglow in preparation for a spell. From what Annie could infer, Hot Head was using Amber as a shield to keep Lucky from casting his spell on him, which meant that this was possibly a two on one sparring match.
“What do ya say Amber, you tapping out?” asked Hot Head smugly.
“You kidding, I’m just about to get loose,” said Amber with a cocky grin.
“Really, and how do you plan on – Whoa, whoa, whoa!”
Hot Head suddenly felt Amber’s tail graze his lower regions in a very suggestive manner. The pegasus stallion quickly released Amber Lily, allowing her to flip in a very stylishly till she landed back on the floor, facing Hot Head and giving him an alluring stare.
“Dirty pool Amber!”
“What, I can’t use my sex appeal to create an opening? ‘All’s fair in love and war’.”
Hot Head snorted dejectedly, he then muttered under his breath, “You’re not that sexy…”
Annie’s well attuned ears heard that little remark, and unfortunately for Hot Head he didn’t mutter that low enough. Lucky Star took ten steps back away from Amber, knowing full well the kind of Tartarus that Hot Head just raised. Amber swiftly, and silently, appeared before Hot Head. The pegasus stallion realizing too late that any sort of apology wasn’t going to prevent what was about to happen to him. Amber then cocked back her right hoof and thrust upwards, while simultaneously jumping up and adding a little spin. The resulting blow struck Hot Head in the jaw, sending him flying backwards from Amber’s powerful uppercut.
The dark red pegasus stallion bounced around on the floor a couple of times before landing on his stomach, splayed out on the floor. Amber spun around three times in the air before landing gracefully back to the floor. Whipping her mane around nonchalantly, she then addressed the pegasus she just assaulted.
“Care to rephrase that?” Her question was more of an order.
“You’re damn sexy Amber, alright!”
“And don’t you forget it.”
Hot Head picked himself up from the floor, rubbing his jaw with his hoof and checking for any broken teeth. Thankfully Amber had spared him a trip to the dentist, the mare was strong, but she had great control over that strength, only hitting him with enough force to launch him and to get the point across, but not so much as to cause injury, a “love tap” as she so eloquently liked to call it.
“Jeez Amber did you have to hit that hard?”
“To be fair Hot Head, bringing a mare’s attractiveness into question is a very big no-no. You should remember that if you ever get a fillyfriend,” said Annie.
The three pairs of eyes finally took notice of the unicorn mare standing by the door. The trio made their way to their friend, curious looks apparent on their faces.
“S’up Annie, did you need something?” asked Hot Head.
“Yes…actually I need do, but it’s something that I can only ask of the three of you, and it’s something you know well.”
The Troublemaker Trio were actually stunned by this. Annie was incredibly smart and adaptive, there was hardly anything she didn’t know compared to them.
“Well, if what we do know can help then we will, although you’re a pretty smart mare. I doubt there’s much we can teach you,” said Lucky in his gentlecolt tone of voice.
Annie chuckled nervously. “Actually in this particular field, you three are probably the only ones who can teach me, or be willing to.” The unicorn mare steeled herself. “I want you guys to teach me how to fight like a Royal Guard.”
There was silence in the room, so quiet you could actually hear the engines running from five decks down. Suddenly all three of the ponies began to laugh hard, some even tearing up because of how hard they were laughing. Annie wore a deadpan expression, there were many scenarios she played out in her head, and this was not one of them.
Amber was the first to calm down enough from her laughing fit to speak. “Oh-ho-oh, good one Annie. Alright, seriously, what did you need help with?”
“I want you to guys to teach me how to fight like a Royal Guard.” Annie repeated.
“Nah, c’mon, what did you really want?” asked Hot Head.
“Do I really need to spell it out for you guys?!”
Annie’s horn lit up, mana energy began to form above her, taking the shape of large glowing letters as to emphasize her point.
I WANT YOU TO TEACH ME HOW TO FIGHT!!!
“Get it now?!”
There was silence once again, but the looks on their faces was enough to tell Annie that she had made her point. Realization that Annie was indeed not joking around crashed down on them, as well as disbelief. For as long as the three knew Anthea, she was not the kind of pony to go starting or ending fights, if anything she was a peace maker. She would join in on a prank or two if asked, but she certainly wasn’t one for causing harm to another. So it came as a great shock when they did see she was serious, not just by the big glowing letters, but by the determined look in her blue eyes.
“Annie…why –”
“Why would I want you to do that?” asked Annie, finishing Lucky’s sentence. “Because I know what we’re flying into, and I don’t want to be anypony’s burden like I was in Minotaurus.”
“Annie, sweetie, nopony expected you to do anything. You weren’t trained to fight, that’s why we were there,” said Amber.
“But you guys won’t always be around, and what if what happened last time happens again? I couldn’t even protect the Princess! If the ring hadn’t come to me we’d both be dead! Plus, now that I do have this ring, I have a responsibility to use it wisely. And if we do face griffons in the Long Road, I won’t be of much help! I need to learn how to fight you guys, not just to protect myself, but to help protect you and everypony on the Avalon.”
Disconcerting looks befell the trio. “Why do I get the feeling that that’s how Starburst thought of it at first?” Hot Head pointed out.
“There’s a big difference between what happened with Starburst’s situation and mine. She chose to keep it secret, but you guys, my Mom, and even the Princess knows about it. With you guys around you can make sure that I’m not doing something wrong or going down a path you know I don’t normally tread. I’m asking you three because I trust you to watch out for me and to keep me in line should that happen.”
Annie continued to stare at her friends, looking each of them in the eye.
“So please, as your friend, I’m asking you. Will you teach me?”
Hot Head, Amber, and Lucky each had hesitant expressions. Annie did make a point, but they weren’t sure if doing this would be history repeating itself, and the last thing they wanted was for their friend to become ostracized and feared by those closest to her. It wasn’t an easy decision to make.
Meanwhile…
Why am I even going to Ponyville, this is so stupid?!
Because Candy sent you a letter asking you to, that’s why. Turquoise is lonely and down because Annie’s gone to Minotaurus, and you did make a promise to Annie to take care of the big lug for her, remember?
Yeah I do…It just feels too soon, she’s only been gone two days now…
Strike while the iron is hot, there’s a hole in his heart, and who better than you to fill it?! Even if it is temporary. Who knows, maybe this just the opportunity we need to –
Let me stop you right there. We’re going to cheer him up, not to hit on him or flirt with him; we’re there for support and comfort. Got it?!
…Fine…You know you’re starting to become a buzzkill like Starburst.
Nidra would’ve slapped the voice upside the head if it had a tangible body to slap. But from what Cotton Candy had said in the letter, Turquoise was mostly moping around the town, not really doing much or having fun, and of course, to a daughter of the infamous Pinkie Pie, being in such a mood was unacceptable and was cause for intervention. Thankfully Nidra was able to ask her cousin, Illusion, to cast one of his, well, illusion spells over Nidra. A kind of glamour charm that worked off of the ambient magic in the air, as well as the magical energy within the target, this way the false form would not waver easily or be restricted to a time limit. Nidra glanced at her reflection in the glass window.
A pegasus mare with an intimidating expression and sharp aquamarine eyes. Her coat color was the same shade of gray as her real self, but her mane was a light-blue with navy blue highlights. Nidra didn’t often ask her cousin to use such spells; she honestly thought that being in disguise was pointless. Being a royal of Equestria was not something to hide, more than a few times Nidra went out about Canterlot, unescorted, and went clubbing with an entourage of ponies. Yes she knew they were there to just hang out with a royal Princess, but she didn’t care, she liked the attention it brought her. Besides, she already had real friends, her cousin Illusion, Turquoise, Starburst of course, and others in Ponyville, although she didn’t associate with them that much.
But for this particular venture she thought it best not to bring attention to herself, and so here she was, in the form of her civilian disguise, Jet Stream. The group of friends she had in Ponyville knew of her disguise as well as Illusion’s. Even though the town probably wouldn’t make a really big deal about her coming to town, having had a Princess and High Princess live there for some time, she still didn’t want ponies to flock to her, not today anyway.
Nidra heard the screeching of the tracks as the train rolled to a stop before the platform. Once completely stopped the conductor announced their arrival and where the train would depart to next. The Princess of Slumber exited the train and stood upon the platform, eyes searching for any sign of the pink maned earth pony. Her search didn’t take long as she watched a blur of pink and blue rush towards her and smiled widely at her.
“Nidra – Oops! I mean, Jet Steam, you made it!”
“Y-Yeah, of course I did.” Nidra took another quick glance about the station. “Is Turquoise with you or something?”
Candy sighed, “No, he’s helping out Del at the farm, although he should be done by now. So he’s probably home, c’mon I walk you there.”
The two mares began walking through town towards Carousel Boutique, and just as she thought, the disguise was working. Nopony other than Candy or the others would know it was her. In a weird way, it was kind of fun, the anonymity of it all. But right now, what Candy said was getting to her.
Nidra couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow at that. “Really? I can’t imagine Del’s the right pony to be around right now, considering how similar their situations are at the moment.”
“It’s probably a stallion thing, but I do know T would be happier if he was with you. He likes hanging out with you, y’know.”
Nidra couldn’t help her cheeks tinting red from hearing that. “O-O-Oh…he, uh, he does?”
Candy giggled. “Of course he does silly. I mean, don’t get me wrong, he likes hanging out with all of us, and especially going on dates with Annie. But when he’s with you, it’s different, in a way. Don’t know how to put it right, just a feeling I get.”
Seems I’m not the only one who thinks you two could have something.
Could we please not do this now?! I want to at the very least enjoy my visit without your commentary.
Candy and Nidra were already heading through the town square and were coming up on the market district of Ponyville. The blue earth pony mare would occasionally glance at Nidra, a hesitant look in her eyes.
“What is it Candy?” asked Nidra.
“Nidra, I know you like-like T.”
The alicorn thestral stopped dead in her tracks and stared at Candy incredulously. “I-I-I…”
“I’m not saying it’s a bad thing or anything. Just…” Candy seemed to be choosing her words carefully, not wanting insult or anger the mare beside her. “I was hoping that you could keep the flirting down to a minimum when around T, I mean, I know he’s attractive and sweet and kind, but he’s also kind of oblivious at times…I just don’t want you to get into something that could potentially hurt you or him, if that made any sense.”
Nidra blinked. I swear to Faust on high and the All Mother Zacherle that this mare is psychic or something!
Oh calm down it’s not like she can hear me, Candy’s weird and random like her mom, but she isn’t “psychic”.
“Also, I’m sure you have a little nagging voice inside you that’s probably telling you it’s a good idea to hit on him, but I don’t think you should listen to it.”
…Okay, this mare officially scares me now…
Shaking off Candy’s words, Nidra adopted her normal bad filly look. “I know Candy, Faust, why would you think I was going to flirt with T in the first place?”
Candy looked down at the ground, ashamed. “Sorry…I just wasn’t sure if you were doing it on purpose or if you weren’t aware of it. So I wanted to make sure you didn’t get hurt…”
She…Candy’s trying to look out for me. Keep me from having my heart broken.
Well that’s kind of insulting; she’s saying you don’t have a chance at all.
Just shut up!
Nidra raised her wing and placed it over Candy’s shoulder. “Don’t look sad okay, I know what you mean, and I won’t. Besides, I already made a promise with Annie that I plan on keeping as well.”
Gaining a cheerful smile from Candy, the two pressed on. It didn’t take them long before they arrived at the whimsically designed house. Candy knocked on the door. Normally they would just go in, the house doubling as a clothing store, but since the “closed” sign was up, etiquette dictated that one should knock before entering another’s home. Candy tapped the door a few times with her hoof, and rang the bell that hung above for good measure. It didn’t take long for them to hear the clip-clop of hooves come rushing towards the front door, along with an energetic voice accompanying it.
“I got it! I got it!”
The door was quickly opened by Pixel Bit who smiled at blue earth pony mare before her.
“Hi Pixie!” Candy chirped.
“Hi Candy!” The unicorn filly then turned her attention to the mare beside Candy, eyeing her suspiciously. “Who are you?”
“My name is Jet Stream, I’m a friend of Turquoise,” said Nidra.
Pixel eyed the mare critically, making the alicorn thestral a bit nervous at how serious she was looking at her. She knew that Illusion’s glamour charms were undetectable, and that it would take a highly skilled unicorn or alicorn to actually see through the guise. Yet stranger things have happened, for all Nidra knew, this Pixel could be a prodigy and was in fact highly skilled. After another tense moment of staring, Pixel gave Nidra a deadpan look.
“Yeah, right, I know all of T’s friends, and I’ve never seen you.”
Nidra was stumped, she was sure she had met Pixel Bit at least a few times before whenever she visited. Although, to be far, Nidra wasn’t assuming her alter ego Jet Stream, at the time.
“Pixie –”
Before Nidra could finish or even begin her sentence, Pixel Bit had somehow managed to get Cotton Candy into the house, the filly then stood before the mare, her right hoof resting on the edge of the front door.
“Look ‘Jet Stream’ my cousin is missing his fillyfriend right now, and doesn’t need some random mare coming to see him, so not to be rude but, goodbye!”
With that Pixel Bit promptly slammed the door in Nidra’s face, leaving the disguised alicorn thestral standing there, dumbfounded.
Did that filly seriously slam the door in my face?
There was some intelligible murmuring going on inside the house that Nidra’s ears were able to pick up on, some of it sounded surprised and just a tad bit angry. After about a minute or two Nidra heard heavier hoofsteps approaching the door, she stepped back, knowing full well who it was going to be. The door then opened and revealed the bulky form of Turquoise Blitz. At first Nidra felt a deep sense of worry at seeing the dracony’s appearance, he had bags under his eyes, like he hadn’t had a good night sleep. Even his ears were drooping against his skull and his mane had lost some of its luster. But, miraculously, seeing her seemed to make some of that tiredness ebb away.
“Ni – I mean – Jet Stream, you’re really here?!”
“Y-Yeah, I am,” said Nidra nervously.
The dracony stallion glanced over his shoulder; Nidra followed his gaze and saw that Pixel Bit was hiding behind Candy’s fluffy, curly tail.
“Pixie, this is a friend of mine and Candy’s. I know you don’t know her, but you know it’s rude to shut the door in somepony’s face like that.” Turquoise’s tone was scolding, authoritative even, almost like a father. It was actually kind of sexy to see him act like that, a thought that Nidra promptly put away for the time being.
“Sorry cuz, I just…well…I’ve never seen her before, and she’s kinda scary and pretty and…I didn’t want you to…”
Nidra leaned up a little so that she was closer to T’s ear. “Turquoise, Pixel Bit’s never seen me in my Jet Stream disguise; don’t be too harsh on her. She’s just looking out for her favorite cousin.”
After hearing this T relaxed a bit, his gaze less intense. Turquoise walked over to where Candy was, the earth pony mare smiling at the green dracony as she moved her tail a little to reveal Pixel Bit. He then lowered his head so that he was at eye level with the unicorn filly. Pixel Bit sniffled a little, she didn’t like it when T was angry, and she liked it less when she was the one who made him angry. Pixel kept her gaze downcast, not wanting to meet his eyes.
“Hey, I’m not mad okay Pixie? You didn’t know, but Jet Stream is actually a good friend of mine. Annie knows her, so does Candy and some of my other friends. But regardless, you really shouldn’t slam the door in somepony’s face, that’s not good manners and you know Aunt Rarity wouldn’t like it if she heard about you doing that. So no more of that, alright?”
Pixel nodded in understanding.
“Good.” Turquoise leaned forward and nuzzled the side of Pixel’s face, making the unicorn filly smile from the contact. “No more frowny faces either, you’re cuter when you smile Pixie.”
The unicorn filly giggled and nuzzled her cousin back. She then looked to Nidra and walked over to the disguised mare and stood in front of her. She rubbed the back of her left foreleg nervously as she gazed up at the slightly scary pegasus mare.
“Um…Sorry Miss Jet Stream…”
“Miss”?! I’m not that old, I’m only eighteen years old!
Nidra took a deep breath, knowing that Pixel was just trying to be polite. “It’s alright Pixel Bit, you were just looking out for Turquoise, I understand.”
After that little misunderstanding was taken care of, Nidra and Turquoise left the house and went on a walk by themselves. They weren’t going anywhere in particular, just going wherever their hooves took them. Nidra could already tell that T’s mood was uplifted, even though they didn’t talk much, it seemed as if Nidra’s presence alone was making him feel less anxious and more calm and happy.
“So…how have you been?” asked Nidra, breaking the silence.
Turquoise sighed heavily. “Not so good, I guess. I know I shouldn’t worry so much, especially with Annie’s old friends, High Princess Twilight, and that ring of hers. But…”
“That’s why you’re worried,” Nidra finished. “T, you shouldn’t worry like this, it’s not healthy for you. I mean, I know you have a crazy strong immune system and stamina, but even you can’t keep being like this the whole time Annie’s away.”
“I know I know…I just can’t help it sometimes, I worried about her even before she got that ring. And now that she does have one it only makes it worse! Who knows what it’ll do to her! Her mind could be warped, she could turn to solid crystal, or she could…turn on everypony…”
Nidra stopped walking and looked at Turquoise seriously. “You know damn well Annie would never turn on her friends and loved ones, even if that ring made her, she’d die before hurting those she loved.”
Turquoise had a look of shame on his face for even contemplating that that might happen. That very look made Nidra curse herself for bringing it on.
Great job, you wanted to cheer him up and now you went and made him sad again.
I didn’t mean that, but it’s true! Annie would never do that and she would die before hurting others!
Yeah, yeah, yeah, Anthea’s a saint; we should all be so humble as to follow her example, blah, blah, blah. Oh, I have an idea!
Really, oh do tell? Nidra made sure the voice heard her sarcastic tone.
Invite him to stay with you in Canterlot for a bit.
Excuse me – what?!
It’s perfect! Look, being in this town isn’t doing the big guy any good. Surrounded by reminders of Annie every day doesn’t exactly help him relax. Just bring him to Canterlot, show him a good time and help him to worry less on Annie and focus on you instead.
Nidra was about to rebut the voice’s suggestion, but the more she thought about it, the more the voice had a point. Being in Ponville and surrounded by constant reminders of his fillyfriend wasn’t exactly helping him to stop worrying, and at this rate, she was sure that the healthy dracony would undoubtedly fall prey to sickness if he had to endure this long period of Annie’s absence longer than anypony might have calculated or expected. Reluctantly, Nidra conceded the suggestion to the voice.
“Hey T, can I make a suggestion?”
“Hmm, sure, what’s on your mind Nidra?”
Nidra’s eyes shifted about, a slight blush forming on her cheeks. “What if you come with me and stay at Canterlot for a while. You know, get away from Ponyville and take your mind off things?”
Turquoise pondered the question; apprehension was gripping at his heart at the thought of leaving home. “Well…it’s not like I wouldn’t want to, but I just can’t up and leave like that Nidra. I’d need to talk it over with my Mom and Dad, and you need to clear it with your mom too don’t you?”
Nidra flip her mane hotly, “Please, I’m a Princess of Equestria; I can invite anypony I want to the castle anytime I want. Besides, you’re not a stranger or some foreign dignitary, and your dad used to work in the castle too so it’s cool. But, yeah, you probably should talk to your folks first. If they said yes, would you though?”
The green dracony stallion took a moment to collect his thoughts. For a moment the alicorn thestral believed she may’ve overstepped her boundaries or thinking that it might have been too soon to be asking him to go anywhere. After a few tense seconds, for Nidra anyway, Turquoise looked to the mare beside him and grinned.
“Sure. You know, if my Mom and Dad say yes.”
“GREAT –!” Nidra shut her muzzle, realizing she just said that too loud and out loud. “I mean, that’s cool. Let’s head back to your place and ask.”
The two hybrid ponies turned around and made their way back to Carousel Boutique. Nidra had a pip in her step as she walked side-by-side with the stallion she had feelings for.
You’re welcome by the way.
I never said thank you!
You didn’t need to.
A few miles away, halfway between Equestria Proper and Minotaurus…
Annie was sure that her friends were getting some kind of sick, sadistic kick from what they had her do. The trio had unanimously agreed to train her in the ways of combat, and in so doing they divided up who would be training Annie in what. Hot Head was going to work on her conditioning, putting her through various exercises to build up her stamina, endurance, and strength. Now Anthea was no stranger to hard work, she helped her mother take care of most of the critters around the cottage and in the forest, even when Golden Delicious would ask for help on the farm Annie was the first to volunteer.
That being said, what Hot Head was putting her through didn’t compare in the slightest. Hot Head had her doing pushups, sit ups, running circles around the workout area, and doing sprints from one end of the room to the other.
Lucky Star, with a little help from Twilight, was in charge of Annie’s magic defense and attack training. The unicorn stallion taught her how to use her magic bolts more effectively, as well as how to maintain a barrier while it was being assaulted. Case in point, one training session had Annie erecting a magic barrier around herself while Lucky lobbed one magic bolt after the other at her shield. Several times did her shield break, and several more times did she conjure it up again. Although she was getting better, it started to take at least five shots before shattering.
Amber Lily handled close quarters combat. The two of them sparred on a mat, where Annie had the privilege of finding herself on again and again. The earth pony mare instructed her how to move when close to an opponent, how to weave in and out, and how to strike when the opening presented itself. Of course the few times Amber did seem open was only a feint so that she could body slam Annie back to the mats.
Technically this was her fault, she had added to the condition of them training her that they wouldn’t go easy on her, apparently they obliged. Although Annie couldn’t help but think that they were taking it easy on her. She remembered the times Starburst spoke of her personal training and the Royal Guards’ training, how intense and serious it was. Comparatively, she thought they were only giving her a slight amount of the same punishment they endured. Annie noticed that each of them had an elated grin during each session.
They were the ones being put through training…taking orders and having to work hard to fulfill them. And now they get to be the ones giving orders and I’m the one who gets to suffer. Just wait you three…the day when I finally master that “Gender Swap” spell – Whoa-ho-ooooooh-nelly – are you in for a rude awakening!
That thought often brought a mischievous grin to her face. Now, when it came to using the ring, there were different conditions. One: Twilight and the Trio were to be present during any experimentation with the ring. And two: the testing would be done on the ground in an uninhabited area. Twilight had the captain of the Avalon set down the warship in an open field, far from any minotaur or pony settlement, and far enough away from forests that the woodland creatures would not be injured. The crew of the ship were more than willing to accommodate this order, since none of them wanted the ring Annie was wearing to do something dangerous and damage the ship, better it happen on the ground than hundreds of feet in the air.
Annie stood in the middle of the open field, with her mentor and friends standing by a few feet away upon her request to give space to work. What the ring had told Annie about creating “constructs” stuck in her mind, and, after looking up all of Starburst’s exploits as the Fear Lantern, she was able to determine what the ring was capable of creating. Since the two rings of Fear and Love appeared to have almost similar functions.
It seems like almost nothing is impossible to make with the ring’s power. So long as you imagine it clearly it will appear, but I must also feel the love in my heart or it won’t form.
Anthea sat on her haunches and pointed her right hoof in front of her. The ring glowed as she set to concentrating, forming an image of what she wanted to make real. She decided to go for something she knew well, or rather someone. Violet-pink light flashed before Annie, the light started to solidify until it was a crystalline light construct of Turquoise Blitz himself. Annie gasped at the sight, everything from his mane, spines, the membrane of his wings, the number of scales on his body, and even the kind and strong look in his eyes was a perfect match.
Twilight, never one to pass up a research opportunity, was busy scribbling down everything she saw. Hot Head snorted, wishing Annie had created something cooler with the ring’s power than her coltfriend.
“Looks like even if it perfectly recreates a pony’s appearance, it doesn’t change the color to match, it must be a result of the power source, this ‘violet light of Love’. That would explain why all of Starburst’s constructs were yellow in color, even though some of the things she did create would naturally be different colors and shades,” said Twilight.
Annie, having been staring at the construct longingly, sighed heavily and dismissed her creation. The construct still holding its smile as it changed into fragments of crystal and light. Moving on, Annie created another replica, this time of her mother. The light flashed once again, and the full bodied form of Fluttershy was standing in front of Anthea. Feeling confident, the unicorn mare decided to run the whole gambit.
Multiple flashes of violet-pink light appeared before Annie, one right after the other. After a few short seconds all of Annie’s friends and family were standing before in the form of crystalline light constructs. Each of them moved and shuffled about, showing that they were not statues but moving creations. Everypony was there, even replicas of Hot Head, Amber, Lucky, and Twilight…and Starburst at the head of the group.
Hmm…If I layered them with a glamour charm, they could look just like the real thing! Oh my gosh, when Prism gets back, him and Candy are going to get pranked so hard!
Filing that devious plan away for the time being, Annie decided to push the limits of how much the ring could really create. Dismissing her constructs, Annie went to work on a more elaborate creation. She stood on her hind legs as the ring shined brighter than before, the ground beneath her hooves crystallized, spreading outwards and creating a platform a hundred feet wide. The pink unicorn then gently raised her forelegs, causing the crystal to move with her. Pillars rose up and to a point and stopped, walls formed around the pillars and stretched up to meet the points. The foundation extended a bit more as even more pillars and walls were erected, building up the structure more and more.
Twilight and the trio watched this spectacle as half of the structure was completed. They could see it after a little time; Annie was trying to recreate Canterlot Castle. The castle rose up higher and higher, almost half the height of the real thing. Annie stood within the crystal building, watching as her creation continued to grow. However, Annie didn’t notice just how much dimmer the light of her ring was getting the more she pushed this creation.
The towers were now created, Annie didn’t know much about the interior save for a few rooms and the throne room, so she just focused on the exterior. Although, she had to admit, it was getting a little harder focus on the crystalline construct, especially when she had to squint her eyes a little to see it, but she wasn’t too worried about it. With a wave of her right hoof, Anthea finished the recreation of Canterlot Castle, the entire thing, from what the others could tell, was simply beautiful. The sunlight passed through the violet crystals, making it sparkle and shine.
[Warning: Power levels are at 20%.]
“Wait what?”
Annie could feel the construct waver; she concentrated harder trying to keep the castle together. But she gasped when she noticed that the construct wasn’t the only thing wavering, her vision was too!
“WHAT’S HAPPENING?! MY EYES, EVERYTHING’S –?!!!”
[Power levels are now at 15%. Cancelling the construct is highly recommended.]
“DO IT!”
The recreated Canterlot Castle showed cracks all along the crystals, and in the blink of an eye, the whole thing shattered apart, changing into fragments of shimmering star sapphire and dematerializing into particles of violet-pink light. Chunks of the castle fell off and for a moment the others thought that the debris would crush Anthea, but their fears were put to rest as they witnessed the entire thing burst into pieces, and then into sparkling light, leaving Annie standing where she was when she made the castle.
[Power levels at 10%, now entering Power Save Mode.]
The four ponies breathed a sigh of relief, but that relief was short lived when they noticed that the unicorn mare was huddled down onto the ground. All four of them ran to the unicorn mare with worry in their hearts, when they got there, Annie was in a full blown panic, shivering and frantically swiveling her head to and fro as if looking for somepony.
“Anthea what’s wrong?!” asked Twilight.
“I-I-I can’t see anymore!”
Those words hit the others like a ton of bricks, their eyes wide with shock from hearing this. Was it all just a trick of the ring? Was Annie’s ability to see just temporary? They couldn’t imagine this to be true, it was too cruel to give someone who was practically blind their whole life the ability to see, and then rip it all away.
“…Y-You mean…” Twilight fought a lump from forming in her throat. “You’ve completely lost your sight?!”
“Well…not ‘completely’…it’s just; my sight is back to the way it was before, just colored blurs.”
Everypony, except for Annie, let out a small sigh of relief, even though it wasn’t good news, it was better than her losing all of her sight.
“I don’t understand, you could see before, so why can’t you now?!” asked Hot Head angrily, more at the situation and the ring than at Annie.
“I-I don’t know…I…” Annie stood up on shaky legs; Lucky Star quickly went to her side and held her hoof in his, resorting back to the old ways of staying by her side. “Thank you Lucky…”
“A-Any time,” said the unicorn stallion, a slight blush forming on his cheeks.
“I heard the ring saying something about ‘power levels’ and then my vision became blurry like it used to be, I cancelled the construct and now my eyes are back to the way they used to be…” Annie sniffled a little at the loss of her sight. “Why…Why did this happen?”
Twilight moved closer to Annie, she leaned in and looked the pink unicorn mare in the eyes. It was true; her light-blue eyes were dull once again, lacking the vibrancy of when they were healed.
“‘Power levels’…? Wait…could it be possible?” Twilight asked herself.
“Could what be possible Princess?!” asked Amber.
“Anthea, you said the ring was talking about ‘power levels,’ ask it to tell you about it again.”
Annie nodded and gingerly raised her right hoof to bring the ring to chest level. She paused in her question, wondering if something bad would happen. She leaned a little closer to Lucky for comfort and security, the stallion not minding at all how her fur was brushing against his. With a bit of trepidation, Annie asked the question.
“Um, ring, what was it you were saying earlier about ‘power levels’?”
[During your creation of the castle construct my power levels began dropping to maintain the construct. Your concentration was excellent, but my power levels during your time training were at less than 50%. Had I been at full power your construct would’ve held. As such, I had to advise you to stop lest my remaining power drop to zero.]
Twilight pondered the words of the ring. “So what you’re saying is that your power isn’t infinite but finite.”
[Correct.]
Just then a thought popped into Lucky’s head. “Wait minute, now that makes sense!”
“What does?” asked Hot Head.
“Back when we were guarding the vault where Princess Starburst’s ring was kept, she called for the thing and it passed through the vault door to her. It said something about how low its power levels were and that it needed a recharge!”
The memory rekindled in Amber’s mind as she too remembered that night. “You’re right, it said that after calling for this ‘power battery’ it would be completely out of power. She pointed her ring out and it opened some kind of portal, afterwards some yellow lantern floated out and landed in front of Starburst. The ring didn’t glow anymore when that happened, it was already dim when it appeared to her, but when she did that it wasn’t shining anymore, kinda like how yours is Annie.”
[Recharge is highly recommended.]
Annie looked to Twilight for guidance; she didn’t know what do right now, although she calmed down, a part of her was still afraid. She didn’t know why her eyes reverted back to their former level of clarity, and now her ring was almost out of power. If she didn’t recharge it, she wouldn’t be of any use to anypony on this mission, there would be no point.
Twilight saw the look Annie was giving her, an almost pleading, desperate look for instruction. After thinking it over for all of thirty seconds, Twilight made the decision.
“Annie, ask the ring how you can recharge it. We’ll deal with this problem first.”
“Okay.” Annie spoke with a little more confidence. “Ring, how do I recharge you?”
[You must call forth your Star Sapphire power battery, once summoned; you must place me to it – while wearing me – and speak the oath of the Star Sapphires to initiate the recharging process.]
“And where is this ‘power battery’?”
[Within a pocket dimension that is only accessible to you.]
Twilight quirked an eyebrow at that, she had studied up on the theory of different dimensions, ones that could potentially have intelligent life or ones that had utterly nothing within them, basically acting as a huge storage space for whatever the user had. Twilight had once thought about playing around with such a thing so that she could store more of her collection of magical tomes for better access, but there were too many variables involved. For one thing, she wouldn’t know if the pocket dimension would be a suitable place for books, and there was the fear of not being able to connect to it, resulting in the loss of all her precious tomes. Needless to say, she was definitely intrigued now to see how this worked, even getting a piece of parchment and a quill ready.
“So I just point you and you’ll bring it out?” asked Annie.
[Correct.]
“A-Alright…you guys might want to stand behind me, if you want to.”
Twilight, Amber, and Hot Head did just that, but Lucky stayed close to her, knowing that she’d probably freak out if she didn’t have anypony there next to her, giving her contact. Annie pointed her right hoof out to the open space and gulped.
“Okay, um, I’m ready.”
[Initiating power battery retrieval.]
The ring fired a beam of violet-pink light that punched a hole in the middle of the open space. From the other end the light drew out a large object, a violet lantern. The lantern slowly exited the portal and landed before Annie, the portal closing as soon as the lantern touched the ground. Annie brought her hoof down and began feeling the lantern, normally she’d use her horn to get a better idea of how it felt, but even with just her hoof Annie could sense the power radiating through it and into her, it’s shape wasn’t that odd, big and obtuse at the top and bottom, and a rounded center with an open port for the light to shine through.
She also made note of the handle bar that rested on the ground, strange that she would be called a “Star Sapphire” while her main source of power was a lantern.
[Now Annie, place your hoof into the open port and speak the oath of the Star Sapphires.]
“B-But I don’t know the oath!”
[Place me within and repeat after me.]
Annie nodded and motioned for Lucky Star to move away from her. She became a little panicky when she felt him leave, but Annie didn’t want something to happen to him while he was close to her. Taking a deep calming breath, Annie placed her hoof into the port, the reaction was immediate. The lantern blazed to life, shining forth with the stored power of the violet light of Love. Anthea could feel it coursing through her foreleg, into her heart, and to the rest of her body, filling her with its radiant, loving power.
[For hearts long lost and full of fright…]
“For hearts long lost and full of fright…”
[For those alone in blackest night.]
“For those alone in blackest night.”
[Accept this ring and join our fight…]
“Accept this ring and join our fight…”
[Love conquers all with violet light.]
“Love conquers all with violet light.”
At that moment the light from the lantern released and glowed brighter, almost blinding the others. When the light faded Annie was garbed in her Star Sapphire uniform, she drew back her ring from the port, its form now glowing just as brilliant as the day she first received it. Even though the light was bright, Annie didn’t close her eyes, it didn’t hurt her to look directly at it. Just then Annie gasped, the blurriness of her surroundings started to sharpen with each passing nanosecond until everything was crisp and clear.
[Power levels now at 100%.]
“I…I can see again!”
The others moved closer to Annie, inspecting her for any changes or damage. Satisfied that there were no visible injuries, they allowed themselves to smile at hearing the good news. But Twilight was still inquisitive.
“I don’t understand, why can you see better now that the ring is charged, but you couldn’t when it was at a lower power level?” asked Twilight.
“Yeah, why is that ring?”
[One of my primary functions is to ensure the survival of my bearer, you Annie. As such, I am equipped with a cellular regenerator, which enables me to heal minor injuries done to you, through battle or otherwise. When I placed myself upon you I immediately ran a scan of your physical makeup and found that your eyesight was less than adequate to fight as a Star Sapphire.
Since it was a preexisting condition I could not heal it, but further analysis revealed that your internal energy, your “magic” as you call it, is connected directly to your eyesight. I infused the power of the violet light into this same physiology, allowing me to enhance your eyesight to a 20/20 level.]
Annie’s ears drooped at hearing this information, “In other words, if I use too much of your power my eyes will go back to the way they were. But at the same time, if I overuse my magic then I’ll lose my sight completely until my magic regenerates or I recharge you.”
[Correct…I am sorry Annie, while the violet light of Love is powerful; it is incapable of performing healing of that level.]
“No, it’s alright, better I know now than in the middle of a fight. I’ll just have to be more careful about how much power you have.”
Hot Head snorted at hearing that. “I’m starting to think that this whole thing was a really, really bad idea! Annie can’t fight now that we know that, she’ll be in even more danger!”
“For once I’m agreeing with Hot Head,” said Amber, “if the ring runs out in the middle of a battle Annie will be completely vulnerable until she recharges – if she even gets the chance.”
Annie turned to her two friends, her eyes a crisp light-blue and the dullness of her pupils gone. “I’m not quitting now, I just have to be more careful, fight smarter not harder.” The unicorn mare then began to move away from her friends and mentor. “Excuse me; I need to train a little more before we leave.”
Before she got far, Annie used her ring to create a lasso that wrapped around her power battery and tied it so that it hung over her right shoulder.
Annie, your determination is admirable, but please, don’t let it consume you, thought Twilight.
Griffonia, Royal Palace…
“You want us to do what?!” Silva shouted.
Silva the Beast Wing and Carmen the Blood Wing, along with a few of the generals of the Griffon Empire army were standing before their Empress, Gilda. The griffoness, garbed in her royal regalia, had proposed to them a plan to get around the Saddle Arabian defenses, a plan that Silva felt the need to question.
“You heard me; I want to send our reinforcements through the Long Road. I have reviewed the maps of that area and found that there’s a passage that leads directly to Saddle Arabia. We can sneak behind them and attack them from behind. While their main forces occupied with the ones on the front line, we can swiftly make our way to their capital from the passage and strike. Their front line will be in a state of confusion, it’s a classic pincer move, and one I’m sure you’re all aware of.”
Carmen stepped forward. “Your Highness, it’s not that we aren’t aware of the passage or the tactic that we can employ to strike Saddle Arabia down. The Long Road goes through Minotaurus, a nation that is neutral to our war. If we use the Long Road, which passes directly through minotaur territory, we run the risk of antagonizing them and possibly other neutral nations.”
Gilda, who dug her talons into the throne, glared down at the red female griffon. “Do you think I am stupid, Commander Carmen?”
Carmen flinched, “No your Highness! I just think that maybe we should not use the Long Road, given the recent actions of the rogue Pretenders.”
Gilda rose from her seat and walked down the steps to Carmen the Blood Wing. The regalia clad speedster stood before Carmen and looked her directly in the eyes. “Again, do you think I am stupid?! I know all of that! But I also know that neither you,” Gilda then glared at Silva, “nor him have made any headway in either of your areas. The actions of the Fear Lantern have kept us from advancing further than we should be! So, either we wait until one of you deals with the Fear Lantern, or we can gain some ground!”
The other generals gulped at seeing the newly crowned Empress get right in Carmen and Silva’s faces, she may be the Empress but those two were undoubtedly the two most dangerous griffons in the entire empire. Silva snorted, grinning in respect to how the young Empress bared her fangs and sharp tongue at the both them. Carmen on the other hand, while happy that the Empress had seemed to have grown a pair, was a little annoyed by Gilda getting in her face. The last creature – a pony mare she believed – who did that ended up, well, let’s just say that there was a lot of blood.
“This is my order, send the 808th Legion and the 702nd Legion as well, we’ll strike hard and fast. Is that understood?!”
The griffons struck their fists against their chests and proclaimed in one powerful voice, “Hail, Hail!”
Gilda nodded, “Now leave me.”
The gryphoness watched as the generals and two Wing Commanders left the throne room. The moment the large double doors closed Gilda let out a long held sigh, her shoulders slumped as the tension left her body.
“Oh good Grafas, I thought she was going to slit my throat! Or Commander Silva was going to, literally, bite my head off!”
“Oh I don’t know sister; I think you did quite well.”
Gilda looked to the shadows of one of the pillars in the room. From it emerged Nox, smirking at his big sister satisfactorily. The griffoness let out a loud scoff at her little brother’s comment.
“And despite what you may think, those two wouldn’t kill you, most likely curse your name under their breath, but not kill you.”
“Nox…I…I don’t know about this plan…Do you really think it’s necessary to send two-thousand troops through the Long Road? What if we end up aggravating the minotaurs? We’ll have to fight them too if they get wind of this,” said Gilda, her voice carrying a tinge of worry.
Nox made his way to his sister and placed his claw on her shoulder. “Relax my sister, the 808th and 702nd will be more than enough, the airships will take some doing to get through the Long Road but it can be done.”
Gilda sighed heavily again. “I just don’t want to make a big mistake here Nox; I want to be the Empress that our Empire deserves!”
“And you will, remember that no matter what they say I will always be here to support you and to protect you.” Nox then drew Gilda in for a hug. “You can always take solace in knowing that the shadows will keep you safe, because that’s where I’ll be.”
The griffoness returned the hug. “Thanks Nox…”
What Gilda didn’t see, however, was that Nox had a toothy grin splitting his face.
Yes…it’s all part of the plan, just as you are, my dear big sister.