The Crown of Demons

by KillerRobotQuote

Chapter IV - Quiet

Canterlot was bustling with activity. Though it was fairly normal for the city at that time of the night, this time it was much livelier than usual. Ponies roamed the streets, jabbering in concerned tones amongst friends, neighbors, relatives, even complete strangers. Gone was the usual uptight, snobbish attitudes of even the most elite of Canterlot's citizens, replaced by compassion as each tried to comfort one another in this time of fear.

It was certainly true that the city had been in a state of near-panic just a couple of hours ago. There were a few scary moments where the possibility of a riot had been very real. Luckily, save for a few minor incidents, it was well-contained. Many guards were patrolling the city, breaking up any worrisome quarrels that arose. Yet their intervention was rarely necessary; their very presence in the streets of Canterlot had an oddly calming effect on the masses. Whatever the reason, an inspection by the Royal Guard and an occasional exchange of ideas between a guard and some unruly individual did a remarkable job at keeping everyone calm and safe.

The island’s ominous presence continued to cast a shadow of terror and gloom over Canterlot, but while the fear of the unknown entity was still very much present, the initial scare had long since passed. Now that the citizens were convinced that their princess was doing something to address the island - or potentially deal with it - they could refocus their energies into turning to one another for support. Ponies, even the most delicate of unicorn fillies, were remarkably resilient.

The activity that now caused the city to be bustling was the sudden desire to watch the island out of morbid curiosity. Telescopes were set up in the windows of numerous apartments and the yards of the private homes on the outskirts of the city. Stargazing was not a common activity in Canterlot, for the lights of the city blotted out most of the dazzling lights of the Night Princess' beautiful sky. Still, there were enough stars bright enough to be seen even in the most well-lit places such as Manehattan.

This was critical for the ponies of Canterlot who were watching the island, an activity which had been jokingly referred to as 'islandgazing.' There were no lights coming from the floating landmass. It was an enigmatic blob that was essentially invisible against the indigo night sky. However, the sky was decorated with twinkling lights, so where the island rested, no stars could be seen, like a black hole in the night.

This made 'islandgazing' difficult, but possible. The finer details of the island were still impossible to distinguish in the dark, but that fact did not stop the ponies of Canterlot from training their eyes on the otherworldly landmass.

It is for this reason that, when a tiny, almost invisible shape broke off from the main body of the island, it did not go unnoticed. One of the stars surrounding the island seemed to blink out briefly, only to light up again. Then another blinked out, this one a little bit further from the island. Then two more. Then four more.

Whatever this shape was, it was moving toward Canterlot.

Very quickly, more ponies began to notice it. Eventually, it was close enough to the city so that some of its finer details could almost be made out. However, rather than approaching the city even more, it continued to fly past, avoiding it altogether. Every eye in Canterlot followed this mysterious flying shape as it passed them by.

So when another shape, this one even smaller than the first, broke off from the island, not a soul noticed it. Instead of flying through the sky as the first one had, this one dropped straight down, as if by gravity.

This completely escaped the attention of every single pony in the city, as they were all transfixed by the flying shape so close to home, their attention unwavering, until at last, it disappeared behind the mountain on which the city resided.

A great stirring arose once again in the city. What was that flying thing? Why had it come toward them? And why did it go behind the mountain?

Unbeknownst to all, as the ponies of Canterlot debated their ideas and theories to explain the mysterious phenomenon, a single, shadowy figure skated low in the sky across the plains of Equestria, hidden within the inky blackness of night.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"The jealous king had Ballos apprehended and thrown into prison,
where his punishment was brutal and cruel.
Humans can be terrible creatures indeed..."

"Quote, wake up." Quote felt his body being shaken and slowly opened his eyes. Princess Cadence was standing over him, nudging him with a hoof. "Something's happened."

Quote immediately sat upright and looked her in the face with concern. "What is it? What’s going on?" he inquired.

"Nothing dangerous," Cadence reassured him. "But problematic nonetheless."

It was only then that Quote noticed how dark it was on the train. He looked out the window and saw that it was in the dead of night. He could make out grassy plains and a cluster of trees in the distance through the darkness.

"We're nowhere near a city," Quote observed.

"That's right," Cadence responded. "We're only about a third of the way to Canterlot. The train broke down."

Quote turned and looked at her with concern. "So what's that mean for us?"

"Hopefully, it will mean we'll be just a little bit delayed," Cadence answered. "The conductor told me that he should be able to fix the problem and have us running again in twenty minutes."

"That's good," Quote said. Then he looked at Cadence inquisitively. "So what do we do now?"

"We wait," she answered. "The conductor knows how to fix and maintain a train, so we should let him be. In the meantime, why don't you tell me a little bit more about yourself?"

"W-well, I..." Quote stumbled. Suddenly, he had an idea. "Actually, I wanted to go through my bag, anyway. How about I tell you about some of the things and how I acquired them as I sort through them? Plus, it'll give me a chance to get rid of the things I don't need anymore."

Cadence nodded. "That's a good idea," she said, using her magic to create a blue light at the tip of her horn. It was a dull but comfortingly warm glow, just bright enough to allow the two to see each other clearly.

Quote zipped open his bag and and pulled out several items: a large green boxlike thing, a silvery cylindrical device, and a small glass jar. The jar was full of a strange black liquid and had the image of a heart on the side. Once those three items were removed from the bag and set in a small pile off to the side, Quote dumped the rest of the contents out on the floor. There was a multitude of items in the resulting pile, including an assortment of keys, an envelope, a rope, a small sheet of metal with a heart design, and an electronic device with a screen. Then Cadence noticed two things in the pile that stood out among the rest. Without dropping the illumination spell, she lifted the two items in her magic for Quote to see. She saw his eyes go wide with panic.

"So, what's the story with the lipstick and panties?" she asked, smirking.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"So you really have no idea?" Rivet asked.

Curly shook her head. "I'm afraid not. I didn't build the Machine Gun, so I have no idea how it works. I only know how to use it."

Rivet was standing in his office along with Curly Brace. On his desk was what had once been, as Curly had described it, a Machine Gun. Now, it was a disassembled mess of parts and metal platings. Notes were scribbled and strewn all over the room in writing that Curly could barely decipher, but was like a native language to Rivet.

Rivet sighed in abject disappointment. Prior to Curly's awakening, Rivet had been busy taking apart her weapon and placing parts in specific locations on the desk whenever they were disconnected. Everything - moving parts, wires, screws - they had all been removed from the device, but were still in perfect condition.

"Why did you do it?" Curly demanded. "Why did you take it apart? You have no idea how important it is to me!"

To Curly's surprise, Rivet began to strip himself of his armor. His golden helmet and chest piece fell to the floor with a clatter. Finally, he removed his flank piece, completely exposing himself. He turned his body to the side and pointed to the image on his flank with a hoof.

"Do you know what this is?" Rivet asked gently.

Curly stared at the image. It looked like a tattoo of some kind, something that wouldn't normally be on a pony's body.

"It's a gear. With wings."

Rivet nodded. "That is correct. But do you know what the image is called? And I don't mean winged gear image specifically, I mean the image itself. Do you know what we call it?" Curly shook her head.

"It's called a 'cutie mark,'" Rivet explained. "These cutie marks are a sign of maturity. We're not born with them; they come later in our lives. But more importantly, they don't just represent maturity; they represent our special talent, an affinity of some kind, and we get it when we discover whatever that may be.

"I'm a tinkerer by nature. I've always been fascinated by machines and taking them apart and discovering understanding their inner workings. I can take apart just about anything and put it back together like brand new. The greatest moment of my life was when I completely disassembled a train engine, studied its mechanics, and rebuilt it. Then I built an identical engine from scratch entirely by memory."

Rivet gulped, getting slightly choked up. "Can you imagine my joy when it started running? I'd just built the most complicated machine I'd ever come across from the ground up with my own hooves and it worked perfectly!" Rivet paused again. "I didn't even care at first when I got my cutie mark moments later. All that mattered was what I had done.

"Curly, I pride myself on my ability to tinker and work with tools and machines. It's what I live for." Rivet returned his attention to the dismantled Machine Gun on his desk. "I have never seen anything like this before in my life. I have only the vaguest of ideas of how it works. I can't figure it out. Do you know what that’s like?"

Rivet stopped himself and realized that tears were rolling down his face. He sniffled and wiped his face with his hoof. "I-I'm sorry," he choked. "That was foolish of me."

"I'm sorry," Curly said. Her voice was gentle and soothing. She moved forward and knelt down, wrapping her arms around Rivet's neck and pulling him into a gentle hug. Rivet was surprised that such a gesture of affection existed in Curly's world. "I had no idea how important this was to you. I'd tell you if I could," she offered.

Rivet gave a sad smile. "Thanks," he mumbled.

"Still," Curly stated. "The Machine Gun's pretty important to me too. Are you sure you can rebuild it?"

Rivet tilted his head slightly and have her a cocksure smirk. "Who do you think I am?" Rivet challenged.

Curly Brace laughed. "You're Lieutenant Rivet, Master Technician!"

The two laughed for a moment, and Curly released him from the hug. Then Rivet nodded and said, "Yes, I can rebuild it. I took it apart myself, and took notes while I was at it. I just have to take the steps in reverse. It should only take half an hour."

Curly grinned. "Good. Thanks."

Just then, the door to Rivet's office slammed open. "Lieutenant!" a guard cried, bolting in. "There's been-." The guard froze when he saw Curly standing next to Rivet in the room. "Wh-wh-th-th-the creature!" he cried, fumbling to retrieve his spear.

“Stand down,” Rivet ordered the guard.

“B-but sir-!”

“Stand down!” Rivet shouted. Despite every fiber of his being telling him to do otherwise, the guard stopped reaching for his spear and stood at attention with his hoof on his forehead in a salute. Rivet walked up to the guard, looked him right in the eye, and spoke in a low, threatening voice. "Her name is Curly Brace. She is a friend, not our enemy. You will treat her with respect, or you will be punished. Is that understood?"

"Sir, yes, sir!" the guard replied, tense as a board.

"Now," Rivet said, calmed down. "What is it you have to report?"

"Sir, there has been a multitude of confirmed and unconfirmed sources of something leaving the island, sir!"

Rivet's blood ran cold. Curly stood wide-eyed. "Give me the full report," Rivet ordered.

"Sir, at 2203 hours, an object was seen leaving the island. Over the course of several minutes, the object began to approach Canterlot, but never came close enough to observe it in detail. At 2211 hours, visual was lost when it disappeared behind Canterlot Mountain, sir."

"Do you have an inkling of what it might be?" Rivet asked, desperately trying to keep his composure.

"Sir, a few unconfirmed reports have stated that the shape appeared to have wings. If such reports prove to be accurate, a winged beast of that size could only be a young dragon, sir."

"Celestia damn it!" Rivet cursed through clenched teeth. He paced the room briefly before stopping and rubbing his forehead with a hoof. "What awful timing," he sighed.

"Sir, Lieutenant, sir," the guard stated, voice softer and with an edge of concern. "What do you propose?"

Rivet paused a moment before answering. "Keep the night guards where they're posted," he said with a sigh. "Recall the day guards. We're forming a Dragon Hunting platoon."

"Sir, yes, sir." The guard left the office in a flash.

Rivet saw Curly looking at him questioningly. Rivet slumped into a chair. "Dragon Hunting platoon," he explained. "Eight earth ponies, six unicorns, and six pegasi. Twenty nets, twelve chains, and eight spears. Each guard outfitted with fireproof armor. It's how we deal with dragon attacks, although they're very rare."

Rivet leaned back in his chair. "A single young dragon isn't normally this worrisome, but we're in the midst of a crisis. If there exists a possibility that a dragon landed on the east side of the mountain, I'm not taking any chances."

"Well, I certainly hope it turns out to be nothing to worry about," Curly offered.

"I hope so," Rivet mused. "That'd be a nice change of pace." Suddenly, something clicked in Rivet's mind, and he stood up from his seat, a look of clarity on his face. "Say, Curly?"

"Yes, Lieutenant Rivet?"

Rivet paused for a moment. "You said earlier that you'd do everything you can to help, right?"

"Yes, I did," Curly nodded. “And I intend to keep that promise.”

“Here's your chance to prove yourself," Rivet stated with determination. "I already trust you, but the rest of the guards likely won't. So will you join us?” he asked. “I'm sure that if you prove to be helpful here, they might be more willing to give you a chance.”

Curly Brace stared at the ground, contemplating. She looked up and met his eyes. "Will it be dangerous?"

Rivet's face fell and he let out a small sigh. "Probably."

"Then I'll be right at home. Count me in."

Rivet looked at her, stunned. "R-really?"

Curly nodded. "Absolutely. Just one question."

"Yes?" Rivet asked.

"Do you know where my Nemesis and Booster are?"

Rivet tilted his head. "Nemesis and Booster? Would they be those blue and green devices?" Curly nodded her head. "Oh, they're in the corner over there," he said, pointing to a space on the floor next to the desk. "Don't worry, I haven't touched them," he added, half laughing. Curly walked over to them and picked them up. After manipulating and refamiliarizing herself with the blue handheld device, she placed it in a holster on her leg. With the green box, she lifted it with one arm with ease and slipped her other arm through the straps. After she slipped both arms in, she secured the device to her back with a strap that hugged her waist. Curly turned back to Rivet and nodded.

"I'm ready," she said.

Rivet smiled and nodded. "Welcome aboard." The two then left the office, ready to meet with the line of guards awaiting their Lieutenant's orders.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"... Toroko gave me this Silver Locket when I first met her," Quote explained. "But then she got captured by the Doctor's minions. And now she's..." Quote started choking up.

"It's okay," Cadence reassured him. "You don't need to finish."

"It's my fault she's dead," Quote confessed guiltily. "I couldn't get to her in time. I had to... put her out of her misery." Quote covered his face and his frame shook with what would have been sobs. Cadence leaned over and wrapped him up in a loving hug as she gently nuzzled him.

After a moment, Quote's breathing returned to normal. "I have to hang on to this. I need to keep it safe until this is all over." Quote's face suddenly darkened. "I'm going to kill the Doctor."

This little remark elicited a jolt of surprise from the princess, startled by the shockingly dark nature of the comment. Though slightly alarmed, she decided not to say anything about the matter.

Quote placed the locket in the pile to his right. Among the pile was the map system for the island, a Life Pot, a Tow Rope, Arthur's key, the Iron Bond which he received from Curly Brace, and even Curly's underwear. Quote figured he should probably return those. Next to the pile was what Quote called a Booster v2.0 and Curly's air tank.

It the pile to his left was a bunch of junk that he didn't need anymore. There was an assortment of keys, an ID card, a couple of useless badges, an envelope with a letter inside, and the lipstick he had obtained from a frisky mimiga girl.

As Quote began placing the items in the pile on his right back into his bag, the door opened and the conductor entered the room. His face was grim, like he had to do something he didn't want to do.

"Your majesty," he said while bowing respectfully.

"Yes, Transit?" Cadence asked. "Will we be moving soon?"

Transit's face looked pained. "O-on the contrary," he stuttered. "It seems..." He took a breath. "It seems that a vital part of the engine has broken off, and there are no replacements. We can't move without it, and we can't get a replacement until 7:00 A.M."

Cadence's face paled just a little. "Are you saying we're stuck here until then?"

Transit slowly nodded. "Th-that's correct, your majesty."

Cadence rubbed her forehead with a hoof. "Ooooohhh... this is not good..." she murmured.

"I am terribly sorry, your majesty," Transit apologized profusely.

Cadence shook her head. "It's not your fault," she insisted, still rubbing her head. She let out a sigh. "Let's see... we're still about six hours away from Canterlot. If we don't leave until seven, then..."

"Princess?" Quote asked.

Cadence paid him no mind. "But if we leave now," she muttered. "That should be... ten. But with him, eleven. Twelve if you add an hour. That would mean..."

"Princess Cadence?" Quote asked, louder this time. "What are you thinking?"

Cadence broke out of her train of thought and faced Quote directly. "I just did the math," she answered. "It would be faster to fly to Canterlot if we leave right now."

"Fly?" Quote and Transit shouted in unison.

"Princess, you can't possibly be serious!" Transit cried.

"I am," Cadence replied with a look of determination in her eyes. "This is a matter of national security, and every moment that we spend here is a moment we could be getting to Canterlot right now. Either way, we'll be far behind schedule, so I choose the method that will get us there faster."

"All right, but let's say you do," Quote said, stepping forward. "How am I supposed to keep up with you?"

Cadence gave him a warm smile. "That's easy. I can carry you on my back."

Quote glanced to the side in confusion. "No. No you can't. You said it yourself, I'm way too heavy.”

Without a word, Cadence closed her eyes and her horn glowed with magic in addition to her illumination spell. Quote suddenly felt a tingle all across his body and realized that he was covered in the same glowing aura. After a moment, the glowing faded and Quote's body felt several times lighter, like gravity had no hold on him anymore.

"Featherweight spell," Cadence explained with a grin. "Now I can carry you and your things with ease."

Quote reached down to pick up his bag and found that it too felt nearly weightless. He checked the bag to make sure his valuables were still inside, and sure enough, they were. Quote placed a hand on his chin, deep in thought. Finally, he looked at her and said, "Are you sure you can make the whole trip?"

Cadence nodded. "I will need to rest for an hour once we've made it halfway, but yes, I can make the trip."

Quote sighed and secured the bag around his waist. "Okay. Let's go."

"All right. I just need to send some letters before we leave." Cadence grabbed her small supply bag and pulled out two rolls of parchment and a quill with ink on the tip and scribbled a note. She did the same with the second roll of parchment, then individually incinerated the two letters in green flame. The smoky ashes of the letters flew out the window and into the night sky in opposite directions. Cadence turned and opened the door of the train car. "Thank you for bringing us this far, Transit. I informed my husband of the situation here. They'll come to get you when they can."

Transit bowed respectfully. "Thank you, princess. Good luck, and please be safe."

Cadence smiled and nodded slowly. "I will. Thank you, Transit." Then she turned to Quote. "Hop on."

Quote had some difficulty straddling the princess, not being used to his new weight, but eventually seated himself in the crook of her back, between her neck and her wings. Once Quote wrapped his arms around her neck to support himself, Cadence took to the air, wings spread wide as she glided effortlessly through the night. As they left the train behind them, disappearing into the distance, Quote looked forward in anticipation of their long journey.

"Under the extreme cruelty of the torture, Ballos's magical abilities finally ran wild.
The king was engulfed in the swirl of magic and destroyed in an instant.
In a single night, the kingdom that Ballos so loved was reduced to ashen ruins."

Comments

[KillerRobotQuote]

4962508 Huh. That was... kind of accidental, to be honest. I just knew what physical actions needed to happen (flying to Canterlot and exploring the mountain) and let the characters build their own chemistry.
Glad you like it, though!

[Gmtecol]

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