//------------------------------// // Chapter 7 - Journey to Nowhere // Story: The Shadow of Equestria // by Eruedraieth //------------------------------// Carefully opening my eyes, I waited for some kind of disaster to strike me again. Twilight noticed me cowering. "What are you doing?" "NOT tempting fate. Random, disasterous stuff always happens to me from time to time, and something tells me I should be expecting it right now." I looked around, trying to spot any potential hazards. A faint knocking sound was heard from downstairs. "Who in the seven heavens could be visiting at a time like THIS!?! I'll go see who it is." I offered. I phased out of bed into my 'changing' dimension to quickly put on some clothes, and reappeared downstairs in front of the door. I opened the door to see Celestia casually waiting. Behind her was Luna. "Umm.. Hello? Any particular reason for such an early visit from yourselves?" " We were going on a trip today, remember? Do not tell us you forgot... " " Eheheh.... mmh... I... might've? I'll be right back! " I quickly ran back upstairs to properly wake Twilight up. " Twilight, Celestia and Luna are here already." "Oh.. oh my. I'll quickly get ready! " "I'll keep 'em company while we wait for you. " I ran back down again, and motioned for the Princesses to come inside. Once they were inside, Night materialised next to us. " Twilight is getting ready. Kind of forgot you would come this early... " I shrugged my head. " It is fine. Have you had breakfast yet?" Celestia asked. " We were in bed a few minutes ago, so-" 'CRASH' " -no, not really. Rainbow, why." "Oh hi! I saw Princess Celestia's carriage arrive, so I remembered you were going on a trip. I wanted to stop by before you went away! " " And stop by you did indeed, Rainbow Dash." Night quickly fixed the window and removed any leftover glass shards from the floor. "Well, before we were so rudely interrupted." Celestia glared at Rainbow "Once Spirit Equity has arrived, we can go to Canterlot. I will instruct Twilight about governing, and you two and Night can do whatever you wish." " 'Right. Lemme quickly get the map to familiarize with the route we were gonna take." I ran upstairs to where I placed the map, and ran back downstairs to place it on the table. Everypony flocked around it. "Do we start in Canterlot? Or d'we start in Cloudsdale and save it for last?" "Hey, you guys are goin' to Cloudsdale! Say hello to the Wonderbolts for me if you spot them!" "We shall. I suggest we start in Canterlot first, since we are there when I teach Twilight. Most ponies know about the trip by now so we can expect them to be excited." "At least I don't have to be near you four. Imagine all the odd looks you'd recieve when you travel with Luna, Nightmare Moon and a human. I doubt everypony has seen a human by now." I traced my finger over the path on the map, memorising it in case we lost the map. Celestia walked back and forth, seemingly impatient. "Sister, why art thou pacing? This is not like thee." "Spirit should have been here by now. Is he always this late?" Celestia asked me. "Yup. Always count on him being a bit late, that's how I managed to get through school with him." We waited in silence for a few moments, with Rainbow still studying the map I placed down. "I hope you make it to the Crystal Empire okay. Gets real chilly up there. Anyway, Have fun! I'll see ya around!" She left through the door, much to the surprise of Twilight and me. "Well who figured? She did leave the door open, though" I walked to the door to close it, but Spirit arrived just as I was about to close it. " 'Ello ev'ryone, sorry I'm late." "Bad habits never die ey?" I poked his arm. "Where's your armour, though?" " I'm'a pick it up at Canterlot armory. Princess prepared a special set o' armour for me." "You have finally arrived. Let us not waste time." Celestia walked out the door, towards the carriage, and Luna following her closely. "I will see all of you at the castle." Night morphed into a wisp of smoke and shadows, and the trail headed to Canterlot. "You heard the princess. Let's get moving." Engulfing myself in shadows and donning my armour, I followed Celestia. "Hey, y'think ya can do summin' like yer armour for me too? Think it be easier if I can summon it on a whim." "I can't enchant any longer. If you want something like this, you probably need to talk with Pinkie Pie. Speaking of enchantments, where's that panther gone now?" "Right here" Sabrina materialised next to me. "Ah, so that's how you keep appearing and disappearing. What d'ya use, some kind of pocket dimension to stay in?" "Sort of. Methinks it is best if I do not reveal my secrets, lest I be discovered." "Good point. If I need you, I'll call upon you again." "Works for me." Sabrina vanished again. Twilight was already next to the carriage Celestia and Luna were in, a saddlebag filled with books on her back. I didn't need to guess to know how Twilight got there before we did. "You two finally here?" " Some of us can't teleport like you." I spat back. " I was only joking Primal, relax. " " I don't take kindly to jokes played on me or friends." I got into the carriage, crossing my arms and pulling the hood of my outfit over my head. " If you really need me, I'll be here, silently watching. Otherwise, I'm pulling back to another dimension for now, one called deep thought. " WWWWW Change of Character - Primal Dagger -> Princess Celestia There is something bothering Primal Dagger, but it might be best if we leave him alone for now. " Come Twilight and Spirit, you must be hungry by now." " Actually, Ah've alr'dy eaten summin'. Applejack be nice 'nuff ta prepare summin' for me before I left. They be wakin' up early times 'nyway ta work in dem fields." He took a spot next to Primal, being careful not to disturb him too much. " Glad to hear it." I waited for Twilight to take a seat before signalling the guards to take off. The flight was uneventful, as expected. We landed near the field designated for air travel, and walked the short route towards Canterlot's Castle. I guided the others towards the dining room which served as a general room as well. " I assume I can leave the three of you here while I instruct Twilight on what she needs to do while myself and Luna are gone? " " Definitely, Sister. I shalt keep them company whilst thou teaches thy boring work to thine student. " Luna turned to face Primal and Spirit, looking at them with a very disturbing smile. " Do not think about it, Luna. Not unless myself be included with whatever thee hath planned." Night grinned as her smokey trail recieved a solid form. " The ponies of Canterlot should be expecting us around twelve, if we follow schedule. It is currently ten, so you will have enough time for yourselves. " A quick nod came as an answer. I took Twilight to the throne room, where most political meetingswere held. " Any questions before we begin, Twilight?" She shook her head. " Good. Then let us get started." Along came an elaborate explanation of the daily business around Canterlot Castle. All important proposals would be delayed untill our return, so I skipped that in my explanation. Other than the proposals and the raising of sun and moon, it mostly came down to paperwork. "I will tell my servants to bring paperwork to your original chambers. I assume you would want to stay there? " "Will you be gone for long, Princess? Otherwise I might start missing my friends..." " I will leave Philomena here so you can send letters to your friends. If you want, you can ask them to come over. I will tell my servants to look at you as if you were me." " Thank you, Princess. I think I'll be fine. Could we go back to get some food? I'm starving." Her tummy rumbled in response, after which she grinned sheepishly. I nodded, and ordered a nearby maid to retrieve food for Twilight from the royal kitchen and deliver it to the dining room, to which we walked to meet up with the others. "Hello everybody, we are back. Twilight should be amply prepared for when we are gone. Right now, we have about half an hour untill we are supposed to be in town." "I'm going to head to the forge to sharpen my blades, just to give them a little edge. I believe Spirit here needs to retrieve his armour as well." He walked to the door, but waited for Spirit to follow him. " Y'r rite. Ah'll be rite behind ya" Spirit quickly followed Primal. " 'Twas just getting interesting, Sister! Primal Dagger was nearly going to talk to us!" "Nearly. I suggest we all leave him alone untill he fixes what is bothering him." A maid came in, carrying plates of food for Twilight. She placed them down on the table, nodded politely, and left the room. "Food!" Twilight shouted, and charged at the food, devouring most within a few bites. I chuckled warmly at this display of hunger, and Luna smiled. Night was looking outside, she did not notice Twilight's eating. Now to just wait untill we had to arrive in the city... WWWWW Change of Character - Princess Celestia->Primal Dagger "Spirit, can I let you in on a little secret? Don't tell the princesses, please." " Sure, tell me." "I'm afraid. Not for a particular reason, no.... I'm just worried I won't be able to properly protect the Princesses while we're out. There's something terrible lurking out there in the world, ready to strike, ready to pounce on an opportunity." We walked into the forge, a few ponies were working on repairing the armaments of the Royal Guard. A set of shiny silver-esque armour was placed on a mannequin near one of the forges, next to an ancient, curved silver sword emblazoned with various runes and a silver-white shield with the emblems of both the solar and lunar princesses. "Is that your gear?" "Sure is. Look'it the trimmin' on tha' armour.." The armour itself was made of a different material, we got told. It looked silver because of the innate magical properties and the enchantments put on by Celestia. The entire set had a gold- and blue trimming, the golden trimming on the right hand side of the armour, with Celestia's mark on the right arm, and the blue trimming on the left hand side, with Luna's mark on the left arm. (Basic armour look, without the trimming and marks.) "You're going to look like a proper force of balance with that stuff. Go ahead, try it on!" He walked to the set, and a nearby pony helped him strap the armour on. He took up the sword, and placed the shield on a scabbard on his back. "How'd I look? "Put on your helmet, and you will be the silver phalanx. I doubt anyone will attempt to fight the Princesses with this walking next to them." I walked to a nearby grinding stone, took out one of my daggers and started sharpening its edge. "Try walking, and test the blade on one of those dummies over there." He placed the helmet on his head, drew his sword and shield, and marched towards the dummy. Giving his sword a few practice swings in the air in front of him, he turned to me with a confused look. " How d'ya even kno'how ta sharpen weapons?" "It's not that hard. Just put the blade on the grindstone and carefully sharpen its edge. Making or repairing them is much harder. " He turned back to his dummy, and started cutting into it with his sword. It proved more effective than I thought, since the dummy got cut in half. " That's one hell of a razorsharp sword. " " Indeed. I crafted it myself, by Princess Celestia's orders! " A weary but sturdy looking pony walked up to us, smiling and proud of his work. " Careful with that edge, you're sharpening it off. 'Ere, lemme help ya out. " I gave him my blades, and he quickly went to work re-sharpening the edges to a much better degree than I had done. Once he was done with both, he handed them back to me. " Fine blades. Where'd you get those from? " the smith inspected the blades in my hands. " Celestia gave them to me. No doubt one of the smiths here made them. I enchanted them further when I still could, some time ago.." " Oh ofcourse, I remember! Sheesh, that was long ago. I got that order from the Princess. Had to be some fancy material she supplied me with. " " Great to meet the creator of my blades. They served me very well thus far. Thanks for sharpening them, too. " " My pleasure. Do come by if ya need somethin' else made, y'hear?" " Will do, thanks again. You done, Spirit? " " Yesh, comin' afta' ya. " His metal armour rattled along to the rhythm of his footsteps. We said goodbye to the smith, and headed back to the dining room. "Look who hath arrived. 'Tis the knight in shining armour, and thy knife in the shadows. Thou art ready, we presume? " Luna walked to the other side of the table, checking up on Spirit's armour. " Ready to be of service, m'lady. The shadows conceal my footsteps, and any who dare threaten your presence shall know the fury of my blades. " "I be standin' right beside ya. No livin' thing'll pass me ta harm ya!" "Great. Twilight, you know what to do, correct?" The violet unicorn nodded fiercely. "Good. Let us proceed outside, our subjects are eagerly awaiting our presence. " Celestia took the lead, trotting outside. Luna followed closely, with Spirit in tow. Night walked right behind them, and I made up the rear, hood over my head and daggers drawn. The ponies of Canterlot cheered when they saw their revered ruler trotting out of the palace. They silenced somewhat when they noticed Luna and Spirit. "It's Nightmare Moon! What did she do to our Princesses?!" "And what are those two-legged creatures near the princesses? That one in the back has his daggers drawn! " I quickly vanished from sight, watching from the shadows as Celestia addressed the growing crowd. "Silence, and listen well, my little ponies. Nightmare Moon is no longer a threat. She wants to make up for past mistakes, and is willing to do all in her power to help you, the ponyfolk, in times of need. Such times are now, too. Reports came in from Vanhoover, the city is completely destroyed. The five of us will visit various cities and towns, including those destroyed, and will attempt to provide any help we can give. All I ask of you is to treat the others in my presence as you would me. " I reappeared next to Celestia, bowing to further ensure the ponies I meant no harm to the princesses. Spirit stomped up next to me and took a defensive stance, and gave a quick salute . Luna and Night took the other side of Celestia, both bowing too. "Princess Celestia speaks truth. I hath made mistakes in the past, attempting to forcefully lay claim to what my desires wanted. I see now mine failures, and wish to make amends. I wish only for thine respect." Night bowed again after her speech. "Nightmare Moon is part of me, which maketh myself responsible for our mistakes. As we wish thine respect for Nightmare Moon, so wish we for thine respect for myself as well. We shalt do all in our powers to help thee in such troubling times. Sister, the cause of the destruction of Vanhoover is undefined, is it not? " "Indeed, Luna. We do not know who, how or why somepony or something attacked and destroyed Vanhoover, but we will ensure the town's reconstruction and vengeance for the fallen. " The crowd was silent for moments, untill one pony started cheering. Soon, others joined in, and eventually the entire crowd was loudly cheering for all of us. "Thank you kindly for your understanding. If any of you have any questions, be sure to ask them now before we leave for Vanhoover. " "Who are the two-legged beings to the right of you? " a mare called out. Celestia looked at us, motioning us to introduce ourselves. "My real name will stay hidden, but you will know me as The Shadow of Equestria. I serve as Celestia's right hand in all manners dirty and underhanded, carrying out missions in Her orders. " I deftly bowed, and let Spirit talk. "Name's Spirit Equity. I'm the Princesses personal livin' wall and appointed to the newly formed Justice Guard. If any of yee threatens them Princesses, I'll make sure you'll regret ever gettin' close. " He placed his shield in front of him. [i"All you need is a set of wings and you could pass as an angel." I made sure only Spirit heard what I said. He grinned, but did not say anything in return. "Any other questions?" Celestia's voice rang pure and clear through the air. "Princesses, you stated you and your party will travel to Vanhoover after you are done here... Where will you go next? And after that? " Luna took the word. " We shalt head to the frozen north, thy Crystal Empire. 'Tis the original plan, but we intend to ask Princess Cadance and Shining armour for their assistance. After that, we visit Cloudsdale. We intended to head there first but since Vanhoover likely needs our help..." The pony that asked the question bowed respectfully, and stepped back into the crowd. "More questions?" The crowd stayed silent this time. "That will be all, then. We will make sure our journey around Equestria is as swift as possible. " Celestia walked towards the landing platform, and the rest of us followed. We stepped into a carriage designed for more passengers, and this one had three pegasi pulling it. They were already awaiting our arrival, and now waited for Celestia's order to take off. "To Vanhoover, with haste. " The guards took flight, and pulled the carriage with them with speeds that could make someone dizzy. "Such sad times. We remember Vanhoover... 'Twas destroyed once before, a long time ago. Now, 'tis destroyed again... " Luna smiled to Night as she shared her own and Night's memories of the city. "I don't think it'll be the first either. We'd best be prepared for anything. I hope this Cadance 'll help us out." "She will. The Crystal Empire may just recently been freed from King Sombra's shackles, but the Crystal ponies are fierce and loyal. I have no doubt they will help us. " "I be believin' it once I see dem helpin' us." "If need be, you might want to step aside if they need to pass, big boy. God, to think we were in school together back then... Now we're flying in pony-with-wings pulled carriages that somehow fly, equipped to the teeth and going on a trip across a land inhabited by talking, colourful ponies. How times change, ey?" He nodded, but remained silent as I reminisced our past and the present. I took to carefully inspecting my daggers' enchantment integrity, and had small talk with Xiz'Rath in my mind. He didn't have an obvious judgement about what could possibly raze an entire city and not leave a single trace of itself. I was rather curious myself, but my thoughts were interrupted by the carriage touching ground. Vanhoover was not what I expected it to look like. I imagined ruins, debris, fire.... Well, there was that, but the way it looked was extraordinary. Buildings were cleanly cut in half in a diagonal cut, the top half likely sliding down, causing wreckages on the ground. Ponies were sat on the sidewalks, being sorry for themselves and their dead kin. " What... happened? Celestia, this doesn't look like something from Equestria would've done this. There's something worse at play here... " I surveyed the ruins, checking for any obviously trapped ponies. " 'Tis.. 'tis could not be... Sister...? " " I am afraid what you are thinking of is true. Myself and Luna have seen this once before, in another city, another time... " " How...? How could these beasts return to our world? " " I'm afraid neither me nor Spirit understand what you two are talking about. " Spirit nodded in agreement. "Their name has long since been forgotten... existential creatures, drawn from a place even darker than Tartarus itself. Their leader fell at Luna's hooves, but it came at great cost. Entire cities razed within an instant... Ponies and gryphons alike swept aside or swallowed whole... " I got curious quickly. "The gryphons faced these too? " "The gryphons fought them alongside us. Many o' their kin died.. " Luna's eyes went blank, as she no doubt remembered all that perished battling alongside them. " Am I correct in assuming that this happened before mine awakening? " Night asked curiously. " Thine awakening followed up on the aftermath of that terrible war. Our subjects feared the shadows after, leading up to mine emotions of envy and hate... " " How 'bout we talk lata' 'n try ta help dese ponies first? " I nodded, and so did the princesses and avatar of Darkness. Each of us went to help ponies nearby, mending wounds, saving them from burning wrecks or fallen rubble, and providing support for the distraught. Eventually, I tried asking various ponies if they saw anything of what happened. None gave clear answers, however, only that they looked like 'beasts from Tartarus' darkest corners'. Most ponies gathered in the middle of the city, amongst the rubble. Most looked up at Celestia for guidance, while giving looks of distaste towards all others. Others simply stared ahead of themselves. "Princess Celestia, what do we do now? " a stallion asked, shooting distrustful glances mostly at Nightmare Moon. " First, you will stop treating Nightmare Moon as if she is going to hurt you. Secondly, I am not alone here; Princess Luna can also be asked for guidance. Now, did any of you spot whoever or whatever did this? " A few ponies gave her the same vague description they gave me. " Then it might be as we feared. They have returned.. Does anyone have paper, a quill and ink? " Night gave her what she needed, I could not decipher where from since she carried no saddlebags... Celestia wrote a quick letter, and sent it away. " I have sent a letter to Canterlot, asking for a squadron of guards to assist the ponies of Vanhoover. Myself and the others will head to the Crystal Empire, in the hopes of recieving Princess Cadance's help. " We left the area and headed for the carriage. "Cadance will likely help us... but I think we will need even more than that.. We need to awaken the other Elements of Creation. " "How...? Gaia is slumbering, the Element of Water is likely missing too, and the Element of Fire is even more missing than Water! " "Nyneve... her name is Nyneve..." "Who, The element of Water? And Fire, then? " "Fire... has been lost even longer than we have... When he did have a host, he picked creatures that were on the verge of good and evil. Striving to find their true path... He helped them find it, and continued with them, both ways.. His last known host, like mine, attempted to seize power. Not over Equestria, but over the Minotaur Kingdoms. Noone knows what happened to him or his host. " " I think I might know his current host... Another human... The Pyromaniac." " Then the situation might be even more dire than we thought. We need to make him, make them see that there is more to this world than burning everything. " " Primal Dagger? Art thou ready to depart? " Luna waved her hooves in front of me. " Go now, focus on the world. We will deal with the element of Fire later." " 'Course Luna. Sorry, fazed out a bit there. Wanted to discuss something with Xiz'Rath. " "Why didst thou not summon him forth? Twilight told us you were able to." " She told you I could, yes. What you or she didn't know however is that it is quite taxing on my energy. Both our energies. We still need to figure out an effortless way of summoning seperately. I've been... hiding the fatigue every time I summoned him. " " You needst not hide anything, especially not to Twilight Sparkle. Besides, we may have a way for thee to exist seperately, like us. " "I do not think whatever she is going to suggest will work for us. I and my brothers and sisters are unlike her. She is a literal extent to Luna, her feelings and emotions, her thoughts.. We are seperate entities. " "Stay ready, I'll summon you. " I channeled his power, and a ball of lightning formed between my hands. I threw it forwards, and it expanded mid-air, taking Xiz'Rath's vague shape. " Greetings, princesses. " He humbly bowed. " And human. " " Hello Xiz'Rath, it has been long since I have seen you in person." Celestia bowed too. " Likewise. Nightmare Moon, or Night, as you wish to be called now. What did you intend to suggest? " " Myself and Luna... Mostly Luna, performed a ritual, seperating us from each other. She hoped to be rid of mine influence, but since we are linked, this didst not turn out the way she wanted. We separated, but in mind, we are still linked. " " I am afraid such practices will not work for me and Primal here. We are not linked, we are separate entities altogether. I.... posess Primal, and give him my power in return. I can exist seperately from his body if need be, but this would mean leaving the possession. I would need to find a new host. Right now, we still share thoughts, but this draws from both our energies to sustain it. " " Why can't ya no' re-posess Primal? Tha' could work, rite? " " If you want Primal's soul to be gone forever, by all means. His own soul will resist re-possession, whether he wants it or not. " " Oh...Ye, tha' ain't good..." " Hm.. I hath no alternatives now, but certain books in Canterlot Library could provide a solution. We have to check once we return to Canterlot. " " Good plan. Primal, you do the honours. " Xiz'Rath reshaped into a ball, returned to the space between my hands, and I absorbed his essence back into me. " Our power is extensive, but finite. I... can manage for.. now. But I will prefer to speak to him in thought. If there is anything, I'll act as relay. Now, we were off to the Crystal Empire, yes?" I rubbed my hands in delight. " Can't wait to see those crystals.. I heard they got quite the interesting properties.. "