//------------------------------// // Chapter 5: A Shining Example of Loyalty: Part 3 of 3 // Story: Tales Through the Mirror: Twilight Sparkle and the Defender of the Realm // by FancyFan //------------------------------// Two days latter Twilight, Shining Armor and Lieutenant Shake Spear stood at the verge of the Everfree Forest, southeast of Ponyville. Shining had gone to Shake Spear's apartment the day before and asked the stallion to join them on their expedition. Shake Spear, being normally assigned to the patrols of Canterlot, one of the least exiting postings possible, had leapt at the chance to get some action. Meanwhile Twilight had gathered equipment and arranged for a pegasus chariot to carry the trio to their destination. They had left the next morning to give Shake Spear an opportunity to get onto a daylight schedule and to catch him up on the quest and the fact that Twilight was from another world. Shake Spear had naturally been rather confused by that fact, and had initially suggested that the two seek psychiatric help, but after reading a letter from Celestia, he had quickly come around. "It should be around here somewhere." Twilight muttered to herself as she poked around the edge of the forest. She was carrying saddlebag packed with some basic adventuring gear; ropes, pitons, travel rations and the like. Shake Spear, standing a short ways back with Shining Armor clad in his Nightgaurd armor and with a halberd holstered on his back, leaned over and muttered "What is she looking for?" The enchantments of the armor had been turned of, so his coat and mane were their natural brown and dark gray colors, as opposed to Nightgaurd standard slate gray and white. Shining Armor, decked out in a spare suit of Daygaurd armor, whispered back "Back in her world she knew a zebra shaman by the name of Zecora who lives in the forest. Zecora had warded paths throughout the forest that she uses to travel around to various rare plants that she uses in her alchemy. Twilight is trying to find one of them." Shake Spear quirked an eyebrow. "And what makes her think this Zecora lives here in this world?" Twilight turned around and rolled her eyes at the pair. "You two aren't doing a very good job of whispering, I can hear you just fine. But to answer your question, as far as I can tell the main difference between this world and my own is Sunset Shimmer becoming Celestia's student instead of myself. As the Zecora from my world moved into the Everfree before the date this world's Sunset became Celestia's student, I see no reason why she wouldn't still live here." "Seems reasonable enough." Shake Spear said as he nodded his head. Twilight returned investigating the edge of the forest. "So Shake Spear, I've been wondering. Why do you use a halberd? Based on your name I figured you'd be good with a spear." Shake Spear chuckled. "That's a common misconception. Spears are very hard for earth ponies to use. Pretty much all stabbing weapons are, except for a lance harness(*). They only way I can use a spear well is in formation with others. Making a giant wall of pointy objects to stop a charge and the like. Not exactly the kind of situation we're likely to encounter in the Everfree." "Oh. Makes sense. So your talent isn't spear wielding then?" Twilight responded. Shake Spear blinked, then looked back at his armor covered flank. "Oh that's right. You haven't ever seen me without my armor have you? My talent is actually for acting." Twilight turned around and stared. "Acting? Really? But then why are you in the guard instead of a theater troop or something?" "Well my family has been in the guard for generations, and I had always intended to follow suit. And acting actually is pretty useful. At least now that I'm in a command position. Whenever we're in a stressful spot, it is immensely helpful to be able to project a sense of calm. As long as my subordinates think I have everything under control, they're much less likely to panic." Shining nodded in agreement. "Lots of ponies find ways to employ talents that don't seem to match at all for guard work." "That makes sense." Twilight turned around and began looking again. A brief moment later she let out exclamation to triumph. "A-ha! Found it!" She then pushed aside a large clump of brambles with her magic revealing a clear path through the forest. Shining nodded. "Shake Spear, you take point. The Everfree interferes with earth pony magic much less than it does with unicorn(1), so in case we do run into something you should be the best equipped to handle it." Shake Spear nodded, and trotted into the Everfree. Twilight and Shining quickly followed behind him. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ About an hour later, after an uneventful, if stressful, walk through the Everfree, the trio arrived at a small house carved out of a tree, not unlike Ponyville's library. Rather unlike Ponyville's library, this building was surrounded by tribal Zebrican masks, increasing the already creepy atmosphere of the forest. Twilight had asked Zecora about the masks before, and learned that while most were purely ascetic, simply decorations in a style popular in the part of Zebrica Zecora came from, some had been enchanted with protective spells to hold back the effects and creatures of the forest. Shining turned to his sister. "I'm assuming this is the place?" Twilight nodded. "Yeah. I hope she's home, I doubt the path that leads to the castle exists here, since no one would have ever asked her to make it, so we'll need to ask her which one gets us the closest." She then walked across the clearing to the door. After knocking a few times, the door opened to reveal a rather puzzled looking female zebra, wearing the golden bangles and ornaments of a shaman. After blinking a couple times, as if to clear her vision and confirm what she saw, Zecora greeted them. "I am most surprised to see pony-folk at my abode. What brings you three so far off the normal road? And who might you three be? A mare and two guards I see, but what do the forces of Canterlot want with me?" Shake Spear blinked. "Did she just rhyme all her sentences on the spot? Is that on purpose? 'Cuase that's pretty dang impressive." Twilight nodded. "Yeah. Zebra shamans speak only in rhyme. Though I've never heard a continued rhyme like she did at the end before." "I'm trying out something new, it is true." Zecora replied. Shining just rolled his eyes. "Ahem. Well anyway. I'm Prince Shining Armor of the Crystal Empire." He then motioned to Twilight, then to Shake Spear. " And this is my younger sister Twilight Sparkle and Lieutenant Shake Spear of the Nightguard. We have come to ask for your help in reaching the castle at the heart of the forest." "I am Zecora, and if what you say is true, than there is no ill-will born to me by the three of you." Zecora motioned them inside her home. "Please come in my guests, so we may discuss the specifics of your request." The three ponies filed into the tree and found places to sit along the shelve covered walls so that the large bubbling cauldron on the middle of the room wasn't blocking their sight of each-other. After closing the door Zecora also took a seat. "So to the castle you wish to progress. The three of you are on a quest I might guess. But what do you seek there? Today it is a place only of despair." The three looked at each other briefly before Twilight spoke. "We're going to retrieve the Elements of Harmony so we can cleanse Princess Luna of Nightmare Moon." Shining Armor and Shake Spear gasped. They hadn't been expecting Twilight to tell Zecora so much at once. Zecora, for her part, just looked at Twilight curiously. "The Nightmare is the fallen sister of the Queen of the Sun? A most interesting tale young one." She raised a hoof to her chin and thought for a moment. "The age of the castle certainly fits the story of the Nightmare, and by twos is everything there. You though are a greater mystery..." Shining cut of Zecora. "She's actually a version of my sister from another world and is friends with the version of you who lives there, and she used the Elements in her world to cleanse Nightmare Moon ." As he noticed the rest of the room glaring at him for being rude he shrugged. "Sorry. I really didn't want to waste time going over that again." "That is not something I have heard in all my history." Zecora replied. "Very well, the path that gets you closest is just beyond my well." She then motioned at her cauldron. "I would accompany you, but I must stay here to attend my brew." Shake Spear gazed at her as Twilight and Shining Armor started to stand up. "You seem awful quick to trust. How do you know we aren't lying to you or our even who we say we are?" Zecora just laughed. "It is true that I am ready to believe, but in the three of you no dishonesty can I perceive. And only a changeling's disguise has ever fooled these eyes. But you right to be wary, for this is a task the could become quite hairy." She then turned her head to Twilight who was now standing at the door. "If you find what you seek perhaps you might show them to me? I have always wished to behold the fabled power of harmony." "Of course!" Twilight replied with a grin. "And perhaps we can all relax over some tea? I'm sure we'll all be ready for a break, and I know how good a pot you can brew." Zecora nodded happily. "I would be delighted, it has been quite some time since I have had company invited." "We'll see you then." Shining said as he walked out the door. As Shake Spear left he shut the door behind him and then said to Shining. "I like her. An improvisational acting company would love to get her on their payroll. That rhyming was amazing, she even managed to continue the rhyme after you oh so rudely cut her off." He jabbed Shining jokingly on the shoulder with a hoof as he teased him. Shining simply sighed. "You would have too if you'd spent as much time I have the last few days on the 'Twilight is from another world' thing recently. And I don't really like thinking about it, she acts so much like my actual sister that I usually don't remember that she isn't." "Fair enough." Shake Spear responded. "Well, we'd better get going. It sounds like the last leg of the trip to the castle is going to be off trail, and I don't know how long we're going to need in the castle. I'd rather not have to make that leg of the return journey after dark. Ah! Looks like Twilight found our path!" With that Shake Spear trotted over to Twilight who was waiting at the beginning of a another warded path, just beyond a small stone well. With that the three once more took off into the forest. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ After about another hour of walking, the three reached the top of a small rise in the landscape. The trees and bushes were less thick here than normal, allowing them a view of their destination for the first time. Dark gray stone spires, not dissimilar to the color of Shake Spear's mane, were visible poking out about the trees. Unfortunately, the trail they were on didn't look like it would get them any closer. "Looks like its going to be through thick of it from here on out." Shining Armor said. "Any advice Twilight?" Twilight pondered for a bit. "Hmm, we're approaching from a different direction than I always have, so I don't know anything about the landscape between here and there, but I think we will miss the river. And once we get to the castle there is a ravine, so we'll have to walk alongside that till we get to the bridge." "Would it make more since to just walk in a straight line to where bridge is? That would shorten the journey through the woods." Shake Spear asked. "No, the area immediately around the ravine is clear of trees, so its actually quicker to just get to it, then walk alongside it." Twilight responded. "Fair enough. What sort of creatures should I be looking out for?" said Shake Spear. "Timberwolves and manticores mainly, cragodiles if we come across any water. Cockatrices, but they never approach anything that's not alone. Fortunately we are to far from Froggy Bottom Bog to run into hydras. There's always the possibility of an Ursa or some other star beast." said Twilight "Hopefully we won't. Even if this dang forest wasn't messing with my magic I wouldn't want run into a star beast." Shining shuddered. "And right now its hard to do anything beyond a simple light spell." Twilight leaned over and tried to ruffle her brother's hair through his helmet. "Hey, your doing better than I was my first time here. I couldn't even get a light spell off. Guess that guard training was finally good for something." "Please don't try and get at my mane, you just keep whacking the helmet with your hoof. And I seem to remember you liking my guard training when we were playing 'Book Fort' General Sparkle." Twilight squeaked, and then blushing said "Yousaidyouwouldn'tmentionbookforttoanyone!" She turned on Shake Spear. "You don't mention that to anyone, got it?" Shake Spear laughed and then saluted. "Yes mam!" Shining joined in on the laughter for a moment before getting them focused again. "Alright, lets head out. Lets all stay close together, I don't want us getting split up and the underbrush is pretty thick here." With that the three began making there way through the forest once more. Not minutes later, Shake Spear paused and began slowly pulling out his halberd. "I think we're being watched" he whispered. Shining immediately took a defensive stance. "How many?" He whispered back. "Just one." As Twilight positioned herself between the two she whispered. "Probably a manticore. Timberwolves travel in packs and we would have heard a..." Before she could finish, a manticore leapt out of the brush at them. The razor sharp paws and teeth were aimed at Shake Spear, but the deadly stinger tail was set to go over his shoulder and stab Twilight. The two members of the guard reacted immediately. In one motion Shake Spear finished drawing his halberd and used his earth pony strength along with the leverage provided by the long shaft to deliver a mighty blow to the creatures head. Though only the flat of the blade struck since he hadn't had time to rotate it enough and the thick red mane absorbed some on the impact, the blow was still enough to cause the manticore's attack to miss. Shining, grunting a little with the effort of pouring so much magic at once in the Everfree, threw up a magical shield in front of his sister. The stinger glanced of the shield, the strike amounting to nothing. Shining immediately let the shield fall. Twilight then fired a bolt of pure magic at the manticore's face, causing it to roar. It managed to land on its feat a few feat form the group and eyed them cautiously. Shake Spear readied his halberd for another strike while the two unicorns horns sparked as they prepared spells. After a short stare down(2), the manticore decided they were to much trouble and slinked back into the brush. The three explorers let out a breath they hadn't realized they had all been holding. Shining Armor congratulated the Nightgaurd. "Good job Shake Spear, you really saved our plots there. We would have been in trouble if you hadn't warned us." Shake Spear beamed as he re-holstered his halberd. "That's an honor coming from you sir. Still, that nagging feeling that we're being watched isn't gone." "Its probably lingering adrenaline from the attack." Twilight reasoned. "The manticore won't come back, now that we've shown it we aren't easy prey." Shining nodded in agreement. "She's probably right. Still, keep your senses sharp just in case." With that, the three continued on. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Despite the fact the Shake Spear never lost the sense that some one was watching them, the rest of the journey to the castle was uneventful, save for a brief encounter with a cockatrice which quickly left once it realized that it was outnumbered. The three now stood at the base of the decaying castle's stone walls, staring at the front door of castle. "Listen, you two go on in. I'm concerned about whatever I felt watching us, especially since the feeling stopped once we got away from the trees." Shake Spear said. "I'll keep watch out here." "Ok. It shouldn't take us to long. The elements are just off the throne room." Twilight said as she opened the door. She and Shining Armor then went inside as Shake Spear drew his halberd and took up post near the door. In short order Twilight and Shining had made their way to the room the Elements were housed in. Shining armor stared at the massive stone orrery that dominated the center of the room. "So I imagine those six stone orbs are the elements? I really hope you brought something to carry them with." "Yeah, those are them." Twilight nodded in affirmation. "Once we find there Bearer's they should transform into necklaces set with a gemstone in the shape of the bearers cutie mark. Except for Magic. That one is a tiara, and we probably need all of the other bearers for Magic to appear." "Alright, but do we have a way to carry them? Those orbs are pretty big, I'm pretty sure we cant stuff them in our saddlebags." Shining said sceptically. Twilight chuckled. "Don't worry BBBFF, I remembered how big they were so I can prepared. I put some enchantments on my saddlebags so they're bigger on the inside. They should all fit." "Well okay then, you open up your bags and I'll levitate them inside." Shining responded. "Gotcha" Twilight said as she levitated her saddlebags onto the ground and then held them open with her magic. Shining began to lift the six stone orbs with his telekinesis and move them over to Twilight's saddlebags when a shout from the door startled him, causing him to drop the orbs. The orbs thudded to the ground and began rolling toward the back of the room. "Step away from the Elements." Twilight and Shining both recognized the voice and spun around to face the door. There stood Sunset Shimmer, with Lieutenant Shake Spear, halberd ready for action, right behind her. Shining noticed that Sunset seemed to be holding herself differently than normal. While she always carried herself proudly, there was also a sense of softness to her. Now that softness was gone, and Shining thought that it made her seem a bit older, more world-weary. "Whats going on Sunset? Why are you here?" he asked her. Sunset shot a cold glare his way. "Stand down Prince Armor. Some new information has come to light, and it appears that while this Twilight is indeed from another world, she is not a student of that world's Celestia as she claimed. Instead she is a servant of that world's Nightmare Moon! Her plan was to secure the Elements so that they would not be a threat to her mistress when she invaded our world! Everything she told us has been a lie!" "W-w-w-whaaatttt!" Twilight spluttered. "That's, that's ridiculous! I'm not a servant of Nightmare Moon. I'm not servant of anypony! I'm my Celestia's student!" At the same time Shining gasped. "What? That's insane! She's just like my sister! There is no way that she could be evil!" He interposed himself between Sunset Shimmer and Twilight. "GET OUT OF THE WAY SHINING ARMOR!" Sunset roared. "I'd rather not have to hurt you but I will if I have to! She's to dangerous to be left alive, she needs to die!" With that Sunset reached into her saddlebags with her telekinesis and pulled out a necklace placed it on her neck. The necklace bore a blood-red jewel, under a stylized red and black alicorn. Shining Armor and Twilight both gasped, recognizing the amulet. "The Alicorn Amulet?" Shining shouted. "Are you crazy? It's supposed to locked securely in the vaults. You shouldn't be using that thing! Its to dangerous!" "It's nothing compared to her!" Sunset shouted back. "She's a servant of NIGHTMARE MOON. Who knows what kind of dark powers she has. She must be stopped at all costs." Sunset's horn started crackling with power, her normal cyan magic mixed with the blood-red of the amulet. "This is your last warning Shining Armor. Get out of the way. I will destroy her!" Shining threw up a powerful shield spell shaped like a quarter of a sphere that covered himself and his sister, getting past the resistance of the forest on shear grit. "I wont let you kill my sister! You have to be mistaken!" Sunset responded by unleashing a torrent of flame form her horn. The fire burned almost pure white, and was so bright that even through the pink of Shining Armors shield Shining and Twilight had to squint against the glow. Twilight came to her senses and began to work to reinforce her brother's shield. "Whats going on Shining? Why does Sunset think I'm a servant of Nightmare Moon and why does she have the Alicorn Amulet?" "Not the time Twilight." Shining grunted, the pressure keeping his shield up against Sunset's flames already beginning to wear on him. "Lets just stop her then talk this out." He then yelled at Shake Spear. "Lieutenant Shake Spear! Sunset has gone crazy! Knock her out!" "Belay that order Lieutenant!" Sunset retorted. "As the Defender of the Realm, second in authority only to Princess Celestia herself I order you to kill Twilight Sparkle!" Shake Spear nodded briefly. "Yes mam." Then he started galloping around the shield Twilight and Shining had set up to come at them from behind. He could have gone through the shield since Shining had only made it to block energy, but he didn't know that, and anyway the entire front of the shield was currently being buffeted by flames. But before he could get very far, a flaming green comet rocketed down through one of the many holes in the roof and nailed Sunset in the side. Impressively, she managed to maintain her spell despite the distraction. There was now a lone changeling hovering in the air next to her getting ready for a second strike. "Never mind Twilight Shake Spear! Keep this changeling off of me." Shake Spear immediately changed course and moved to intercept the changeling, blocking it before it could try and ram Sunset again. Meanwhile, despite now having Twilight's help maintaining the shield, Shining was starting to wear out. Casting powerfull spells like his shield in the Everfree was much harder than normal, and Sunset's already formidable strength was being backed up by the Alicorn Amulet. He motioned to his sister to start advancing backwards, hoping to lessen the intensity of the flames with distance. Sunset responded by advancing with them, not letting up on the assault. Soon the duo found themselves up again the back wall near where the Elements had rolled, the open back of Shining Armor's shield up against the wall. "I can't keep this up much longer Twilight. Even with your help Sunset is to strong with the Amulet on her side. Can you teleport us out of here?" Shining was now sweating heavily, both from strain and from the some of heat of Sunset's flame that had begun to leak through his shield. "I think so, but it will take some time with the Everfree interfering. And I won't be able to help you with the shield while I do so. Will you be able to hold out?" Twilight responded worriedly. Shining grinned wryly. "Course I can. Protecting you is why I got my talent. I'll be damned if I let a temporarily insane Sunset burn you when you've done nothing wrong." He only wished that he felt as confident as he'd tried to sound. "You should gather the Elements, as a back up plan if we cant convince pony's that your not evil. We can find you friends an have you all use the Elements, that should prove that you're not evil." Twilight nodded as she began to roll the scattered Elements toward them with her magic. Shining winced again as his sisters support left the shield forcing him to once again take the full force of Sunsets flames. "Dammit Lieutenant! Don't you have that changeling dealt with yet? They're getting ready to teleport out." Sunset said while glaring at the Nightgaurd out of the corner of her eyes. Shake Spear was currently slashing away at the changeling with his halberd, but he couldn't get a strike to connect as the changeling was to agile and had the advantage of being airborne. "Sorry mam, the bug's just to quick. I can't get a hit in." "Damn it to Tartarus! Fine! I wanted to get through this with out any casualties on our side but I may not have a choice." Sunset returned her glare toward Shining Armor, not that she could see him. "Last chance Shining Armor! Hoof over Twilight! I really don't want to kill you, but I will if I have to! She has to DIE!" "I can't let you kill my sister! She hasn't done anything wrong!" Shining retorted. Sunset sighed. "You leave me no choice then!" With a mighty roar, the flames sprouting from Sunsets horn intensified tenfold. Shining's shield started to buckle, just as Twilight rolled the last of the elements in its radius. "Got it! Just give me half a minute and we're out of here." If all of his concentration hadn't been on preventing the flames from roasting them alive Shining Armor would have replied that he didn't think he could hold even half that long. Just as he thought that he couldn't hold the shield any longer, the last stone orb that Twilight had rolled over reached his foot with a soft clunk. Not a second later, a flash of soothing red lite filled the shield bubble, the stone orb disappeared, and the light blue star shaped gem at the front of Shining's armor was replaced by a slightly larger red gem shaped like a shield. Shining Armor gasped. The pressure from Sunset's flames felt lighter now, so much so that he felt he could keep this up for hours. Before he had much time think about what had happened a purple flash filled the shield, and the pair of unicorns as well as the five remaining stone orbs disappointed. "DAMMIT!" Sunset roared as she turned her gout of flame to the changeling that was still harrying Shake Spear. "THEY GOT AWAY! AT LEAST I CAN STILL BURN YOU YOU TROUBLESOME BUG!" But she was to late, the changeling had already begun to withdraw, and was now rocketing up into the sky faster than her flames could follow. Sunset let her flames die and then glared at Shake Spear. "You know what to do. It looks like I need to go set things in motion earlier than I had hoped to, and I need to return this" she motioned turned the Alicorn Amulet "to the vault before anypony notices its not there." With that, she teleported away. Shake Spear merely nodded and pulled out a piece of parchment, a quill, some ink, and a bottle filled with roiling green flames from his saddlebags. After putting them on the ground one by one, he began to write: "Princess Celestia and Sunset Shimmer, I regret to inform you that Shining Armor and Twilight Sparkle have betrayed us to the changelings......" *. A saddle with one or two lances securely mounted on it, used by earth ponies and pegasi soldiers to charge enemies. There is usually a quick release to allow the wearer to loose the lance in case it become stuck in an enemy. 1. The more complicated and powerful a spell is, the harder the Everfree resists its casting. This applies to both unicorn magic and pegasi weather manipulation. More innate skills, such as earth pony strength and pegasi flight are not as troubled, though pegasi will tire slightly quicker from flying. Zebra alchemy is likewise near unaffected. It is possible to become used to the resistance and learn how to work around it, thus unicorns who have spent more time in the forest have an easier time. 2. No not that kind, Fluttershy isn't here.