//------------------------------// // Chapter Two // Story: Through the Flames // by Lunar Specter //------------------------------// The sun was just beginning to set by the time they finally saw their destination. The camp was nestled in the valley between two mountains and held the appearance of another abandoned small town, hidden by the forest of the valley. Twilight, with her heightened senses as an alicorn, could detect a strong magical signature resonating from the town even from the air. They had flown low as they neared the valley and touched down about two miles from the town, walking the rest of the distance. Twilight assumed this was to keep up appearances as she was clothed in a ragged old black cloak Dash had picked from an abandoned town on one of their many pit stops during their three hour flight (Twilight still couldn’t fly for very long before growing winded). While on the ground, the cloak was long enough to mask most of her appearance, especially when the cape’s hood was up. Dash insisted that hiding her wings were a must, for an unfamiliar alicorn might startle ponies and bring about premature attention. As they neared the town’s outskirts, two earth ponies, both clad in black armor and armed with short swords, appeared from separate seemingly-abandoned alleyways and approached them. “Who goes there?” one of them called, stopping about ten feet away and blocking their path on the road. “Who do you think? Come on, you guys see me pretty much every day.” Dash called back, sneering at them. Both guards sheathed their weapons before the same guard spoke up again, “Sorry Commander Dash, it’s just protocol. General Armor would have our necks if he found out otherwise.” Armor? The name caught Twilight’s attention however, before she could give it much thought, the second guard gained her attention. “Who’s the unicorn in the hood?” The pony’s gaze had never left Twilight. Dash briefly glanced at Twilight before looking back at the guards. “She’s just a pony I found wandering around out there. She was in one of those refugee groups but they left her behind for some reason…you know how they are.” The guards just nodded, accepting the lie. “Don’t cause any trouble and you’ll be fine.” The first one warned Twilight before addressing Dash again, “Miss Rarity has been looking for you.” Dash groaned in response and dismissed the guards, who saluted before retreating back to their respective hiding spots. Once the guards were out of hearing range, Twilight decided it was safe to speak up. “What was that about?” “Just a routine check. They guard the entrance to the Kingdom.” She responded with a shrug. Twilight glanced ahead further down the road, but failed to see any other hint of civilization. The rest of the area, in fact everything she could see, appeared to be an abandoned town completely devoid of any life…just like all the others she’s seen so far. “But…where is it?” the alicorn asked. Dash just laughed and without another word, continued down the street. Twilight, although baffled by the strange reaction, followed. When they got about twenty yards past where the guards had stood, Dash unexpectedly sprinted ahead. Caught off guard, Twilight barely had a chance to get to a full sprint before the most unusual sight occurred. Rainbow Dash, who was about ten yards ahead of Twilight, vanished in a blink of an eye. Twilight attempted to come to halt, but instead found herself tripping over her own hooves and stumbling forward in an attempt to regain balance. Before she knew it, a strong sensation of magic passed through her and a pair of hooves caught her before she had a chance to tumble to the ground. When her heart calmed down, Twilight heard hearty laughter from the pony holding her stable. “That was awesome!” Twilight pulled out of Dash’s hold and stood back to glare at the laughing pony. Though that glare soon turned to amazement as she beheld what lay beyond Dash. The street, which was barren mere seconds ago, was littered with tents and ponies ambled about. Many of the buildings that had been abandoned and held no signs of life, were occupied…or at least the still stable buildings were. In addition to ponies, Twilight even spotted several of the less common Equestrian species, such as gryphons and zebras, as well. A black-clad hoof waving in front of her face brought her back to reality and she found Dash giving her a bemused look. “Pretty cool, huh?” Dash asked. Twilight stole a glance behind her and saw the same street from before but lightly distorted by a slight shimmer. “A cloaking spell?” the alicorn inquired, quirking an eyebrow and turning back to Dash. “Yep!” the pegasus replied, turning to continue through the town, beckoning Twilight to follow. Twilight’s magical senses told her that the spell was incredibly strong and curiosity got the best of her as she lit her horn to quickly analyze the atmosphere around the town. The spell was indeed strong, and was almost dome-shaped, surrounding the town in all directions. It actually bore a striking similarity to her brother’s shield spell in several aspects; however if its signature was any indication, the spell had a significantly more complex structure than her brother’s spell. To top it all off, the spell was masterfully woven, holding next to no flaws in its structure. This all meant that the caster was not only extremely powerful, but also extremely talented. She could think of only a few ponies who would be powerful enough to cast such a spell. Two of those ponies have been confirmed to still be missing, which left only her and two other ponies. Even though she loved her brother and sister-in-law dearly and both of them were powerful in their own right, neither of them had the knowledge or skill necessary to craft and cast such a complex spell. So…with her out of the picture, who else was cable of casting it? “Who’s the caster? Do I know them?” Twilight asked, joining Dash on the trek through the town. Dash gave a slight chuckle at the question. “That’d be Archmage Skyla and no, you don’t know her. Not yet anyway.” “Huh…a unicorn of this much power had to have drawn attention and I don’t remember hearing of a unicorn named Skyla attending Celestia’s school.” Twilight wondered. “That’s because she’s only 17.” “What?!” Twilight came to an abrupt halt. “An archmage at 17?!” “Yep!” Dash laughed. Seeing that Dash hadn’t stopped with her, Twilight trotted to catch up to her. Waiting until her friend was back at her side, Dash continued, “Is it really that surprising? I mean you ascended and became a princess at only a few years older.” Twilight blushed. “Well…yeah…” “We also don’t have nearly as many mages nowadays. Most of unicorns are either too afraid to fight or just aren’t strong enough. So when a pony like Skyla appears, we offer them the chance to improve their skill. Once you meet her, you’ll see that it’s not surprising that she’s come this far. “Besides, it’s really not that surprising considering who her family is.” Dash half-muttered under her breath. “So she comes from a family of archmages then?” Twilight asked, her interest peaked. Dash’s startled reaction made it obvious that she thought Twilight hadn’t heard her. “Well…uh…no, not exactly.” “Not exactly? So…just a family of powerful unicorns then?” “Yeah…?” “Must be one of prestige if she can climb the ranks so quickly. Is it a noble family?” “Uhhhh…” Twilight didn’t notice Rainbow starting to panic. “Wonder which one it could be…there’s not that many noble unicorn families who are known for their mages or scholars. A majority are known mostly for their wealth or influence. But a few minor nobles have prestigious mages in their families like the Shimmers and Trotters. Then again, I’m just thinking of Canterlot. Maybe she’s from one of the noble families in Manehattan, Baltimare, or some other city. Or maybe….” “We’re here!” Dash cry cut off Twilight mid-thought and she found that Dash had lead them to one of the larger buildings that was still standing. Analyzing the building, Twilight found that it appeared to at one time have been a town hall, judging by its grandeur architecture. Although it was not without its signs of age, the sturdy brick foundation had obviously been strong enough to stand the test of time and looked as if it would last for decades more even in its current state. As they entered the building, Twilight could tell that this was obviously the Kingdom’s center of operation as ponies and creatures of all types moved about the main lobby. Most were clothed in some type of armor, be it light or heavy, and carried some form of weapon. Some ponies were situated around desks littered with paperwork, while a few hefted large crates from one room to another. Dash led them off to the right and down a hallway. This hallway was noticeably less crowded compared to the lobby, but with significantly more guards. Each guard Twilight passed seemed to be glaring at her, which made her feel as if she wasn’t supposed to be there, causing her to draw closer to Dash. The hallway ended in a set of double doors which Dash halted just shy of before leaning in to whisper to Twilight. “Keep your hood up and just follow my lead. Don’t say anything till I give the signal.” “Wait, what sig-“ Twilight whispered back, but was cut short as Dash pushed open the doors and entered the room. Twilight let out a frustrated snort and followed shortly after. The room itself was rather large and roomy and featured a large table as the focus. The room must have at one point served as a conference room and still served a similar purpose even now as a group of ponies crowded around the table, surveying what appeared to be a series of maps laid out across the table. “…eyes on this ‘Alliance’, Pinkie?” A group of very familiar ponies. “Yep! I’ve got my best ponies on the job!” In addition to the pink pony, Rarity was present as well, along with a few acquaintances and unfamiliar faces: yellow Pegasus stallion with a spikey blue mane, a balding brown earth pony stallion in a black business suit, a female gryphon, and a dark brown earth pony in a green vest. At the head of the table, however, running the show, stood two ponies in particular. Two who Twilight fought the urge to run towards and embrace. Her brother and his wife. To her, it was just the other day that she had last seen her friends and family; but to them, it was a whole lot longer than that and for all they knew, she was still sealed away in her castle. Comatose and all but dead to the world. She can see now why Rainbow had wanted her to keep her identity hidden. They might react the same way Dash had. “Dashie!” A pink blur knocking Rainbow to the ground drew Twilight from her thoughts, to find that they had garnered the attention of everyone in the room. “Pinkie,” Dash choked out, struggling to break free of the pink pony’s bear hug. “I’ve missed you too. But…please let me…go.” “Okie dokie lokie!” The pink pony hoped off the pegasus and grinned innocently. Rainbow gave Pinkie a short glare as she stood up and dusted herself off, before turning towards the rest of the ponies in the room and clearing her throat. “Gilda, Flash, Coltson, Arrow. Could you give us a few?” The gryphon sneered, “Whatever you have to say, you can say in front of us too, Dash.” Rainbow sighed, and when she responded, her voice was pleading. “Please, Gilda. There’s something important I need to talk to them about. Something personal.” The gryphon seemed determined to remain seated. “Gilda, come on. Give them their space.” The pony in the suit urged, standing behind her with a gentle hoof on her shoulder. The others addressed had already left the room. With a snort, Gilda brushed off his hoof and stood up. Muttering a disgruntled “whatever” as she marched past Dash. Followed shortly by the suited pony. An awkward silence filled the room afterward. Dash shifted uncomfortably. “Soooo….” “Who’s your friend, Dashie?” came a loud, chipper voice right in Twilight’s ear. Twilight let out a yelp. She hadn’t noticed Pinkie standing beside her. “Yes, darling. Please enlighten us on who this hooded pony is.” Rarity spoke up, moving around the table to come closer. “…and why you felt inclined to kick out half of the Counsel but let them stay.” Shining Armor added, him and Cadance mimicking Rarity’s movements. “Yeah…you see, she’s actually who I want to talk about.” Dash replied. Shining Armor eyed Twilight briefly. “New arrivals are processed in the main lobby, you know this.” "Why did you bring her here, Rainbow Dash?" Cadance asked. “Well…” Rainbow was visibly sweating. “Man, this was so much easier in my head." She took a deep breath before continuing, “Okay, promise me you won’t freak out, alright?” That earned a couple of curious looks, but they all nodded. “Okay, you guys know where my patrol route takes me each day, right?” Rarity nodded. “Yes, dear, we know. It’s why you chose that route, after all.” “Well, you wouldn’t believe who I found wandering Ponyville!” At that, Shining Armor sighed and Rarity rolled her eyes. Pinkie, however, was busy scrutinizing Twilight’s hooves that peaked out from under the cape. Shining Armor cupped the bridge of his muzzle. “Who is it this time, Dash? A long lost Wonderbolt? Someone who claims they’re a noble?” Twilight jumped as she felt something brush against her hoof, and she looked down to see Pinkie Pie on the ground, peaking underneath her cape. “She’s purple!!” Pinkie shouted victoriously as she jumped back up. Cadance quirked an eyebrow. “Purple?” Dash looked frantically between the ponies in the room. “Pinkie!” Pinkie bounced happily in spot. “Oooooo! I wonder who it is! Let me think...purple, purple, purple…” Twilight started to back away from the hyperactive pony. “Oh, I give up!” and with that, Pinkie flung herself forward, face first into Twilight’s hood. No more than a second passed before Pinkie started backing up slowly, all glee drained from her expression. Instead, she looked as if she’d seen a ghost. “T-Twilight?”