Conclave of the Clairetti

by Talidin1337

The Next Day

Chapter 4: The Next Day

The fire was burnt out, it's ashes lay cold on the ground. Last night had been strangely long, but the sun eventually did rise.

Drapney and Draighholl where long gone. They were half way up the mountain when the sun finally arose, and were nearing their destination. The Groulgs were aware of today, and would be waiting for them at the top of the mountain. Drapney was wearing her war suit, which consisted of golden shoes, hind leg plates, a small helmet that barely covered the back of her neck, some golden plates that lined the top edge of her wing, a just as golden piece of cloth that covered her mouth, and a sword with a handle as long as the blade. Light armor like this was common among the Clairetti. They had decided that since they can destroy all that they touch, it is better to wear light armor, so then they can touch more things in a shorter amount of time. Combined with their wings, this has made the Clairetti swift, and mighty warriors. They have pegasus style fighting techniques unique to them, but with the destructive power of an angry giant.

Drapney stopped in her tracks, stopping Draighholl from advancing. "This is far enough".

"Are you sure Drapney?" Draighholl said in protest.

"Yes, any closer and you risk everything"

"Are you sure you don't want me to attend with you any farther?"

Drapney turned her head to look at Draighholl, "Please, remain here" she said, then continued walking away while Draighholl stayed behind.

"Good luck Drapney"

"I'm not the one who needs it".

Drapney approached the top of the mountain, she heard drums beat in the not so far distance. The Groulgs were ready for her, but it sure didn't matter. Finally at the top of the mountain, Drapney entered into an opening through the trees, and double the amount of estimated Groulgs were standing around, waiting. Apparently they had called for reinforcements, to ensure a steady victory over todays battle. The Groulgs all huddled around four massive drums, all in different sizes. The leader of the outpost commanded them to stop pounding the drums and to turn and face their visitor. The Groulgs were tall, broad beings with large muscles. They each either carried a Sword, War Hammer, or War Axe. Two horns protruded from their heads, and they wore thick battle armor. These Groulgs resembled Minotaurs, except with straight legs and flat faces; infact, before declaring war with the Clairetti, they were at war with the Minotaurs. That war ended in a treaty, but the two races still hate each other.

Drapney stood alone in front of them.

"Where is the rest of your battalion Pony?" The apparent commander from the middle asked, his voice deep, and threatening.

"I am all that has come"

"Don't insult us! Where are they? In the forest?"

"No, I am all there is"

"HA!, HA HA HA HA HA!" The master Groulg laughed, and the others laughed with him,

"Oh how wrong your masters were to send a single vessel. They insult our strength."

"You insult ours by thinking that bringing more warriors would make a difference". The Groulgs grew quiet at the comment Drapney had made.

Walking out in front of the crowd, the Master Groulg approached. "I am going to wear your hide as a trophy when we invade your homeland" he said, pointing a finger at Drapney.

"If you can get it off my back"

"You are weak! We will skin you alive!"

"Then prove it! We fight one on one." Drapney said, crouching in a position ready for the battle.

The Master Groulg spread a menacing grin, "I accept your offer" he said, then removed his shirt, showing off his massive muscles, and unsheathed his curved sword. Drapney unsheathed hers.

The Master Groulg charged straight ahead after Drapney. Drapney, with a flap of her wings, soared up into the air.

"Coward!" The Groulg screamed as he bent down, grabbed a nicely sized stone, and threw it up at Drapney. Drapney tipped out of the way and bolted down towards the Groulg, her sword in her mouth. The Groulg parried the strike with his own blade, but the force of their swords hitting each other had cause him to almost lose grip on his sword. Drapney landed on the ground with a loud thud, the ground exploding around her to make a medium sized crater. In one fluid motion, Drapney flipped the sword in her mouth so that it pointed the other direction, and twisted her body to slash at the Groulg. The Groulg barely spun around fast enough to block, and almost lost his grip on the sword again; he then realized that this pegasus wasn't as weak as they had all thought, and he gripped his sword tighter. Drapney wasn't finished with her assault, and she hopped back to gain some distance, then jumped back towards the Groulg, flapping her wings only once to gain momentum. The Groulg succeeded in blocking, but his sword dented in the spot he blocked with, and the force of the impact pushed him back slightly. Drapney continued on the offensive, and she bent down to make a sweep at the Groulg with her rear left leg. The Groulg was still reacting to the force of being pushed back when the collision of Drapney's leg hit his leg. What resulted was a shattered leg for the Groulg. He bent down in pain right as Drapney jumped in the air to strike him in the side of his face with her other rear hoof. A direct hit broke his jaw, and he rolled away to escape whatever the pegasus might have in store for him next.

Drapney didn't pursue, she wanted the Groulg to get back up before she finished him. The Groulg quickly stood again, crouching slightly in the direction on his broken leg. He unsheathed his other sword, and charged at Drapney once again. He swung his swords with wide, quick, powerful strokes, but he couldn't lay a hand on Drapney. Every which way, she would dodge his attacks. Drapney then found an opening between the Groulg's two swords that led up to his chin, and she took it. With a strike of her front right hoof, she broke the Groulg's chin, and sent him stammering back. Drapney walked forward, and every time she got close enough, would strike the Groulg in the chest, sending a small shock wave through his body with each hit. The Groulg swung with all his might with his right hand to destroy the grey pegasus, but she stopped the motion with her hoof and hitting upward with as much force as she could muster without ripping off the Groulg's arm, broke the Groulg's arm in a direction an arm should never bend. Screaming in pain, the Groulg tried to get away, but Drapney continued to play with him. "I'll make an example of you" was all Drapney said, before she jumped up, spun around with the sword still in her mouth, and decapitated the Groulg. Blood splattered everywhere with the impact.

Drapney walked over to the head, picked it up, and threw it at the other Groulgs; it stopped in front of them, where they all could see. Many where shocked at the sight, and many where afraid. Most surrendered to the other side of the opening within the trees and dropped their weapons, at mercy to what Drapney would bestow upon them, but those who didn't surrender where angered, and all drew their weapons, and attacked Drapney. Yelling and charging, they closed the ground between them and Drapney. All Drapney did in response, was charge forward, picking up dirt with each step she took. With precision, when she and the other Groulgs met together, she jumped passed one Groulg just enough to cut into his neck with her blade, sending more blood out into the mob. One after one, she cut through necks, chests, limbs… all with the song of screams of pain from her victims. Drapney had simply played with their leader, but she now ran through what was left of their forces without mercy, and without mistake. As more and more Groulgs fell, more and more Groulgs surrendered. One of the Groulgs was clutching at his side and kneeling on the floor, it being deeply cut open from one of Drapney's strikes. Drapney remained in a pose that suggested that whoever would approach, would be in as much pain as the Groulg clutching his side behind her. Blood dripped down her sword, and stained her armor. The look in her eyes suggested death, and it alone was enough to keep the remaining Groulgs from advancing. One Groulg attacked at full sprint, raising his sword up high in the air. When he brought it down, Drapney parried it with her blade, then in a blink of an eye, shifted her sword into a forward position, and stabbed right though the Groulg's chest. The shock wave broke whatever bones were located in his upper torso, and the Groulg fell backwards onto the ground, the sword sliding out of him as he fell. The remaining Groulgs all kneeled onto the ground, and surrendered to Drapney. About one third of all the troops that were at that outpost to fight against Drapney had died, two thirds remained kneeled on the group with their weapons thrown far out of reach.

Drapney sheathed her weapon, "I am only one soldier within the Clairetti forces, and all of you have surrendered to just me." She said, the look of death exiting her eyes, and she once again took the identity of a harmless pony. She removed the golden cloth that covered her mouth, which was also stained with blood. "Go among your people, your generals, your gods, and tell them what you have seen today. You are free to go." She finished, then walked away back into the forest. The Groulgs dared not move until she was long out of sight. When they believed all was clear, they ran away down the other side of the mountain, leaving their weapons behind. All that went through their head was the thought of being followed by the Clairetti, and that fear powered every step they took, every breath they made, all the way down to the base on the other side of the mountain.

The war was over.

***

Pinkie's headaches continued, and they were getting worse. It all started the night before Twilight Sparkle came to town, and every five hours or so, she would get another one. This happens every six months or so, so it wasn't any big deal. Except, it stopped during the elongated night of Nightmare Moon's reign. When Celestia rose the Sun again after they had defeated Nightmare Moon, she felt the worst headache she ever felt. It was enough to make her cry, but she's not one to cry, and stayed happy and bouncy for her friends. Reguardless, she's all better now, and bouncing around as she usually does.

"How's every pony doin'!" she would say as she bounced up and down the road.

"Hi Pinkie Pie!" They would say back.

Pinkie surely was a happy mare.

She decided to go head to Sugar Cube corner. Yesterday was her day off, but she had to go to work now. She trotted inside, her eyes closed in bliss, and her mouth in a smile. "Good morning Mr. & Mrs Cake!"

"Why good morning Pinkie!" Mrs. Cake replied,

"Hey Pinkie, me and the Mrs. have to make some deliveries this morning on over to Los Pegasus. We'll be gone for a while, do you think you can hold it down here while were gone?" Mr. Cake asked.

"Certainly!" Pinkie said with a smile.

"Oh thank you Pinkie!" Mrs. Cake said, "We'll be back as soon as we can."

"Okey Dokey Lokey!" Pinkie was still smiling.

"Alrighty then" Mr. Cake intervened, "We've got to go know, the train's about to leave."

"Oh dear! Bye Pinkie" Mrs. Cake realized they where almost late.

"Bye Mr. & Mrs. Cake! Haaave FUN!" Pinkie said.

Pinkie kept her smile up until Mr. & Mrs. Cake where out of sight. When Pinkie believed the ghost to be clear, she flipped the OPEN sign to CLOSED and rushed off to the Library. The smile had left her face. Pinkie quickly rushed into the Library; Twilight wasn't there for whatever reason, but it was good enough for her. Pinkie perceived that Twilight would return back into the building in exactly 13 minutes and 34 Seconds. She had time. Pinkie rushed around looking for a book on headaches. She thought the headaches were natural until now, when it strangely disappeared during the Moon, but came back during the Sun. What was wrong with her?

Pinkie succeeded in finding several books about headaches, and preceded to read through them. The first book was about Headache Management, which she thought could be helpful for the future, but not right now. The second book was about how to deal with headaches using acupuncture. "Eee, that would hurt!" She said, then moved on to the next book. The third book was about different types of headaches that were caused by different things. Pinkie was excited about this one, but the only thing it had about the Sun where Migraines acquired by a powerful beam of light shining through your eyes. Pinkie for a while thought that she was just having a migraine that day, because the sun was up again. But she let that thought out of her mind, because why hadn't she got this before? There where multiple accessions when she looked at the sun, but nothing happened. So it wasn't migraines. Pinkie opened the forth and last book. "Correlation Between Headaches and Thinking Hard" was the title. Pinkie didn't even bother to read further. Pinkie decided to wait for Twilight to come home, maybe she knew what was wrong.

Pinkie looked at the clock, only a minute and 20 seconds had gone by. Pinkie decided to keep searching until Twilight returned. Pinkie skimmed through book titles: Pain Care, The Power Of Your Brain, Medical Magic, Music & Brainwaves, The Five Sences: A Reference Guide… none of these book would suffice. Pinkie then decided to just sit and wait. Pinkie found it hard to sit in one place, it was like watching paint dry! Out of boredom, she would sing a song, dance around, scoot on the floor, and then an idea hit her; why don't I just go to Twilight? Pinkie Perked up again, and rushed out of the building. She found Twilight carrying groceries when she crashed into her, sending the merchandise all over the place.

"Oh, sorry Twilight" Pinkie said.

"Ugh, it's fine Pinkie" Twilight said, getting back up and gathering her groceries with her magic.

"Hey I just had a question" Pinkie said bobbing up and down.

"Sure Pinkie, what is it?"

"Well, y'see, I've been having these really bad headaches, but they stopped all of a sudden when Nightmare Moon kept the Moon raised."

"That's nice Pinkie"

"Yeah but, the worst one I ever had came when Celestia raised the sun. Do you know what caused it?"

"It was probably just a migraine, ponies get it all the time when they're stressed or unhealthy."

"But I was just in your library and read all about it, and I don't think that's it".

Twilight stopped walking, "You know, I had a strange headache when Celestia raised the Sun too"

"You did?!"

"Yeah, but it wasn't that bad, I shook it off easily" Twilight continued walking,

"But my headache made me want to cry"

"I think you're over reacting a bit, headaches are normal"

"But not the way I have headaches Twilight. It happens every six months or so when they start. Then every five hours for the next week they get stronger and stronger, until they just stop. The night before you came was when they started, but they strangely stopped when Nightmare Moon attacked, but than had the worst one ever when Celestia raised the sun, and that's never happened before?"

Twilight stopped again, thinking. "Why don't you come over to the library with me, and we can see what's wrong."

"[gasp] Thank you Twilight!"

Twilight Sparkle walked while Pinkie hopped all the way to the library.When they arrived, Pinkie's books about headaches lay randomly on the floor. Twilight seemed a little surprised; where was Spike? Oh well, he should be fine.

"Right this way Pinkie" Twilight said walking into the next section of the library. "So, when do these headaches accrue?"

"Once ever five hours throughout a week, and once every six months between weeks."

"And yesterday was strange because?"

"Well, it was only the third day of headaches, and they all stopped. When Celestia raised the sun, I got one that was a doosey."

Twilight was rummaging through the Medical Magics book, and found the section on headaches to see if what Pinkie had was magical. There is a medical disability with Vamponies that give them intense headaches whenever they look at daylight, but there was no known cure. "Does your headaches happen during the day only?"

"No, they last through the night as well"

"Hmm". Twilight kept searching. There is a spell that stops the pain of a headache, as the book said, but the project was abandoned due to brain damage. Twilight kept looking, but nothing came up. She then switched over to another book. She skimmed over a book called Supernaturals, and didn't think twice to pick it up. Pinkie starred at that book; for some reason, she felt that it was important. Twilight then came back. "I'm sorry Pinkie, I can't seem to find anything. You've got something no pony else has. I'm going to be a little busy, but if you could come back later tonight, I would love to study what you have and see if I can't figure it out."

"Thanks Twilight!" Pinkie said happily. "Hey, can I borrow that book up there" Pinkie said pointing at the green book on the shelf.

"Oh, that things. I don't know Pinkie, it's only filled with facts about ghosts and witchcraft, thus the name Supernaturals"

"Please, pretty pretty please."

"Well, alright, but I don't think you'll find anything about headaches in there."

"WOO HOO, Thanks!" Pinkie said with a bounce. She quickly ran over to the shelf, grabbed the green book, and ran back out the door. Pinkie then darted across the courtyard and into her home, which was actually an attachment to Sugar Cube Corner, but it was her house anyway. Pinkie threw open the book. Turns out it wasn't filled with scary monsters, but with natural remedies. Pinkie flipped open to the part about headaches. It had different plant combinations, meditations, and social exercises all for meditation. She was starting to feel really disappointed until she got to the final page about headaches.

"Have strange periodic headaches that seem to get worse over time then disappear?" The book said. Pinkie's attention drew straight to the book, "Then you must see Zecora".

"Who's Zecora?" Pinkie said aloud, no pony around to hear her. She then flipped over to the front to find the author, and discovered that it was actually written by this pony named Zecora! Like all books, there was an address to where the author lived, and it said Zecora lived in the Everfree Forest? "Why that's strange, who would want to live there?"

The book also gave direction on how to get to Zecora's, all you had to do was follow a trail that breached off to her house. Pinkie decided to go. She put on a pack and shoved the book into it. Walking out of her home with a smile on her face as she passed by the other ponies, she eventually made it all the way to the entrance of the forest. Pinkie gulped down whatever fear was inside of her, and started trotting off into the forest. It didn't take too long, but she did succeed in finding the hut. It sure was a creepy thing. It took all of her courage to approach the hut, and when she got close enough, she knocked on the door. Her legs started shivering. The door slowly creeped open, and the pony inside looked out the crack of the door. When she saw who it was, her eyes widened and she flung the rest of the door open. 'What kind of pony is that!?' Pinkie thought.

"Why Pinkie Pie!" Zecora said surprised, "What brings you to my hive?"

"You know who I am?" Pinkie said tilting her head to the side with confusion.

"Please, please come in. We must speak together as kin" Pinkie remained confused, and walked inside. It was kind of funny that Zecora spoke in rhymes. "So, why have you come, or where you just out to roam?"

"No no, here." Pinkie pulled out the green book. Zecora showed recognition to it's covers. She then flipped open to the part that described her headaches. "It says here that I needed to see you, so, here I am!" Pinkie said with a smile.

"Guntal(god) Raahn(an action you make) Alarme(Alarmed)!"

"What?"

"It means to acknowledge the gods, my dear friend of pony odds"

"oh. Well, can you help me?"

"Indeed I can. I already have a plan"

"Oh goodie! What is it?"

"First you must submit yourself to my teachings, and learn all that I have without leaving."

"Well, alright."

"Second, you must leave Ponyville, for only then will you be healed"

"Wait, leave Ponyville? But what about my friends?"

"Your friendship is strong, I give you that, but if you do not accept these conditions, the pain will come back."

"I think I can deal with the pain for my friends, I won't leave them."

"Pinkie, what awaits you is destiny, not anarchy. This is the next step in your life, a step you must be brave enough to take through strife"

"I won't leave my friends… what's your name again?"

"Zecora"

"Thanks. I won't leave my friends Zecora, so no thanks"

"But Pinkie" Pinkie Pie was already heading through the door, "Pinkie, Wait!". Zecora through on her cloak and ran outside the door, "You're a voodooist Pinkie, one of legend I'm thinking!"

Pinkie stopped walking. "A what?"

"A voodooist, descending from the land of Arcamist".

"I'm a Pie, we come from the rock valleys, not Arcamist"

"The land where Voodoo originates is Arcamist, a line of genealogy is sure to be a long list"

"Why then didn't my parents tell me this, hmm?"

"Because Voodoo is a mysterious sort, knowledge they have about such things are short"

"I don't believe you" Started to say a little distressed, she not knowing war Voodoo is, or what it does.

"You twitchings are evidence enough, so is your headaches, your intuition, your physics bluffs. You are special, because no pony else has the power you entail."

"How did you know about my twitchings?"

"Because every Voodooist has them, without it they would be as useless as phlegm"

"I still can't leave my friends"

"Please, fate has brought you here to me"

Pinkie continued walking away. She made it all the way back to the library and placed the book back on the shelf, then went back to Sugar Cube Corner to open the store. Pinkie now sat there behind the front desk, a multitude of yummy treats rested inside the glass case in front of her, and some donuts where in the oven. Pinkie's headaches started up again.

***

She woke up. Drool stretched from her face down onto he pillow, and she slowly wiped it away. Her blonde mane was messy, and a quick stroke of a brush rightly fixed the problem. 'I'm sure craving a muffin right now' she slowly thought in her mind, emphasis on "muffin". She then scooted off of her bed, and walked downstairs to the kitchen. She opened her cupboards with anticipation, her crossed eyes and happy smile familiar to most, but she was all out of muffins. Her face bent into a frown, but slightly perked back up when she remembered that her paycheck had just come in that morning. She then ran on outside and opened her mailbox, and sure enough, there was a sack of bits with a note on it. She then grabbed the note and it read, "Good job at work these past two weeks, you only broke one lamp this time, that's a new record! Of corse the price for the lamp was cut from your payment, but I put it back as a bonus for doing a good job at deliveries! -Enjoy your bits, signed, your Boss". The grey pegasus excitedly grabbed the sack of bits, and flew off to Sugar Cube Corner. She started to sing a song in her head about muffins as she approached the store. She tried really hard to land right, but still crashed through the door.

"What was that?" Pinkie said, coming out from the back after removing the donuts from the oven. "Oh, hi Derpy! What can I get for you today?"

"Well, I just got my paycheck, and I wanted to spend it on Muffins!" Derpy said, excited when she said the word Muffins.

"Sure! How many do you want?"

"You mean I can have as many as I want?" Derpy said, her excitement at a peak.

"No silly, you have to pay for them."

"Oh", Derpy then dumped out all of her bits, a total of 120 lay sprawled on the counter. "How many will this buy?"

"Now Derpy, we talked about this, you shouldn't spend ALL of you bits on muffins, what if you need something else in the next two weeks?"

"Your right, but, I really want a lot of muffins"

"No, no, Derpy. I won't accept all of this money, take some back then we can make an exchange."

"but..."

"The Pink has spoken" Pinkie said with a laugh, "Take back 30 of those bits and I'll give enough muffins for 90".

"Oh, alright." Derpy reluctantly said, and put exactly 30 bits back in her sack. Pinkie then ran off and got out a tray of muffins. Each muffin costs 4 bits, so Pinkie gave Derpy 23 instead of 22 muffins to make up for the extra 2 bits Derpy was missing. Pinkie put them all in a small wagon made exclusively for Derpy, and gathered up the 90 bits. "Thank you!" Derpy said,

"Welcome!" Pinkie said with a smile.

Derpy went home, and as soon as she was home, she grabbed one of her muffins, and started to nibble on it, her face bright and happy. She looked so cute!

Author's Note:

The fourth chapter ladies and gentlemen, hope you liked it.

Comments

[JohnHoly]

4096122 Too awesome to be true. OR IS IT?
Anyways, Celestia is evil!
Ruler of evil! Tells lies to deny the devil.

[Talidin1337]

4097328 Glad you like it And yeah, Celestia is evil, but she has an almost justifiable reason to do what she does. Do you like the idea that Celestia is actually evil, because I think it's a pretty rare concept that no one really decides to go with.

[JohnHoly]

4097449 Yes. I hear Celestia is----- So, not allowing someone to speak to defend themself when doing a rushed court and killing her is JUSTICE? Even thinking LOGICALY(?) THAT IS NOT JUSTICE!
I see Celestia is Evil related stories and Luna is Twilight's Mother type stories, but what about BOTH?! Or FLIPPED?! OR BOTH OF MY SUGGESTIONS!

[Talidin1337]

4097780 Hmm, maybe

[Mayhew Cullen]

Four bits for a muffin!? This is highway robbery! I am disappointed in Pinkie... surely she has been corrupted entirely by the Day.