The Veins Run Deeper

by Thunderblast

Flock the Coop

One long afternoon and a couple more purchases later, the duo were finally on their way back to the palace. With the evening dinner rush just beginning, they would be longer than anticipated returning. Neither Princess Luna nor Night Shadow truly minded, however. Between them, days like these were more than just outings—they were days of friendship and further bonding.

"You know, Night. I really do quite enjoy seeing thou in a hat!" Princess Luna turned, giving a soft grin to the shorter pony by her side.

Night's cheeks heated beneath the simple dark-blue cap he wore atop his previously-ruined mane. "You know why I bought it in the first place."

"Do please clarify again."

With a slight grumble, Night replied, "As if I wanted anypony to see my screwed up hair on the walk back."

"Well, I, for one, believe thou looks good in a hat. No, not good. Marvelous? That might be overdoing it. Superb? Yes, superb! Superb is the word I was looking for!"

Night let out a very soft chuckle. "If you say so, Princess."

"I do hope thou has plans for more hat purchases in the future, as thou will give me and many of the mares in the palace something else to talk about!"

He didn't like that idea. "Well, Princess, I—"

"What? Does thou not enjoy such a thought?" The Lunar princess glanced back down to Night.

"I... really quite don't see what the big deal is about me wearing a hat. If I were in uniform, maybe. But, a hat?" He tilted his head looking right back up and over.

"Night," Princess Luna looped a hoof around his neck as they walked. "I speak of you regardless of what you are wearing. I speak of other guards the same. Is it wrong for mares to speak of stallions they admire?"

"You admire me?"

"Well, yes. I—" Princess Luna paused, flushing against her dark blue coat. "Who doesn't admire guards for what they do for our city, for our country?"

"Reaaaally?" Night grew a sly grin across his muzzle. "I have a creeping feeling that thou is thinking of a different type of admiration."

The princess made direct eye contact with Night, cheeks still heated and visible to the stallion clearly. "Thou is for me to say and me to say only, does thou hear?!"

Night went into a small laughter, replying a few moments later, "Whatever you say, my princess."

"My princess?!"

"You are my princess, Princess. I serve primarily under your ruling. I follow your orders. Therefore, you are my princess."

"Humph... But thou does serve under my sister as well, does thou not?"

"During certain occasions, yes," Night nodded. "But you know very well that is only during emergencies."

"Hmmm..." Princess Luna pondered, then nodded. "I suppose thou is right. Very well."

"Then I win again." Night grinned up at the princess.

"Thou does win again... For now," Luna returned the grin with a half-smirk.

For the remainder of the walk, the two conversed further, changing topics even after they cleared the gate and walked the vast palace halls. The further they moved about, however, it was highly notable of the lack of guards. Princess Luna did not notice, or more likely, was not even paying the right amount of attention. This aroused Night's suspicion however.

"Princess, I... think we should get you to your quarters a bit quicker."

"What?" Princess Luna's head tilted. "What is wrong?"

"I don't know, but something doesn't feel right. Just to be sure, we should hurry."

Princess Luna knew better than to judge his suspicion, even if half of the time it wasn't accurate. Still, an order was an order.

Making their way around a corner, both stopped and made way as two sword-wielding guards rushed past, not bothering to hesitate at the Lunar princess standing there. This only further worried Night.

"Keep going, we're almost there!" Night called, waving his hoof after taking a slight lead, waiting for the princess to catch up and move ahead.

The two had a slight gallop in their trot, rounding a circular staircase that led upward to the princess' quarters, and further down from that, the Zodiac's shared situation room. With two guards outside Luna's quarters, Night could breathe a sigh of relief that she would be in good protection.

"Stay in your quarters, and don't come out until the all clear is given, alright?" Night paused, saying to the princess.

Luna nodded with a look of worry splashed all over her face. She trotted up to the doors of her quarters, entering, followed by the click of three locks at once. With Princess Luna safe, Night quickly turned tail, trotting quickly to the other end of the hallway.

***

"So, I walked in like, 'Hey, Captain!', and the next thing I knew, I was staring right at a—pffft—right at a face full of goo. I didn't think I was that loud, but still, managed to scare the ever-loving wits out of him. You all should have seen it, I think you would have been laughing as much as I am now!" Cackled Zipline, holding a hoof over his stomach and tearing up from the laughter.

Across the table snickered Shieldhunter, hoof over mouth to prevent all from spotting the witty grin on his muzzle. Laughing in a serious time, he knew, was considered unprofessional on his part. Nonetheless, he certainly felt the need to get a laugh out of Zipline's short story.

The remainder of Zodiacs within the room, including some others, simply rolled their eyes or rubbed their uncovered foreheads in some attempt to rid themselves of a headache, hoping the pony they waited for would enter any minute.

"Anyways, he turns and looks at me, face covered in oatmeal. I walk up and wipe him down, he starts growling like a bear or something, then he—" Zipline immediately stopped when his eyesight locked on to the dark grey pegasus across the room who had just entered. "Hey, Captain! There you are. Where have you been? And... are you wearing a hat?"

"Apologies. Princess Luna and I have been gone almost all day. What's going on, what's the situation?" Night asked worriedly, purposely ignoring Zipline's last comment, trotting in and standing beside the table.

"Level three emergency lockdown. The Palace has been evacuated of staff and ponies in the city are being sent home," said a very dark brown, stocky earth stallion from across the room, dressed in Lunar medic's armor.

Night nodded once to the new face. "Name and rank?"

"Medic Specialist Rescue Sunstreak, sir," the stallion replied proudly, raising his unarmored hoof in a brief salute.

"Former Ponyville Fire Department?"

"Yes, sir. Former Station Chief."

Night nodded once more. "Good to have you with us. Why the lockdown, Sergeant?" He then turned to the dark cyan stallion seated across the glass table.

"Escaped dungeon convict registered as a rogue mage. Numerous records on his plate regarding property destruction and even kidnapping and murder charges," Lodestar began.

"We're talking some serious magic work here. Lockdown was prompted by Princess Celestia. Guards are out looking for him, but, we've been told somepony else is on the way as ordered by the princess as well."

"Who?" Night's head tilted.

Before anypony could reply, a deep thud, followed by brief shaking of the ground, startled all in the room. Heavy hoofsteps approached from further down the hallway, forcing all to face the door. A tall shadowed figure loomed on the outside of the door, and within a moments notice, he entered.

"I am looking for Captain Night Shadow," spoke a deep, rumbling voice.

Night's bright yellow pupils downsized to half of what they were previously, his jaw hanging open at the sheer size of the pony. The bright red stallion, wings fading to white near the tips, stood easily twice their height, body packed tight with muscle from hooves to chest and back, though not nearly enough to match that of a bodybuilder most knew of in Ponyville.

On his shoulders rested heavy gold-clad, jet-black shoulderpads, with matching gold-bladed, black-handled shortswords on either shoulder. Hanging over his shoulder, in one hoof, sat a massive gold-red hammer, spiked on top and all sides, his primary weapon that even had a faint fire hue to it. To simply look him in the eye was awe-inspiring, with what seemed to be a constant blue flame flickering in it.

When reality set back in from shock, Night stepped forth, a stern look on him. "I am. Who might you be?"

The stallion approached slightly, just narrowly fitting in between the table and walls. "I am Redflare. Paladin Redflare. By the power of Princess Celestia's shimmering golden light, I serve."

"Why are you here, Paladin?" Night asked, looking straight up at the larger pony that dwarfed even Rescue further behind him.

"I have come here for you. I have learned of new developments regarding an escaped assailant hiding in the streets, a powerful one as well. Princess Celestia has ordered that you accompany me to the dungeons for investigation," Redflare replied, voice booming in the crystal-decorated room.

His voice in itself was enough to make a couple of the others cower in their seats. Night, however, didn't.

"Then we shall begin our search as soon as I get my armor on," Night nodded once.

"Waste no time. I will wait here until your return," Redflare replied, returning the nod.

Almost split-secondly after, Night trotted past the large red pegasus and through the twin-frosted glass doors leading outside. He shifted right, trotting in a quicker-than-usual pace down the hallway and around the corner, through another set of doors—much heavier ones—and down that hallway to the very end where his quarters were.

Pushing inside the door, Night rushed to his wardrobe beside his large bed, not once pausing for a breather while he clad himself in a slightly heavier set of armor than what he typically wore on duty. This was meant for emergencies such as this very moment.

Lastly, unlatching his sword from its hanger in the wardrobe and sliding it in an attached leather sheathe beneath his wing, he hurried back.

In the situation room, Redflare, as well as most others, remained perfectly silent, all fixing their eyes either on him, or what they could see of the door behind his ginormous figure. The giant red pony almost seemed to be in a sort of meditation, his body was just that still and motionless.

Behind, the door swung open, a slightly-panting Night Shadow standing in the frame with the Zodiac-Mark III set of armor on him. Seeing this was slightly unnerving to the others, all except for Lodestar, who simply nodded once at Night for his decision. After all, their target was in fact dangerous.

"Sergeant, coordinate with Fallen Star. Let him know where I'll be and discuss stations. I am putting you in charge until we return," Night said in a serious tone.

"Yes, Captain," Lodestar replied with another nod, then a salute.

"Paladin, I am ready when you are," Night said, shifting focus to Redflare.

The large pony turned, eying Night's armor and smirking slightly. Standing, he let Night out first, then squeezed his way through the open doors and into the hall, standing upright. From there, the two stallions made their way out through a nearby exit that led out to the castle grounds.

On their way to the dungeons, Night began to think. He was primarily uninformed and did not have a clue of what they would be dealing with. He figured it would be a good time to strike up an on-topic conversation with Redflare.

"Paladin," Night said.

"Captain?" Red replied, glancing down at the significantly smaller pony.

"Forgive my ignorance, but I am afraid I am not briefed. Is there anything you could possibly tell me about the situation?"

"Of course. What is there you would like to know, Captain?"

"Well, first off, who is this pony? All I know about him is that he is some sort of 'rogue mage'."

"His name is Topaz Myth. Like the few lucky unicorns in Equestria, he attended Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. He became one of the best students with impeccable scores. When King Sombra returned and he was defeated, however, Topaz began secretly reading books of dark magic. His parents found out, but no one said a thing.

"Subsequently, he introduced more and more of it into his work at school while keeping a low profile on it, attempting to disguise the dark magic. It soon became evident to Princess Celestia after some time of observation, and she expelled him. It became too much, and he went on a rampage, though it was short-lived. He engaged in battle with the Royal Guard, was weakened, then escaped in a final burst. He was later dubbed the Silver Mage.

"It wasn't until he was in his twenties when he was locked away. Now, he's approaching his forties. Even then, he practiced spells on himself to extend his lifespan. Only time will tell if it will work," Redflare explained.

Night nodded in response, going over the new information mentally, facing ahead of them. "Are his parents still around?"

"Not in Canterlot. They relocated to a small town on the west coast not long after Topaz was imprisoned. Supposedly their reasoning behind it was because they didn't want to see Canterlot again as it brought back too many memories."

"So they sheltered themselves from... themselves," Night furrowed an eyebrow at that. "So it's no use informing them, I presume."

Redflare's head shook in disagreement. "It would not make any change in the matter. As far as we are concerned, Topaz has developed a strong hate for his parents since they abandoned him."

Night glanced up at the big red pony. "Do you think he might take a shot and go after them?"

"It's certainly a possibility, although, his primary goal is to wreak havoc on the land until nothing is left standing, starting with Canterlot. Even if he didn't have such thoughts, it would be best to still capture him. Our trail begins at his cell."

"Of course," Night nodded in response, tailing Redflare as they started down a wide staircase leading into the palace's dungeons.

The hall was long and slightly rounded, looping around the whole of the palace grounds. Some parts of it were above ground, the rest were not. Even this was a surprise for Night to see just how vast the cold steel-and-concrete cells were.

Passing through the corridor with a solid pace, Night took one or two glances into the occupied cells, spotting other convicts, hooves shackled to the walls. Another was a griffon, using a metal nail file to sharpen his talons. His eyes met Night's, an eerie look fully visible within them.

Finally, the two approached a couple of guards, standing outside an open cell and staring down at the floor with utter disbelief. Stepping up beside them, Night could see just what they were staring at: a large hole, right in the floor of the cell, with burn marks that had scorched the walls and floor around it.

The guards, seeing Redflare, snapped to attention, metallic-booted hooves clicking together. "Paladin."

"At ease," Redflare nodded once to them, giving the guards some reassurance. "What happened here?"

"That's the problem, Paladin. We don't know," one of the guards answered.

The other, an older guard with a more gruff voice, stepped forth to speak. "The Silver Mage broke out using magic, but that is impossible. He's had an anti-magic ring on his horn for the last almost two decades."

"Do the rings decay and fail after a certain amount of time?" Night then asked.

"Unlikely. Rings used here are forged using triblithium, the strongest metal to deter magic use and actually absorbs any that might pop up over time," the older guard answered again. "But, from the looks of it, he's escaped somewhere into the sewer system. Or, even worse, he made it into the Crystal Caverns."

"Why is that worse?" Night tilted his head, confused.

"Easier to hide, not to mention, the crystals down there amplify magic. If he gathers enough of his strength and builds that up, added with the crystals, he could almost literally blow Canterlot off of the mountain," Red responded seriously. "We have very limited time here if that is his true intention."

"Paladin, how can we help?" Asked the younger guard in front of him.

Redflare glanced down to the guards. "You two, stay here. Tend to the other prisoners. If and when we return with the Silver Mage, make sure to put two rings on his horn."

The guards raised their hooves in a salute, nodding. "Yes, Paladin!"

"Good. Now, carry on." Red then turned to Night by his side. "We will be heading to the mine shafts below the city, where they have been drilling the last couple of months. That's our only way into the caverns. Or, well, my only way."

Chuckling softly, Night waved a hoof. "Then it is your turn to follow me!" He said, cantering further down the corridor, Redflare tailing behind, to a second staircase.

Back up in the central halls, with Night in the lead, the two trotted out through one of the smaller exits, Night immediately taking to the skies with a swift flap of his wings to propel him upward. With surprise, Redflare observed, then stretched out his massive wings, too flapping once to push himself into the air with enough wind force to blow leaves off of trees.

Waiting just a bit for the larger stallion to catch up, Night initially flew south, away from the city, before looping back around to approach the mining site situated on a flat space below the level of Canterlot itself.

Just prior to landing, Night scanned over the small area closely, ensuring no workers or civilians were around. When all was clear, he swooped down, hooves skidding to a stop in a patch of dried-up dirt. To his side landed Redflare with an enormous thud, hard enough that pebbles quite literally leaped into the air and fell back into their places.

The two exchanged looks, Redflare giving a silent, single nod to Night Shadow. Facing forward, Night advanced toward the cave entrance, a massive hole in the side of a cliff caused likely by forced blasting or drilling—or magic.

Halting at the foot of the hole, Night scanned around the inside. Seeing just how dark it was only made the job easier for him. Thinking back, that was likely the reason why Red chose Night to accompany him.

Slowly and carefully, Night entered the caverns, glancing around at the walls, ceiling, and in some spots, even the ground, all made of seafoam-colored crystals of magnificent size and reflectance.

Suddenly, the ground began to shake intermittently. Night froze, staring down at the ground with wide-eyes the more it shook. He raised an eyebrow, snapping back to Redflare who stopped just behind him.

"Paladin, loosen up. You're going to shake him into knowing we're here!" Night whispered aloud.

"Sorry." Redflare replied with a sheepish smile, easing himself slightly.

Night rolled his eyes, continuing into the vast cave system, Redflare now much quieter and by far less shakier in his steps. The further they went, however, the darker it became. Even that came to be too much for Night.

"It's dark," Red whispered. "I can't see where I'm going!"

Seemingly out of nowhere, a faint, golden light shone in the cavern around them, startling Night. He snapped back around, seeing the light emanating from Redflare himself. This came to be quite a shock to Night. Typically only unicorns could perform such magic, but Redflare was a pegasus!

The large red stallion glanced down to a shocked Night, eyebrow raising. "What?"

"You're glowing!" Night squeaked out. "Is that normal?!"

"The Clan of Celestia's Paladins are always given such abilities in training. This is not the least of what I can do," Redflare smirked slightly, advancing past Night, still glowing much like a lantern.

Night observed carefully as Red passed, raising his hoof to smack himself on the cheek to make sure he wasn't sleeping. He shook his head, turning back to the larger stallion, then hastily followed after. It was evident there was far more to this pony than what meets the eye.

Soon, Red stopped again, Night catching up moments later.

"There's a split. Dang it, we're going to have to separate paths to cover more ground," Night whispered, shifting focus between the two directions.

"I... don't think that's a very good idea," Redflare said softly to avoid his voice echoing too far.

"On the bright side, we could locate him faster, if he's still in here. On the darker side, if I find him, I'll only have a few moments to scream and get your attention before he kills me," Night glanced up with a slight joking smile.

Redflare, however, didn't smile once, staring down neutrally at the far smaller pegasus. "Is that meant to be a joke? Because I am not laughing."

Night's smile faded away, him staring forward. "Let's just stick with the plan. You go right, I go left."

With a deep, long sigh, Redflare nodded slowly. "Scream or... screech... if you find him, Captain," he said, moving down the right-side cave.

"You got it," Night responded, trotting down the other side, slowing his pace the further in he went.

The more the two separated, the colder it got. This too was strange to Night. Eerie even. Unless it meant Redflare radiated heat, too. That could very well be a possibility, he thought. Deep down, some part of Night warned that this whole operation going to be far trickier. Sure, he was a Lunar Guard captain, but going against a pony with far superior magic would not end well.

He began to slow his walk, narrowing his eyes on the end of the narrow cave path that led out into a far more open space that dipped down further into the ground. The unnerving part was the very faint sky-blue light echoing throughout the room.

Stopping at the edge of a short cutoff, Night ducked down, peeking past a standing crystal that provided much-needed cover. Staring down at the source of the flickering light, his eyes opened wide with surprise. Sitting upright on his haunches, a single, gentle flame before his forehooves, was the very pony they were searching for.

The tall, brass-coated, green-eyed unicorn stared blankly down at the blue-colored fire, his horn faintly lit to keep it going. From afar, the pony looked harmless. Night, however, proceeded to observe.

Topaz's eyes moved up from the small fire to just above it, eying the floor beyond it carefully. He raised his head and shut his eyes, horn further lighting with magic. A band of blue energy magic wrapped itself around the aura of his horn, rounding from the base to the tip, then erupting into small bursts that mimicked fireworks—except they weren't fireworks.

When a larger burst popped, a screen similar to that of a hologram made of pure magic and energy appears before him, the fire beneath it banding around the outside and lighting up the room further.

Moving his head down, Topaz blankly eyed the screen, eyelids half shut. What Night could make out on the screen was different shots of Canterlot as if from cameras placed where cameras literally could not be put, all of which observing different sectors of the city—including the Canterlot Palace, where guards stood by in groups.

The brass unicorn raised his one hoof, motioning it in a slow circle. Around it formed a ring colored similarly to his magic, and soon, an orb which rested in the base of his hoof as he held it up, shifting his eyes lazily over to it. This time, Night could not see what it was.

"Mm, yes." He spoke to himself in a deep, eerie tone, returning his attention to the hologram, a very sinister grin growing across his muzzle. "Yes..."

A shift in magic forced the hologram to change screens. Within that very moment, the unicorn's grin faded. Night glanced to the screen, now seeing a pair of older ponies eating lunch together. Topaz began to frown, and his ears fell back gently.

His parents... Night said to himself mentally, shifting back to the brass pony.

Topaz reached a hoof up slowly, wiping once at his eye. The tear fell, dripping on the ground, then sizzling into vapor instantly after. Night Shadow's eyes opened wide, observing more carefully as the fire began to overtake the hologram, growing in intensity and now... cold?

The entire room was now freezing, but the fire raged on, burning up into nothing and eventually disappearing into magical embers that rained down and faded away into nothing. Topaz sat still, head down and eyes shut tightly. To Night, it was now very much evident this pony was in pain, but knew any type of approach would end up with him going the same way as the hologram.

All went silent—as if the flame had simply froze, even though technically speaking, it was frozen. Topaz slowly opened his eyes as they faded into a complete white glow, his horn flaring with deadly magic.

"I must destroy them... all of them... They deserve to perish..."

Comments

[Rescue Sunstreak]

WOO Lunar Corpspony Dragonzord power! *does all the moves to transform into green ranger*

[SageBrony07]

Okay. Night is going to have to fight a fake Mage. This will be fun.

[Thunderblast]

7409715 Who said he was a fake?

[SageBrony07]

7409730 autocorrect. I was trying to spell Dark.

[Thunderblast]

7409866

Damn autocorrect!! I would have literally died though if it said dank though.

[Paladin Redflare]

2 huge