Equus, Three-Point-Ridge, 04-14-05 A.N.M., 4:27 PM (After Nightmare Moon)
The late afternoon sun shined in Rainbow Dash’s eyes as she groggily woke up. She blinked blearily to clear her vision. “Here, Rainbow; drink this,” Twilight said softly, levitating a cup to her lips. Rainbow took a sip of the lightly salted cup of cider, grimacing slightly at the taste. She was soon able to get up, and quickly finished the warm beverage.
She looked to the side and saw where the battle had been fought earlier. A pile of bodies lay burning off to the side. On the trail was a cairn that had a pile of pony and gryphon heads on it. She turned away, turning a bit green at the image.
“I get it’s not pretty, but it does a fair job Miss Dash,” Silent Wing said from behind the pair. She walked up to them, holding a burlap bag in her left wing talon. “This area will be without bandits for awhile at least. Maybe even a year this time.”
Twilight scowled. “Well, if you mounted patrols and built prisons, maybe it would last longer,” she snapped. The Nocturne snorted at that.
“Like I’ve said before Princess, this isn’t Equestria. Jails simply don’t work; those that bandit that don’t get killed trying to escape either kill each other, or kill themselves. Harmony is all well and good, but out in the real world, things are a lot more chaotic than you’re used to.” She bent her gaze on Rainbow. “I sure hope you can remember what happened Miss Dash.” Rainbow nodded.
“I remember all of it.” She frowned. “Pyrefire? Why did I use Pyrefire for Harmony’s sake?! There’s at least half a dozen things I could have done instead.”
Silent Wing shrugged. “Eh, it was probably the worst that your instincts was able to draw on.” Her gaze sharpened. “I suggest you start learning to meditate like that book tells you to though; you came real close to losing yourself there.”
Twilight frowned. “What do you mean exactly? I know that she lost it, but she did break out of it fairly quickly.” The Nocturne shook her head.
“Her passing out like she did is a sign that her conscience conflicted with her feral pegacorn instincts. I spotted elongated canines”- here, the mare bared her own tiny fangs -”just before she passed out.” She snorted. “Where do you think my tribe gets it from? We were the first offshoot from the original pegacorns.”
Rummaging in her pack, Silent Wing pulled out a slim object. Opening it, she showed the two mares the lithograph that was inside. Twilight blinked as she saw what was apparently a pegacorn with tufted ears, slitted pupils, and a pair of fangs.
“That’s my grandmother by the way; she got like that as a result of going completely feral.” The Nocturn sighed. “She’s doing better than she was when this was made, but she still keeps to herself. And she’s one of the lucky ones; most that cross the line lose all sense of self. The Guardian of Sanctuary does what she can for them, but they’re little more than a beast for a long time afterwards.”
Silent Wing gazed more intently at Rainbow Dash as she continued. “That’s likely why Princess Angela asked you both to journey to Sanctuary. She knew that there was a risk you’d lose it; you’re lucky that you were able to recover as quickly as you did.”
Rainbow snorted. “Luck didn’t have anything to do with it. Even if I were to go further, I’m far too Loyal to myself to give up my morals.” She snorted again. “Angela may be an alicorn and all, but she has no clue about me or my friends. We may not have the Elements any more, but that doesn’t make us any less their Bearers. I told her through Swifty already; we’re gonna do this our way, and that means following the path. And Harmony help whoever gets in our way.”
Silent Wing grinned at that. “You’ve certainly proven that to me. I don’t think you’d come this far simply because Celestia told you to. Nor do I think that whatever that sawed-off prick of a stallion put in that book there is enough either. You’re doing this for the pony next to you.” She frowned. “Still, don’t disregard Angela’s offer of assistance so out-of-hoof; she is the next eldest of all the alicorns outside of the First Three and the Guardians of Knowledge.”
Rainbow sighed. “I get that, and believe me, I wanted to accept it. I don’t know how I know, but I know that we”- she gestured towards Twilight -”have to see this through. And we can’t do that by running away.”
“I think the offer was for assistance in training ma’am,” Lettuce Leaf said in response. “I know Miss Swift Breezes personally, and they never intended for you to shirk from your journey. They just wanted to offer you training that would prepare you better.”
Rainbow Dash nodded. Twilight handed her a bowl of vegetable soup. With a will, she tucked into it, as well as the slices of very tasty trail bread. She gestured with her food as she continued. ‘I get that, I really do. I just don’t see why she couldn’t just send aid if she wanted to help. Not by me calling Sanctuary; there’s no coming back from that.”
Lettuce Leaf frowned. “That’s not true at all ma’am; there are many who have claimed it, and returned. Even to Equestria.” Twilight shook her head at that.
“It may be true for other pegacorns; however, Rainbow Dash and I are still tied to both the Tree of Harmony. Calling Sanctuary will trigger that bond, and that something we can’t risk. Celestia would know, and would act.” Twilight looked sternly at the other two mares. “Do you know what that would mean? That would leave Sol in charge of ponies wholly unsuitable for it.”
“You forget yourself and my Sovereign Princess; I’m sure you’d be able to take over,” the Nocturne mare said. Twilight shook her head at that as well.
“No, because they’d call Founder’s Law and Hope’s Law on all four of us; Cadance as well.” Twilight stomped her hoof. “Angela just doesn’t get it; Celestia is not willing for that to happen. Ponies haven’t really fought ponies in over one thousand years! If she does anything that causes the Founder’s Law to be called, we will have civil war.” She gestured wildly to the south-east. “And that would soon involve the minotaur, the gryphons, the centaur, and the dragons. Complete and utter anarchy.”
“Does Angela really think that the only reason I went along with this is because I’m Celestia’s yes-mare? Or because I put as much faith in self-fulfilling prophecies as my mentor does?” Twilight stomped her hoof again. “I don’t give a rat’s ass about prophecy; I’m here because I understand this from a pragmatic perspective. It’s the same reason I became a princess in the first place, as my first desire was to tell Celestia to shove my Crown up her plot! And everything I’ve heard about Angela bears out the fact that she’s just as much of a stubborn tight-plot as my former teacher!”
“Don’t you dare compare Princess Angela to Celestia, girl!” Silent Wing snapped. “She’s been alive since before Roam was even built. She wanted you and Miss Dash to join her to learn, and still does!” She sighed in frustration. “If you call Sanctuary for Knowledge and Understanding, then Hope Herself would aid you. Celestia would know nothing about that, as she and her sister are no longer tied to the tree. Hope severed their tie after they forced the Seeds to Seal Luna away all those years ago.”
Twilight put up her hoof to give a rebuttal, then stopped. “Wait, Hope is the Alicorn of Harmony. That means she’s responsible for the Tree itself.” Lettuce Leaf nodded.
“She gave the Founders the first Seed ma’am. I know that because my family are Lorekeepers; we’ve kept the history of the Equine Alliance ever since the Three Cities were lost, back before Equestria became a nation.”
Twilight looked shocked. “You mean to tell me that the Old Records have been preserved in other places? How? By who?” She started to babble in excitement. “I thought the only records were lost before Luna’s Fall! Can I meet others like you?”
Rainbow Dash put her right forehoof on Twilight’s snout. “Twi. Chill.” The mare subsided, but not without a bit of grumbling.
“But! Knowledge! Think of what we could learn!” She blushed at the giggles the other mares let out. “Oh, I’m sorry! I get so carried away sometimes.” She then sighed. “And I guess I should apologize for comparing Angela to Celestia. It’s just, I’ve briefly met her a few times, and every time she and Celestia have met, it’s ended in an unresolved argument.”
“I probably know what argument that is; Celestia wants Sanctuary to join with Equestria. That’s never gonna happen, and if Sunbutt thinks Angela is bad, she’s nothing compared to the Three Guardians. They have the full authority of the Essences behind them.” Silent Wing snorted. “I know what ponies say; Equestria wouldn’t be where it is if it wasn’t for the Solar Alicorn. Well, they’re right; it would be better off without her. None of what happened with Luna before, and none of what happened more recently would have if the pony that was supposed to rule was actually ruling. Sunbutt isn’t even as smart as she is, nor is raising Sol really her special talent.”
“I’ve gotten enough of that guff that want to see alicorns and pegacorns out of Equestria, and I’ve about had it! I get that Celestia has made mistakes, but how exactly do you get from making mistakes to saying that Equestria would be better if she and her sister weren’t on the throne?!” Twilight took a moment to visibly calm down.
“All of that can be summed up by three words; Prophecies from Utopia.” Silent Wing snorted. “Besides which, I never said that Luna should have stepped down; just Sunbutt.” Twilight paled at that.
“Ma’am , I know you know that the original Charter as signed by all of the tribes had placed Princess Luna as Princess, and her sister as Guardian.” Lettuce Leaf adjusted her spectacles before continuing. “It was the nobles- unicorn primarily -that hated her and wanted a pony they could better manipulate. They found out too late that that wasn’t what they expected.”
Rainbow Dash looked confused. “Is there something I’m missing Twi?”
Twilight sighed. “A lot you’re missing Rainbow Dash, but I can’t say what it is. Look, I’m sorry Rainbow!” She cried when she saw the look of hurt on her friends muzzle. “I literally cannot talk to anypony about that issue that wasn’t present when the geasa was laid, or is an alicorn themselves!” There were tears in her eyes. After a bit, she calmed down.
“All I can say is that I found out by accident, and it was a Council order. Celestia was not pleased when she found out, and said nobles were Exiled; the point is is that she was unable to remove the geasa. All she was able to do was amend it; the geasa will remain until ‘the Light of the Aurora bathe the entirety of Equus.’ It’s an old spell; one that predates Star Swirl.” Twilight looked at her friend beseechingly; Rainbow’s response was to hug her.
Silent Wing blinked. “Huh, didn’t think she would have done that.”
“Shows what you know about Princess Celestia. Geasa are anathema in Equestria; nopony, and I do mean nopony is able to cast one except under very extreme circumstances. It’s right on the top of the List of Forbidden Spells written as part of the Founder’s Laws. The only one who can legally cast one is the Princess.” Rainbow turned back to comforting her friend after saying this.
“Doesn’t change anything; I’ve seen countless examples of Sunbutt breaking every single law on that piece of paper.” Before the Nocturne could say any more, a forest green hoof clonked her upside the head.
“Sil, knock it off already! You know as well as I do that Celestia has only broken the Laws of Equestria once!” Lettuce Leaf turned to the other two. “Please pardon my marefriend; she’s like her father in that she never stopped blaming Princess Celestia for what happened to our Sovereign all those centuries ago.” The mare glared at the unicorn next to her as she rubbed the back of her head.
After a couple more minutes, the two friends broke the hug. Rainbow Dash shook her wings out to remove the last of the kinks from lying on the hard ground beneath her pallet. “I get that nopony that truly lives as you do has anything nice to say about Celestia, but it’s thanks to her that those nobles that are worthless haven’t been able to do much damage.” She looked at the angle of the sun. “Darn, it’s getting too late; we’re gonna have to make this a camp for the night.”
“We planned on it anyway Rainbow Dash. A fight like that takes a lot out of a pony; you need time to restore your reserves. The sergeant already has those under his command marching back to Northhoofton. All that’s here are two brigades of the Fire Brigade.” Twilight glanced at Silent Wing. “As much as I find the idea of a group of mercenaries galling, on yet another level I get what Shiny has always said.” She smirked. “He always said that the best ponies to have around you were ones you pay; as long as the money keeps coming, they’ll remain loyal.”
The others laughed at that before settling down to finish eating.
Equus, Three-Point-Ridge, 04-15-05 A.N.M., 9:24 AM (After Nightmare Moon)
A purple hoof prodded Rainbow Dash in the side. She batted it away. “More sleep please, Ma,” she muttered. The hoof’s owner rolled her eyes and dug into the place right below Rainbow’s left wing, moving in a side to side manner. Rainbow started giggling, batting at the hoof.
The torture continued for a couple of minutes as Silent Wing and Lettuce Leaf watched with great amusement. Rainbow finally rolled onto her back to escape the torture. It didn’t work; Twilight simply pounced onto her, digging into her belly. Rainbow rolled around in laughter. “Alright, I’m up Twi, I’m up! I’m up!” she said between giggles.
Twilight finally got up off her friend. Rainbow threw her a sour look as she brushed grass off her back; the tickle fight had rolled the pair off Rainbow’s sleeping pallet. Twilight smirked. “Maybe next time you’ll wake up when I call you; Sol has been up now for almost two hours. We need to break camp and get going.”
Rainbow sighed in frustration. “The first dreamless sleep I’ve had in awhile, and one of my ‘friends’ decides to tickle me,” she groused. Twilight giggled. “How did you know where to tickle me anyway Twi? Not all pegasi are ticklish there.”
Twilight shrugged. “I took a chance that your changed nature would have made the nerve endings near your wing elbow more sensitive. Mine are like that. As far as the belly and ribs are concerned, I have yet to meet a pony that wasn’t ticklish there except for my brother.”
Rainbow rolled her eyes at the explanation while she rolled up her sleeping pallet. She noticed a second rolled up bundle with Twilight’s saddlebags that wasn’t there before. She looked and saw a second one with her own bags. “Tents?” she asked with a raised brow. The alicorn nodded.
“Piercing Blade sent us word; the weather pegasi try not to steer too many storm clouds this way but a wild one cropped up two days ago. We might not catch anything but the leading edge.” Twilight gathered her bags as she continued. “Plus, the ridge loses heat at night, so we’re going to want these.”
“It might also be a good idea to break in the afternoon and use the tents to keep cool ma’am. It gets hot in the ridge, and while I’m sure pegacorns and alicorns don’t need to worry as much, it’s still best to rest in the day.” Lettuce Leaf handed a rolled up scroll to Rainbow Dash. “The messenger left this for you ma’am; I can assure you that none of us have read it.”
Rainbow opened the scroll and read the contents. She nodded in satisfaction. ‘Well, at least I know that things will improve in Northhoofton. You be sure and give Papa Prism my love Letty, ya hear?” The forest-green unicorn nodded, blushing a bit.
“Well, I’ll go get you a ride back. You joining with your brother again, or you gonna join me and the boys?” Silent Wing asked as she limbered up to find a low-hanging cloud.
“Piercing said that I’m to act as liaison, so I’ll be joining with you.” Lettuce Leaf smiled. “I think it’s his way of letting us stay together Sil.” The Nocturne mare nodded before flying off. She shortly returned with a small cumulus. Without casting an obvious spell, Lettuce Leaf jumped onto the cloud. She saw the questioning look the other two mares cast her way. “My parents were both pegasi, as were all but one of my siblings. She and I both developed cloud-walking, though as an earth pony, Cabbage Leaf developed it far sooner. I was past three before I stopped falling through clouds.”
“Well, we’re off. I hope to meet you again Miss Dash, Princess. Maybe someday the Equestrian Alliance will be reformed.” So saying, Silent Wing pushed the cloud carrying her marefriend into the air. The two were shortly only a dot in the distance.
The two mares looked at each other and shrugged before making their way into the ridge itself. Neither pony saw the pony hidden on the side of the ridge as she too followed them, wings furled and horn glowing.
Equus, Crystal Wastes, 04-22-05 A.N.M., 4:22 PM (After Nightmare Moon)
Rainbow Dash looked around her at the various crystalline formations. While she found them pretty to look at the fact that there was little here other than them and wild grasses was beginning to be depressing.
A slap upside the head with a wing brought her back to the present. “Rainbow, will you at least try to pay attention?” the annoyed purple-furred pony next to her asked irritably, gesturing to the open scroll between the two. Rainbow rolled her eyes.
“Twi, you know I don’t do book learning very well,” she said, bored. “Why don’t you use that cloud trick?” She looked up at where Twilight’s hoof was pointing. “Ah, no clouds. Well, that explains it. But Twi, I don’t get why I have to learn EVERY spell you’ve written down there. I mean, they’re all variations of the same spell, aren’t they?”
Twilight frowned. “And that’s why you need to learn them Rainbow Dash! Learning runic- any kind of runic -isn’t the same as all of what I’ve already taught you. And I can’t figure out what you know just by the explanation alone; you have to demonstrate that you actually know what it is you’re casting. I can only do that if you’re able to show me by being able to cast different versions.”
Rainbow rolled her eyes before once more bending her gaze on the scroll. She looked at the spells in question, trying to puzzle out the different words. Not being able to recall the earlier spell she cast was making this hard, which is why she was bored.
Her attention wandering, Rainbow began to look the scroll up and down, realizing that there was a pattern to it. Each set of symbols had a starting slash and ending slash that was familiar. She frowned, thinking furiously. She quickly compared the slashes and strokes to the list of the twenty-six characters that were in the third book she got from Bright Knowledge.
Realizing this, Rainbow was quickly able to see why the spells were different than the one she had first cast. Each one was calling on the same elements, yet the order and level for each was different. That changes the spell each time; not only that, but since these forms are easier than the first one Twi taught me, that makes that one easier to cast. Very clever Twi.
Rainbow focused on the first spell, forming the runic in her mind’s eye. She had learned very quickly that she couldn’t do it the way that Twilight had taught her; rather, she fell back on the visualization technique she used for the various Arcane Wing forms.
A bolt of flaming yellow mana appeared on her horn before flashing into the conjured butterfly. Twilight nodded in satisfaction. “Now, without losing focus on that one, cast the other six.” Rainbow Dash frowned as she changed the mental picture of her mental calligraphy. Six more butterflies joined the first one, all different colors of the rainbow.
Twilight picked the scroll up. “Now, I want you to use what I’ve taught you, and cast the original spell. You’ll know that you’ve done it correctly when you see it.” Rainbow frowned as she tried to recall the original runic that Twilight had showed her. Her mind drawing a blank, she then brought all of the forms she was currently focusing on to the forefront.
Rainbow was quickly able to see how they meshed by comparing the starting and ending sequences, and realized that each one was out of order. She quickly rearranged them, seeing that they formed the exact same spell she had cast several times, with an addition that combined the other forms together. Grinning, she cast the original spell, and watched with satisfaction as the butterflies all joined together into one form.
Twilight’s brow furrowed as she examined the conjured form. She then sighed, rubbing the back of her head. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say you’ve been doing runic conjuring for years; that’s almost virtually identical to my own version of the spell.” She then laid a blank piece of parchment and a quill before Rainbow. “Now, without dismissing your pet there, I want you to write out whatever is on your mental blackboard.”
Rainbow rolled her eyes, but did as Twilight asked. Once she was done, Twilight picked the parchment up and compared the runic to what she had written earlier. “Rainbow Dash, are you absolutely sure you didn’t memorize the spell I wrote? I know I told you to practice writing it but you only did that a few times.” She showed the scrolls to Rainbow; both sets of runic were the same.
Rainbow frowned. “Repetition might have helped a bit, but I don’t get anything from that sort of learning.” She separated the form in her mind, then focused on the conjured butterfly. The construct separated into its smaller forms. Twilight blinked in shock. “I’m not using a ‘mental chalkboard’ to write the runic on; that’s too boring. I’m ‘writing’ the runic in a form of calligraphy my sensei taught me when I was learning Arcane Wing.”
“But that’s not how I learned unicorn runic. That’s the way my professor in school taught it to me; it worked for almost the whole class.” Twilight frowned. “Not only that, it takes kinesthesia into account as well.”
“Yeah, but it doesn’t take into account that a large percentage of pegasi have something similar to ADD.” Rainbow smirked as she remembered something she was told when she qualified for her rank as a Wonderbolts Reserve Captain. “The reason why they have a test for the ‘Bolts is to discourage those pegasi that are too flighty or full of themselves to follow directions. All that stuff I learned is actually just stupid trivia; you’d be surprised how many ‘Bolts know that stuff.” She put her hoof to her chin in thought. “In fact, I think that both Soarin’ and Fleetfoot are the only ones that know all of that, as they’re both in charge of that part of teaching. Spits doesn’t; she got her commission as Captain from both Celestia and whoever was Captain of the Royal Guard before your brother.”
Twilight blinked in thought. She then frowned before facehoofing. “I’m sorry Rainbow Dash; it never occurred to me that you would still have the difficulty that pegasi have with setting still. That does mean that you’d find it difficult in a classroom setting.”
“Heh, yeah, all but two of the teachers in Flight School used physical means to teach their classes.” She smiled. “Though not all pegasi have that issue; there were three I went to school with that did quite well with book learning, at least as far as getting tests right. And all of them live in Ponyville actually.”
“One of them is Fluttershy, right?” Twilight asked. Rainbow Dash nodded.
“Yep; Flutters didn’t fly very well because she was scared of falling. She was far better in those pursuits that didn’t involve flying. Too bad that most pegasi parents have little use for a ‘pegasus that can’t fly.’” She scowled. “And I’m sure you know why she was so scared; her miserable excuse for a father treated her pretty harshly the first time she fell. If a patrol hadn’t been there that time, she would have been hurt bad.”
Twilight nodded. “Yeah, Fluttershy told me about that after I questioned why her parents never came to visit. I had found out looking through Ponyville’s census records that Wildflower- her cousin -was down as guardian. She wasn’t happy that I found out, but did decide to tell me what happened.” She tilted her head thoughtfully. “Who are the other two?”
Rainbow Dash grinned. “Raindrops and Derpy.” She scowled again. “I really hate that ponies think derpy is stupid. Scatterbrained yes; she has trouble focusing. But she’s a genius.” Twilight nodded at that.
“She and I have actually debated magical theory a few times. I never realized that she went to flight School as well. And Thunderlane had mentioned that Raindrops was just as smart once. I didn’t think about it much at the time.”
Rainbow nodded. She stretched her wings and back out to work out the kinks from sitting still for too long. She looked to see that Twilight was still frowning at the two pieces of parchment that had the runic. “Did I still do something wrong Twi?” she asked, half afraid of the answer. Twilight shook her head.
“No, you did everything right; that’s actually the problem. It took me a week of study and practice to cast that particular spell, and that was the far more simpler forms I taught you a couple of days ago.” She sighed in frustration. “That’s not all; most unicorns take at least a month to get to this level of understanding. You’re showing the same grasp with this sort of thing that Moondancer did, which doesn’t make any sense. The question is, how in Harmony are you going through the curriculum I set so quickly? You’re a novice at how unicorns use magic.”
Rainbow shrugged. “I’m just going by what I’ve already learned.” She blinked at the uncomprehending look Twilight gave her. She frowned before rummaging in her saddlebags. She pulled out a bunch of rolled up scrolls and handed them to Twilight.
Twilight frowned as she read the contents. “This is a simplified version of the runic alphabet. It’s just a listing of the characters though; at least the first one is. These others are different.” She then read, her expression growing more shocked. “Rainbow, where exactly did you find something that gave you the nine forms of Elemental Runic?”
In answer, Rainbow pulled out the chest that Bright Knowledge gave her. Opening it, she levitated the third book over to Twilight. “That’s the primer for peacorn mana I’ve been using. I actually got the suggestion to use calligraphy from that book. The first three chapters are a breakdown on the runic pegacorns use.”
Twilight’s frown returned as she looked at the chapters Rainbow had marked. “I still use the form I was taught, but both Trixie and Moondancer use a version that’s similar to what you have here.” She blinked. “Wait, I remember something Moondancer told me recently. She said that the form of unicorn runic is more over-complicated than it needs to be. She’s right; I can see where the changes were made. It means that’s what’s taught is far more complicated than it needs to be.”
Rainbow nodded. “The first book said that too. I found out that virtually everything that’s tradition for the three tribes is stuff that was first taught to them by pegacorns. Outside of societal shifts, much of that has stayed the same for earth ponies and pegasi. Unicorns made it different though; their early scholars made it more complicated in order to make it seem as though they ‘discovered’ it themselves, and also to hide it from the other tribes.” She scowled. “The book said that much of the tribal hatred was a result of the unicorns, as they saw themselves as better because of their magic.”
“That sounds just like them. I used to think that it was the attitude of the time; now, I think it’s just like you said.” Twilight scowled. “And I think that a pony I once idolized was helping it along out of a sense of ‘tradition.’” Twilight shook her head to change her train of thought. “In any case, this does help to describe some of why you were able to grasp the basics so quickly, but not all of it. By my reckoning, it should have made it for you to take about as long as I did initially.”
Rainbow Dash looked at her friend. “Is that jealousy I’m detecting?” she teased. Twilight glared at her, blushing. Rainbow giggled for a bit before turning serious. “Actually, I was seriously stumped at the start; I couldn’t get what you were showing me at all. And that visualization bit you did was no help.” She rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. “I had the exact same issue when learning the technical aspects of Arcane Wing. It wasn’t until I used the method sensei taught me that I was able to get anywhere. Once I did, I learned in three months what takes most a year to learn. By the end of the six months, he declared me a Master.” Twilight’s jaw dropped at that.
“A year,” she said slowly. “It took you a year to master what takes my brothers’ pegasi recruits at least four years to learn.” She gazed at her friend with a new level of understanding.
Rainbow preened a bit. “Well, I do try.” She sighed. “I’ve had few occasions to use it though, and that’s fortunate. It’s not likely to stay that way for long.” Twilight gave Rainbow a brief hug before turning to break camp. The two shortly had everything packed back up and started on their journey once more.
Twilight and Rainbow Dash had spent the last week following the trail that the scroll Celestia gave her- now revealed to be a map -through the Crystal Wastes. During that time, Twilight had decided to teach Rainbow Dash unicorn based spells.
Outside of kinetic bolts, barriers, and levitation, unicorn magic required knowledge of unicorn runic. Rainbow Dash had initially had a lot of trouble with even the most basic spells. Once she figured out the key though, she progressed rapidly.
While they trotted onwards, Twilight would pull the map out from time to time to mark their progress from landmark to landmark. Looking over her shoulder, Rainbow noticed that the map now showed the Wastes in depth instead of what it had first shown in Trottingham.
To amuse herself, Rainbow cast a flurry of the tiny butterflies Twilight had just taught her. Twilight noticed this and rolled her eyes. “Well, it’s boring out here Twilight. I have to do something, since you won’t let us fly.”
Twilight was about to give a pithy retort when three things happened all at once. A barrier appeared in the ridge around them, while a runic circle appeared underneath them. At the same time, a feedback spell flashed, causing Rainbow Dash to yelp in pain.
A staccato series of teleports sounded out as various creatures surrounded the pair. Twilight snarled and prepared to neutralize the spells. “I wouldn’t do that your highness; you break the circle, your freak friend there will have her horn blown out,” said a voice.
An armored pony appeared on the ridge. Twilight’s anger rose, along with her fear. She had no intention of letting the pony know this fact. “General Storm Front,” she said in an off-hoof manner. “I should have known you’d try something like this. I hope you realize how much danger you’ve put yourself in.”
The unicorn snorted. “Nice try princess, but I know you two are alone here. The Sun Tyrant is too much of a coward to break her own rules, and you were foolish to send the Fire Brigade back. Not that that would have saved your friend there. Besides, I’m not after you; there’s somepony else I want. Once she and the freak next to you are dead, I’ll let you walk away.”
“What makes you think that your target would be willing to along with your plans?” Rainbow snarled in response. She was finally able to filter out some of the field’s effects, though she was still unable to cast any spells. The stallion snorted again.
“Because I’ve spent over one thousand years hunting your kind after my family was killed,” Storm Front replied. “The Sun Tyrant really should have done more than just Exile me. Besides, I know that Bright Knowledge is likely already here. If she and you surrender peaceably, then I’ll make it quick. Though I know that that’s not likely to happen.”
“You are still as full of yourself as you have ever been, aren’t you Father,” said a new voice. A shimmer of a perception barrier fell along the other side of the small ridge that the outlaws had surrounded. Bright Knowledge stepped up to the runic circle on the ground, but didn’t cross it. The stallion stomped his hoof, only to scowl as runes in her fur prevented the second set of runes to be cast.
“Really Father, did you not learn the last time you tried to kill me that that sort of thing would not work?” the mare said in an off-hoof manner. The stallion snorted angrily.
“I am not your father. My wife gave birth to an earth pony filly who died the day you took over her body, freak.” Storm Front’s expression grew even more angry. “And when I tried to deliver justice on those responsible, my family was killed.” He smiled nastily. “At least, this time I’ve ensured that you won’t be able to escape the justice you deserve, you pegacorn freak.”
The mare shook her head. “You have made several mistakes Father, but three are the worst you have ever made. I have no intention of escaping; I am here to do what I said the first time you used others to get to me.” She started to pace. “Plus, I am not alone; others are simply waiting for the signal.”
“And what’s the last mistake, freak?” the stallion asked sarcastically. “Thinking that I’m smarter than you?”
“No, that is the assumption that I am still a pegacorn,” she said as she cast a series of spells.
The first one disrupted the barrier that was around the area. The second caused a Grand Runic circle to appear under the first one, which cancelled both out. The third was an energy burst that fired beams past all defenses. These beams were able to kill all of those that were blanketing the area in a group specific anti-teleport field, including those that were in other areas due to the fact that it was able to phase outside of the dimensional fabric.
A series of teleport signatures sounded as several pegacorns teleported into the center of the ridge.
Storm Front snarled. “Take them!” He screeched, as he launched himself at his daughter. Before he was able to close with her, she teleported in front of him. She turned and bucked the gem in the center of the armor. Her earth pony mana traveled down its length, fragmenting the stasis spells that had been feeding the unicorn the energy he needed to survive.
Snarling, the unicorn began to channel a wave of dark mana. Before he was able to however, a kinetic blade cup his body into thirds.
The gryphon tiercel that had been standing next to him gave a screech, diving into the fray. Before he was able to join in battle, a scintillating beam of light bifurcated him from beak to tail.
A flock of gryphons descended from the previously hidden storm front. However, before they were able to close with the group that was fighting, a flaming being in the shape of an alicorn descended into their midst. Within a few moments, all two hundred gryphons were nothing more than charred husks.
The new alicorn landed next to the others and cast a high level kinetic barrier. Every creature present that wasn’t a pegacorn or alicorn was suddenly unable to move. “Princess,” the alicorn said, addressing the gryphon hen, “I suggest you call off the rest of your late husband’s forces. I seriously doubt you wish to lose what remains of your aerie to his and his late father’s hatred of me.”
The haze of battle clearing from her eyes, Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes as she recognized the hen. “Gilda, what is wrong with you?” she said in disbelief. Twilight’s eyes narrowed as well when she realized that it was indeed Gilda.
The hen flushed in shame. “I’m sorry Dash, but I had little choice.” She turned towards the alicorn. “You must believe me when I say that only those troops under my command will follow me; the rest will likely attack once they realize the prince is dead.”
The alicorn nodded. Gilda shouted a phrase in Gryphon, which caused the reserves to stand down just outside the field.
The alicorn cast bands that bound those still alive, then teleported them out of the ridge. She then walked up to the gryphon hen. She extended a foreleg, and Gilda collapsed into the hug. The alicorn looked at Rainbow. “Miss Rainbow Dash, comfort your friend.”
Rainbow Dash bristled. Before she could refuse however, she saw the broken, vulnerable look that Gilda sent her way. Without any more words being said, she rushed over to show why she was still the Element of Loyalty. After a moment, Twilight joined them as well, comforting the now sobbing hen.
For a few minutes, they all sat that way while the Guardians and Bright Knowledge cleaned up the battle aftermath. Soon, Gilda’s tears abated, though she was still despondent. “I-I’m sorry Dash, I tried to warn you. I just couldn’t! When I found out that you were now one of the kind responsible for Iron Talon’s death, I wanted no part of it. But I had to choose between you and my family! What kind of choice is that?”
Rainbow looked at her foal-hood friend. “Hey, the fact that you didn’t wanna do it shows you care. It also shows that you’re still my friend. I should’ve chased after after you fled from Ponyville that day.” Gilda shook her head at that.
“I wasn’t in the state of mind to listen to you Dash,” she said, siffling. “And after I got back to the aerie, I was forced by my father into a political marriage.” Twilight gasped at that.
“You mean that that kind of barbaristic stuff still happens in the Gryphon Empire?! I thought the Emperor outlawed it!” She said. Gilda gave Twilight a lidded look.
“Mine and my late husband’s are a part of the Rogue Federation; we don’t recognize the authority of the Emperor. That’s because his position isn’t hereditary, like it’s supposed to be.” Gilda sighed as she broke off the hug. “Iron Beak’s father was the last Emperor, but he was elected to that position. The Federation wants to go back to the worst of the old ways; they think that with enough trained warriors, we’d be able to finally take down Equestria.” She snorted. “They’ve completely forgotten about you and your Guardians, Princess Angela.”
The golden-furred alicorn shook her head. “I’m willing to deal with a rogue aerie or two, but not an Empire’s worth. Unless, that is, if the Equestrian High Council was willing to ask for my assistance.” She snorted. “Not like that will ever happen.”
Angela turned at the approach of one of the Guardians. “Princess, the rest of the Guardians are dealing with a roving band of Centaur that are flying Tirek’s colors. We have some help; another band flying Scorpan’s colors are fighting the first band.” She nodded at that.
“Well Princess, with that and all the other groups between here and the center of the Wastes, you and Miss Dash aren’t going to be able to get through without the aid of my Guardians. If you still insist on this farce of following the trail left for you, then I respectfully suggest you take Bright Knowledge up on her offer of Protection.”
“It is not a farce Angela; though his hubris is the source of many of the problems, I am guiding these two to where they need to go. They are already off the trail he originally intended, as they were supposed to head into the entrance of Tartarus they passed by.” Rainbow Dash shook her head as she finished speaking. “What the hay?! I am not some ‘Mouthpiece of the Essences here!”
Angela chuckled. “Well, She seems to think so.” She then looked at Twilight, who was examining the tome Celestia gave her with a severe frown. “Is there a problem Princess?”
“Now I understand why this passage was blotted out. When I went to read it three days ago, I noticed a glow suffusing it.” She pointed at the passage. “This wasn’t here before; it was as if Light itself hid the knowledge.”
Angela nodded. “Serenity is guiding the both of you. It makes sense really; that passage is not something that Serenity would be willing for you to follow.”
Twilight frowned. “Well, the passage said that ‘the alicorn of friendship shall find the Wand of Knowledge in the Prison that guards the Gates of Hel. She and her friend would then follow the Trail of the Past, to find the place that the Wand shall be used to Seal the Aurora from the influence of the Dark One once more.’ I get that Sealing the Aurora isn’t great and all, but if it keeps the Dark One from getting to it, then that’s the best we can do.”
Rainbow Dash hissed, her pupils turning to slits. With a visible effort, she controlled her temper before responding. “Twilight, I don’t know about you, but if I were to get ahold of that so-called ‘Wand of Knowledge’, I’d break it to Break the Seal further.” She pointed off in the direction of the distant Crystal Empire. “Sealing off the Aurora in the first place is what caused the Crystal Empire to be Sealed in the first place!”
“There’s also a strong chance that you wouldn’t have been able to get the Wand anyway, as Hope herself is Guarding it. Had you tried, she would have burned it with the Power of Harmony.” Angela smiled at the look of shock on Twilight’s muzzle.
“But why? I get that he was stubborn and all, but Star Swirl was only doing the best he could! He wasn’t able to find a way to destroy a force of evil like the Dark One, so he did what he could.” Twilight scratched her head in confusion. “Why would hope actively stop his efforts?”
Angela sighed. “Twilight, I knew Star Swirl. I was never close to him because I saw right through him. He was a traditionalist who believed in the Balance between Good and Evil. He was unwilling- not unable, but unwilling -to destroy the Dark One. However, the Essences have long fought to end His evil; it is unnecessary, and not a part of the Grand Design. Star Swirl found out some of His history, and decided that it was better to Seal Him away rather than give Him another chance to escape.”
Angela gazed at the late afternoon sky. “Well, if you insist in following the rest of his path, we should get going. That is, unless you don’t want my help.” Twilight shook her head at that.
“It’s not up to me; I could defend myself easily.” The alicorn turned to her friend.
Rainbow Dash snorted. “What, you think I’m like AJ?” she snarked. “I at least know how to take help when it’s offered.” The others laughed as they all made their way towards the center of the Crystal Wastes.
Equus, Crystal Wastes, 05-06-05 A.N.M., 10:30 AM (After Nightmare Moon)
Twilight stared in surprise at the entrance to the cave that stood before the group. “There’s no logical reason to explain it, “ she said. “I scanned repeatedly; no dimensional anomalies, no evidence of time distortion, no phasing. Nothing like this should be here. But it is, and now all those spells are going off. This doesn’t make sense!”
Angela chuckled. “Yes, I’m sure this wouldn’t. But that’s simply the nature of this place.” Twilight glared at the much larger alicorn.
“Care to explain?” she asked in irritation. Angela shook her head, wearing an enigmatic smile.
“It’s the nature of this place to tell its own story,” the alicorn said. Twilight rolled her eyes at that; Angela was even worse in the ‘cryptic mentor figure’ department than Celestia was.
For the last two weeks, Angela and her Guardians had escorted Twilight and Rainbow Dash on this part of their journey. Much to Twilight’s annoyance, Rainbow had spent the majority of her time talking to either Angela or one of the Guardians. When asked, Rainbow didn’t give any answer other than, “they’re fun to talk to and learn from.”
Twilight had her frustrations only partially mollified when Angela explained. “She is learning how to be a pegacorn from others who were either born that way, or morphed years ago. Don’t be jealous that we have things to teach that you can’t; it’s unbecoming of you.” She then smiled. “Besides, you’ve already done most of the hard work in teaching her how to fight with magic. That doesn’t come naturally to pegacorns, I assure you. Even those of us born that way have problems with it.”
Twilight’s frustration was alleviated further when Angela offered to teach her a few spells. She was instantly reminded of the earliest lessons that Celestia had given her. Both Angela and Celestia had the same manner of teaching; cryptic.
That’s not to say that she didn’t learn anything. Twilight learned plenty. She just found that method of teaching to be infuriating.
Twilight broke her attention from the cave entrance that made no sense, and towards the tome that had guided them so far. “This makes no sense at all; none of what’s been described here is what has happened. I don’t get it; this guide has been spot on since before the start; why is it now failing?”
“I dunno Twi; maybe Star Swirl was Seeing things wrong or something,” Rainbow Dash said in response. “He was a pony just like everypony else, and made more than his fair share of mistakes.”
Twilight looked at her friend. “I get that Rainbow, but that doesn’t make any sense; those that have the Gift of Sight don’t make mistakes.”
“Ah, but that only applies to those that come by the Gift naturally. Those such as Star Swirl who have learned the Gift of Sight are subject to false leads and even sabotage. Star Swirl wasn’t as bad as others I could name, but he did have one major weakness. If something he was Seeing wasn’t something he was willing to accept, then he would draw a blank.” Angela frowned. “I have tried to get Celestia to see why she shouldn’t trust what the Priests of Chronos had foretold. I’ve told her, time and again, that those Priests had been compromised by the Dark One, but she’s not willing to accept that fact.”
“Well, it’s nice that you’re all debating the actions of a pony that’s been dead for millennia, but don’t we have somewhere we should be going?” Rainbow Dash asked. Twilight nodded.
“I just need to write a quick report to Celestia, and then we’ll go.” Twilight turned her gaze to Angela. “Do you still wish for me to keep word of your aid from her?” The golden-maned alicorn shrugged.
Twilight pulled a piece of parchment out and began to write, only to blink as it came out in a shifting code. Frowning, she cast a disruption matrix on a fresh sheet, then wrote the update. However, when she went to give the report, the Pyrelight spell just burned the scroll instead.
Frustrated, Twilight then repeated her report before trying the dragon flame in her torc. The same thing happened. “What the hay?! I can’t send the report back!” She then spent several minutes examining the matrix bound into the tome itself. “Well, that’s no good. It’ll take ten years of solid work just to get all the information out of the tome while disenchanting it. I could work around it, but that requires burning the map and tome before we’d be able to get whatever’s written. Unless I get somepony else to write it.”
She handed a piece of parchment and a quill to Rainbow Dash. Rolling her eyes, Rainbow bent to write the report. However, when she went to do so, the parchment flame flashed when she touched it with the scroll. Twilight stomped her hoof.
“He’s worked a ‘party blocker’ into it as well, and it’s woven right into the fabric of the other spells! There’s literally no way for us to send messages out!” Fuming, Twilight opened the tome to the last entry, the one that was just before they had entered the wastes. She blinked in shock.
“There’s nothing there! No words of any kind! The rest of the tome is blank!” Realizing something, she flipped to the first passages. “All the prophecies leading up to this point have been replaced with what Rainbow and I have done since we got this tome! Why would he do that?”
Angela smiled in satisfaction. “I was certain that he had worked something into it so that your journey could be recorded without alerting the Two Sisters. For his own reasons, Star Swirl never fully trusted either of them.” She nodded at Rainbow’s scowl. “I’m sure you figured out why Miss Dash.”
“Let me guess; he was traditionalist enough to believe that such matters were best left to unicorns, am I right?” she said with a snarl in her voice. Angela’s smile grew as she nodded.
“As I’ve said before, I knew Star Swirl well. He was a hard stallion to know in many ways. Oh, he was well liked, and did make a few friends. However, he didn’t put as much faith in the Magic of Harmony that others- including his chief pupil -did.” She frowned. “That, by the way, is one of the major reasons why Clover and him grew estranged with each other after Equestria finally became a nation.”
Twilight sighed. “Well, there’s no help for it I guess. At least we have a record now, though there’s going to be questions that will need to be addressed.” She turned and bowed to Angela. In surprise, she saw that Rainbow Dash bowed as well.
Angela solemnly returned the bow. “Let Gaia and Serenity guide your steps young ones,” she said before she flew away, the other Guardians following her.
Twilight gazed at her friend. “Well, you ready Dash?” she asked.
“Yep; let’s go,” the cyan pegacorn said. The two then made their way into the cave to continue on their adventure.
Little did they realize that said adventure was reaching a climax that had already been seen.