The sound of buzzing near my bed woke me up. And Twilight aswell.
" What's that buzzing noise? Are we under attack by changelings? " Twilight asked, fear welling up in her.
I looked to my left, and found the culprit located on top of the nightstand next to the bed.
" There's no changelings, it's just my phone. I wonder what I got a notification for though. " I said, easing Twilight's tension.
I unlocked my phone, and found a notification for a game I played, telling me my research was done.
" Really now...? This is why I keep it on silent in the mornings. It's barely 8 o' clock! " Annoyed, I placed my phone back on the stand and attempted to go to sleep again.
A futile attempt.
'CRASH!'
" That can only be one somepony. " Twilight said.
" I don't even need to guess. So much for sleeping. " I said, and quickly walked to the bathroom with a fresh set of clothes.
After freshening up and allowing Twilight to use the bathroom, I headed downstairs to find the one responsible for crashing on the ground at 8 am.
"Rainbow, did you really need such a dramatic entrance this early in the morning? " I asked.
" I do if I bring important news! Me, Applejack and Rarity are going camping with the crusader fillies! "
" We already knew that. " I said.
" Really? Who told you? "
" You did, silly. Did you forget already? " I asked.
" Did I? I did, didn't I... " Rainbow said, hiding her face in embarrassment. " It's like I'm forgetting everything lately. "
" Maybe you should check in at the hospital? See if those dramatic entrances of yours caused collateral damage. " I said, worrying about Rainbow Dash's reckless landings.
" I will, after the camping trip. Well that's all then, I'll see ya later! " Rainbow said, and shot out of the broken window.
Twilight walked down the stairs after, followed by Shervin.
" There's a broken window, so the suspicions were correct. " Twilight said, and used her magic to fix the window. "I should charge her for magical strain. "
Shervin looked puzzled, so I simply said Rainbow's name.
" The flyin' cyan pony?" He asked.
I nodded, and proceeded to gather the newspaper that just arrived.
" Seems we pulled some attention towards us. " I said, referring to the main article.
Ponyville News
Equestria's humans draw in even more humans. Are we being invaded?
"After all you've done for them, this is still how they see you. " Twilight said.
" They have some rights to be suspicious, though. Maybe Celestia should announce the four of us as official citizens of Equestria in public. They sort of know me through my actions as the Shadow of Equestria, but the ponyfolk barely know Michelle, and Robin and Shervin are completely new. " I said.
" Maybe we coul' 'ave different names too, to fit in better? " Shervin suggested.
The sound of a flame interrupted the conversation, and Spike came running in with a royal letter.
Twilight wrenched the letter from Spike's claws, and read it quickly.
"What does it say? " I asked.
" Who's it from anyway?" Shervin asked.
" Y'know Twilight, we should make him read up on some Equestrian lore. " I said. Turning back to Shervin, I responded : " The letter is from Princess Celestia. Twilight here is her student, remember? "
"Remember what? I've never known!" Shervin retorted.
"Oh right, sorry. I thought I'd told you already." I apologised.
"Princess Celestia asks for all of us to visit her today. She says it's important." Twilight said, answering my question.
" If it's Celestia, it's always important. Let's go round everyone up then and head that way. I assume all of us means Shervin and Robin aswell, right? " I said.
" Think so. Maybe Night has to come too. She went back to her castle I think."Twilight said.
" Tell you what: we round up all the others, starting with Fluttershy and Robin, and then over to Night after the other Elementbearers have been gathered, and THEN we go to the portal at the shack to save travelling times. That way they see everything. " I suggested.
" First, we eat. " Twilight said, walking over to the kitchen to prepare some food for us.
" I could ask Celestia if she could prepare something for us. " I said.
" Oh yeah, forgot you could do that. We could eat with all of us together at Canterlot! Sounds like a great idea! " Twilight cheered.
I asked Celestia to prepare breakfast for us for when we arrive, and told Shervin and Twilight to follow me over to Fluttershy's cottage. Sabrina was as always nowhere to be found, but she would appear eventually.
WWWWW
Change of Character - Primal Dagger -> Shervin
So far, this odd world a' ponies was mysterious, but strangely friendly. The newspaper said that Josh and that assistant of his be plottin' for an invasion by bringin' me an' Robin ova' 'ere, but that ofcourse be complete madness. I know I won't dare to hurt these friendly ponies 'ere, but I couldn't say the same 'bout otha' humans.
I wonda' what this Princess wants of us, though. From what I understand she be a solar princess or summin' along those lines. Who knows wha' power a Princess of tha sun could hold?
" Hey Shervin, you alright there? You looked a bit fazed out. Been smoking too much weed again? " Joshua, or rather Primal Dagger as he's called 'ere, said chuckling.
" Y'know I don't actually smoke weed right? Is just sum silly joke you guys came up with. " I retorted.
" Ofcourse I know that. It's still funny though, since you actually started it. With that group you created back then. "
" I told ya that was just a joke right? " I said.
" Again, I know. What were you thinking about anyway for you to faze out like that? Had I not asked you would've walked into the building there. " he said, pointingto the building we turned away from.
"Mostly 'bout how this world looks an' feels so friendly. Earth be dark compared to this. Also 'bout that princess we goin' to. Is she friendly? Should I fear for my life for possibly stagin' an invasion on this planet? The folk 'round here seem skeptical. " I said.
" Don't be silly, Princess Celestia won't do anything to you. You have my word as her protégé. " Twilight said. " We're here, by the way. " Twilight knocked on the door of the rather shabby lookin' cottage.
" Wait a second, did you hear that? " Primal said.
" Hear what? Fluttershy headed for the door? " Twilight asked.
" It sounded like... laughing. But in a very maniacal way. Almost... teasingly. " Primal said.
" I didn't hear nothin' . " I said.
" Probably my imagination, but I will tell Celestia- WAIT! Did you see that? "
"Where? What? " Twilight said, worried now.
" A shadowy figure over there headed into the woods! Either something is playing tricks on me or there's something weird happening around here. " Primal said, pointing to the treeline.
" Princess Luna's Night guard should be able to find out if there's something happening here if you tell her. " Twilight said.
Fluttershy opened the door just now, covered in various animals. " Hey guys! My animals all jumped up in panic for some reason so I had to round them up, and then you knocked. Come in!"
We stepped inside, and the place was a mess if I've ever seen one. Robin was on the couch, looking distressed.
" 'Sup Robin? Had a good rest at this place? " I asked him.
" Yeah, I did. The place didn't look like this before though. Those animals sure did a number on the room when they panicked. " he said.
Primal had his hand on his chin, deep in thought. Fluttershy noticed and asked him what was wrong.
" I think I might know the reason for the panicking animals, although I'm not sure how. I saw a figure outside, and heard maniacal laughing. There's definitely something sinister happening around here. " he responded. " We should make haste and collect the others to go to Canterlot. "
" Princess Celestia asked us to visit her at Canterlot. Primal asked her to prepare breakfast so all of us can eat there. " Twilight said.
" Okay. No time to waste then! Lead on!" Robin said.
Twilight and Primal led us through town, to a small hill with what looked like... a house made from clouds above it? This world can't get any weirder.
" RAINBOW DASH! " Twilight and Primal shouted in unison.
Something struck my back, and I fell over.
" Hehe, sorry. Shervin, right? " the cyan winged pony called Rainbow Dash said, and she helped me up.
" It's fine. An' yea, that be me. " I said. "What are you and that Fluttershy anyway? Winged ponies? "
" We're Pegasi. Twilight and Rarity are Unicorns, and Pinkie Pie and Applejack are Earth ponies. " Rainbow said.
" An' the princesses? They special too? " I asked.
" They are alicorns: larger ponies with both wings and horns. " Twilight said.
" What's up? I gotta go to Rarity's place soon to prepare for the camping trip. " Rainbow Dash said.
" Slight change of plans. Celestia asked us to come pay a visit. Said it was important. I'm sure you can go camping after she told us whatever she wants to tell us. " Primal said.
" Okay. Let's go then! " Rainbow said, already flying off somewhere.
We had a bit o' trouble keeping up with the pegasus, but we arrived at a strange carrousel-ish looking building just as she did. The three fillies we met yesterday were here too.
" Hey Rainbow! Why are you here so early? And why is the rest here? " an orange pegasus with purple mane and tail asked.
I noticed now that these three didn't have those odd markings on their flanks.
" So every one of you gets tattoos on their behinds at a certain age then?" I asked.
" Those "tattoos " are called cutie marks. Yes I know, the name is stupid. I didn't come up with it. I've got one too. " Primal said, moving his arm to me to show a crystalline dagger with something that looked like air and lightning flow around it.
" Hm, looks like it's changed too since my other elements got stripped. Now there's just air currents and lightning bolts flowing around the dagger. Anyway, the cutie marks depict a pony's talents -or in my case a human's - and they appear when they find out what exactly they are talented at. "
" And we don't have them yet! That's why we created our group, the Cutie Mark Crusaders! Are we going camping now? " Scootaloo said.
" Not exactly squirt, we got a change of plans. Princess Celestia asked to see us A.S.A.P. Don't worry, we'll be back before you know it! " Rainbow explained.
" Awww, okay. Promise us you will be back as soon as you can? " Sweetie Belle asked.
" We promise! We need Rarity too, could you go get her? " Rainbow asked.
With a quick reply, the three ran inside to fetch Rarity.
They returned just a few moments later.
" What is the rush, dears? Why have I been dragged outside? " Rarity asked. The fillies had only taken her outside and hadn't explained anything.
" Celestia needs to see us." Primal said.
" It sounds important enough. Do we still get to go camping though? I finally got myself so far as to actually go with you, so I would rather not see it cancelled. " Rarity said, frowning.
" I think tha' Princess o' yours said ye could go campin' after whateva' she wants of us. " I said.
" Alright then. Tally-ho! No time to spend standing around here! You fillies stay here, alright? " Rarity beckoned.
The fillies nodded, and our small party continued onwards through the snaky streets of the town towards what they had called Sugarcube corner. I didn't quite understand why.
"HELLOWHATAREYOUGUYSDOINGHERE? HAVEYOUCOMETOTASTEMYNEWESTCUPCAKE?"
Until a rambling pink pony made it quite clear, that is.
" Calm down, Pinkie!" Twilight said. " We're not here to taste cupcakes, we came to take you with us to see Princess Celestia! "
" Oh! Why didn't you say so then?"
" She just did...." Primal said.
" No but I mean say it before she said it! " Pinkie was rambling nonsense at this point.
"I... Nevermind. Let's just get Applejack and go to the portal shack. " Primal said, sighing.
The pink mare bounced off towards where Applejack supposedly lived, luckily without saying another word.
We followed her until I noticed we were leaving the town centre and entered the outskirts.
" Where does this Applejack live? " I asked.
" She lives and works on her farm just outside of town, Sweet Apple Acres. " Twilight said.
" Wait! There it is again! " Primal said, taking a defensive stance. " Show yourself, scum!"
The laughing only got louder, and the sound of fire reached our ears.
" I think something might be on fire nearby! Quick! Find out where while I try to search the culprit! " Primal said, and vanished in a puff of smoke.
Twilight teleported instantly, and Rainbow and Fluttershy took to the skies to survey the area. Me, Robin and Rarity all ran towards where the sound came from. Pinkie bounced on ahead. How she was still this energetic in a situation like this was beyond me.
" Someone get water! I found the fire! " Twilight shouted.
Rainbow surged towards the farm to get water, while the rest of us ran over to Twilight to help stabilise the spreading flames.
Smoke announced the return of Primal. " The bastard was nowhere to be found! "
" Let us deal with this fire first. Rainbow went to the farm to get water, maybe you could help her out? " Rarity said.
" Will do. "
WWWWW
Change of Character - Shervin - > Primal Dagger
" Will do. " I said, and shadowstepped to the farm.
Rainbow was already getting a bucket of water filled up. I ran towards her and took another bucket to fill that up aswell, and quickly teleported back to deliver it.
Rainbow flew in just after I threw the water unto the fire, and emptied her own bucket as well before shooting off again. The process was repeated several times untill the fire was completely doused. The trees that had been struck by the fire were completely charred, and even the ground had scorch marks.
" Whoeva' did this 'ere to mah farm's gonna pay for it! Y'all can darn well bet yer horseshoes Ah'll make 'em pay! " Applejack shouted.
" Now I will definitely tell Celestia about it. Let's quickly go to Night's castle to pick her up and go to the portal shack after. " I said.
" Whoa nelly, not so fast! Ah was gonna go on a camping trip in jus' a moment! " Applejack said.
" We gotta go see Princess Celestia first, Applejack. I don't think she said what for but Primal and Twilight said it was important. "Rainbow said.
" Shame we don't get to see the rest o' ya farm. Otha' than them burnin' trees, tha' is. " Shervin said.
" Ah could give ya a tour if ya'd like when we're back from the trip. " Applejack said.
" I'd like tha'. " Shervin replied.
Everyone was slightly spooked by the forest, but we reached the castle of the royal pony sisters in no time thanks to the winds guiding our steps.
" Night! You here?" I shouted. No answer.
" She isn't home. Let's leave a letter so she knows she has to go to Canterlot. " Twilight suggested.
She quickly wrote the letter, and hanged it on the front door.
"Too bad she isn't here. The castle is quite impressive to see from the inside. " I said. " Let's go to the portal shack. "
WWWWW
" Right, we're here. Get inside and start up the portal's matrix." I said.
All but one pony looked at me with confusion, and the one that did not walked inside and booted up the portal's matrix.
" It's not that hard to understand. It's just called a matrix, but really anyone could turn it on. " I explained.
The portal hummed with idle power.
" Now we just need to add the liquid mana so it can charge it's phasal energies. Anyone proficient with magic, provide some of your power at this stone here. " I said.
Rarity and Twilight stepped forward, and their horns touched the cold stone ball. I placed my hand on it as well, and the various runes on its surface lit up. Our magics transformed into a liquid state and travelled through the pipes, powering the portal.
Sabrina instantly jumped through without waiting. " The panther is eager enough. Jump in! "
I waited untill everyone had jumped into the portal before going in myself.
And ended up in Luna's private chambers.
"Now this is quite unexpected. Six ponies, three humans and a black panther, all in my chambers! To what do I owe the pleasure?" Luna said.
"We were on our way to visit Celestia. She sent Twilight a letter, asking all of us to meet her today. She said it was important." I responded.
"Ah, right. My sister is currently in a meeting, but I shall notify her that you all have arrived. In the meantime, would any of you care for some tea?" Luna asked.
"I'd like some tea, thank you." Robin said.
"I could do with some aswell." Rarity added.
"Ah, might aswell. I'd like some aswell." I said.
Luna proceeded to procure several cups and some tea from seemingly nowhere, and poured everyone a cup. "Sugar?"
"Just one cube, please." Robin said politely.
"I do not drink tea with sugar, thank you." Rarity said.
"I don't either, so I'll pass." I said. "By the way, Luna? Could you and your Night Guard do a favour for me?"
"What is it?" Luna replied.
"We had some very strange happenings this morning. I heard laughing and saw a shadowy figure near Fluttershy's home, and later at Applejack's farm we heard the same maniacal laughing, and a few trees were set on fire. I tried finding the culprit, but he or she is very elusive. Could you track him or her down?" I said.
"Hm, that is quite strange indeed. You did not get any visual information on the person?" Luna asked.
"Other than being hooded, shadowy and laughing creepily, we saw no more of him or her. And possibly has ways to set stuff on fire, too." I said. "Sorry"
"It is not much to go on, but I will try what I can to find more reportings of strange activities such as laughing and burning. You have my word."
"Thanks. I'll tell Celestia too, see if she knows anything." I said, and took a few sips of my tea. "Ugh, I should've added sugar.
"So, how have the rest of you been lately?" Luna asked, referring to the ponies who did not accompany us to Earth.
"We were supposed to be goin' campin' by now with them crusader fillies. But then Primal 'n Twilight 'n them others appeared to stamp out the orchard fires, and said we had to go see Princess Celestia." Applejack said.
"I am sure Celestia would not keep you from your camping trip if it was not very important."
"It's still annoying though. I was looking forward to camping with Rare, Applejack and those three young ones!" Rainbow returned.
" Ah, I sense she is ready to see all of you now. She is currently in the dining hall." Luna suddenly said.
" Perfect. Thanks for the tea, Luna. " I said.
" My pleasure. Now go, my sister has a lot to talk about. "
I lead everyone through the halls of the palace, with most looking around in awe at the decor.
" Ah, there you all are. I shall have some breakfast prepared for you, sit down please. " Celestia said.
We each took a seat at the extremely long dining table. I sat at the end, next to Twilight and an empty chair. Next to Twilight was Shervin, and next to him was Rainbow Dash. Fluttershy, Robin, Applejack and Pinkie Pie were next to that, and Rarity was at the other end of the table.
A watery fog rolled into the room.
" Ah! What is this?!" Twilight shouted.
" Haha, relax Twilight. It's just me, Michelle. " a voice echoed throughout the mist.
The fog started collecting in one spot, and soon it took the shape of Michelle. She took the seat next to Rarity.
A dark flash interrupted us after, and Night appeared. She took the spot next to Michelle.
" Stealthy as ever, I see. You're doing a good job at disappearing and reappearing like Sabrina usually does. " I said, causing the mentioned panther to purr a response.
Luna walked into the room at that moment aswell. " What can I say, she and I just have a talent for that. " she said, smirking as she took a seat next to her alter ego.
" Thanks for leaving that letter, by the way. " Night said.
" My pleasure. " Twilight said.
" The plot thickens. The company grows. What will breakfast do now against such mighty opposition? Find out in a moment! " I said jokingly.
" Random as always, are you not. Luckily you don't just space out like you used to." Robin said.
" Heh. "
" Looks like we have even more guests. Add another three into the order please! " Celestia shouted towards the kitchen. " Welcome, all of you. Breakfast should arrive shortly. "
And, as if on cue, the table started magically filling up with various types of bread, cheese, jam and other delicacies. Sabrina got her own personal plate with various types of meat, imported from the gryphon lands for when their ambassadors decided to visit.
"A feast! Enjoy!" Celestia said, and proceeded to fill up her own plate once she took the seat next to mine.
Everyone took to the food like a pack of hungry wolves, and soon everyone had their share on their plates. Celestia had even managed to get Zap Apple Jam, which had been quick to disappear onto various pieces of bread, including mine.
Once everyone was full, and the table was cleaned, Celestia took to initiating the conversation.
" You must all wonder why I called you here on such short notice. Firstly, the newcomers to Equestria. I hereby officially welcome you to Equestria, and are welcome to stay for as long as you like. You shall be considered citizens. " Celestia began.
" My thanks to you, Princess. Is there any way we could contribute to this society, should we wish to stay longer? " Robin asked.
" I suggest you ask your fellow friends for work, if anything they offer suits your skills. Otherwise, either me or Luna could think of something. " Celestia said.
" We'll see if there be anythin' we can do. I already like this place a lot more than Earth. " Shervin said.
" Count me in on that statement. " Robin added.
" Secondly, and this concerns both of you and Michelle. Your names. Due to all the activities lately we did not have much time to discuss this with you Michelle, but I feel each of you should have a fitting name to better fit into society. " Celestia continued. " Any thoughts? What do each of you like, what do you stand for? "
"Since I hold the power over Water, and frequently use it as healing, I thought it would be fitting to be called Aqua Vitae. I had a few Latin lessons back on Earth. Aqua stands for water, and vitae stands for life. Combined, they form 'the water of life' " Michelle said.
" Which I'm certain has more meaning to it. " I said.
" Yes, which also fits me. It's fun with me around, isn't it? " Michelle retorted.
" Quite. "
" Alright, you shall henceforth be named as Aqua Vitae. And the two of you? " Celestia said, turning to Robin and Shervin.
" Well, I don't really have much ideas, but I've always had an appreciation for nature, and what belongs to it. " Robin started, but something peculiar interrupted him.
Thorns and vines started surrounding his chair, and grew in such a way that they seemed to protect him from danger. Once Robin held his hand close to the vines, they started retreating.
" Hm, interesting. "
" Looks like nature listens to your calls. You might be a druid after all, ey?" I said.
Robin cleared the vines from his chair, and turned to face Celestia.
" I have a fitting name for you. Natura Thorn. Your connection with nature is undoubtedly strong, and from what formed and your pure intentions, you would do anything to protect your friends, and will strike out when attacked." Celestia said.
" That sounds like a suitable name. Thank you again, Princess Celestia. " Robin said.
" I have done nothing to owe thanks, and please just call me Celestia in friendly gatherings such as these. My title is reserved for those lowly nobility who continue to mock me with their scandalous proposals. " Celestia said. " And you, Shervin? "
" I tend to keep all things in balance. How much I speak, how much I eat, what I eat. I probably would do a similar thing in combat : I strike a balance between defendin' friends an' fightin' enemies. I also hold spiritual energy in high regard an' as a result I meditate quite often. " Shervin said.
" I didn't know you did meditation. " I said.
" I never told ya. An' why should I? Meditation is to provide peace of mind. " Shervin said.
A glowing white orb appeared over his head, and surged into him. He shone brightly, before channeling the energy back into an orb. It then disappeared into the ground. " I knew it! " he shouted.
" Looks like both your powers have manifested themselves. And I also have a fitting name for you: Spirit Equity. And, fitting jobs for both you and Natura. " Celestia said. " Although I am unsure if you are both up for the tasks. "
" What could those tasks be, Celestia? "Natura said.
" Yours involves a third matter I wanted to discuss. Since you have control over nature, you should have little trouble dealing with the Everfree Forest. I recently found out it is housing an evil presence, and parts of the forest themselves have gotten corrupted. I charge you with the protection and cleansing of said forest, and you will receive a sum of money for it as compensation. " Celestia said.
" Sounds perfect. I would need some place to stay, however. " Natura said.
" You could stay with me. If you would like that, ofcourse. " Fluttershy suggested.
" Ah, thanks Fluttershy. I promise I will not burden you too much. " Natura said.
" As for you, Spirit, I have been wanting to extend the reach of the law to more isolated towns. I would like to introduce a new regiment, the Justice Guard. And I want you to be its first member. As part of a guard regiment, you will be paid like a soldier would be. Maybe you will earn a promotion to leader of the Justice Guard in the future? " Celestia said.
" I'd never 've seen myself as part of an army, but it sounds like somethin' I am willin' and capable of doin'!" Spirit said. " I would need to report back to you frequently, I suppose? "
" That is correct. From what I understand, Primal set up a portal directly linking the palace and Ponyville. I suggest you live near wherever that is located. " Celestia said.
" The portal shack is closest to Applejack's farm, I think. " I said.
" Then ah suggest ya stay with me an' mah family at the farm. Ya could help 'round the farm too whenever ya have spare time. " Applejack said.
" I accept your offer, Applejack. " Spirit said.
" Then everything is settled. " Celestia said.
" Actually, sister. Primal notified me of some strange happenings around Ponyville, including maniacal laughter and pyromaniac activity. Do you know anything about this matter? " Luna asked.
" I do not, sister. I suggest you utilise your Night Guard to do some reconnaissance. " Celestia responded.
" I also would like to say something on the topic of jobs, if I may. " Aqua said.
" You may speak. " Celestia said.
" Since I have healing powers,and have heard of some strange diseases gripping these lands, it would only be fitting if I could provide assistance in healing the sick. " Aqua said.
" Then I will appoint you as Royal Healer of Equestria. You have my permission to do as you please to keep general health up across the land. Anything else that requires mention?" Celestia said.
"Nothing major, I was simply wondering when I would get my next job." I stated.
"It seems for now, the criminals of Equestria are laying low. I will notify you if something happens."
"Right, I think that's about it then. You girls got a camping trip to prepare for." I said.
"Yer correct sugarcube, we should git on tha' right away." Applejack said. " Where's the portal to git back, though?"
" Not in Luna's chambers, obviously. Think the matrix needs to be recalibrated. It's down a corridor in the direction of Luna's chambers, though. " I responded. " Follow me. "
I lead the six ponies, three humans, pony demigod and black panther through the various halls leading towards the return portal.
" It should be in the room ahead. " I said, after taking a right turn.
I opened the door to the room, but what we found was unsettling. And slightly dark.
" Is that.... a pony carcass?" Twilight asked. " It's mangled beyond any state of recognition! Who would do something like this? And why here? "
"I'm sure this wasn't here before, and only a few among our current party knew of the location of this portal. Either someone has been spying on us, or we have a traitor, the latter I doubt. " I stated.
" Maybe the odd figure you saw at Fluttershy's cottage had something to do with it? " Robin asked.
" I doubt that too. That one is a pyromaniac, not a barbaric animal. I know enough to know that the two are not easily combinable. " I said. " Twilight, teleport the corpse out of here if you please. And start up the portal so everyone can go back home. I'll go back and tell Celestia and Luna what we've seen. "
Twilight made the body disappear, cleaned the room with help from Aqua, and proceeded to turn the portal on. I stayed long enough to watch everyone pass through before I headed back to the dining hall with haste.
Celestia and Luna were just having a conversation when I barged in, panting from running.
" You would not come running back if it was not important. What is wrong? " Celestia asked.
" I almost don't want to tell you, it's too morbid. But I have too. " I said, before taking a quick breather. " We came upon a mangled corpse in the portal room here in the castle. I don'tknow how or why. "
"A corpse? A pony corpse? " Luna asked, to which I nodded. " Could you identify who it was? "
" Sadly, no. The body was ravaged beyond recognition. I'll spare you the details of how the room looked like." I said.
" Could it be linked to the fire starter? " Celestia asked.
" It's possible, but I very much doubt it. " I said, which drew confused looks from both of them. " A pyromaniac works in a completely different way than whoever would do something like this. "
"Even more mysteries. Equestria is getting darker by the minute. I will scour pony's dreams tonight to see if I could spot something. " Luna said.
" Isn't that a privacy breach? " I asked.
" I do not meddle with their dreams or even look at them in detail. With just a glance I can see what is happening. Besides, this is a matter of national safety. " Luna said.
" It's still a privacy breach, but whatever. I'd rather break that than lose lives because of maniacs. " I said. "Find out what you can, and please tell me if you have something worthwhile. "
" I will. Now go, your friends are wondering where you are. " Luna said.
I headed back to the portal room, which was now completely clean. The portal was still online, luckily. I stepped through to the other side.
" Not again! " I yelled before slamming face down into the mana flowers. " Ow, my face. "
"Some could say you... fell into position. "
"No amount of sunglasses will help you out of that bad joke. " I returned. I picked myself off the ground, and faced Twilight.
" Why would I need sunglasses for that..? Nevermind, it's not important. The others already left. Just me and Sabrina stayed behind to wait for you. What did they say? "
" Luna said she would scan the dream world tonight for any suspicious activity. Other than that, they seem distressed by the fact that Equestria suddenly got this macabre. You don't see ravaged bodies like that every day. " I said.
" Or firestarters, for that matter. We haven't had cases like that in a few years now. " Twilight added.
" So, everyone left? What were you going to do?" I asked.
" Don't know. When I'm not going around saving Equestria and beyond, I don't do much beside studying. " Twilight responded.
" I just realised something. Rainbow is going to the Wonderbolts flight school soon, right? " I asked.
" She is yes, why? "
" Hm, that means I'm currently in the making of the next episode then. " I said aloud.
" What? "
"Nothing, never mind. So eh, any ideas on what you intended to do today? " I said.
" Study? Relax? I'm not sure what I could do. " Twilight contemplated.
" We could practice magic together, maybe? I haven't used mine properly for a while now, since most got stripped away. " I suggested.
" I didn't get to use mine properly either since I found out I could do more than shoot lasers and lift objects. " Twilight said. " Let's go! "
I shot a quick glance at Sabrina, who simply grinned for as much as a panther could do that.
WWWWW
Change of Character - Primal Dagger -> Princess Luna
Some time later, on the same day
" Sister, I will take over court for you. You look tired." I said.
" No, I am fine. Do not worry about me. " Celestia responded.
" I can clearly see you are pushing yourself to your limits. You really need some rest. " I said, hoping to drive her to give up.
" I am an alicorn, I do not need rest! "
So much for that hope.
" Even if you are an alicorn, your body can and will get exhausted from over exertion. Go get some sleep, you can continue tomorrow. " I said.
" But I-"
" No but. You are going to rest. Now." I said.
" Oh fine. Just do not accept too many crazy proposals. " Celestia said, finally submitting with a defeated sigh.
" That should not be too much of a problem. " I said. " You just go rest, I will handle them. "
Celestia trotted off towards her room, and I waited for the break to be over and the boring politicians to return. "i am already regretting my decision. "
The nobleponies returned, and were already unhappy.
" Where is Princess Celestia? We demand to see her! "
" Celestia had to rest, she is exhausted. I will take over the remainder of court. " I explained.
The noblepony still seemed unhappy, but sat down anyway.
"This will be a long evening. "
WWWWW
"Finally! It is over! These ponies sure know how to drive somepony crazy."
As the last noblepony left the room, I looked outside. It was nearing the night, and Celestia had to lower her sun soon. I trotted to her room, and found her sleeping on the bed. I poked her softly.
" Celestia, you need to lower the sun. " I whispered in her ear.
" Eugh, just a minute. "
She stretched, and stood up from her bed to perform her ritual of lowering the sun, whilst I raised the moon in its stead.
" You can go back to sleep now. We can discuss everything tomorrow. I have dreams to check up on. " I said.
I left the room and headed for my own, since tonight was going to be eventful. I hoped to atleast find something which could explain things.
I settled down in my own bed, and my consciousness quickly travelled through the air. It scoured the land, checking up on the dreams of the ponies already sleeping. I would have to scan another time later, to catch those sleeping later.
I found Primal's dreams to be slightly weird, but left them alone. And Twilight seemed to be dreaming about... Primal? I figured I would just keep it to myself, since prying was something not done here in Equestria.
Eventually, I came across a dream with lots and lots of fire. I inspected the dream closer, and found that the fires were caused by someone. The dream cycled on to an image of a world burning, again caused by someone.
I could not decipher who was dreaming about this, but I knew it came from within the Everfree Forest. "This must be the pyromaniac. "
I left it alone for now, since the dream was mostly about fire. I scoured onwards to check if somepony would be dreaming about chopping up bodies aswell, but I had no luck with that.
I quit scanning dreams for the night after having scanned most of Equestria twice by now, and returned to my own body to start dreaming myself. I was stopped by Night, however.
" Hey. I still have not gotten around to apologising to you for taking control of you back then. " she said.
" This again? Let me tell you this: in my eyes you have redeemed yourself. Besides, you acted because you felt unloved. I felt the same, but you can not let the past consume you. You just have to keep doing good, and eventually ponies will start accepting you. " I said.
" Are you sure? Ponies still much loathe you and prefer Celestia, who says it will not happen again? " Night said worriedly.
" Nonsense. You and I both made a mistake, and we will not make the same mistake twice. "
" You really do believe it.... Thank you, I needed that. Good night, Luna. "
" Sleep well, Night. "