Plans and Pain
[Present]
[Celestia]
The Summer Sun Celebration had to be perfect. Celestia knew that the public needed something to take their minds off the recent… unpleasantness taking place in Canterlot. Reducing ticket costs from all cities to Canterlot, ostensibly to see Luna in her first official appearance, helped ensure as many ponies as possible could be present, but there was much more that needed done, and had to take precedence.
Guard morale had taken a severe hit since the death of Shining Armour, recruitment dropping to the lowest it had been in three hundred years. The nobles had fled the capital en masse, and the common people had noticed. The fear in the city was palpable. Celestia had considered enforcing a curfew for the duration of the unpleasantness, but she hadn’t needed to. Ponies had, by their own volition, began staying inside after nightfall.
She feared for her little ponies. While Spy could, and had, rendered her discorprial with an ease very few others could, she would endure and return no matter how many times it happened. But her little ponies were not so lucky, and Spy had shown nothing even resembling mercy. She wished she could think of him as a monster and nothing more, but he had to have a reason. She had battled her share of monsters in her time, fought evils that would leave a lesser soul in despair, and one and all, they all had their reasons. Tirek felt only the strong should survive, and that it was his duty to ensure this. Sombre felt it was his right to do as he pleased with his kingdom. Luna had felt she was doing the best thing for their subjects. Discord… Discord was Discord, and the less she tried to understand how he thought, the better. The Draconequus had given hundreds if not thousands of reasons for why he was the way he was over the years, and the only one that came up repeatedly was boredom, but Celestia was sure there was more than that. There had to be. Noone could do the things he did out of boredom.
Spy had his reasons, Celestia was sure of it. But finding out what they were was secondary to the safety of her subjects.
Of course, before should do anything to Spy, she had to find him. They had come close once since he reappeared, when he killed the changeling that had taken Rarity’s place. They had had a hundred guards converging on that location within minutes. He had evaded them all, killing one. It was remarkable more hadn’t died, considering what she knew of Spy’s record. That he had managed to evade a full half of the Canterlot Guard while inside the castle was remarkable. His other skills made that seem average. Many things about Luna’s successes during the war became clearer, the more she learned of Spy’s abilities.
The most troubling thing about Spy was his ability to disappear. Not only to escape from her guards, but to evade them, to evade all notice, for more than a month. His last known location was along the Canterlot Wall, where he defeated Shining Armour. Since then, no victims had emerged for six and a half weeks. 44 days with no sign of Spy.
Luna assured her that Spy hadn’t just left. He could, at times, be single-minded to the point of being near suicidal, was what she had said. Odd, that it was reassuring to know such a monster lurked within her city, but better he was within her reach should he make a mistake, than out in the world where she could not capitalise on it.
That was assuming he made mistakes. Luna had been able to think of one, a single mistake from almost two years of hard fighting.
Celestia sighed, looking up from the last remnants of a mountain of paperwork to see the setting sun, framed by the window. Tomorrow would mark the longest day of the year. The height of her power. If there was every a time to pray for Spy to make a mistake, it would be tomorrow, when the first light of the rising sun touched her, filling her with energy, with life.
But whether he made a mistake or not, it would matter little in the long run, which was the view Celestia preferred. It made a great many of the decisions she faced easier.
Behind her, the sun fled under the distant horizon, and she lowered her head, letting out a weary sigh. It felt as if something important, something vital, was missing, now the sun’s light no longer reached her directly. That the moon’s light was merely a reflection of the sun’s, and that the sun was a star the same as those that shone imaginable distances away was irrelevant. Power that touched the moon or came from beyond their little sphere of influence was not her’s to claim. Celestia hoped Spy didn’t make his move now. She had some… reservations about her dear sister’s ability to remove him. From what Luna had told her, the Nightmare appeared in this world the same day Spy did. For two previously unknown entities to appear at the same time was too unlikely to be coincidence. That Luna had been growing more paranoid each day Spy was loose just made her more certain of the connection between the two.
Celestia finished off the last of the paperwork, then let out a small yawn. All power came with a price, and just as she was more powerful as the days grew longer, so was she weaker when the sun’s light no longer fell on her. Weary, she made her way to bed. Something, the centuries of experience perhaps, told her she did not want to be tired tomorrow.
[Present]
[Spy]
As much as I hate Celestia, I have to admit she sure doesn’t do things by half.
The Summer Sun Celebration was one of the largest gatherings of ponies I have ever seen. Tens of thousands of the things, swarming over the central plaza of the gleaming city like a swarm of locusts. The colours were bright and varied enough to make me consider gouging my eyes out with a dull spoon, and from above it looked like a really bad trip. The hot air balloons circling in the sky didn’t help the image.
Sunlight was just coming over the horizon, turning the sky to the east a light blue, tinged with yellow where sky met land. The smallest part of the sun was over the edge, and had been sitting there for around an hour now, waiting the command from Celestia to surge above. I wonder what happened to the place directly under the sun right now?
Celestia appeared in the centre of the plaza in a flash of brilliant white light and a sudden silence.
Even from here, high above, the whispers started. The urge to just drop down, to slaughter my way to the Great White Bitch and gouge out her eyes with her own horn rose, but I fought it down. Patience, I told myself. Soon, I told whatever sickness I had that made me hate Celestia so.
Yes, the sickness whispered back. Soon.
I wanted to time this right. I wanted to make this as devastating as possible.
I made my way down, looking like an average pony, no wings or horn. It took a few minutes to reach the plaza from the rooftop I was on. I managed to push my way to the middle of the plaza.
Celestia flapped her wings once, slowly, almost lazily. The amount of power she held at that moment was palpable. It burned through the air, burning me like I’d tried to swim through the sun. She crouched slightly, lazily, readying herself to leap into the air. The moment these ponies had gathered to see was almost here.
A sound like thunder, from the south. Buildings collapsed, the ruins burning.
Celestia whirled towards them, now facing away from me. The guards all faced that direction, some abandoning their posts.
I made my way towards Celestia. Flexing my wrist, a black knife fell into my hand. Two steps from Celestia, I let my disguise drop. She started to turn when she heard the screams.
She was faster than I remember.
Her wing clipped my shoulder, spinning me around as I brought the dagger down. The knife was in the hand farthest from her. I tried to use the momentum from the push to swing at her, but all punching her got me was a sore hand. She lashed out at me with a hoof I barely managed to dodge before I brought the knife around, slashing a pair of cuts along her left shoulder. She flinched away from it violently, rearing up slightly on her back legs. I followed up with a quick thrust to the ribcage, but the knife only worked it’s magic when plunged into something’s back. I twisted my knife as I pulled it out, giving her a shove at the same time. She let out a scream of pain, twisting as she fell.
Guards finally got here. As soon as one got within an arms length of me, I reached over it’s head and stabbed it in the back. It had been an earth pony, coming up to just below my ribs, so not a small one either.
I soon had ponies on all sides of me, swinging at me with hooves, wings and magic, but I could ignore it it. I could feel the pain, was even taking some of the damage, but I could ignore it, for now. I could heal it up later.
I let go of the black dagger and gave my wrist a quick twist. It vanished before it hit the ground, and in it’s place fell a unicorn’s horn, one end broken and cracked. I brought it down onto an earth ponies back and-
Holy shit.
Another earth pony took the place of the one I killed, and he swung at me with ridiculous force. His hoof hit me in the stomach, and I knew from experience that a blow like that should knock the wind out of me, maybe break a rib or two and puncture a lung. I barely felt it. I kicked out at the earth pony and he lifted a good four feet off the ground, sailing at least half again that in distance. And holy shit did I feel amazing. I felt like I could take a shotgun to the chest, laugh it off and then beat the guy that shot me to death with his shinbones.
This is not what happened when I got the horn. So, if unicorn does one thing, and earth pony another, what does pegasus do? I heard Celestia get to her hooves behind me - that can take a few seconds for something her size, even if it isn’t a dumb animal.
I took a quick look around. This had not gone to plan. Celestia was supposed to be out of the way, I should be cutting through the ponies here like a knife through skin. I was making a small dent with the extra strength I had, but I could feel it leaving me. Each swung was slower, weaker, every blow I dealt softer. I wasn’t going to get killed or captured by some technicoloured farm animals.I had to get out of here, think of a new plan.
Earth ponies gave strength and durability, and thats what they were known for. Pegasi were known for speed, maybe I would get that. It was worth a shot.
I swung wildly, giving me some space, and grabbed at the first pegasi that came near me. It was blue with a rainbow mane that was annoyingly familiar, but I’ll be fucked if I know why. I snagged it by the leg and pulled hard. With my enhanced strength, she dropped out the sky and I plunged the horn into the base of her neck.
I did not get super speed.
The world filled with lines, multicoloured threads, flowing and shimmering, clouding my vision and leading into everything and from everything. I tried to wave them away, and a gale force wind came from nowhere, sending ponies sprawling. It was gone as soon as it started.
I got the pegasi ability to manipulate weather, god dammit.
Behind me Celestia was saying something, but I’ll be damned if I was going to listen. Probably asking me to surrender or some bullshit like that. I whirled around, waving my arm as hard as I could, and was rewarded with wind, stronger than before. Celestia didn’t even stagger, the bitch. Bloody alicorns.
Light gathered on her horn. I spat at her face and the light winked out. Turning around, I swung as hard as I could to clear a path of ponies. I needed something better. I grabbed the threads of whatever it was, weather magic or something, getting as many in each hand as I could and slammed them together. Thunder sounded in the plaza. No lightening, somehow, but thunder all the same. Crazy horse planet. The ponies shrieked, the combined sound louder than the thunder had been. I ran for a side street, trying to cloak as I went.
I made it maybe five feet before a pale golden glow surrounded me and I was slammed face first into the ground. I felt my nose break more than I heard it, the warm blood staining the stones.
I went limp, hoping she would think I was out. Celestia didn’t fall for it, ramming me repeatedly into the cobblestones. My jaw broke next, I could feel it come lose, the teeth slipping out my mouth, falling to the ground where I smashed into them. It all happened so fast I was still in shock, not feeling any pain, when I blacked out.
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i can't believe im doing this FIRST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!111!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1111!!!!11111
...Holy freaking hell.
That ending!
We're going to get to know if Spy can re-spawn, aren't we? And I did not see RD's death coming. And Rarity of all ponies, being forced to keep a low-profile? Call me a sadist, but I hope we get to see that.
Anyways, just bloody brilliant chapter!
ANOTHER ONE DOWN AND ANOTHER ONE DOWN! ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST!
What happened to his Dead Ringer?
4538496
Dead Ringer takes a bit to work. He was in the process of getting it out and using it when he got, well, you know.
Has the shpee forgot how to Shpee? :3
FTFY
Also, you slipped RD's death like it means nothing. I liked that.
NOBODY fucks with Celestia
?
4538456 Got to it before me...
I'm waiting for him to revolver something.
4538278
4538522
If Spy can still perform backstabs, fade from sight with his cloak, and disguise himself, then why wouldn't he respawn after dying or see who killed him in the Deathcam.
Should say Sombra.
Okay now it come the fucking awesome escape plan
Bloody brilliant. I suppose now we get to see an epic breakout. Oh, I sure hope so.
Very nice chapter, pity Celestia didn't die...
So much yes, you don't even know.
Spy is dead? And not by Spike Pyro? Shame....
4541441
Is the story complete?
4541474
...Touché.
Two words : dead ringer
hehehehhehHAHAHAHAHA MWAH HAHAHA. Laughter itself is not a word and this sentence doesnt count, that is all.
But it was such a perfect plan. As he said, too perfect. I'm surprised he didn't have the Dead Ringer at the ready.
RAINBOW DAAAAAAAAAAAAAASH! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!
Sombra
4925850 ...
thats it... now im mad.
You better start running...
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