Chapter 10. An Uneasy Alliance...VERY Uneasy
Celestia sighed as she stared out of the shattered remains of her window. Stared towards the north.
Stared and prayed for her student’s safety.
“Sister, this is...insane!”
The solar diarch turned her head to emotionlessly stare at her sister. “As you’ve said before, Luna,” She said quietly.
“And as we shall say again and again, Celestia!” Luna reprimanded. “You know what he is capable of, what he can-!”
“I KNOW!” Celestia shouted, her mane flaring gold and her eyes lighting up in fury. Luna stumbled back in fear as power flowed through her sister. Celestia breathed heavily for a moment before letting the energy drain out of her in a despondent sigh.
“I know,” She whispered. “But we don’t have another choice. We haven’t heard back from Cadance and Shining Armor in well over a week, and if-”
Luna gave her a flat look.
Celestia groaned and rubbed her brow. “Fine, because Scholar got there first, we should have known almost immediately one way or another! Like it or not, Luna, the facts remain: something is very, very wrong in the north, and neither you nor I can leave to investigate.”
Luna growled under her breath. “We know, we know! It just...irks us that we have to leave it to six untrained ponies! Think, Celestia! They have no weaponry and are completely unskilled! They are not on his level!”
“And what would you have me do!?” Celestia demanded. “Give them something from the vaults, or even the Elements? All we would be accomplishing would be handing them to Scholar as good as giftwrapped! Train them? We would not have the time, and even if we did, they would not have his level of experience. Send in the troops?” She let out a harsh bark of laughter. “Even back then all that accomplished was thinning the herd and making Solum a killing, pun unavoidable.”
She turned her gaze back out the window. “At this point, all we can do is pray that Twilight and her friends are up to the task.”
“And if they aren’t?” Luna demanded.
Celestia stared for a second longer before turning around and slowly walking out of the throne room.
“Then we must be prepared for the worst.”
-o-
Twilight sighed as she stared out the train window, snow flowing by as she wandered through her memories. ‘Of all the tests Celestia could have given me...’ She mentally groaned.
A hoof landed on her shoulder, drawing her out of her mind. She turned to meet Rarity’s worried gaze. “Twilight dear, is everything alright?” She asked worriedly.
Twilight sighed and looked back out the window. “I...fine. I’m just thinking of...what happened.”
Rarity flinched. “The reception?”
Twilight shook her head. “No. I’m thinking more about what happened after.”
Rarity frowned as she remembered. “Yes, that was rather...revealing, wasn’t it?”
Twilight nodded silently and turned her head, staring out the window again and searching her thoughts again...
Remembering what she had learned of the history of Eq...Mundus.
From the other side.
-Morning after the reception-
Celestia stared sadly at the miserable sight before her. The Elements of Harmony, her precious little ponies, were all seated in her throne room, eyes full of questions and fear. Rainbow Dash was nursing a bruised wing and ego, Twilight was periodically shivering, and Fluttershy had developed a thousand yard stare.
She tried to break the silence. “My little-”
“How much.”
Celestia’s voice cut off as Twilight interrupted her, her voice low and sad. Slowly, the lavender unicorn raised her head and gazed miserably at her teacher.
“How much of that was the truth?” She croaked.
Celestia was silent, gazing at her subjects mournfully before clenching her eyes shut and bowing her head.
“All of the facts...were true,” She whispered mournfully.
The Elements froze and stared at her in horror, unable to speak.
“But!” Celestia continued. “That does not mean that they were what I desired. Nix and Null told their side of what occurred... before you judge me and my sister, let me tell you ours. ,” She raised her head and looked at the six ponies sadly, tears present in her eyes. “Please.”
The six friends glanced amongst each other silently before turning back to look at her and nodding solemnly.
The solar princess groaned sadly and stood up, slowly walking forwards and staring off into space.
“Concordia...was beautiful,” She whispered. “It was amazing, simply monumental. I swear to you, I would never have willingly harmed it. But unfortunately, circumstances were beyond my control.”
Celestia shook her head despondently. “Though it wasn’t our intention, the destruction of Concordia was the result of the shared folly of me, my sister and Cadance. We sought what was impossible, what we knew we could never have.”
“A triple-decker uber muffin-cake hybrid all-you-can-eat buffet?” Pinkie asked, trying to inject some levity into the situation. The glares she was awarded with indicated that she had failed.
Celestia grit her teeth, furious with her past self. “Perfection. People dying was a common occurrence back then, be it from wild flora or fauna, conflicts between criminals and the Academia, diseases... It was rarely cataclysmic, but I felt every death as though it were my own, lamented every loss of life. Luna and Cadance agreed with me. Scholar and the Oligarchs, they were sympathetic, but...” She sighed and shook her head. “They didn’t share our empathy, they had the capabilities to accept them as statistics. We developed harmony to...equalize things, make things better, calmer.”
She chewed her lip nervously. “We researched it in secret because we knew that Scholar was adverse to people changing the course of nature in drastic manners. He only ever allowed it if it was a necessity. Nevertheless, we persisted and tested it by covering Equestria. And it worked!”
She grimaced at the memory. “For the most part, anyways. We had no idea that other species would react so adversely! It was never supposed to harm them, harmony was supposed to benefit Concordia as a whole!”
“But...then why didn’t you shut it off!?” Twilight pleaded desperately.
“We were about to!” Celestia cried. “We were mortified by the effects of the harmony! We were about to rescind it all, dissipate it in it’s entirety, but then...” A look of deep horror entered her eyes.
“Discord?” Twilight supplied hesitantly.
The princess squeezed her eyes shut and shivered subconsciously. “Back during the days of Concordia, there were many different theologies and religions. A common point was a cataclysmic plane where evil souls went after death to suffer for the crimes they committed during their lives. They called it hell. Discord...he devoted himself to molding Equestria in it’s likeness.”
A few tears trailed silently down her fur. “When we finally managed to subdue him...we saw just how furious the other Oligarchs were. We...we were afraid. So very very afraid that they would punish ponykind for our mistakes. And when Scholar of all people showed up and demanded our presence...” She groaned miserably and rubbed her face with her hoof. “We panicked. Apprehended him in a moment of fear, ignored his claims of wanting a peaceful resolution...”
She trailed off as she stared out the broken window. “From there, everything spiraled out of control. Concordia scrambled to try and attack us and it was only the conflict between them that gave us time to reorient ourselves. We... we didn’t want to hurt them, could never hurt them, they were our friends! But...they were dead-set on hurting us. So...we did what we had to. We weaponized the harmony. Sealed away as many as we could, driving them into an endless slumber. In the end, only a handful of species capitulated and agreed to cease hostilities.”
Celestia clenched her eyes shut and bowed her head. “The actions we took...I have lived a long time, and to this day there is not a single thing I regret more.”
For a moment there was silence, the Elements quietly contemplating what they had learnt. Finally, Applejack broke the silence. “Princess...what about the trolls? If ya’ll didn’t want to kill anyone, then why...?”
Celestia groaned and began massaging her forehead again. “The trolls...believe me, what happened to them was a tragedy to it’s core, nothing more or less, but...there was no other option. They were different from everyone else, somehow naturally resistant to the harmony. We tried to negotiate with them, but even before what happened, they were aggressive and prone to conflict. To them, war wasn’t a tragedy or anything like that, it was an art, a way of life! And their Empress? She personified it. She ordered her entire species to attack and they responded. With gusto.”
She lowered her hoof, her eyes filled with regret. “They...they left us no choice. Literally. Time and time again, I pleaded with her, tried to find some form of middle ground, but...whether it was pride or stupidity, I’ll never know. We never mounted a single offensive. All conflict was with Equestria purely on the defensive, and I think the only reason we won was the fact that the Empress never allowed a single retreat and none ever ran. She fought every battle literally to the last, and in the end, that’s what she was. The last troll. She even went out on her own terms. She tore through an entire army and fought me personally. That fight... it lasted for over a day, and it was the hardest battle I’ve had to date. I barely even survived.”
Celestia turned back and stared at her subjects. “Twilight, girls, please, I am begging you to believe me. What happened was one of the greatest tragedies in the history of E...” She trailed off before turning her gaze away. “...Mundus. But it has never been repeated, and I would do anything to take it back and prevent it from reoccurring. I promise.”
There was silence before Twilight finally nodded. “I...I believe you Princess.”
The rest of her friends nodded, giving sounds of assent. Almost nobody noticed that Applejack was slightly more resigned in her acceptance.
“Hey, wait a minute!” Celestia blinked and turned her head over as Pinkie jumped up and down. “I know that Scholar was a real meany and said that thing with his big glowing book was your last chance, but maybe if you tried asking him really really nicely, he’d be willing to be nice to you too!”
She bit her lip and looked away. “Even if that were probable, there’s still the fact that he wants to re-awaken Concordia...”
Pinkie tilted her head in confusion. “But...why is that a bad thing? If they were free, I could throw the mother of all ‘Sorry for overreacting and being a really big meany pants, please forgive me’ party, then you would apologize and we could all be super duper bestest of friends!”
Celestia flinched. “That’s...not possible. I highly doubt Scholar will ever forgive me for what I have done, and even if he did, the rest of the Oligarchs and I did not part on very...friendly terms...”
“Oh come on, how bad could it be?” Pinkie prodded.
Celestia swallowed nervously, cold sweat running down the back of her neck as she thought back to the final words they’d exchanged.
“You might imprison me, Solar Tyrant, but mark my words! One day! One day! I will be free! And when I am, I swear to you, I will have my revenge! The earth shall not be your prison! IT SHALL BE YOUR TOMB!”
“Your blood will boil!” “Your stomach will burn!” “Every inch of your body will be in pain!” “I will dedicate every last drop of my venom to making you hurt!” “I will ruin your inner biology!” “Just as you turned on us!” “YOUR BODY WILL TURN ON YOU AND MAKE YOU PAY!”
“Most people see death as an end to suffering. And for most, this is true. We wraiths rarely dare to intrude upon the sanctity of one’s afterlife in such a manner. You, however, shall be an exception. For you, death shall only be the beginning of your ETERNAL DAMNATION!”
“At first, Celestia, we were in disarray. I wanted to rip your throat out before you knew what had happened.” “I wanted to grind your bones to dust.” “And I wanted to fill you to the brim with lightning.” “Then, we had an epiphany.” “Why have conflict when we can compromise?” “We’ll rip your throat out, crush you, and electrocute you simultaneously.” “Oh, and don’t mistake our calm attitudes for anything like forgiveness.” “We are furious with you, honest. We want you dead in a very painful way.” “This is just the calm before the storm. Once we are free? You will feel the wrath of the sky.”
“HEAR MY VOW, CELESTIA! IF IT TAKES A LIFETIME, IF IT TAKES A THOUSAND LIFETIMES, A MILLION LIFETIMES, YOU WILL BURN! YOUR FLESH WILL TURN TO ASH, AND FALL FROM YOUR BONES! YOU WILL SUFFER FOR WHAT YOU HAVE DONE, DO YOU HEAR ME!? I AM PYRAE DAEMOS, AND I WILL! HAVE! JUSTICE!”
Celestia shivered. “I’m sorry, Pinkie Pie, but as much as I would love to, I am afraid that that is not an option.”
Pinkie’s mane deflated and she bowed her head. “Oh. Alright...”
Twilight patted Pinkie on her back sympathetically. She then looked at Celestia. “So, what do we do now, Princess?”
“Go home,” Celestia said immediately. “Go back to Ponyville. This is my war, not yours. Scholar might be furious with me, but he has always abhorred involving the innocent in any form of conflict. I am positive you will be safe. Don’t!” She held her hoof up as Twilight opened her mouth. “Argue, Twilight. Please, the last thing I want is to see you and your friends get unnecessarily hurt because of my mistakes. If there is anything you can do to help, I will ask, but for now...please, Twilight. Go home.”
Twilight stared at her quietly for a moment before nodding, turning around and silently walking away. The Elements followed behind her.
Applejack walked slower than the rest of them, trailing behind the group. No one else noticed as Rainbow Dash slowed her pace as well until she and Applejack were side by side as they walked. The pegasus glanced at the earth pony, her eyes filled with worry. Applejack caught sight of the look. In lieu of a verbal response, she raised a hoof to the brim of her hat and lowered it so that the shadow covered her eyes.
Rainbow Dash’s eyes widened in shock. She whipped her eyes forwards, keeping her face clear of expression. “How much?” She whispered in a dead tone.
Applejack kept her eyes shadowed. “One thing. The rest was true, but that one thing...it’s enough to shake my faith,” She raised the brim of her hat just enough so that she could look at Rainbow Dash out of the corner of her eye. “That gonna be a problem?”
Rainbow Dash tilted her head down just enough to keep hide her eyes with her mane. “Ever since I became an egghead, I’ve learned a lot of new words. Do you know what hypocrites are?”
“Yeah.”
“Good, because that’s what I’m not.”
And with that, the two lapsed into silence, their conversation completely unseen.
-Present-
The car was silent as the Elements and dragon contemplated what they had learned. “I...” Twilight started dully. “I’ve trusted the Princess my entire life...I’ve always believed in her...and now...”
“Well, Twilight dear,” Rarity said hesitantly. “I think that you can still trust the Princess. She did not lie to us, after all. she simply never mentioned it! And I can imagine why. It appears that fate dealt her a rather twisted hand.”
“But, um,” Fluttershy whispered. “What the princess did was still, and I’m very very very sorry to say this, but it was kind of...sort of...mean.”
Rarity sighed sadly. “And I’m not denying that. But she did apologize, so that’s better than nothing.”
Twilight silently turned her head away and looked back out the window. Her staring was interrupted by a claw poking her in the side. Looking down, she was met with Spike’s worried gaze.
“Twilight...” The young drake said softly. “This is Princess Celestia. You’ve known her for most of your life, and I’ve known her for literally all of mine. She wouldn’t do anything to hurt us, you know that.”
Twilight was quiet for a second before smiling gently. “You’re right, Spike. Thank you. It’s just-!”
She was cut off by a sudden screeching and the train jerking forwards.
Twilight glanced out the window and saw that while the snow was still moving sideways, the landscape wasn’t.
“Well, looks like we’re here,” Twilight said, turning around to look at her friends. “Are you all ready to go?”
The Elements and Spike shook their heads and gave noises of dissent.
“Good, me neither.”
-o-
Twilight shivered as she stepped out into the freezing cold. “Brr...this place is freezing!”
Rarity scoffed as she flaunted her winter clothing. “And you all made fun of me for packing so many scarves!”
Spike grunted as he walked out of the train, lugging almost half a dozen bags on his back. “I-ergh- didn’t say a word!” He huffed proudly...until he slipped on a patch of ice and gave a cry of alarm as the bags went flying. ‘Though I think I might,’ He thought mutinously as he watched the scarves float off.
Twilight raised a hoof to shield her eyes from the wind as she tried to look for someone, anyone through the blizzard. For a while, all she could see was unending snow. Then...
“Twilight!”
She turned her head towards the voice, smiling gratefully. “Shining Armor!”
Indeed, it was her brother, his neck wrapped in a black scarf and his eyes shielded from the winds by a pair of black snow goggles, which he lifted off his face as he beamed at his sister. “Twily, you made it!”
The siblings dashed up to each other and hugged eagerly. When they let each other go, Shining Armor’s face became overridden with fear as he turned around and pointed into the tundra. “Come on, we better get moving,” His eyes were filled with terror and weariness. “There are things out here we really don’t want to run into after dark.”
The Elements glanced at each other uneasily, put off by his sudden shift of mood. Fluttershy was the one who spoke up. “W-w-what kind of things?”
“The kind of things that would make you all piss yourselves and run to find the nearest hole in which to curl up and shiver in fear.”
The Elements and Spike went stiff at the sound of the familiar voice before slowly turning around to stare up at who had spoken.
“But then again,” Scholar growled irritably. “I suppose a gnat would send you all running for the hills, wouldn’t it?”
Fluttershy and Rarity screeched and jumped away from him, Pinkie Pie took a step back, Applejack fell into a ready position, and Twilight’s horn lit up in purple light.
Rainbow Dash’s wings flared as she flapped towards him. “EAT HOOF, YOU ARROGANT-MMPH!” She was cut off by a slip of paper covered in runes being slapped across her mouth. Her infuriated yells were muffled as she tried in vain to rip the paper off.
“There,” He smirked. “I believe that to be an improvement.”
Applejack raised an eyebrow as she smiled ruefully. “I’m sorry, Rainbow, but Ah can’t lie. Say Scholar, Ah know we’re mortal enemies and all, but would you consider partin’ with a few dozen copies of that there paper?”
“MMPH!?!”
“Well, first off,” Scholar said casually. “My problem is with your royalty, not with you, so maybe. As for the trade deal, these are seal tags, not paper, and that depends. Tell, me, you wouldn’t happen to be descended from a pony called Calvados, would you?”
“Yup! Wow, you liked mah family’s apples two thousand years ago?”
“No, I liked their booze, loved getting hammered on the stuff, excellent way to get efficiently shit-faced; quick intoxication, low hangover. I assume you’ve maintained his farming and distilling practices?”
“Darn straight!”
“Excellent. How about a barrel of hard cider for a roll of, eh, forty-five seal tags?”
“That sounds mighty reasonable!”
“Then we have an accord.”
“MMMMM!” Rainbow Dash screamed indignantly.
“Oh do shut up, you’re ruining the ambiance.”
“ENOUGH!” All heads turned towards Twilight, her face twisted in fury. “Let her go, Scholar, or I swear-!” Her horn flared brightly, preparing to fire...
Until Shining Armor darted in front of her and stood up on his hind legs, forelegs spread wide. “Twily, don’t!”
Twilight’s horn faltered for a second before her lips pulled back in a snarl as her horn lit up even brighter and her eyes shone violet. “Get. Out. Of my brother’s head. NOW!” She snarled.
Scholar raised an eyebrow at the outburst. “Well, at least you’re not underestimating me. Sadly, that’s a swing and a miss, so I’m afraid you’ve lost the Daily Double.”
“Oh! Oh!” Pinkie jumped up and down enthusiastically. “Can I buy a vowel?”
“Pinkie Pie, please!” Shining said desperately. He looked back at Twilight. “Twilight, I’m sorry. But as much as it pains me to say it, we can’t hurt him. And on that note, he can’t hurt us either.”
The magic died away from Twilight’s being as she stared at her brother in disbelief. “But, Shiny, how can you-”
“Oh come on!” Scholar exclaimed furiously, spreading his arms wide. “And I heard that you were supposed to be smart! Look at me, Twilight Sparkle!” He roared. “Look at me and figure it out.”
Twilight was silent for a moment as her eyes darted over his body for a minute. Finally, they widened in realization.
“Your book. You don’t have your book on you. If you did, you would have used it instead of the tag. You’ve lost your book somewhere and can’t get it back,” Her eyes widened further in horror. “Something took your book and you can’t get it back.”
Scholar smirked again and crossed his arms. “Gold star, miss Sparkle. Indeed, there is evil here in the north. A powerful evil, one that presents a most violent adversary. It got my grimoire and now I can’t fight it on my own. Instead, I find myself forced to form an alliance with the pretty pink princess and the useless lump of flesh she calls a husband.”
Shining scowled. “Believe me, I enjoy the situation as much as you do, book maggot.”
“Keep it coming, ‘Shiny’. Meanwhile, I’ll just be reminiscing about the good old days. And every last one of Cadance’s old flames therein. Tell me, Mr. Armor, do you want to know if she loves you less than any of them? Believe me, I can tell.”
Shining Armor growled under his breath and shivered from the strain of not attacking the Rune Keeper.
Luckily, Twilight intervened. “Alright, the both of you, knock it off!” She yelled. “Fine, so we’re working together! Now, can we please get to the Crystal Empire before whatever you two are so afraid of gets us?”
Scholar and Shining Armor glared at each other for a moment before nodding in synch. “Fine,” The unicorn grunted.
“Agreed.”
“Good!” Twilight turned around and began to walk into the blizzard.
“Just one thing though,” Twilight halted as Scholar spoke again. “It’s called Vitrum. Not the Crystal Empire. Vitrum.”
Twilight didn’t turn around as she frowned in confusion. “How do I know you’re not lying?”
“Simple,” Scholar stated as he walked past her. “First, what reason do I have to lie? And second...” He turned on his heel and faced her, his eyebrow raised questioningly. “Who exactly told you it was called the Crystal Empire?””
Twilight opened her mouth to respond...then froze, her pupils dilating in realization.
Scholar let a small smirk play across his lips. “That look of dawning horror when the final nail enters the coffin. I live for that look. Now then!” He clapped his hands. “Off we go!” He began walking into the blizzard before stopping and turning around again. “Leave it,” He said coldly.
The ponies froze. “Scholar, what are you-?” Shining started.
“I’m talking to the dragon,” He continued. “Spike, was it? Spike, leave the suitcase.”
Spike blinked in confusion. “Uh...”
“If you think for even a second that I will be continuing ahead without my luggage-!” Rarity started.
“Then I will decide to leave you behind to perish, be it by frost or by the menace that stalks these frozen plains,” Scholar interrupted emotionlessly. “Leave. The. Suitcase.”
Rarity swallowed heavily. “Er, Spike, my dear-!”
She was interrupted by a purple blur dashing ahead of her. “Well, come on everyone! Times a wastin’!”
Scholar chuckled as he began walking forwards again. “Smart drake. Come on, people! Either shake a leg or freeze to death!”
And with that, the ponies all began to trot after him, Rainbow Dash still trying furiously to rip the tag off her. She gave a sidelong glare at Applejack as she chuckled.
“What?” The farmer asked innocently. “You snore and Ah like to buck apples in quiet. Look on the bright side, you get to keep sleepin’ and Ah can get my work done in peace! In mah opinion, that’s a win-win!”
“MMPH!”
-o-
The group trudged slowly across the freezing tundra, wind howling as it whipped and whirled around them, nipping at them with it’s icy fangs.
“Shining Armor!” Twilight shouted over the storm. “What exactly is out here?”
“Something keeps trying to attack the E-Vitrum!” The Captain called back, hastily amending his statement when Scholar glared at him. “We think-!”
“Think!?” Scholar demanded incredulously.
Shining shot him a glare before looking forwards again. “Fine, it is the old unicorn king who cursed the Vitrum in the first place.”
The Rune Keeper growled furiously as he stomped forwards. “An absolute disgrace is what it is! He shouldn’t have been able to breach the outer defenses, much less conquer the entire city!”
Twilight frowned in confusion as she followed them. “But Princess Celestia sent me here to help protect the-Vitrum. If King Sombra can’t get in, then it must already be protected, right?”
Scholar grunted. “First, don’t call him ‘King’, that bastard is as much a legitimate ruler as Celestia is.”
“HEY!”
“And second!” He continued unimpeded. “It’s only a stopgap measure. Thanks to the harmony flooding Vitrum, we can’t access it’s oldest defenses. You know, the ones that have staved off armies time and time again? Instead, the only thing keeping Sombra from taking Vitrum over in seconds is a barrier that’s being maintained by Cadance at all hours of the day... a barrier that I created!” Scholar finished roaring furiously.
They walked on in silence for a few seconds before finally...
“Scholar...” Twilight asked quietly, barely audible over the wind. “Where are your friends?”
The mage whipped around in an instant, runes flying about him furiously, his face a mask of rage. He maintained the pose for almost a full minute...before deflating. All the energy left him in a single wave. Slowly, he turned around and began walking again.
“We got here almost a day ahead of Cadance and Shining Armor,” He croaked quietly. “We’d split up. We were trying to gather information. Then...it, and it is an ‘it’, that thing is no longer a ‘he’, attacked us. From out of the blue, out of the ice! We tried to fight it, but...” He brought his hand up to his face, tears streaming beneath his face. “Nix and Null...they disappeared, went down swinging. They...they’re gone. And Gilda and Trixie...they were in the city itself... I let them go on their own and...” He bit his lip, to keep himself from sobbing. “I haven’t heard from them since. Tried searching but...” He stopped, no longer able to continue.
Shining Armor gazed at him sadly for a moment before speaking. “When we got here...Sombra attacked us. We tried to fight, but we...we couldn’t do anything! It was like a ghost! Then, right when we were about to bite it, Scholar and Iron Will came to save us. He...he lost the Lexicon De Arcana, sacrificed it saving me and Cadance. If it weren’t for him...then we’d be just like the soldiers.”
Applejack blinked in confusion. “Hey, now that ya mention them, where are the guards that came with ya?”
Shining Armor made to answer...but was interrupted by a lone helmet clanging as it rolled by the group, propelled by the wind. They all watched in mute horror and resignation as it tumbled away.
“Ah retract the question,” Applejack said quietly.
“Mmhm,” Scholar hummed. “Now then, let’s get moving. Unless anyone else wants to join the very-much-dead club?”
There were no takers.
The group continued moving for about ten minutes before a shining blue bubble of magic appeared on the horizon.
The Rune Keeper grinned thankfully. “Thank Hermes, we made it!”
The ponies and dragon gave cries of relief.
All save Fluttershy. “Um, Scholar?” She asked timidly. “I’m sorry if this is rude, but um...where is Iron Will? I’m just worried and you haven’t said is all...”
Scholar frowned and bit his lip nervously. “He’s on the other side of the tundras, raising holy hell against Sombra. With any luck, he’ll keep it distracted long enough for us to cross the barrier.”
Suddenly, Iron Will crashed in front of them in a heap of bronze armor and muscle, groaning in pain.
Scholar swallowed heavily. “Then again, maybe not...”
Iron Will grunted as he stumbled to his feet. “Sombra...it’s...it’s coming!”
BUUUUUWOOOOOOH!
The ponies shivered in fear as a large horn rang out across the frozen plains.
“NO SHIT, HEMLOCK!” Scholar shouted fearfully.
In less than a second, a pillar of black smoke swept up over the ice behind the group, towering above them. A pair of sickly green eyes opened in the miasma, glaring down at the group with purple mist wafting off of them.
Spike shivered in horror, petrified by his fear...until Shining Armor’s aura picked him up and tossed him at Twilight.
“Go!” The Captain yelled. “I’ll hold it off!”
“No! There’s no way we can leave you!” Twilight protested.
“Speak for yourself!” Iron Will shouted as he dashed towards the barrier.
“Agreed!” Scholar yelled, right behind the minotaur. “I’d say it was nice to know you, but honestly, I hate your guts!”
“Scholar!” Celestia’s student shouted.
Shining Armor blasted a beam of light at the smoky being, but it dodged with ease. He looked over his shoulder at his sister. “Twilight, go! NOW!”
The purple unicorn hesitated for a moment before darting off behind the Concordians, Spike on her back and her friends close behind.
Shining lit his horn up defiantly as the smoke converged on his being, engulfing him completely.
Twilight sobbed as she galloped away from the menace. Catching up to Scholar, she scowled furiously at him. “You cowards! You abandoned him!”
“What!? Now we didn’t! We followed protocol!” He protested.
“He’s right!” Iron Will concurred. “Rule number 78: Anybody stupid enough to pull a heroic sacrifice deserves whatever fate befalls them!”
Twilight bit her lip. “But-!”
“Less yacking, more running like your asses were on fire!” Scholar shouted desperately.
They were getting close to the barrier. Forty feet, thirty, twenty...
Suddenly, the ice in front of them cracked and bulged before suddenly exploding in a blast of miasma and ice fragments, sending the entire group flying.
Twilight groaned as she got to her hooves. “Ouch...” She glanced around. “Well, at least everyone is on the right side...”
“TWILIGHT!” A voice shouted from over the chasm.
Or maybe not.
Twilight paled drastically and whipped around. “SPIKE!” She screamed. She lit her horn up and tried to teleport, but was interrupted by Scholar gripping the appendage.
“No chance in hell! You’re going across that barrier!”
“No! I won’t leave Spike! You can’t make me!” She screamed and struggled.
“That’s where we disagree,” Scholar grunted as he slapped a tag on her forehead. The paper flashed for a moment before exploding in a pulse of power and launching Twilight into Iron Will’s waiting arms. “GO!” He bellowed.
Iron Will nodded and ran through the barrier, carrying the hysterical unicorn with him.
Scholar scowled as he looked over the gap. “This is going to suck...” He muttered under his breath.
Acting quickly, he threw a tag onto the ground a few feet ahead of him. He took a few steps back and then ran at the edge of the precipice. Once he was directly above the paper, he jumped, detonating the tag and propelling him clear across. He landed roughly in front of an absolutely terrified Spike.
“Yup!” He coughed, wiping the snow off his robes. “That sucked!”
The purple dragon shivered in fear. “S-scholar! Please, h-help!”
“Don’t worry, Spike, I’m on it. But before I do...” His glasses glinted mischievously. “Let’s play an old game from Concordia!” He took a few steps back from Spike, his smile evolving into a full-blown smirk. “Kick the dragon!”
The phrase took a few seconds to register in Spike’s head, but when it did he paled dramatically and stumbled away from the human. “Don’t kick the dragon! Don’t kick the goddamn dragon!”
“Kick the dragon!” And with that, Scholar dashed up to Spike and punted him in the stomach, sending him flying clear over the chasm and straight through the barrier.
Scholar panted as he watched the dragon disappear into the veil of magic. “Now then, now that that’s over with...” He turned around slowly and glared at the smoke that was glaring at him. “I can deal with you.”
BUUUUUWOOOOOOH!
Scholar jerked his arms, producing a multitude of tags in both his hands. “BRING IT ON!” He roared defiantly. “I’M GOING TO EXORCISE THE SHIT OUT OF YOU!”
The smoke descended, and the battle began.
-o-
“LET ME GO!” Twilight shrieked as she flailed fruitlessly against Iron Will’s iron grip. “I NEED TO GET SPIKE!”
“What part of-YERK!” Iron Will grunted in pain as Twilight pegged him with her hooves. “Knock it off! If you go out there, you’ll end up on the back of a postage stamp!”
“What does that even-ergh!-mean!?”
Iron Will slapped his forehead with his free hand. “Oh, right, those methods fell out of practice when Celestia took over. OUCH!” He yelped when Twilight got him in the stomach. “ENOUGH! Look, you’re no use to us dead, so just stay put until Scholar saves the scale-tail and gets here!”
“Are you nuts!?” She demanded. “He ran away from Sombra! What makes you think that he can save Spike!?”
FLASH!
“AAAAAAAHH!”
CRASH!
Iron Will blinked in surprise as a purple blur shot through the barrier and knocked Twilight clean out of his arms. “Well for starters, that,” He said dumbly.
Twilight shook her head, trying to reorient her thoughts. “Argh, what hit me?”
“Me...”
“Wha-SPIKE!” She screamed joyfully as she hugged the dragon. “What happened?!”
“A whole lot...” Spike groaned. “Twilight, can you promise me something?”
“Anything, Spike, anything!”
“Don’t make me play ‘kick the dragon’. Pleeeeeease...”
Iron Will sighed in relief and turned towards the barrier. “Scholar should be back soon enough.”
FLASH!
“OOF!”
Iron Will stared incredulously at the white unicorn that had flopped down in front of him. “Iron Will stands corrected.”
“Oooooouch...” Shining Armor groaned as he tried to get to his hooves.
“Shiny!” Twilight cried as she ran over to her brother’s side and helped him up.
“Twily...ARGH!” Shining Armor winced in pain as he tried to light his horn up, but was prevented by his magic painfully fizzling out.
Twilight gasped in horror as she caught sight of the problem. “Shining Armor, your horn!”
Shining Armor gazed mournfully at the appendage. What had once been clean flesh and bone was now studded with a slew of uneven black crystals.
“Forget his horn, worry more about his neck!” Iron Will snarled. His hand shot out and snagged Shining Armor by the neck and lifted him up to glare at him dead in the eyes. “Where. In the name of Hel! IS SCHOLAR!?”
Shining Armor swallowed heavily as he struggled against the enraged minotaur’s grip. “I-I don’t know! He came out of nowhere and launched me through the barrier! B-but I’m sure he’ll be right behind me!”
FLASH!
“See!?”
“YEEEEAAAAAAARGHHHH!!!”
“SCHOLAR!” Iron Will shouted, tossing Shining Armor away and darting up to his superior. The Elements and dragon gasped in horror as they caught sight of Scholar’s body.
For the most part, the human’s body was unharmed. His right arm, on the other hand, was a whole different story. The forearm was coated in a slew of obsidian crystals. Unlike Shining’s, however, these were large and jagged. Black lightning cracked around and across them. Worse yet, they were spreading up his arm at a steady rate.
Iron Will brought his fist down on the crystals, but to no avail. “Damn it!”
Scholar jerked and spasmed as he clutched his shoulder in agony. “Seal t-tag! R-roman!”
“Iron Will knows, he knows!” The minotaur grunted as he searched through Scholar’s robes. Finally, he extracted a tag and slapped it on Scholar’s shoulder. “Twelfth Sermon of the Roman Pantheon: Isolation of Pluto!”
Not a moment too soon. The encroaching crystalline blight was halted at Scholar’s shoulder in a flash of runes and light, leaving his entire arm encased in a prison of onyx. He panted painfully as he gripped his shoulder and sat up, clapping his free hand on Iron Will’s shoulder. “Thanks, Iron Will,” He hauled himself to his feet. “You’re a good-hurk!” He whipped his hand to his throat and began to choke.
“Scholar!?” Iron Will asked fearfully.
“Agh! H-Harmony!” Scholar wheezed. He groped around his robes before whipping a tag to his throat. A flash of light and he began gulping down huge amounts of air. “Isis-be-damned manure-chugging stable-humping nag!”
The ponies gasped in horror at his proclamation. “Watch your language, you ruffian! ”Rarity cried in indignity.
“Cram it, glue stick!” The beleaguered mage snarled vehemently. “Your precious princess’s harmony nearly smothered me!”
Iron Will’s eyes widened in panic. “Wait, what happened to the wards!?”
Scholar growled under his breath as he rubbed his sore crystallized shoulder. “Still in place but inactive because my magic bit the big one!” He rapped his fist on the black growths. “Blight crystals, seriously nasty magic nullifiers. We used them in prisons, really helped made life sentences stick.”
Iron Will tapped the crystals and jerked his hand back when black lightning zapped his fingers. “Any way to get them off?”
“Yeah, one,” Scholar scowled. “Excessive magic. We sure as hell aren’t going to find that anywhere nearby!”
“So, that would mean...” Shining started in horror.
“Our only hopes are Twilight Sparkle-ass, the five stooges, and Spikey the wonder drake?” The human mage snarked.
“Hey, I take offense to-”
“Kick the dragon!”
“Don’t kick the goddamn dragon!”
“To summarize,” Scholar deadpanned. “We are screwed.”
Shining sighed and shook his head as he stood up and began walking. “Alright, enough. Look, we’re all alive, and that’s what counts. Come on, let’s get to Vitrum.”
The group gave sounds of assent as they turned in the direction he was heading. The Elements and Spike gave shouts of surprise.
“Wooooow!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed. “Sparklerific!”
And indeed, it was. Vitrum glittered and shone in the artificial sunlight, an incredible display of crystalline architecture.
“Tsk,” Scholar scoffed. “That’s nothing. At least seventy-five percent of it is deactivated and underground. And what’s present isn’t even at it’s best!”
“As you’ve chosen to repeat again and again,” Shining muttered as he began to trot along the crystal road.
“Let me put everything back in order and I’ll leave you alone until I punt you off my property.”
Twilight sighed miserably. “You two don’t intend to shut up, do you?”
“No.”
“Not a chance in hell.”
“I was afraid of that.”
Unseen in the shade cast by Vitrum’s glittering structures, a shadowy figure watched the group’s approach. It’s eyes narrowed menacingly before it snuck away and faded into the darkness.
To Be Continued...
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...Celestia is fuuucked! I love it!
Hah! An alliance, that's pretty amusing!
What's more amusing is the banter that comes from these idiots!
Oh I think I know whats going on here but I'm not going to spoil it.
Now I wanna play 'kick the dragon' too...
So... Rainbow and Applejack suspect stuff eh?
First also nice chapter
img1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20120921164818/dragonage/images/2/2a/Anchorman-well-that-escalated-quickly.jpg
4210389 like the avatare pic
more please
especially if I have read this correctly and Rainbow and AppleJack are the ones to switch sides first, this shit just got interesting
Scholar you sly devil...
Twilight you stupid idiot...
4210516 I get that a lot
If you want the full-sized version, it's here.
4210533 SHHHH! No spoilers!
i.chzbgr.com/maxW500/1079042304/h44F810D9/
4210549 wow... Dat image
I am just going to love it when Shining Armor finds out that he's husband number 247 and that a century or so after he dies Cadence will have forgotten about him and have a new boy toy. I mean she's an immortal goddess who's super hot by pony standards so if Shiny thinks that he's her one true love he's even dumber than I thought.
This is how I imagine Cadences relationships work. She finds some handsome stallion who peeks her fancy, she then inserts herself into his life and seduces him and marries him. Now since she's an alicorn princess, marrying any old pony would cause a political uproar but marrying the captain of the guard, well that's another story. I imagine when it came time to hand out promotions Shining Armor found himself with a few "letters of recommendation" from a certain princess. This would explain why a guy who's 25 and has no combat experience is the head of the military.
Then after they've lived their lives and her husband starts to get on in years and starts to lose his good looks he would have an "accident" (it's referenced in the story that Cadance used to be a remorseless killer who liked to use poisons). She would mourn and her former husband would quietly be erased from the history books with no record of his existence remaining. then after a few decades go by and everyone who ever new him is dead she would find another stallion and the cycle would repeat.
I also Imagine Cadance as a total pervert, but not without good reason. When your mortal and your time on this earth is limited everyday becomes something to treasure. There's always some new experience to try, knowing full well that you can never do it all, forcing you to limit your choices. but when you're immortal this stops being a problem. Just like with money, food or even happiness, when you have something in abundance it stops being special and becomes cheap and worthless. The same applies to the days of your life. You can't waste time when you have an unlimited supply of it and when your immortal life stops being a joyful adventure and turns into a chore of finding ways to spend your endless supply of time.
For all you Warhammer 40k fans out there you know what happened to the Eldar. I imagine that Cadance has a secret pleasure dungeon like the palace of Slaanesh. She hosts orgies, drinks the finest wine, and has vast piles of gold and jewels that would make any dragon wet with jealousy. As the alicorn of love she would also embody happiness, lust, and desire as these are all components of love. as the centuries wore on she would have become increasingly bored with these things and would continue to seek out more extreme forms of debauchery to satisfy her desires.
(Think I'm wrong, Google the words Cadance and clop right now, I'll wait....That's what I thought)
Forget husbands, Cadance probably had entire harems of stallions and mares at several points throughout history and is only having one at a time now due to "modern standards".
If you think this is wrong just ask yourself this. If Celestia and Luna where ruling the world, what has Cadance been doing for the past 2000 years. How has she been spending her time.
(Obligatory massive post out of the way, keep up-voting these comments, those little thumb ups are my crack)
P.S. Sorry if I offended anyone with this I just always imagined Cadance as a total perv based on all the fics I've read about her and the fact that someone thousands of years old not having any prior relationships is silly.
I'M GONNA EXORCISE THE SHIT OUTTA YOU! HAHAHA that just nice!
4210605
Errr...riiiight, normally I just sit back and laugh at these things, but I'm going to straight out call this one wrong.
4210605 I love how you analyze these things...
Oh glorious South Park reference, how you make me laugh
W-what?!
img4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20120616003315/random-ness/images/9/9f/Darth_vader_no.gif
I swear, just my luck. I find a new favorite pair of characters and they immediately go down in a blaze of glory. I wanted at least a little more psychotic golem duo.
And I know this probably isn't -really- their end, but c'mon. I waited for this chapter and I want mah fix dangit!
is kick the dragon a south park reference?
4210618 Oh well that's just my headcanon. Like I said before the show is full of plotholes and when Cadance was introduced I was like "where the hell has she been this whole time". And I'm a huge fan of 40k lore so I was reading the wiki about Slaanesh and I was like.
s2.quickmeme.com/img/d5/d587e4991a4d7cf5ab0141603aa889e31e458617595135b08ade5668c181cdcb.jpg
And it became my headcanon ever since.
Plus after seeing the unholy amount of Cadance clop on this site it began to color my judgement.
4210647
4210627
Yesss.... glad we got to see Celestia's version of events. She really was only doing what she thought was right, after all!
I didn't think you'd be following the original story so closely. I guess Twilight and Co hunt for the Crystal Heart next... and end up finding Celestia's how-to guide on spreading harmony with it! Maybe they want to host the Crystal Faire behind Scholar's back?
I find it kind of odd Celestia would send Twilight and Co knowing they are underequipped... the story is a bit confusing here, I guess they were sent home after the reception, and only later Celestia sent them north. But I think in your story it makes more sense for Twilight and Co to go north of their own accord to try and fix things themselves, not knowing just how dangerous it could be.
Is that a South Park reference I see?
4210691 Did they look like they were expecting Scholar to be there?
4210691 My spidey senses tell me that all is not what it seems. Methinks mischief be afoot.
4210726 She did not mind-whammy them into going.
4210716 I guess I missed the bit where Celestia is not quire sure what is going on up there but that it isn't just Scholar. Still Luna and Celestia agree it was a bad idea, but did it anyway, just that no other option was possible... the option of NOT sending them was not considered, I guess?
Regardless, good chapter. I myself like a good game of kick the dragon from time to time.
4210729 Oh no sir, it is Scholar of whom I speak. Methinks within this tale it is not Discord but he who bears the guise of Loki. for I sense trickery and subterfuge on his behalf.
(Man what is with all this shakespeare?)
Hm... so a main character who always wins, has all the powers, has a tragic past, going around for 10 chapters randomly beating people up for not making My Little Pony the way he wants it to be.
I admittedly cannot think of anything more objectively awful to hide behind Cerberus's door.
really even after learning what she did they followed her the only ones that are having doubts seem to be applejack and rainbow dash i mean come on they tried to change nature itself and thats not ok i know its been a really long time since then but why cant they see that death is a part of life, perfection is an illusion and i guess im ranting cause celestia has really pissed me off and the main 6 have made me mad by following them after learning the truth and i want them to take up arms against her but i dont think that will happen but even after all this im still loving this fic
Do I sense a Adventure Quest reference? PUNT THE DRAGON!!!!!
Oh god Scholar is HILARIOUS!!!!
I sense that more than one thing is wrong with what Celestia said.
Thousands of year in charge, thus plenty of opportunities to rectify her mistakes and giving back the other races at least a few scraps of everything she took from them... and the best she can offer is a half-baked appologize?!
....
Has any of the Six besides Applejack an I.Q above 84?
P.E: I wonder if Celestia will have the balls of telling them she is the one who unleashed Sombra.
4210605
Suddenly, Cadence´s foalsitting activities sounds a lot more... disturbing.
4211670 I think it's based off of kick the baby from south park.
4211811 I forget the name of it but there's a fic on this site about how Cadence lusted after Twilight sparkles father and the reason she foalsat Twilight was to get close to him.
I've asked myself why Chrysalis did such a bad job of impersonating Cadence at the wedding. You'd think a creature designed to impersonate others would be a master actress. My headcanon for Changelings is that they can read your mind and get a "flash clone" of their targets personality, allowing them to flawlessly replicate their mannerisms.
The reason that Chrysalis acted the way she did was because that's what Cadence is really like, rude, bitchy, and uncaring for others. she only acts sweet and nice to fool others and Changelings can't replicate a false persona. the Cadence that Chrysalis became was the "real" Cadence.
In my headcanon Cadence is a highly manipulative sociopath.
Welp every story that has Celestia apologizing for mistakes she made 1000+ years ago bring 1 though into my mind. "You had a 1000 to try and do something about your mistake, but only when it bites you in the flank you're sorry."
Yes! A update! I am one happy camper now!!
4212011
I take you have read Lines and Webs of Airstream
4212248 No but I will now, thanks for the recommendation.
I noticed that I spent my giga-post hating on Cadence instead of commenting on the chapter (I blame exam stress and caffeine withdrawal) so I shall rectify that now.
this was a pretty interesting chapter. I expected Celestia to completely bullshit the elements about what Scholar said but she was pretty straight forward. Although I think that she may have been exaggerating a little bit with how bad Discords tantrum was, he doesn't come off as capable of that much evil.
Her reasons for why she didn't let the other oligarchs go makes more sense. What she did is the equivalent of accidentally killing someone in self-defense and burying the body in a panic (I'm taking police foundations in college so I'm harnessing my inner detective for this). She's terrified of the consequences of her actions.
I love the implications of this that the elements have powers based around their element. Applejack being a Lie detector is pretty awesome. Makes me wonder what the other elements powers are.
To Xomniac, I love your writing style. You are a master of incorporating cliff hangers and mystery into every-single-chapter. It gets you addicted to the story and always leaves you hungry for more. You show a lot of obvious talent and I'm excited to see how you end this story because I just can't fathom how you're going to resolve this conflict without killing or imprisoning the alicorns (hopefully that's not it, it's just a little to obvious for my taste).
....
"Wut", apologized, apologized she committed the most disgusting and evil act in the history of the world and a half-assed apology is enough to make it okay in your eyes. Jeez Rarity I know your an empty headed gold digging ass kisser but that's too much.
(Phew, okay I got that out of my system I'm good)
Pfft....BAHAHAHAHAHA, oh god my sides. Does she really think she stands a chance against him. He could snap his fingers and turn her into a stain on the ground. this is how I see there battle going.
"This is the end Scholar, prepare to meet justice" Twilight said with a confident smirk.
she shot her magic missile at him, watching as it soared through the air at him. only for him to catch it in his bare hand.
"W-what" said Twilight, her previous bravado gone.
"Here let me give this back" said Scholar with a bored look on his face.
He flicked the ball of magic back at her, it collided with her face causing her to explode and shower her friends with gore. Scholar reached into his robe and pulled out a large red button and pressed it.
"That was easy"
Well that's it, hope everyone likes this. Darkkseid out.
4212436 Oh, I forgot something. I can't wait to see Solum Nox, he sounds like a total bad ass.
hypebeast.com/image/2013/08/diablo-iii-reaper-of-souls-opening-sequence-0.jpg
4212744
That's exactly what I visioned him to look like
Awesome chapter.
I loved the South Park referance.
Look's like Applejack and Dash may be having doubts about Celestia. What will that lead too?
Soooo...... does that mean that Scholar is Kyle?
KICK THE DRAGON!
stupid speculation of randomness! I wonder if celestia and co had something to do with the unification of the three pony tribes? like in a semi antagonist for the good of her species done in her own ways? she old and manipulative so say it might be possible she summon the frost spirit horses and made her lands cold on purpose? and says might have her inside agents manipulate things for her plans to work with a few unforeseen mistake's like a few frozen solid sea ponies or breezie going under as a species and fire of friendship thing? her unfrozen loyal agents says it happen like that. scary and wow possible in this kind of settings.
4212436
I´m curious about what was the lie.
Anyway, note that none of the exarcs said anything about the ponies themselves; their revenge vows were all against Celestia (and by extension the other two alicorns). Which mean they aren´t truly protecting their subjects, but their own flanks.
And finally: I don´t care how much Celly may try to justify it... she unleashed a monster over the
Crystal EmpireVitrum and sent their unprepared student and co. to fight it and Scholar. Tell the soldiers´ families how much sorry you are for their lost.4213296 They're definitely just protecting themselves. Like I said in my earlier post, alicorns are naturally selfish creatures who hoard power and authority like a dragon hoards gold. If something threatens that power they will stop at nothing to destroy it. That's why Luna Betrayed Celestia a 1000 years ago. She loved her sister but the thought of having Equus all to herself was to tempting.
img1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20110815044733/mspaintadventures/images/8/8c/Fereriancestor.gif
4213748 Somebody finally hits the nail straight on the head.