Chapter 13: The Journey Begins
The angels galloped over to Octavia, who wasted no time slashing in a controlled yet wild manner at her foes. Being on her hind legs she had more leverage and could dodge their magical blasts easier.
Which she demonstrated with her next move. Two angels started firing white lasers at her, but she deactivated her beam sword and did a series of back flips out of the way of their attacks. One of the golems walked up behind her and was about to slam it's fist down on top of Octavia, but a large beam knocked it back.
Octavia looked and saw Vinyl standing in the distance with her hoof cannon pointed forward. She then turned to the angels and fired at them, knocking one back but four ran over to her firing their magic. Vinyl jumped into the air and fired her hoof cannon downward at them, killing two. Before she could land though, a golem punched Vinyl into a tree.
"Vinyl!" Octavia cried, glaring at the golem. She activated two jets on her hind legs and dashed toward the golem, slashing at any angels that got in her way. She then jumped into the golems face and did a somersault slash knocking the golem to the ground.
Vinyl fell off the tree and onto the ground. As she forced herself up, Octavia ran over to her.
"Vinyl, are you okay?" Octavia asked.
"Please, I was wondering why it didn't hurt more," Vinyl said with a pained smile, "These guys are chumps."
The angels trotted closer to them, while the three golems walked behind them. Octavia stood up again and pointed her left hoof forward. It turned into a white and red version of Vinyl's weapon and started charging up. She then fired at the golem in the middle, causing it to fall forward.
Vinyl took that as her chance to gallop over to the angels. She fired at one, knocking it back. She landed on top of him and smirked a bit straddling him.
"I need to borrow this," she said placing a hoof on the angel's horn. Both the horn and her hoof started glowing and through her eyes she saw that the armor had learned how to use a few interesting spells.
"Magic adaptation, huh?" Vinyl said looking at her hoof. She turned to the golems and fired a new white wave out of her hoof at one. It didn't take damage, instead it's eyes changed from green to blue.
The golem started punching one of the other golems, now under Vinyl's control. Vinyl jumped back over to Octavia standing back to back with her partner.
"So you figured out how to use that system I told you about?" Octavia asked.
"This armor is awesome! I feel like a... Mega Mare or something!"
"Mega Mare? Really Vinyl?" Octavia asked, "That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard."
"Aw, I think it sounds cool," Vinyl pouted, "I think I'll call my next album Mega Mare."
"Then we better end this so you can start recording," Octavia said holding her blade out. She charged toward the angels, and slashed three times at one before spinning around and firing her cannon at another one behind her. Two more flew over to Octavia, but Vinyl fired at both of them knocking them out of the sky.
Vinyl then turned around at one of the remaining two golems the angels had and fired at it's back. It fell to one knee, and the golem that she controlled fired a large blast out of its arm destroying it.
By now there were only a few angels left. Vinyl charged up her hoof cannon as much as she could and fired a large blue blast actually destroying them, since they faded away. Octavia ran up to the two golems and jumped into their air. She slashed a large red Z at the two golems, doing massive damage. She landed and turned her back to her foes, both of them exploding behind her.
The fight over, Vinyl and Octavia trotted over to each other deactivating their weapons.
"You didn't have to use the letter Z," Vinyl taunted.
"You're not the only one who can be stylish," Octavia said dismissively, "Diamond Tiara, you can come out now. It's safe."
Diamond Tiara slowly stepped out of the woods, looking at the destruction in awe, "You two are so powerful," she said, "Those angels looked strong, but you wiped the floor with them."
"It helps that this armor was made by a demon," Octavia said, "I imagine that the Princess of the Stars combined angellic technology with demon's magic."
"How did she get her hands on angel tech?" Vinyl asked.
"Who knows," Octavia said turning her back to Vinyl and Diamond Tiara, "Come, my cabin is still further down."
"Are we going to be safe staying there?" Diamond Tiara asked.
"Probably, if we can get some of the spells in the books to work," Octavia said, "I'm going on ahead. Don't dawdle."
Octavia trotted ahead as fast as she could, a sign that told Vinyl that she was upset about something.
"Vinyl... what's wrong with her?" Diamond Tiara asked.
"Eh, probably shaken up by the fight," Vinyl said, "Believe it or not, she's not a violent mare."
Diamond Tiara looked down the direction Octavia walked in, and began walking after her. Vinyl looked back at the golem remains and frowned.
"Why did they focus so much on her?" Vinyl asked herself before trotting after her friend and their apparent charge.
He just couldn't get the image out of his head. The ponies in that small town had nothing to do with their mission, yet they were all killed. As he stood on the roof of their castle, his thoughts went back to that pony who had red cracks on her body and then broke as if made of glass.
"Damn it," Tracy said to himself, "No one said anything about destroying the town..."
"Still shaken up by yesterday?" Scarlet Gala said, walking up to Tracy as he looked out at the remains of Ponyville, and the pillar that formed in its place.
"Those ponies didn't have to die," Tracy said.
"In order ta get enough energy ta pull out the lock we needed a tribute," Scarlet Gala explained, "If that means a few insignificant ponies have ta die, then so be it."
"Insignificant, huh?" Tracy asked.
"We didn't know any of 'em," Scarlet Gala continued, "Why feel anythin about a pony that we've never met nor would ever see again."
That got Tracy thinking about his fallen twin, Trixie. He had never met her in person, and she died before they could even meet. Did that mean she was "insignificant"? Was he being silly grieving over the loss of his sister, whom he had never gotten the luxury of meeting?
Tracy sighed and trotted back to the entrance of the castle. He didn't care for any of the Sons of Midnight, but his least favorite pony there was Scarlet Gala. She had no sense of empathy. Albeit, she was apparently a demon created through necromancy. She was a mere shell of who she used to be. The real Scarlet Gala was probably a good pony.
A real shame what happened to her.
"Tracy," he heard behind him. He turned around and saw Black Sun trotting over to him, "You seem troubled."
"I'm fine," Tracy lied.
Black Sun sighed and walked next to Tracy, "I have another job for you Tracy," he said.
"I'm not one of your followers," Tracy said, "You can't order me around."
"Ah, don't think of it as an order," Black Sun stated, "Think of it more as a request from a mutual partner."
Mutual? He was only here because Black Sun said he would help him get Midnight. They weren't mutual or partners.
"It involves Midnight," Black Sun said. Damn it, Tracy thought.
"What do you need?" Tracy asked.
"We're going to be spreading out to cover more ground," Black Sun explained, "But that means our resources in capturing Midnight will be thinned. Tracy, I'm placing you in charge of bringing Midnight into our possession. Your power is more than enough to subdue her, even if you can't kill her."
Though he boasted openly about his power being able to destroy an Alicorn, he knew that against Midnight he would need help. Princess Luna, Princess Cadence, possibly even Princess Celestia would fall to his might, but he knew that he would never be able to kill Midnight. That luxury belonged only to the Master of Harmony.
Another pony he wanted revenge on, if not the main one. If only Octavia hadn't stopped him that day.
"Do you have any leads on where she is?" Tracy asked.
"Our new member has a unique skill," Black Sun said, "With a little help, she'll be able to track Midnight's movements."
New member, huh? How did he convince her to join? Why did he convince her? She wasn't anyone special.
"Let me know when we find her," Tracy said, "I'm resting until then."
Tracy walked into his room and fell onto his bed. What would he do when he saw Midnight again? She seemed nothing like he imagined honestly. She had the audacity to actually seem remorseful, as if Trixie's death meant anything. That was his sister. All she did was manipulate her into joining her side.
"I won't be fooled," Tracy said closing his eyes. He would need his rest if he planned on beating Midnight.
Octavia's cabin was surprisingly nice and humble. It had two bedrooms upstairs, a living room and kitchen on the first floor, and a really nice bathroom one would expect to be in a spa. The second they arrived, Octavia and Vinyl got to work looking through the spellbooks and casting a number of powerful spells rendering the cabin invisible.
After finishing the self tour, Diamond Tiara went downstairs where she saw Vinyl lying on the couch. She looked exhausted, probably after the fight. She had taken off her armor.
"Are you okay...?" Diamond Tiara asked slowly.
"Yeah, just tired," Vinyl said, "How about you?"
"My head feels a little strange," Diamond Tiara admitted, "I still feel like something is missing..."
"What do you mean by that?" Vinyl asked sitting up, "You said something like that before in the library."
"I don't know what it is," Diamond Tiara said, "But it's important, and I feel like I'm losing more," she looked away and started crying a bit, "Apple Bloom... help me..."
"Do you think this Apple Bloom can really get back what you lost?" Vinyl asked.
"Yes!" Diamond Tiara cried, shocking Vinyl, "Apple Bloom is a hero! She saved Equestria, and she can save me too!"
"Saved Equestria?" Vinyl looked like she was thinking for a long while, but then looked up, "Wait, when you say Apple Bloom, you don't mean the same Apple Bloom that fought for Equestria ten years ago, do you?" when Diamond Tiara nodded, Vinyl sat back in shock, "I didn't know that you were talking about a legendary hero..."
"She's... legendary?" Diamond Tiara asked.
"Well, it's sort of selective. Depends on where you go. In Fillydelphia she's pretty well known, and don't even get me started with Canterlot, but there she's more like a knight I guess."
"Canterlot... that's where she is now..." Diamond Tiara said softly.
"I wonder how she's dealing with the news of Ponyville. She was born there, from what I heard," Vinyl continued.
"I want to go to her," Diamond Tiara said suddenly.
"Whoa there filly, calm down," Vinyl said walking over to Diamond Tiara, "The only reason we're not being attacked right now is because those angels can't see us. The second we leave this cabin we're targets."
"I don't care!" Diamond Tiara screamed, electricity building up around her, "Those angels can't touch me, and if they do, then I'll destroy them! They're afraid of me, just like Vale, and if they're not then I'll-"
"Diamond!" Vinyl shouted putting a hoof on Diamond Tiara's shoulders, "Don't lose your head! What would Apple Bloom think if you lost your mind?"
Hearing Apple Bloom's caused her to calm down almost immediately. Vinyl was right. If Apple Bloom found out that she lost her head she wouldn't be happy. Diamond Tiara took a deep breath and looked down.
"I still want to go to where she is," Diamond Tiara said adamantly, "She promised that she'd protect me no matter what, and I know she can save me."
Vinyl sighed, "I'll talk to Tavi about it. She was the one who went searching for you anyway, so we'll see what she wants to do.”
“Either way, I'm going,” Diamond Tiara said, “I don't care what you do, as long as you don't stop me.”
With that Diamond Tiara left to go into her room. She knew that going out right now was a bad idea, but tomorrow morning she was leaving out to find Apple Bloom. No one, not even her friends, was going to keep her and Apple Bloom apart.
Twilight woke up the following morning to find herself alone in the bed. Celestia must have gotten up to raise the sun. It wasn't easy being the angel that was made to control the sun and moon. She remembered when she took on that role in the past as Midnight.
Not a job she was looking forward to taking again, ever.
Getting out of bed, she walked over to her work desk. It was here last night that she received a letter from Spike saying that he was okay, and that he would be following Vale. Was he right about Rarity actually living somewhere within Vale? If so, then why was she trying to kill her? Twilight wanted to believe in her friend, that Rarity still existed, but with how Vale spoke to her...
Twilight looked at her desk to see another new letter materialize there. It had Spike's penmanship and signature. Did he send this last night?
Twilight,
Vale and I are heading to Manehattan. She received orders to intercept the Son's of Midnight, who are apparently gathering around here. I think what they did to Ponyville, they plan on doing here next. Thankfully it doesn't seem like she's going to be hunting down Diamond Tiara, but she mentioned that other angels were being sent in her place
Twilight swore to herself. That put Diamond Tiara in even more danger, since they didn't have anyone watching over her or the angels. They could attack her wherever she was.
I don't know what they're planning, but I don't want to leave Vale here by herself. This is looking pretty serious, so do you think you and Vale can put your differences aside and work together just this once? Both of you want to protect Equestria. Please think about it.
Your Number One Assistant,
Spike
PS: It should be safe for you to send a response to me.
So Spike wanted them to work together, huh? Truth was, she would have been more than willing to team up with Rarity, but she wasn't sure if Vale would be too keen on it, and she sure as hell wasn't happy with the thought of working with her.
Still, Vale was a full fledged Alicorn, and if a lock was in Manehatten they could simply leave that area to her and Spike if she knew how to disrupt the spell. And it was like Spike said, they both wanted to protect Equestria.
Twilight pulled out a scroll and quill and began writing her response.
Spike
If the Son's of Midnight are gathering in Manehattan, then it's a really good think you two are there. You're right, they are planning to sacrifice Manehatten if it means releasing my father Katastroph from his seal, allowing him to walk into Equestria.
I'm sending with this message a spell, which I need you to give to Vale. This will allow her to disrupt the spell. I don't know if it will prevent the lock from coming out, but it should stop lives from being taken. It has to be cast when they start their spell.
As for what you were saying before about Vale being connected to Rarity, you're not too far off. Truth is, if I'm right then what happened to Rarity isn't something one usually comes back from. If anyone can bring her back though, I think it would be you.
I'm leaving that entirely up to you. If you can bring Rarity back, then please do. I trust you, and I believe in you Spike.
Your's Faithfully,
Twilight
Right after casting the spell to send it to Spike, the door opened and Celestia walked in in full regalia. She smiled to Twilight and walked over to her.
“Glad to see you up,” Celestia said kissing Twilight on the cheek, “You were dead to the world when I woke up this morning.”
“I guess I was more tired than I thought,” Twilight admitted with a smile.
“What are you working on?” Celestia asked looking over Twilight's shoulder.
“I just sent a letter to Spike,” Twilight said, “He and Vale arrived in Manehatten, where the Son's of Midnight are gathering next. Celestia, do you think-”
“I'm afraid so,” Celestia said using her magic to hand Twilight a map she kept under her wing, “Luna and I managed to match the locations of the locks with current locations in Equestria.”
Twilight looked at the map, and her heart sank. Manehatten wasn't the only populated area to have a lock. In fact, all of the locks were in local residential areas in Equestria.
Under Cloudsdale...
In Fillydelphia...
And one right next to Applelossa...
“This makes things harder...” Twilight said, “Especially in Applelossa. The ponies there are all as stubborn as Applejack.”
“Luna and Cadence together should be able to pursuade them to leave,” Celestia said, “I told Luna to try and convince Applejack to go with her though, to make things easier.”
“Well, that's good,” Twilight said, still feeling a little off about the whole thing with Vale. Celestia must have sensed it, because she started nibbling on Twilight's ear.
“What's the matter, love?” Celestia asked softly.
“Spike asked me to work with Vale,” Twilight said softly.
“And that's a problem?”
“After what she did to me, yes!” Twilight said storming away and lying down on the bed, “She didn't even try to help me, or talk to me. All she did was attack me.”
“But that's still your friend,” Celestia said trotting over to the bed.
“Is it? I don't know anymore. When she talks to me, she doesn't sound like Rarity. All I hear is an angel that's out to kill me if she gets the chance. I tried doing what you said, and jog her memories, but nothing seems to work. What if Rarity is gone forever?”
“Funny,” Celestia said, “I recall a time ten years ago where something like this happened, don't you?”
Twilight looked up at Celestia confused, “What are you talking about?”
“Do you not see it? The way you feel about your friend Rarity, it's probably exactly how your friends felt about you when you became your original self again.”
She was right, and that hurt to realize. In fact, she remembered that Rarity was one of the first ones to voice her sadness in what she was becoming. Was this punishment for what she did to her friends back then?
“They didn't give up on you,” Celestia continued, “Not even when it seemed hopeless, and here you are. Doesn't Rarity deserve the same amount of faith if not more?”
“I want to have faith,” Twilight said sitting up, “But what if the All Mother completely deleted Rarity's memories and personality?”
“I doubt that's possible,” Celestia said, “And from what you described to me, it sounds there's more of Rarity in there then even she realizes. It might just be that she just doesn't remember who she is. As someone who knows what she's going through, you have to be the one to help her.”
“I don't know if I can though,” Twilight admitted sadly.
“Oh? Why not?” Celestia asked.
“Because whenever I see her, all I can feel is rage,” Twilight said, “I can't forget what happened. I know I was wrong for destroying Canter Village, but she-”
“Shouldn't have abandoned you the way she did. Both of you were in the wrong, but both of you refuse to see things from the others perspective,” Celestia held up her hoof before Twilight could protest, “I'm not defending Vale for abandoning you. She was weak, but so were you back then. Is it fair for you to continue hating her for weakness that you succumbed to yourself?”
The part of her that was Midnight wanted to scream “yes”, but she had to remember that she wasn't merely Midnight anymore. She was Twilight Sparkle, and Twilight knew better.
Before she could answer her lover, there was a knock on the door, “It's open,” Celestia said. The door opened, and a guard walked in.
“Your Majesty, I apologize for interrupting, but Princess Luna asked me to retrieve both of you.”
“That's fine,” Celestia said standing up, “Tell Luna that we will meet her in the meeting room,” the guard bowed to them and trotted away. Celestia turned to Twilight, “Twilight dear, are you ready?”
She thought she would be, but all of a sudden a sense of dread came over her when she looked at Celestia. It was as if today would be the last day she ever saw her. That was silly though. Celestia was too strong to die, and they had a future together. There was no way she was going to die.
So Twilight shook the dread off and nodded to Celestia, “I'm ready. Let's go.”
“Applelossa, Cloudsdale, Fillydelphia, and Manehatten,” Luna said placing pins on their locations on the globe in the middle of the room, “As you can see, if one were to count Ponyville, the locks create a full circle around all of Canterlot.”
“That's ominous,” Cadence said, “Does that mean they'll come here if they unlock the remaining four pillars?”
“I'm afraid so,” Celestia said, “But that's if they unlock the pillars, which they won't.”
“Shining Armor and I can head to Fillydelphia,” Twilight said, “Since I'm bringing Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, it makes sense. We're the most familiar with that area.”
“I have two Pegasi with me,” Celestia said, “Since they're the only ones who can naturally walk through Cloudsdale, I'll take that area. I just hope that Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash can avoid confrontation.”
“According to Twilight, Vale is already stationed in Manehatten,” Luna said, “As long as she cooperates, that means Cadence and I can take Applelossa. I trust that won't be a problem.”
“Not at all, Auntie,” Cadence said with a smile, “I've been meaning to pay that area a visit anyway.”
The four Alicorns gathered around the globe and met horns, “May the light of Elysium guide you all, even those not born of Elysium.”
“Remember, we ourselves are not immune to the spell,” Luna warned, “If they begin casting and you cannot stop them, leave the town as fast as you can. We can't afford to lose anyone.”
“Please come back safely, everyone,” Cadence urged.
“We will all make it back here,” Twilight said, “And we'll stop my father's release.”
The four Alicorns parted ways, donned their armors and weapons, and went to their respective groups. Twilight and Shining Armor rode with Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle in their motorcycle pulled chariot, Celestia, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy took to the skies, and Luna waited with Cadence, Applejack, and oddly Pinkie Pie for the next train to Applelossa, all of this done with heavy hearts.
This would be their toughest fight ever...
“So, are you sure about this?” Vinyl asked as she put on her armor.
“It'll be dangerous, yes, but if we just do what we did yesterday it should be fine,” Octavia said packing up a few spell books. A few seconds later, the door to Diamond Tiara's room opened and she walked downstairs. She looked at Vinyl and Octavia in shock, but was silent for the longest.
“Ahh, finally ready then?” Octavia asked with a smile.
“Ready? For...” Diamond Tiara asked slowly.
“To search for Apple Bloom, of course,” Octavia said as if it were obvious. Diamond Tiara turned to Vinyl, who shrugged her shoulders.
“Eh, I talked to her about your situation, and she was all “let's go with her,” so here we are, putting on our power suits of might, ready to embark on an epic quest.”
“I wouldn't word it quite like that,” Octavia said, “But she's right. We're going to go with you.”
“Why?” Diamond Tiara asked looking away, “The Angels are going to go after me, and we might run into Vale. She's a super strong angel, so you might die.”
“Nope,” Vinyl said, “We're not going to die,” Vinyl said walking over to Diamond Tiara and putting a hoof around her, “And to answer your question, what kind of ponies would we be to save you just to let you go out there and face the very thing we saved you from?”
“I know what it's like to love someone so much that you can't stand to not be in their presence,” Octavia said, “Who am I to look down on that level of devotion. If you want to be near Apple Bloom, then I want to be the one to take you to her, that is if you'll let us.”
Diamond Tiara looked down as Octavia held out her now armored hoof. She was silent for the longest time, thinking about what she wanted to do. It almost looked like she was having a hard time with that to Vinyl. Still, she smiled softly and touched hooves with Octavia.
“Thank you, Octavia. I'd love it if you and Vinyl would come with me,” Diamond Tiara said.
“Alright then, let's get this show on the road!” Vinyl said.
“By the way Vinyl, you're carrying our bags,” Octavia said.
“Huh? Wait! Why do I have to carry the luggage?!”