The Legend of Steele Breaker: Book One-The Twisted Queen

by duvagr007

Ch. 4: Storytime With the Princesses

Chapter 4

In which a discovery is made.

The Royal Sisters walked slowly and gracefully through the halls of their castle, accompanied by a small procession of ponies. Directly behind the Sisters was Starswirl the Bearded, who was then followed by Stella and Noctis. Behind the thestral Praetorians was Decanus Chroma Dusk, with Steele and Ember taking up the rear, mostly because they were moving slowly as they gazed around them at the grand palace they found themselves in. The ceiling stretched up above them, being supported by thick columns the size of trees. Steele had no idea what material was used to make everything, but it was like staring at the night sky. A deep black made up the primary color, but it was swirled and specked with several different colors. Blues and oranges clashing with one another, like some kind of explosion. It was mesmerizing. The foot and head of each column was also decorated with a flared golden end, each decorated to look like the rising sun and setting moon. The floor was just as beautiful as the columns and walls that sprang up from it, a bright white marble down the center that slowly faded to black as it reached the walls on either side.

Steele looked to Ember, who seemed just as awestruck as he was at the castle's decor. Her eyes were wide, and her mouth hung slightly open, head craned up to gaze at the columns. Sadly, they seemed to reach their destination, so the jaw-dropping hallway would have to be admired some more later. Celestia moved to a door on the right wall, and stepped inside. As the other ponies in their troop entered one by one, Steele took a last look at the hallway, and followed his friends. The room they were now in seemed to be a study of sorts. There was a large table in the middle of the room, with a few large bookshelves up against the left and back walls. Another door was on the right wall, with some paintings hanging for decoration. One was of the sun and moon encircled with a wavy line dividing them. The other was of a spiral of stars, a large glowing orb of some kind in the center. The young stallion had no idea what that one was, as he had never seen it before in his life.

"Have a seat ponies, I shall return momentarily." Celestia left the room through the door on the right wall as everypony took a seat at the table. The only two that remained standing were Stella and Noctis, who opted to stand aflank Luna instead. Luna herself was seated at one end of the table, Steele on her left and Dusk on her right. Ember was to Steele's left, with Starswirl opposite her. There was one more chair at the other end of the table from Luna that sat empty.

"Uh... hey Starswirl?" Steele, curiosity getting the better of him, broke the silence. Rather awkwardly, all eyes in the room turned to him. Starswirl quirked an eyebrow, awaiting Steele's words. "What's that painting of? I've never seen anything like it before." He held a hoof out, and pointed at the spiral of stars. Starswirl turned his head and chuckled a bit.

"I think I'll let our Princess Luna explain that. It is her painting after all." All eye's were now on the princess of the night. Steele couldn't help but be awed, not only at Princess Luna herself, but at her ability to paint. She cleared her throat, and spoke up.

"That, young stallion, is the night sky. Only, viewed from the outside. Allow me a moment to clarify: when you look up at my sky and see stars, you are looking at them from somewhere inside of this spiral structure. I have dubbed it, with Starswirl's aide, a 'galaxy'. It's a massive group of stars swirling around... something. We aren't sure yet. It's beautiful though, isn't it?" Steele nodded, not really feeling confident enough to speak directly to Princess Luna. He had always found her sky beautiful though, he had just never known it was quite so... vast.

Celestia came back in after a moment, trailed by a servant carrying a tray in her magic. It was silver, with a porcelain tea set sitting atop in. The servant set the tray down, then bowed and backed out of the room. Celestia sat in the unoccupied chair, and used her magic to disperse hot tea to all the ponies in the room. Even Stella and Noctis took a cup, sitting down on the floor as they quietly sipped their tea.

"Now then," Celestia began. "Let's discuss what happened in Dale. We are well aware that it was attacked, and subsequently destroyed, but We do not know by what, nor for what reason. Decanus Chroma Dusk?" When she spoke his name, the stallion snapped straight, face stoic and eyes focused. Though if one looked closely, they would see a single bead of sweat roll down his brow.

"Yes your majesty?" Not even a hint of a stutter.

"You were the first one there of present company, save Ember and Steele, correct? If you would, recount the battle for Us." Dusk nodded, and began to tell the story from his perspective. Starting with the Legion's arrival in Dale, to the setup of their camp. It seemed that his Contebernium had been slacking a bit, and as a punishment had been sent to scout out the area. That's when they ran into the first group of the bugs. They had been out for roughly ten minutes or so, when a group of about ten of the creatures came at them seemingly from nowhere. One of the eight ponies was killed instantly, and two more fell after the skirmish had been on for a bit. After an intense fight, they managed to kill most of the enemy, the few remaining fleeing back into the buildings. Though they lost one more stallion before their victory was achieved. After that, they ran into Steele and Ember, and the rest is history. Celestia's brow furrowed a bit when Dusk told her about their escape through the alley, but she waited for Dusk to finish before saying anything.

"And then we met Noctis at the edge of the forest. After waiting a bit, Stella arrived with the surviving stallions, and we came here. Nothing else to report your majesty." Celestia heaved a great sigh, then turned her gaze to Starswirl.

"You are certain about the remaining stallions Starswirl? If there is even a small chance there are some left alive, We would like to see about saving them." Starswirl simply nodded, causing another sigh to escape the princess's lips.

"Stella," Luna spoke up, turning to address the mare in question. "Tell Us what happened after you killed that larger one for the others to escape. We wish to know more of the battle itself." Stella nodded, and began to recount events from her point of view.

"Certainly your highness. After I killed that larger bug, I flew towards the main breach in the gate. It... wasn't a pretty sight. There were dozens of bodies littered about the place, most of them Legion soldiers. The fighting was still rather heavy though, the stallions still alive holding off the onslaught of bugs as best they could. I dove into the fray, providing what aide I could. Eventually though, all of the other soldiers around me had fallen, so I had no choice but to fall back. Another one of those larger beasts crashed in through the western wall, and the process repeated. Some brave fool thought it would be a good idea to try and collapse a building onto the road to slow them down, hence the explosion the Decanus mentioned. It... didn't go as planned, the blast itself killed everypony nearby, and the shrapnel claimed many more. I barely manged to avoid serious injury myself. Still, it claimed many of the insects as well, so the sacrifice was not in vain. Once it seemed like they were going to lose, the final behemoth did... something, and caused all of the green flame to detonate suddenly. This claimed the remaining death toll, and as far as I know, there are no more bugs in the area. After that, I linked up with Noctis, and we returned here." She took another sip of her tea as her words sunk into the room. Luna looked lost in thought, her sister mirroring her expression for a moment before looking to Steele and Ember.

"And you two... besides the aide provided by the Decanus, how did you manage to survive such an attack? You must be either very skilled, or very lucky." Steele gulped, shrinking under Celestia's gaze. He knew he needed to answer her, but he just couldn't bring himself to do it. Luckily, he would have a bit more time to prepare himself, as Ember spoke up first.

"Well your highness, while I'm not sure what Steele did up until he saved me, I can tell you my side of everything." Celestia simply nodded, waiting for her to continue. "I was at home sleeping, when I was woken up by my mother. I could hear ponies screaming outside, and my mom said that Dale was under attack. We tried to run out the back, but one of those... things was waiting at the door. It lunged at us, my mom jumping in front of me. It... k-ki-.... I'm sorry. I can't say it." Ember brought a hoof to her mouth, gaze low and eyes welling up with tears. Celestia put a comforting hoof on the young mare's shoulder, her gaze soft and encouraging.

"It is fine, you needn't say it aloud, please continue." Ember nodded, and took a breath to compose herself.

"After my mom... saved me, the bug backed me into a corner. It jumped again, and I panic-cast a column of fire. The bug was incinerated instantly, along with most of the house. A beam fell on my leg and pinned me down as the rest of the house began to burn around me. A few minutes later, Steele found me and pulled me out. After that we were found by the Decanus, and you know what happened after that."

"I see. We're happy that you are safe, and panic or not, casting such a powerful spell is impressive for a mare your age. We imagine Starswirl will wish to speak with you after we have concluded our business here." The old stallion nodded, a smirk on his muzzle. "Now then, young Steele, if you would tell us what happened up to where you rescue your friend?" Steele nodded, breathing a bit heavy. He cleared his throat, and told the ponies at the table what had led him to Ember's home. Waking up in his home, running past ponies as they fled the town, and the fight with the group of bugs. Noctis quirked an eyebrow at Steele's recounting of the fight between him and the two creatures, slightly impressed at such skill being displayed by an amateur. Once Steele had finished his tale, the room grew silent for several minutes as the two princesses thought on everpony's tales. Finally, Luna broke the silence.

"Sister, We can not reach a decision on this matter now. I wish to speak with you in private to address some of my concerns. Additionally, these six need rest and perhaps a meal. Decanus, take these two to the dining hall. They may help themselves to whatever they like. We shall have the guest suite prepared for them, as there are no dignitaries scheduled for arrival for several moons. Stella, Noctis, the two of you are dismissed for the day. You may leave." The two thestrals bowed and left the room without a word. Dusk did the same, Steele and Ember in tow.

"Well then," Starswirl stood, stretching a bit. "If I'm excused, I'll be on my way. I've some diagrams to draw up, and several observations on these 'bugs' I wish to record. Your majesties." He bowed, and made for the exit. Celestia called out to him however, stopping him before he could leave.

"Starswirl, a moment." The old stallion turned, an eyebrow raised. "We wish for you to keep this quiet for the time being. The details at least. No doubt the masses will know something of the attack, but try to keep everything vague for now. We would like to know what We are dealing with before addressing Our subjects." Starswirl nodded, and left the room.

__________

Steele, Ember, and Dusk all sat at a large table in the dining hall. Each had a meal of some degree in front of them, and they were all wordlessly inhaling the food into their mouths. Steele took a moment to gaze up at the high ceiling above him. Unlike the halls, the room didn't have a glass roof, but a flat black ceiling, decorated to look like the night sky again. Though, the black was more of a gray now that he looked closely. Still, the stars twinkled brightly, and gave a nice ambiance to their very early morning meal. Celestia would be raising the sun soon, and Steele hadn't slept in over twenty-four hours. He finished his meal quickly, stretching his hooves up with a yawn. He looked at Ember, who was almost halfway done with her own food, then at Dusk, who had just finished his food as well. The Decanus looked back, and met his gaze.

"Need something?" The sudden break in the silence caused Steele's mind to stop working properly for a second.

"Huh? Oh... uh... no, not really. Sorry." Steele sheepishly rubbed the back of his head with a hoof, giving an awkward smile.

"Hmph. You really shouldn't stare. Anyways, I've been meaning to ask you: Where'd you get that sword?" He pointed a hoof at the blade slung across Steele's back, and Steele turned his head to peer at it through the corner of his eye.

"It's an heirloom of sorts," he said bringing his gaze back to meet Dusk's. "I'm not sure where it originally came from, but my uncle gave it to me when I turned twelve. He said my parents wanted me to have it. It's all I have left of them. Well, this and... Oh no! My mother's necklace! I left it back at home! I've gotta go and get it!" Steele stood, and began heading for the door. Ember simply watched him leave, content to eat her food. Dusk however, ran and blocked his path.

"Whoa there, you aren't going anywhere. I'm sure it's important, but the area is unsafe, and you haven't slept in over a day. I heard what you said back there about fighting those bugs, so I know you're good with a blade, but sleep deprivation has gotten many a Legionaire killed. Get some rest first, and we can all go and look for it later." Steele went to argue, but decided that Dusk was right. He could barely stand he was so tired. Behind him, Ember stood, having finished her own meal.

"Don't worry Steele, I'm sure it's still there. C'mon, I want to see this illustrious 'guest suite'."

"I... yeah. I'm sure you're right." He sighed, and Dusk gave a quick nod, satisfied with the resolution.

"Alright then you two, follow me."

Once again they were being led through the grand halls of the castle, but something was different now. The once deep black that covered the walls was now a light gray, and the swirling blues and oranges were no longer visible. Only the occasional pricks of stars were left, and as they walked it seemed their number only grew fewer. Steele looked through the skylight ceiling, and found that the sky matched what he was seeing in the walls. It took longer than it should have, but Steele finally realized that the walls and columns were changing in order to match the sky. It must have taken hundreds of unicorns to put that kind of enchantment on such a huge structure. Although, it was possible the princesses themselves had done it. The edges of the floor were a deep crimson now, slowly fading into orange as the sun finally rose over the horizon. It was weird, watching the sunrise from inside, though no less beautiful. A few more minutes went by, and the Decanus finally stopped at a large set of wooden doors.

"This is our guest suite. It's normally for foreign dignitaries, but as Princess Luna said, we are not expecting any for some time. You are free to use it as you please, but try to refrain from destroying the place. Now then, I have several things I need to do before I can get some rest of my own, so I'll leave you to it. I'll come back later today with Starswirl and we can go and fetch your mother's amulet. I'll see you then." Steele nodded and thanked him, Dusk returning the gesture before trotting off to take care of whatever he needed to do. Steele looked over at Ember, who gave him a nod. He stepped forward and pushed open the large door, stepping aside and holding it for Ember to enter first. Following her in and closing the door behind them, Steele took in the room like he took in everything else he'd seen in the castle: awestruck.

The first thing his eyes were drawn to was a massive window on the far wall, deep red curtains framing it on either side. Though it let in a fair amount of natural light, there was a good sized chandelier hanging from the ceiling, it's light seemingly magic based. The walls themselves were a dark wood, possibly spruce, which complimented the red in the curtains, and the large rug that occupied most of the floor space. It was certainly Saddle Arabian, with the same red making up the primary color, and several shades of brown swirling around giving it a very refined look. Dressers and bookshelves lined most of the walls, with a beautiful vanity being a particular eye-catcher. A door sat on one end of the room, with a bathroom just beyond. Finally though, was the bed. Though 'small comfy boat' seemed more appropriate given it's size. It took up half of one of the walls, posts reaching up to nearly the ceiling. One could easily fit ten ponies comfortably on its surface. if this was the guest room, Steele could only begin to guess at what the princesses rooms looked like.

"Wow," Ember spoke up, just as struck with the room as Steele. "This place is huge!" She ran and jumped up onto the bed, settling in at the headboard. "And his is the most comfortable bed I've ever been in. I'm gonna fall asleep right here." She rolled over and looked at Steele, a small smile on her face. He smiled in return, and joined her on top of the bed. He made sure to leave some space between them however, as he didn't want to make the situation awkward. He settled into the covers, then turned his gaze towards Ember. He smiled, a small chuckle leaving him as he stared at her unconscious body. She had fallen asleep almost instantly, and right where she said she would. He shook his head and, using his magic to unhook the curtains, lay back to fall into his own deep sleep.

__________

"I understand you position on this Luna, but we can't just launch a full scale war on an enemy we know nothing about. We don't even know where they are from! For all We know, they could be from space." Celestia sat in her chambers upon her rather plain wooden bed as Luna paced about the floor. They had been discussing the situation for some time, and had made little to no progress towards a decision.

"I'm am well aware that we don't know where they are from, but you cannot say We know nothing about them. We know that they are insect-like in both appearance and behavior. We also know that those larger ones have the ability to incapacitate foes with a roar. Their magic is formidable, and it is possible there is more to it than what We have already encountered. We may know very little, but We do not know nothing. it is possible more insight will be gained from Starswirl's recorded observations. However, I refuse to stand around and wait for them to attack us again. Have We heard anything about creatures like these from any of the other nations?" Luna stopped her pacing, turning to her sister with a quirked eyebrow.

"We have not, no. None of our neighbors to the West have mentioned anything about these... things. And the Crystal Empire has been silent for some time now. Which reminds me, I'd like for you to go and check on Sombra, make sure he's doing well. I know you two are close." Luna blushed, the crimson showing even through her dark coat. Celestia only chuckled at her little sister's expense.

"Well," began Luna, after composing herself. "What about the Gryphon Clans? I know they've been at war for some time, but Lana always tried to keep Us in the loop." Celestia thought for a moment, her memory coming up empty. She shook her head, and Luna grunted in frustration. "Gah! There has to be something, anything that can at least tell us where to start looking!" Suddenly, there was a knock at the door, and a frantic sounding Starswirl called in from the other side.

"Princess Celestia! I believe I may have found something! You really should see this!" He knocked again, a bit more firmly this time. "Ohh... I hope she's in at the moment. Perhaps the garden?"

"I am here my dear friend, you may enter." The door swung open almost before she had finished her sentence, and in rushed the old wizard, a piece of parchment floating behind him.

"I- Oh. Princess Luna, I was unaware you were in here as well. This is good, now I don't have to track you down. Come, come." He trotted to Celestia's bedside, setting the parchment down so they could all read it. There was a great deal of scribbling, and a very crude drawing of what the sisters could only assume was one of the bug ponies. Further down, there was a rubbing of what appeared to be the same creature, an unreadable text surrounding it.

"Starswirl, just what exactly are We looking at." The old pony turned to Luna, and pointed at the two drawings. His, and the one from the rubbing.

"This is the creature we encountered in Dale," he tapped his sketch. "An this," now the rubbing "is from a very old tablet I've had sitting in my room for some time trying to decipher. I believe the creatures are one and the same. While i don't have the full tablet translated yet, I've got the gist of what it's referring to. It speaks of an ancient evil that lurks in the badlands far to the East of the sea. it make some reference to gryphons, but i believe it's merely using them as a reference point." Celestia looked slightly puzzled, voicing her confusion as she smoothed out the bottom corner of the parchment.

"So these creatures come from beyond the gryphon homeland? We didn't think there was anything out there."

"That is correct, and until now we had no reason to. However, the tablet also makes mention of a 'savior' of sorts. I may have the exact wording wrong, but it speaks of a pony who will defeat the evil." Now it was Luna's turn to be confused.

"Wait, are you telling Us that these things were part of some prophecy? Why did We not know of this?"

"Well, part of the problem is that it is not an Equestrian prophecy. I compared these texts with all of our old writings, and nothing comes close. Not even Ancient Crystalian. No, this prophecy was made by a very old clan of gryphons. It was the harsh angles of the leters that initially caused me to look into it. Sadly, there aren't many ancient gryphon texts, and the few that do exist are almost all lost. With the war on I lost all the gryphon assistance I had several years ago, and so the decoding has been very slow going. There's only one other key factor of this prophecy that I've been able to decipher." He closed his eyes, and prepared himself for how the sisters would react. Likely not as drastically as he when he first realized, but he could never be very sure with them.

"Well," urged Luna. "do not keep Us waiting forever old stallion. You won't make it that long." Starswirl cracked an eye, and shot Luna a sour gaze. She had a playful smile on her lips, and even Celestia was chuckling a bit.

"Hmph, do not forget that I am not that much younger than you are Luna. So if I am old, then what does that make you?"

"Aged. Like wine."

"Hah! Well, if you are wine then I am milk. Though none of this is important right now." They all turned their gaze back to the parchment sitting on Celestia's bed. "Now, as i was saying: The only other bit I've managed to decipher is some detail regarding the stallion who will defeat this evil for us. It's all very poetic, but I'll paraphrase. He'll have a silver coat, and eyes like the northern sky. So, not just blue, but a very light and vibrant blue. It also makes reference to the 'jewel of jewels' though I know not what this could mean. Perhaps one of you might have some insight?" He looked to Celestia first, who shrugged, and then over to Luna.

"I believe I may know what jewel, or gem would be more accurate, it is referring to. It's something Sombra said once: 'Of all gems, Opal is my favorite, because it can be as all the others, and yet still itself'. He was of course speaking to the fact that an opal can be any color. Though the most commonly thought of is the milk-colored white opals. If this is what the text means, then I believe i know who our savior is." Starswirl's expression grew dim, as he had his suspicions based on the physical appearance alone. But if the prophecy was refering to an opal, then there could be little doubt. It was his mother after all. Celestia's head shot up, it finally having clicked in her head as well.

"Steele."

Author's Note:

Alright! I actually really like the way this one turned out, even if it did get a tad awkward there in the middle. Anyways, back in the hyper-descriptive saddle, and the most overused trope of all time rears it's ugly head. Yeah yeah, I know, but I couldn't really think of another way to do it that seemed to fit in with the characters and their outlooks on everything. But hey, it's just there to get the ball rolling, and I'll try to avoid being too cliche in the future. As always, tell me what i'm doing right, and what I'm doing wrong. be seeing ya!

-Duvagr007

Comments

[NoLongerSober]

Cliches aren't bad when done well; was damn enjoyable. :3