//------------------------------//
// The Best Laid Plans... 
// Story: Dark Matter 
// by moguera 
//------------------------------//

Chapter 9: The Best Laid Plans...

Arkenstone listened grimly as Princess Cadance laid out the events that had occurred only just earlier that day.  Part of him regretted rushing off to Canterlot first thing in the morning, since it had left him out of the loop while something so dire was happening.  Granted, there was nothing he could have done, one way or another, but that didn't mean that he liked being blindsided by such news.
And what dire news it was; Guards dead and injured, the Palace stormed by an armed force, the Elements of Harmony stolen, Princess Luna subdued by some unidentified attack...If Princess Cadance wasn't the one delivering the news, Arkenstone would have had a hard time believing it.
"What about Princess Celestia?" he asked.
"She's returning," said Cadance, "She expects to be here by tomorrow morning with all the ponies of her personal Guard that can accompany her.  However, the bulk of the Royal Guard will take longer, possibly up to a week, due to the complications of securing all the prisoners seized by the operation."
Arkenstone pursed his lips thoughtfully.  He'd had no intention of relying on the Royal Guard in any case.  A Knight of the Celestial Order handled his own affairs.  But the extended period until the Royal Guard returned to the city meant that there was a great chance of something else happening in the meantime.  Ponies had unquestionably noticed the disturbance at the Palace today.  There was no telling what might happen when they realized the scope of what had occurred, particularly if they learned that the Elements of Harmony, the tools used to save Equestria from Nightmare Moon and Discord, had been stolen.  Mass panic was a possible outcome.  Worse still, assuming that one of the nobles, if not the same one who'd abducted Twilight, was behind this affair then she was likely to actively stoke the flames.
But what is their ultimate aim? wondered Arkenstone.  Sowing discord in Canterlot was all well and good, but it hardly counted as an end in and of itself.  Such a situation was merely a means for accomplishing something even more significant.  But what?
His train of thought was interrupted by the click of hooves as Shining Armor strode through the door of his office, where Cadance had been briefing Arkenstone, Scootaloo, and Rumble about the situation.
"Hey," said Shining, "Spike told me you were on the way.  But what are the kids doing here?"
To their credit, neither Scootaloo nor Rumble protested the designation, though Scootaloo's wings twitched irritably.
"They asked to accompany me," said Arkenstone simply, "Having reached a certain understanding with them, I have allowed it.  They have not yet given me reason to regret my decision."
"Ooookay," said Shining, giving the foals a dubious look as he stepped around the desk to join his wife.  He was aware that Scootaloo had been Dawn's student for the past few months and that Rumble had been studying under one of the mercenaries that Shining had sent to Ponyville back around the time Dawn had first arrived.  However, he was more than a little concerned about the fact that neither of them had much in the way of combat experience.  He would have been more at ease if Dawn had come along instead, given that he already had a good idea of what the ebony colt could do.  However, he was also aware that Dawn was still recovering from his exertions against Terra Heart.  Even so...
"Do you have any leads as to Twilight's location?" asked Arkenstone, drawing Shining's attention back to him.
Shining sighed.  "Not yet," he admitted reluctantly, "Thanks to a suggestion from Luna, I have somepony on the case.  But she hasn't reported anything back yet.  Right now, with the resources I have at my disposal, there's nothing to do but wait and hope that she uncovers something soon."



"Thank you for agreeing to join me for dinner," said Elderflower, giving Twilight a polite smile across the dining room table.
Twilight returned his polite smile with a sardonic one as she carefully curled her fetlock around a fork and lifted a dainty bite of salad to her lips.  After chewing and swallowing, she said, "I don't believe I had much of a choice in the matter."  After finishing her inspection of her chambers, Twilight had spent the night in the lavish prison cell and enjoyed a light breakfast, delivered by Coco, a quiet lunch, also delivered by Coco, before receiving an invitation to dinner with the Baron.  It was the first time he'd communicated with her since leaving her room for the previous day.
Even if she hadn't been trying to work out what Elderflower was planning, Twilight would have probably accepted his invitation to simply alleviate her boredom.  Coco was wonderful company, but could never stay for too long, having apparently been given a list of tasks by the Baron to keep her busy.  On top of that, nopony would bring her so much as a book to read.  Twilight figured that was probably a deliberate move by Elderflower as well, sealing Twilight in a very dull, uninteresting environment and then presenting himself as the only source of mental stimulation available.
"Please," protested Elderflower, "You don't honestly think that I would be so uncivilized as to allow you to starve simply because you snubbed my invitation?  Given your circumstances, that would have been a perfectly understandable response."  What went unsaid was that her acceptance of Elderflower's invitation was a slightly more suspicious one.
"Under the circumstances, I felt that it was the least I could do," said Twilight, pausing to take a sip of wine from her glass.  Before she'd joined the Baron at his table, she had taken the opportunity to cast a powerful detoxification spell on herself through her arcanasteel ring.  The spell would last for at least six hours and nullified numerous poisons, drugs, and even alcohol.  Even if there was nothing in the food or wine, Twilight could drink like a fish all night long and wake up without so much as a hangover.  Granted, it also meant she couldn't get buzzed, which arguably defeated the point of drinking anything alcoholic in most situations.  Also, because the spell neutralized toxins and other substances as they passed her lips, it had the side-effect of making the wine taste flat and unappetizing due to the absence of the alcohol's sharper notes, like it had been simmered for several hours before it had been served.
Even if Elderflower had no intention of using the myriad number of drugs that a pony of his means could acquire to soften her will and make her more...pliable...Twilight knew she needed her wits about her and didn't want to risk taking in even a moderate amount of alcohol when the stakes were as high as this.  Her abrupt willingness to oblige her captor's request had been met with suspicion, but Twilight couldn't afford to wait and take her time winning his trust.  Shining Armor, Arkenstone, the Princesses, and everypony else she knew were probably already looking for her.  In all likelihood, it was only a matter of time until they found her and came to her rescue, even if Twilight hadn't already arranged her own escape by then.
However, rescue came with the risk that Elderflower might still make some attempt to carry out his plans, whatever they were.  Having her stolen back from him and having him outed as a foalnapper might put a stop to what the stallion was trying to do, but Twilight wanted to be sure.  She didn't want Elderflower's schemes to come back to haunt her a few months or years down the road.  She wanted to bring this matter to an end and wanted it to stay ended.
"The least you could do?" echoed Elderflower, raising an eyebrow as he sipped at his own glass.
Twilight nodded.  "I'm still more than sore at you for foalnapping me.  But you have my curiosity.  This was an extremely audacious move on your part and I can't help but want to find out what it is that you're really up to."
Elderflower's eyes drifted shut and he let out a small chuckle.  "Every bit as clever and inquisitive as I could hope.  Very well.  I would need to tell you at some point in any case.  Now is as good a time as any."
Twilight's eyes narrowed at that.  It implied that the Baron didn't expect her to be compliant to his wishes, regardless of what he said, but also that he didn't think there was anything she could say or do that would truly disrupt his work.  Granted, he had no idea that she was not as helpless as she first appeared.  But Twilight didn't even fantasize that she'd won his trust for even a minute.
"Earlier yesterday, before you had woken up, my employees, who were responsible for transporting you from Ponyville by the way, conducted an operation on my behalf.  Thanks to Princess Celestia's efforts to police that cult that has been causing you and yours so much trouble, security at the Palace was rather light, something that I used to my advantage."
The glass, which Twilight had been lifting to her lips for another sip, fell from her grip.  It hit the table and toppled over, spreading a dark-purple stain across the pristine white of the tablecloth, which Twilight completely ignored as she stared, aghast, at the Baron, who looked genuinely pleased with the reaction his words had elicited.
"You attacked the Royal Palace?" gasped Twilight, gaping unashamedly at Elderflower, "Are you insane?  What could you possibly hope to accomplish?  Princess Celestia would never-"
She was cut off as Elderflower idly raised a hoof.  "Please do not make too many assumptions," he said with an amused smirk, "It's not as though we are planning to overthrow the Princesses through force of arms or any such thing.  As formidable as the assets I managed to acquire are, I'm not so foolish as to think that they could manage such a thing, much less with Princess Luna still in residence.  No...Rather, sending my forces to the Palace was for a goal not too dissimilar from having them take you from Ponyville earlier."
"You attacked the Palace to steal something," said Twilight, putting the pieces together inside her head.  The question of what lingered.  There were plenty of items that would be of interest to a pony with Elderflower's ambitions.  The vaults beneath the Palace held numerous artifacts, both mundane and magical, the latter of which ran the gamut from pitifully weak to powerful enough to cause a major incident (a certain particularly troublesome amulet came to mind).  The archives were a veritable treasure trove of knowledge, particularly old spells, some of which were so especially dangerous that even Twilight, with her authorization to learn high-level battle magic, wasn't permitted to study.  The Palace was also practically the nerve center of the Equestrian government, with all manner of documents and official correspondence that a pony of Elderflower's intelligence might be able to use to some obscure purpose.  Even if he was simply looking for additional material wealth to bankroll his ambitions, Elderflower had his pick of countless art objects and vaults of gems to choose from.
However, none of those things seemed really appropriate to the situation.  Ancient magical artifacts were all well and good, but they were also finicky and unreliable at the worst possible times.  It took a great deal of research and careful understanding to use them properly.  The same was true of many of the most dangerous spells secreted in the archives.  It took exceptionally skilled unicorns to learn and apply them.  Elderflower, from Twilight’s knowledge, was not a particularly adept spellcaster.  He was also not the kind of pony to trust others with immense power if said power had the risk of corrupting them and turning them into a liability to his cause.
Ultimately, through the process of elimination, Twilight arrived at what she believed was the only possible target of the raid Elderflower had orchestrated.  “The Elements of Harmony!” she said, “You stole the Elements!”
“Correct,” said Elderflower, taking another sip of his own wine, seemingly ignoring Twilight’s accident on the other side of the table.
“But why?” asked Twilight, “I thought nopony in the Noble Court believed-“
“Nopony in the Court was foolish enough to believe that tripe about what the Elements are supposed to stand for,” said Elderflower, cutting her off, “We have always accepted that the Elements are tremendously powerful artifacts.  The results speak for themselves after all.
“However, it’s fairly obvious to everypony with even half a brain that the so called qualities of harmony that were assigned to the Elements were an invention of Princess Celestia’s.  Most likely she intended them to serve as a deterrent to keep anypony from doing what we just did.  However, it would be foolish for anypony to believe such platitudes.”
Twilight gnawed at the inside of her lip as she fought to keep from braining the stallion in front of her with her salad plate.  How could Elderflower be so clever and insightful one moment then so utterly moronic the next?  It truly boggled the mind.  However, she managed to rein in her temper by the barest of margins, consoling herself that Elderflower’s denial over how the Elements worked would only serve as another impediment to keep him from actually being able to use them in whatever scheme he had cooked up.
Instead, she decided to continue to press for more information.  “What are you planning to do with them?”
A butler arrived and used his magic to carry the salad plates away.  Another followed up to deliver the main course, ravioli stuffed with wild mushrooms in a creamy sauce.  It was delicious, but Twilight’s consternation with what she had just learned kept her from really enjoying the meal.
Elderflower took a break from the conversation to enjoy a few mouthfuls before washing them down with another gulp of wine and turning his attention back to Twilight.  “I do not believe I have stolen the Elements so much as I took custody of them.
“Believe it or not, Dame Sparkle, my plans for the past few days, from abducting you to taking the Elements, were not originally my primary plans.  They were more in line with a Plan B…or C…or even D…The point is that securing both you and the Elements were something of a last resort for me and my associates.”
“I forced you to your last resort already?” asked Twilight.
Elderflower chuckled.  “Oh, not even close.  In reality, everything was going quite well for me.  However, we decided to arrange to take you and the Elements as a contingency, in case everything else failed.  To that end, we began to quietly muster our strength, gather allies, hire hooves, that sort of thing.  We were anticipating a rather bloody conflict you see.  In our plans we figured we would be raiding the Royal Palace, going up against a full complement of the Royal Guard and no fewer than two, if not three, powerful alicorns.  Such an action promised a great deal of trouble and bloodshed and would signal the death of subtlety, as far as our plans went anyway, which was why it was a last resort.  We had to work slowly and carefully to avoid drawing suspicion as we built up our forces.  We weren’t even a quarter of the way to meeting our projected needs for this plan.”
“What made you decide to make that your main plan?” asked Twilight.
“I think you already know quite well what made us decide to do that,” said Elderflower.
A lump formed in Twilight’s throat.  Yes, she had a pretty good idea of what had prompted Elderflower to decide to attack the Royal Palace.  Princess Celestia’s sweep of Equestria with the Royal Guard, the sting to take down the Cult Solar, had almost completely depleted the Palace’s marepower.  With the bare minimum of ponies around for security, even a small force would have encountered relatively little resistance.
"It was truly a stroke of good fortune," said Elderfloower, "Even with that, there were some difficulties.  I'm told that Princess Luna nearly put a stop to things."
I can't even begin to imagine how they got past her, thought Twilight.  She was fairly certain that Elderflower wouldn't tell her, even if she asked.  Instead, she focused on the real problem now.  "What do you intend to do with the Elements?"
Elderflower took another bite of his pasta before answering.  "The plan is relatively simple.  By taking the Elements, we have accomplished two things.  Firstly, we executed an abrupt and violent attack on the Royal Palace without being caught.  Secondly, we've secured the most powerful magical artifacts in the nation, if not the world.  What do you think the average commoner will think when she finds out those things occurred and the Princesses were powerless to stop them?"
Twilight shivered at the thought.  There would be serious unrest, if not outright panic.  Ponies would have their faith in the security and effectiveness of Equestria's government completely undermined.  To make matters worse, with the bulk of the Royal Guard still out on Celestia's sting operation, there would be practically nopony to enforce order in Canterlot, which would only fan the flames even further.
"Naturally, the Princesses will be occupied with securing Canterlot for quite a while," said Elderflower casually, not seeming to care one wit about the suffering such a state of affairs would cause, "In the meantime, we shall take the Elements and put them to good use."
"Good use?" asked Twilight.
"Yes," said Elderflower, pausing to take another sip of his wine, "Think about it.  Even though, including yourself, there were only two unicorns amongst your number, you managed to defeat Nightmare Moon and seal away Discord.  Imagine what the Elements will be capable of when they are assigned to ponies who can make the fullest use of their capabilities."
"You have ponies in mind?" asked Twilight, raising a critical eyebrow.  She already had a pretty good idea of what Elderflower was getting at.
"Yes," replied Elderflower, "My associates and I are in the process of identifying the finest spellcasters to come out of prominent magic schools, including the School for Gifted Unicorns here in Canterlot.  Naturally, you are at the top of that list.  Once we have our candidates, we shall bestow the Elements upon them.  Then, we shall move to quell the unrest within the city and move forward to confront the Princesses with our new Element Bearers.  With that power on our side, even if the Princesses ultimately refuse to recognize our rights as the true rulers of Equestria, we will have the leverage to force the issue if such a thing truly becomes necessary."
Twilight couldn't quite conceal her disgust with the stallion sitting in front of her.  It was just as well that she was feeling so disgusted with him as it was keeping her from slamming her hoof into her face at the stupidity of his plan.  While it was fairly solid, she could easily see why Elderflower had originally left it as a last resort.  Even if he and his cronies had the Elements on their side, even if they managed to use them to defeat the Princesses or seal them away or whatever, they were still looking at years, if not decades of civil unrest as ponies across Equestria resisted the forced transition of power taking place in Canterlot.  Of course, more importantly, all of that hinged on the Elements of Harmony working the way Elderflower thought they worked.  That single, gaping hole in his plan would bring his entire scheme crumbling down whether she did anything or not.  Twilight was actually seriously tempted to let him actually try so he could see just how ridiculous a farce his ideas were.
But that wouldn't help her or Coco Pommel.  Nor would it help with the unrest sown by Elderflower's actions the past few days.  It also wouldn't bring any justice for the victims of Elderflower's or the other nobles' schemes these past few years.  Besides, Twilight wanted the satisfaction of bringing down this creep herself.
"So...what do you think?" asked Elderflower, "I can understand that you probably have your reservations about this.  You are still possessed of that commoner sentimentality after all.  Despite that, I do believe that you are the best choice for leading the new Element Bearers when we bring true harmony to Equestria."
"I need to think about it," Twilight demurred, "This is a lot to take in at once."
"By all means, take your time," said Elderflower, "This is a decision not to be made lightly.  Admittedly, we are on a bit of a tight schedule, as I wish to strike while the iron is hot.  But I understand that there will be some delays in the Royal Guard's return to Canterlot.  That should afford us some time to stir the pot as it were."
"I'm sure it will," said Twilight, her eyes narrowing.  Her plans for escaping and thwarting Elderflower had just gotten much more complicated.
Draining the remainder of his glass, Elderflower used his magic to levitate it up, signaling a servant to come refill it.  "But enough about that.  Let us enjoy the remainder of our dinner."
Twilight suppressed a sigh as she settled in for the remainder of the meal, not looking forward to the Baron's notions of what would pass for polite conversation in the slightest.



A low whirring noise filled the air as a steel-gray blur whizzed about the room.  The room was one of many just like it found throughout the Palace.  At some times, it  served as an auxiliary ballroom, at others a banquet hall, or even a convention center of sorts.  The important thing was that it was very large and open, with plenty of space to work with, which was exactly what Rumble needed as he put the meteor hammer through its paces.
Training was about all that Rumble had to do right now.  Princess Celestia had arrived that morning, before he’d even woken up.  She had immediately sequestered herself, Arkenstone, and Shining Armor away in a conference room, apparently discussing the current situation and what to do about it.  Rumble and Scootaloo had been left to their own devices.  Rumble thought Scootaloo might be training as well, but wasn’t sure.  All he knew was that he had to do his best to be ready when Arkenstone finally decided to act.
Rumble's training weapon was a knotted rope.  While an appropriate facsimile of the real thing, the live weapon felt considerably different to the colt.  It had its own slight differences to weight and balance that made using it a different experience for him.  Rumble really wished he'd gotten a few chances to swing the real thing around before he'd "borrowed" it from an incapacitated Storm Front's room.  He certainly appreciated the difference between the two.  A knotted rope, if mishandled, would leave behind stinging pain and bruises, but the metal weight of the live weapon would probably break his bones if he slipped up with it.
Princess Cadance had been all too happy to grant Rumble the space to practice with his weapon.  He needed to get used to it before he ended up in a real fight.  Rumble was fully aware just how far behind Scootaloo, to say nothing of Arkenstone, he was.  He'd been reluctant to go along with Scootaloo's plan to accompany the stallion to Canterlot in the first place.  There was no way he was ready for real combat yet.  But Rumble was determined not to be an impediment to Scootaloo and Arkenstone.  At the very least, with Dawn out of commission, Rumble saw it as a responsibility on his part to keep an eye on Scootaloo, even if she was stronger than him, if only to try and curb her more reckless tendencies.
As he finished with his latest form, Rumble caught the weight deftly, finally feeling a bit more comfortable with the dangerous weapon.  He wished he was even half as skilled as Storm Front was with it.  The dark-gray stallion had occasionally shown Rumble how the weapon could be merged with the user's natural pegasus magic, manipulating the air around it.  Storm Front could use his magic to produce powerful shockwaves that could deal blows to a target's inner organs, past most ordinary defenses, or disrupt an opponent's sense of balance by transmitting vibrations into their inner ear.  But Rumble was a long ways away from being that capable.
As he panted softly, getting his  breath back for another practice run, he heard a faint clopping of hooves over by the door.  Looking over, Rumble was shocked to see the willowy form of Princess Cadance as she made her way towards him.
"Oh!...Ah!..."  Rumble was at a bit of a loss about what to do, but settled for bowing deeply to the approaching member of royalty, only to get his forelegs tangled up in his weapon's cord and go sprawling across the floor.
"Oh my," said Cadance, bringing a hoof to her mouth when she saw Rumble's accident.  She was barely able to stifle the giggle that threatened to emerge at the colt's expense.  Instead, she gently lifted Rumble up off the floor with her magic, allowing him to untangle the meteor hammer from around his legs.
"Th-thank you um...Princess..."
"Just Cadance, please," said Cadance with a smile as she set Rumble back down, "I can understand that you're a bit nervous.  But please don't worry about being formal with me.  Before long, I will have to move to the Crystal Empire and officially rule there.  I suspect that I will deal with all the formalities I can stand when that happens."
"Okay...um...Cadance," said Rumble, blushing slightly at the fact that he was referring to an actual princess in such familiar terms.
This time, Cadance was unable to keep from giggling.  She ran a hoof through Rumble's mane.  "Thank you," she said, "I can see why Sweetie Belle likes you so much."
Rumble's blush intensified.  "You...um...know about that?"
"Of course I do," said Cadance, "She looked so happy with you at the Winter Gala.  Besides..."  She tapped her horn.  "...Love Princess, remember?"
"Oh...right," said Rumble.
"I saw you practicing," she said, "You were amazing."
"Th-thanks," said Rumble, looking away, "I-I'm still just a beginner really.  I'm not used to using the real thing yet and...I haven't actually been in a real f-fight with it before."  It would have been an outright lie to say that Rumble had never fought before.  But the schoolyard scuffles that foals inevitably found themselves in couldn't even begin to compare to real combat, something Rumble was painfully aware of.
"Yes, I can tell," said Cadance with a wink, "I can understand your feelings.  You don't feel ready for this at all.  You understand you don't have any experience with real fights.  You're fully aware of your limitations.  But that's a good thing."
"It is?" asked Rumble, looking up in surprise.
Cadance smiled down at him before using a wing to draw Rumble to her side.  She began to gently lead him towards the doors of the room.  "It is," she said, "It's important that you know what you can and can't do, when you might be out of your depth.  It helps you to maintain a proper perspective and then use what you can do to fulfill your goals.  In that respect, I think that you might be further along than even Scootaloo is."
"I...um...I hadn't thought of it like that," said Rumble.
"Let me ask you something," said Cadance, "Even though you know that you're not ready for a real fight, even though you're fully aware of just how inexperienced you are, how little practice you have with that weapon, why did you come here?"
"I...I..."  Rumble mulled it over.  Scootaloo had been the one to approach him about going to Canterlot with Arkenstone.  Rumble had seen for himself just how much pain the blind stallion was in at times.  Arkenstone hid it well, but the battle with Terra had taken its toll and Arkenstone still needed time to recover fully.
Also, there was Scootaloo to consider.  She was stronger and more experienced than him.  She'd taken on a deranged cultist and even exchanged blows with Perlin Bluestreak, who had fought evenly with Dawn on multiple occasions.  But even with that gap between them, Rumble thought it was a bad idea to leave the orange filly to her own devices.  Right now, he was the only pony who had any hope of watching Scootaloo's back as they embarked on whatever ridiculously dangerous endeavor this turned out to be.
"I came...because I felt I had a responsibility," he said finally.
"What responsibility?" asked Cadance as she continued to guide the gray colt down the hall.
"To do...something...anything.  Scootaloo's right that we're the only ones who can help Arkenstone right now.  He's worse off than he lets on.  Both Storm Front and Red River are too hurt to fight, Dawn's still waiting for his magic to come back, those two griffons have to stay near Fluttershy."  Rumble shook his head.  "I'm not ready for this...but..."
"But what?" asked Cadance, watching Rumble closely.
"But...when will I be ready?  That's the question I keep asking."  Rumble lowered his gaze to the marble floor passing under his hooves as they walked.  "I'm not ready now.  But will I be ready a couple months from now...or a couple years...when?  I'm afraid that...if I say that and use it as a reason to not do something when I really should do something, then I'll keep using it, no matter how far down the road it is.  Even if I'm not ready right now, I still need to do something...because I'm one of the few ponies who can."
A tear trickled down Cadance's cheek.  These little ones all grow up so fast.  I'm sure his teacher would be proud to hear him now.  "I see," she said.
Their walk brought them to the door of the guest room that Rumble was using while he and the others were staying at the Palace.  These weren’t the larger suites Twilight and her friends had been given when they had visited for Hearth’s Warming, but were quite comfortable all the same, individual rooms of the sort one might find in a fairly decent hotel.  Scootaloo had the room next door and Arkenstone’s room was just across the hall.  The rooms also had the advantage of being situated fairly close to the staff sections of the Palace used by the Royal Guard, including Shining Armor’s office.  They were often used to house various officers and officials from other branches of the Guard when they came to the Palace on official business.
“Um…”  Rumble looked at the door, having been too absorbed by his thoughts and the conversation itself to realize where Cadance had been leading him.  He only just now realized that Cadance had brought him back to his room.
“Rest is an important part of training too,” said Cadance with a giggle, “It’s getting late and a growing boy like you should be in bed if you want to really realize the fruits of your training.”
“Oh…okay.”  In reality, Rumble was feeling quite tired.  But his anxiety about what he was doing had driven him to keep practicing, even when he should have given up for the evening.
Leaning down, Cadance gently nuzzled the top of Rumble’s head, a gesture of affection not dissimilar to what Flitter would do when Rumble was at home.  Rumble felt faintly cold as he realized just how much he missed Flitter and the rest of his family now.
“Before you go to bed,” said Cadance, pulling away, “I’d like to do something for you.”
“What?” asked Rumble, looking up at her with wide eyes.
“I’d like to offer you a…blessing…of sorts, a love blessing, if you will,” said Cadance, her smile widening slightly.
“Uh…but is this really the time?” asked Rumble, his cheeks turning a very bright shade of red as he looked away bashfully.
To his surprise, Cadance broke out into a fit of laughter.  It took her a minute to rein in her mirth before she finally went back to smiling at Rumble.  “Oh, not with Sweetie Belle.  You’re on your own with her for the time being.  I don’t think you’re quite ready for that kind of love anyway.  I’m talking about a different sort.”
Rumble blinked.  “There’s a different sort?”
“Of course,” replied Cadance with a wink, “There are all different sorts of love.  The love between two ponies is important, of course.  It’s one of the most beautiful and my favorite kind of love.  But there are plenty of other kinds.
“There’s the love ponies have for the precious objects they have in their lives, particularly if those objects have some sort of special meaning.  There’s the love ponies have for what they do when they are following their passions.  In a sense, you could even say that love is the root of a pony’s cutie mark.  And those are only two examples.
“I may not be a warrior or a soldier, but I’ve spent plenty of time around those sorts of ponies.  It comes with the territory when your husband is Captain of the Royal Guard.  I’ve found that warriors, especially those who’ve truly mastered their weapons, share a special bond with their chosen weapon, often like the love they might have for another pony.  It isn’t romantic, maybe closer to familial, but it’s still a kind of love, a bond of trust and understanding between two parties.  To a true warrior, a weapon is not merely an inanimate object to be wielded, it is a dear companion, to be trusted, respected, and understood.
“For some warriors, the weapon in question isn’t even an actual object, but a polished skill, like Arkenstone and his magic or Scootaloo and the Gale King.  Sometimes it’s a concept or idea.  But, all the same, it’s something that ponies put their faith and love in.  Believe it or not, that kind of love falls under the purview of my magic as well.”
Cadance pressed a hoof to the coil of the meteor hammer that was wrapped around Rumble’s right foreleg.  “You were practicing today because this is a weapon you aren’t totally familiar with yet.  It isn’t just that its weight and heft are different from the training version.  It doesn’t feel quite right because it’s not your weapon…yet.  That kind of bond is forged through constant training and relying on it during those dark times when you can rely on nothing else.
“My magic is powerful when used in the right ways, but it can’t make up all that time and experience for you.  What it can do is open your heart and help you learn to accept this weapon as a companion and a part of you.  It’s not much, but I think it’ll help you a little when the time finally comes for you to fight.  Does this sound all right to you?”
Rumble was silent for a few minutes as he stared pensively at the door to his room.  Finally, he looked up at Cadance and nodded.  “Yeah,” he said, “I think I’d like that.”
“Good,” said Cadance, gently pushing open the door, “I’ll cast the magic on you now, so that it’ll take effect during the night.  When you wake up in the morning, go through your training like usual.  I think you’ll start to notice the difference fairly quickly.  It’ll also help if you take that meteor hammer with you when you sleep.  Just…”  She gave the weapon a cautionary look.  “…make sure it’s nice and secure so that you don’t accidentally strangle yourself if you end up tossing and turning.”
“Okay,” said Rumble, looking down at his weapon.
“Ready?” asked Cadance.
Rumble stepped in front of her before turning to face her.  He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, clearing his thoughts as he looked Cadance right in the eye.  “Yeah.”
The shimmer of magic began to dance along the length of Cadance’s horn.  “Here we go then,” she said.
Her magic gathered at the tip of her horn before changing shape and color into the form of a glowing blue heart that then drifted down towards rumble.  As it touched against his forehead, it burst with a small pop.  Rumble felt a feeling of warmth wash through him.  Then he felt the cord of the meteor hammer wrapped around his foreleg.  It felt as though the weapon was glowing hot.  Strangely, it wasn’t a painful, burning sensation, but a comforting one.  Rumble swore he could feel every thread woven into the cord pressed against his fur and skin.  He could feel the heft of the steel weight as it rested near his hoof, now feeling somewhat familiar and welcome, rather than foreign.
The feeling began to fade and Rumble felt his eyelids begin to droop.
“Sleep well,” said Cadance.  Leaning down, she gently kissed Rumble’s forehead before backing out the door and shutting it slowly.
“Goodnight,” said Rumble as he watched it click shut.  Turning around, he went through his evening routine, brushing his teeth, using the bathroom, and so on, before climbing into bed and pulling the covers up to his chin.  Not even thinking about uncoiling the meteor hammer from around his hoof.  As Rumble’s eyes closed and he drifted off to sleep, he dreamed by remembering the first time he had seen that graceful weapon in action, remembering Storm Front swinging it through the clouds.



In her own room, Scootaloo opened the saddlebags she'd brought with her.  It took a few seconds of rummaging, but she ultimately found what she was looking for.  It was a strip of fabric, dyed the same grayish-purple as her eyes.  It was smooth to the touch and shimmered faintly under the light hanging on the ceiling above.  It was thin and supple, resembling little more than a ribbon.  However, the ends of the strip terminated in bundles of a lighter, more feathery weave of the fabric, giving it the impression of something akin to a very thin scarf.  It was a gift from Rarity.
A couple months ago, Perlin Bluestreak had forced Coco Pommel to let him into the Carousel Boutique in order to steal a sample of Rarity's new shimmersilk.  The plan had ultimately failed and Perlin made his escape amidst the sounds of screaming and breaking glass.  Scootaloo had noticed and had gone to confront him, leading to a brief, yet intense battle in the skies over Ponyville.  During the battle, she had knocked Perlin's prize, the strip of shimmersilk he'd stolen, away from him and recovered it.  That hadn't exactly been her intention at the time, considering Scootaloo hadn't even known about the theft when she had confronted Perlin.  However, it had been a relief to Rarity and Coco when she had returned the stolen good to them.
In hindsight, Scootaloo had come to accept that her actions that night had been incredibly reckless and she had deserved Dawn's scolding afterwards, despite the brief falling out that had resulted between them.  However, when she'd brought the strip of fabric back to Rarity, Scootaloo had realized something else upon seeing the looks of relief on Rarity's and Coco's faces.  She'd realized what should have been truly important about the fights she picked, why Dawn got in the fights that he did.  She'd realized that, if she was going to pick fights with other ponies, she needed to do it for the right reasons, not simply because they were there and she vaguely thought of that particular pony as an enemy.
In a gesture of thanks, Rarity had made a few modifications to the strip of fabric, turning it into the ribbon Scootaloo was looking at now.  As she looked at it, Scootaloo allowed her mind to go back to the memory of the look on Coco Pommel's face when she saw that the stolen fabric had been returned.  If I'm gonna put myself at risk, it needs to be for things like that, thought Scootaloo.  Coco and Twilight had been taken by somepony and Scootaloo wanted to help get them back.  If he weren't still waiting for his magic to recover, undoubtedly, Dawn would be here now in her place.  But he wasn't recovered yet.  So Scootaloo had decided that she needed to come instead.  She was probably being reckless and inconsiderate of the risks.  But, as she looked at the ribbon draped across her hooves, she truly felt that she was doing the right thing.  Wherever Coco and Twilight were, they probably weren't smiling now.  Scootaloo intended to do whatever she could to put smiles back on their faces...
...And if the process of doing so involved pounding flat the face of whoever was responsible for taking them, so much the better.
With a sigh, Scootaloo put the ribbon back away and crawled into bed.  However much she wanted to get out and just do something, there was nothing for her to do until Arkenstone figured out just who had taken Twilight and Coco and where they were hiding her.  She hoped that the pony that Shining Armor had put on the job came back with some answers soon.



As the night grew darker and the shadows lengthened, the ponies tending to Elderflower's estate began to go through the process of wrapping up their work for the day.  Lamps were lit, illuminating the estate's gardens and flowerbeds, but also providing light for the patrols by Elderflower's mares at arms.  His guards moved like clockwork about the grounds in pairs, treading between rows of colorful flowers one moment and walking carefully around the outer wall the next.  It was rather dull, monotonous work.  Night after night, the same routine played out again and again.  Such was the routine of providing security during the nights that the distraction posed by an attempted infiltration, whether by thieves or by spies, would be welcome by the guards.
However, despite their boredom, they did not allow their thoughts to wander and remained focused on their work.  The Baron was notorious for his dislike of ponies who were subpar at their jobs.  A breach in security was likely to be met by the dismissal of everypony on that particular shift, whether they shared the responsibility or not.  Said ex-guards would find themselves blacklisted and unable to find work in Canterlot or any other major city again.  Luckily, such occurrences were rare and Elderflower moderated his decisions according to the circumstances...if the intruder was caught.
The guards had other reasons to be on edge this night.  Elderflower was no fool.  He knew full well that keeping his direct employees out of the loop would be counterproductive, particularly if any of them wondered why a large number of deadly-looking ponies had taken up temporary residence in the manor.  They knew full well that they were hosting the mercenaries who had brazenly launched an attack on the Royal Palace and made off with the most important artifacts in Equestrian history.  They also knew that the slightest thought of reporting this to anypony in authority would likely be met with a swift death before they were able to carry such an action.  Elderflower's mercenaries were also functioning as extra eyes and ears amongst his staff as they moved through the manor, making sure that nopony harbored any thoughts of betraying the Baron at this important juncture.
Elderflower's guards were wary and alert.  But that alertness was primarily focused on looking for intruders coming from without.  Unfortunately for them, they were poorly prepared for somepony who was already within their perimeter.  As the night deepened, Shade Steel silently went to work.