• Published 19th Jun 2015
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Light's Rising, Shadow's Fall - jwizard



In the distant past, an evil king threatened all of Equus with a power play that was barely thwarted. A young polychromatic-maned pegasus would come to find her own connection to this lost battle, as she would rise to defend a pony close to her heart

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Chapter Seventeen: Journey to the Crystal Wastes

Equestria, Friendship Express, 04-11-05, 12:22 P.M. A.N.M. (After Nightmare Moon)


“Ouch!” Rainbow Dash shook her wings as yet another low-level arcane bolt passed through her shield. She glared at the smirking pony across from her. “Not so smug now, are we Rainbow Dash?” Twilight said amusedly.

Rainbow growled. “I wanna know how you’re getting those bolts past my shield; the wavelength is set up to block energy bolts.”

Twilight continued to smirk. “Well, I may not be as skilled at shielding as Shiny and Cadance, but I daresay I’m as good or better at the theory behind them. And if you’ve been paying attention to what you’ve already been taught, you’d be able to figure out how my bolts are getting past.”

Rainbow scowled. “Well, they’re low power, so they shouldn’t be able to. I shouldn’t have taunted you when I figured out how you were getting through my shield the first time. I mean, I’m cycling wavelengths to reflect those bolts, but unless I layer, I can’t block both.” She suddenly facehoofed at that. “Layering! No wonder why you told me the best shields are simply constructed!”

Concentrating briefly, Rainbow caused a bright cyan barrier to surround her. Twilight immediately fired off a salvo of both low level and high level bolts. Every single one was blocked. “You figured it out Rainbow Dash! I knew you could!”

Rainbow’s response was to slump down. “I don’t get it though; that kind of shield is something that can stand up against an army. Why train so hard?”

Twilight tilted her head as she considered her answer. “Well, it’s partly to get you to used to setting shields quickly under pressure, but it’s mostly to reinforce the idea that the simple three-layer shield is the best one.” She smiled. “Also, I was just seeing if you could; you’re seldom going to find an enemy capable of penetrating the shield I showed you. And you’re way better at it than I am in many ways; probably another example of your nature as a pegacorn.”

Rainbow Dash sighed in exasperation as she realized that Twilight had used the same technique for ‘overtraining’ that her sensei did. Overtraining a shield that can stop a charging elephant means that I’ll have a far easier time with more simple shields. Plus, it gets me more used to using my pegacorn mana in a way other than instinctively; it’s not a good idea to rely on only that method.

For the last couple of days, Twilight had been teaching Rainbow Dash how to better tap into her instinctive control over her new mana. Much of the last three weeks had involved a crash course on practical mana manipulation. Most of it had focused on combative forms rather than theory.

“Hey Twi, why have you only taught me a little bit of theory since we started?” the polychromatic-maned pegacorn asked her friend. “I mean, I know that unicorns learn a lot of theory long before they start any practical training.”

“It has to do with your personality Rainbow Dash. I get that you have a better grasp of theory than what I originally thought, but you’re far more physically oriented. What makes you think that I haven’t been teaching you the theory though?”

Rainbow frowned. “Twi, I know how you are; you wouldn’t have been able to resist. All I can remember though is the few simple cantrips that you taught me to go along with what was in those books I got from Bright Knowledge.”

Twilight rolled her eyes. “Har har, it is to laugh. I get that I have a more than slightly unusual love for theory, but that doesn’t mean that I tried to force anything in the lessons I’ve taught you. In fact, I’ve been teaching you in a manner that is better suited to you than me. If you think about it, you’ll realize why you respond to it so well.”

“All I really know is that you’ve been ‘overtraining’ me on things, just like my sensei did when he was teaching me Arcane Wing. I get why he did that; he was military.” The pegacorn frowned before facehoofing. “So that’s it; you’ve been using a military method to teach me magic, knowing I’d respond better to it.”

Twilight nodded. “Yep; I’m teaching you the same way my brother teaches his unicorn recruits. Every lesson I’ve taught you is designed to teach the theory without a great deal of book learning. At least I can do this for the combat spells we’ve been working on; when we start getting into unicorn runic, that’s going to take longer.”

Rainbow sighed. “Yeah, not looking forward to any of the runic. I think I may surprise you though Twi; I may not like book learning, but I think I’ll get more out of it than I used to. I’m starting to learn to focus on things that I usually find dull.”

Twilight nodded at that before making her way over to where she had sat her saddlebags. While Twilight was doing that, Rainbow Dash took a moment to make sure that the empty luggage cabin they were using hadn’t sustained any heavy damage.

Once she was certain that there was little more than some charred spots from a few stray energy bolts, Rainbow used a nifty spell to repair the damage. She then restored her disguise before removing the perception barrier that she had set up earlier.

Rainbow frowned in satisfaction as she realized that she now understood the similarities behind that spell, and the others that Twilight had taught her. “It’s like she said before; magic is far more intuitive for pegacorns. So teaching me theory at this point is only gonna get in the way; I’ll learn better by doing than by reading about it,” she said softly.

Both Rainbow Dash and Twilight looked up at the knock at the door that led into the cabin. A moment later, Bright Knowledge came in, pushing a laden food cart before her. “Well, it seems as though you are learning well what Princess Twilight has been teaching you Miss Dash. I sensed nary a ripple when you lowered your perception barrier. Had you had that level of skill three weeks ago, we would have likely met under better circumstances.” Rainbow Dash nodded, fluffing her feathers a bit.

The three ponies shared the repast that Bright Knowledge brought with her. Rainbow Dash was even more hungry than usual. “I haven’t been this hungry in I don’t know how long,” she said as she started on her second shish kabob. “I mean, I get that I still need more protein for all that extra alicorn my body needs, but shouldn’t that have leveled off by now?”

Bright Knowledge shrugged a little. “Every pegacorn is different, so I cannot say for sure. From my own experience, I can say that those of us that are more physically inclined need more at start simply because of the strain on our bodies. Those that are more scholarly inclined don’t need as much. Alicorns have the best of it, as Princess Twilight can attest.” Twilight nodded at that.

“Yep; my body produces three times as much as what’s normal. Most of that goes into my hooves and skeleton though; as it is, my horn is naturally dense with alicorn already, so I didn’t need any extra for that.” Twilight tilted her head as she examined Rainbow’s wing. “As you get older Rainbow, your wings are likely to look more and more like Celestia and Luna’s do. That’s if you stay as a pegacorn though.”

Rainbow Dash looked confused. “What do you mean, stay as a pegacorn?” Her expression cleared after a moment. “Oh, I get it; the reason why Celestia is so much larger than her sister or Cadane is because she was a pegacorn for much longer.” Twilight nodded.

“Princess Luna became Princess of Dreams long before she became the Moon Princess. It wasn’t until Discord appeared that Celestia became an alicorn herself from what I’ve been told. At one hundred years, you’ll look almost as big as she does now unless you ascend.”

Rainbow frowned. “Why though? I would think that alicorns would grow faster than pegacorns.”

“It is part of the nature of alicorns that their growth happens differently. The produce more alicorn; however, that’s because they have extra mana pathways in their bodies that need it.”

Twilight nodded. “Alicorns have all three main mana types alongside their personal alicorn mana. Without dedicated pathways, that can cause problems for us. Most of the extra alicorn I produce goes into my bones and wings. In another decade, I’ll be as big as both Cadance and Luna are now.”

Rainbow Dash frowned as she finished her third kabob. “Huh, well that’s interesting. At least I know what to expect should I decide that I want to ascend.”

Bright Knowledge nodded. “Yes, it does help. However, I should warn you that you may not have a choice when it comes to ascension. As we age, the chances only increase.” The disguised pegacorn smiled. “It may come as a shock to you, but alicorns number pegacorns two to one.”

Rainbow Dash frowned at that. “If that’s the case, then where the hay have they been the last couple of years? I mean, with all the Sealed-Evil-In-A-Can that we’ve dealt with, we sure could have used their help.”

Bright Knowledge sighed. “Yes, and believe me, you are not alone in that belief. However, the vast majority of them are in the Outer and Inner Hels, keeping the Dragonspawn from escaping. If you think Sombra and Tirek were bad, try dealing with a score of the Dragon Lord’s brood. It is far, far worse, and only alicorns have the strength to stop them.” Bright Knowledge took a sip of tea before continuing. “In any case, I have never heard of a pegacorn living as one for more than one thousand years. Most that have become that old pass through the Gate to the Summer Lands if they do not wish to ascend. I have found that the stronger ones are five times as likely to ascend early. You only need to look at the princesses to confirm that.”

Twilight looked thoughtful. “I’ve always known that there were more pegacorns than what people are aware of. I don’t think that it’s just the Dragonspawn that they have to deal with though. Luna once told me that pegacorns used to find passage between Realms far easier in the times before Unification.” The purple alicorn frowned. “I’m not sure why that is exactly, but there’s something that stops them. Then too, there are things in the Realms that have the strength to actually kill an alicorn.”

Bright Knowledge shook her head. “Though there are a few, most of them- with the exception of a bare handful -were killed by the Three ages ago. In fact, the only ones left outside of the Dragon Lord are the Demon Bull Tempest, Grogar, and the Dark One himself.”

Rainbow Dash shivered. “My grandpa mentioned something about the Demon Bull. Isn’t he the sire of both Tirek and Scorpan?”

“He’s more than that Rainbow. The Demon Bull is the sire of both the Minotaur and the Centaur. As far as Tempest is concerned, he’s not truly evil. He’s not imprisoned in the Inner Hels; he’s actually there to keep both the Furies and Grogar bound.” Twilight shivered. “That ram is more frightening than any I’ve ever heard of outside of the Dark One.”

Bright Knowledge shrugged. “He is not as much of a threat as he once was. If he does ever escape, Hope herself will take his head.” The lilac-furred pony grinned; it wasn’t a nice one. “I was once told by my teacher that Grogar has never tried to escape because of Her.”

“The necromancer Grogar is actually real?!” Rainbow Dash yelped. “I always thought that he was a fairy tale!”

“Yes , Grogar is real. He is the chief lieutenant to the Dragon Lord. They both nearly destroyed the Three Cities over four thousand years ago. It is the only time in history where the The First Three actually got directly involved. Gaia used the power of Life itself to infuse every single fallen corpse with new life so that he couldn’t raise a new army, while Chronos stopped Time in order to halt the Devastation that Grogar had cast.” Bright Knowledge chuckled. “The way that Angela tells it, Grogar screamed like a filly as Hope chased him all the way to the Inner Hels.” The other two laughed at that.

Bright Knowledge was interrupted from whatever she was about to say by an announcement over the P.A. system. ‘Equestria Long-Haul services will be reaching Northhoofton soon. Please get read to debark.’ Twilight looked at the clock on the wall in satisfaction. “After the layover that lasted four days at start, I wasn’t sure we were going to make it in time. I’m real glad I followed Rainbow’s idea to look for a number of routes.”

Rainbow shrugged. “Eh, I did a lot of traveling with Papa Prism when I was little; enough that I know that one shouldn’t just rely on one route.” She grinned reminiscently. “I remember the first- and only time -Papa relied on an itinerary he hadn’t set himself. We were holed up in Stalliongrad for an additional two weeks as a result of that. Boy, was he mad.”

Twilight and Bright Knowledge chuckled as they left the cabin. On their way to collect the rest of their luggage, one of the conductors passed a note to Bright Knowledge. Her brow furrowed, the lilac-furred pony read the coded message.

“Well, we were able to confirm that the Northhoofton Shipyard is indeed being used by the Polomare Family, though they do not own it. They do not even own the ship that they were working on, which has just been confirmed to have been scuttled as per the order of the real owner. He will be meeting us once we debark shortly.”

Twilight looked up at that. “It was scuttled? Blast, I was hoping that we could get more information on that; we need to confirm if they were building a thunderbolt cannon to level Ponyville or not.” She sighed. “I guess I can’t blame whoever it was; it sounds like they didn’t want evidence to go back to them.”

The three travellers made their way off the train. As they did so, the saw where the scuttled zeppelin now lay in between the Shipyard and the town. Ponies in the armor of the local guard were intermixed with ponies wearing the livery of House Lemyre.

Twilight blinked in shock at a very familiar silhouette standing on a platform. She and her companions walked over to where Prince Blueblood was directing the relief efforts. The stallion looked up, his expression brightening at the sight of both the princess and Rainbow Dash. “Ah, Princess Twilight! I was made aware by my contacts in Mareago that one of the companies I do business with was a front for a smuggling operation.” He glared in the direction of the wrecked zeppelin. “Judicious inquiries made me aware that they were building a lightning gun on one of my own vessels in order to level Ponyville.”

“That shows a level of fortitude that I would not have expected of you my lord,” Bright Knowledge commented. The stallion flushed in anger.

“Bright Knowledge, I’m well aware that your opinion of me is well founded, but even in the time I was working to get her at least isolated, I never wanted Twily dead. We were friends when we were foals for Celestia’s sake; that’s something I never truly forgot.” He sighed. “I know that ponies still see me as a ponce and a twit, but I would have never been party to treason. Nor would I have made the stupid mistake to use a ship I personally own.”

Blueblood stepped down from the platform and gestured to the distant Shipyard. “That facility may have the Lemyre name on it, but that’s only because I own it personally. I’ve spent the last several weeks focused on my businesses, only to find that the Polomare Family”- this was said with a snarl -”has been using my name and my companies for their illegal pursuits.” He huffed in aggravation. “And that is on top of the work I’ve been doing with the Royal Guard to keep my seat.”

Twilight nodded at that. She gave a stern look to Bright Knowledge- who looked totally unrepentant -before replying. “Yes, Shiny told me that that’s what he requested that you do in order to serve out your requirement to keep your seat. The Council of Eight- well, mostly Clover the Wise -wasn’t at all satisfied. I and my grandfather have made it plain however that we will censure the Council if they try to overturn the High Council’s ruling concerning Bluey’s Seat.” The other ponies blinked in shock at that.

“Why would it even come to that? I mean, I get that the Council of Eight has the best interests of Equestria in mind, but over one Seat on the High Council? That sounds to me like there’s a more personal issue at hand.” Rainbow Dash ran a hoof through her mane in confused frustration.

“It is a personal vendetta Miss Dash; Clear Mind has been lobbying for years to get both the High Council and Grand Assembly to be dissolved. She wants to see each area individually controlled, and even desires to see the Diarchy relegated to a purely protective role.” Bright Knowledge scowled. “I have never trusted that mare; she is far too much of a politician to be holding such high position.”

All of the ponies had been walking to a nearby café as the conversation went on. As they sat down, Blueblood waved a waiter over. “Please, order anything you like.” The mares all nodded, but all but Rainbow Dash just ordered drinks. Rainbow asked for a platter of peanut-coated doughnuts.

Twilight looked gave her a lidded-eyed gaze. “We just ate on the train, Rainbow Dash; you can’t still be that hungry.”

“Well, I am Twi. Besides, I’ve ate here before; this place has some great doughnuts,” the polychromatic-maned pony said defensively. Blueblood and Bright Knowledge chucked at the two friends.

Blueblood also ordered a plate of canapés for the table. As they were waiting to be served, Bright Knowledge asked a question that had been on her mind. “My lord, did you at least manage to save any evidence before scuttling said vessel? My superiors are going to want said evidence; plus, I am sure that the princess here wants confirmation against what we found in Mareago.”

Blueblood nodded. “All they had on the blimp itself was the frame and one generator. The rest was on the same vessel I took here, which is precisely what I was told I’d find.” The stallion paused as the waiter served them. “What you see out there is mostly for insurance purposes. I’m sure I won’t have to fight it, but there still needs to be documented proof.”

“What I don’t get is why they even tried all of this. Everything they did seems like a poorly executed backup plan, yet not a single bit of it even worked. It’s been almost too easy to spot all the holes.” Rainbow took a bite of the doughnut she was holding in a wing before continuing. “I get that most of what they pulled in Mareago was a poorly contrived smear job, but it seems as though they tried the exact same thing with Bluey.” She paused in thought. “No, using a lightning cannon was their plan all along; the idea to frame Bluey for it seems like it was tacked on at the last minute.”

“It was Miss Dash,” Blueblood replied. “I found out to my consternation that a fair number of my contemporaries were supremacists who were involved in the planned coup of a number of Equestria’s cities. When I found out who exactly was all involved, I informed the one pony they didn’t want to know. That’s why twenty of the Seats on the High Council are now empty.” He looked sad. “That doesn’t include the four that no longer exist; the High Council takes a very dim view of treason. They cast a vote of No Confidence on those four; now the Council only numbers 178 Seats instead of the 182 there was at the start of the last Session.”

Rainbow Dash snorted. “Yeah, yeah, they act like they take a dim view. When it’s all said and done though, they’re only doing it to save face.” Blueblood gave Rainbow Dash a reproving look.

“I disagree. The vast majority of the Seated nobles are all responsible ponies who truly want the best for Equestria. My own contemporaries- with the exception of Sir Fancy Pants -didn’t, and that is solely because they were maneuvered that way. I wasn’t aware of that at the time; had I known it, I would have severed ties with that group much sooner.” He sighed. “I’m beginning to see what ponies have said about Mother. Her views on what’s proper for a stallion of my breeding blinded me to what was really going on.” The other ponies present all wisely kept their muzzles closed at that.

“In all honesty, any evidence you’ve found should go to Bright Knowledge. Our involvement needs to remain as quiet as possible.” Twilight finished off her tea, then grabbed one of Rainbow’s unfinished doughnuts.

“That reminds me Twily. I received a concerning bit of news that you and Miss Dash were headed into the Crystal Wastes.” At Twilight’s nod. Blueblood’s concerned expression deepend. “Well, there’s been reports that a group of outlaws has been patrolling the Wastes. What’s concerning is that it’s part of a group that despises alicorns and pegacorns.”

“Well, Rainbow Dash and I have already proven that we can take care of ourselves. Besides, we don’t have much choice; the trail we’re following leads there.” Twilight sighed. “I just hope that nothing bad happens until we get where we’re supposed to go.”

The conversation went to other topics after that. Before too long, the four ponies parted ways; only one of them had noticed that a dock-mare had pointed a glowing crystal at Rainbow Dash.

Soon, they would find out that their journey was slated to take a turn for the worst. Only time would tell if they were to survive it.


A few hours later, Twilight and Rainbow Dash were sitting on cots in a rented hotel just on the outskirts of Northhoofton. Twilight was disgusted with the quality of said hotel.

“Look, there are holes in the walls. Are the Health and Safety inspectors sleeping or something? How in hay is this hotel still in business?” Twilight glared at holes in the wall next to her.

Rainbow looked at her. “Um Twi, we’re not technically in Equestria any more. The border is back that way.” She waved a hoof in the direction of the train station. “Less than half of Northhoofton is on the other side of where the border ends. And no, it’s not part of the Crystal Wastes either; that’s actually about two leagues from Northhoofton.”

Twilight turned her glare towards her friend. “Don’t insult my intelligence Rainbow Dash. If Northhoofton isn’t part of Equestria, then why is there a Guard barracks here?”

Rainbow glared back at Twilight. “There’s bandits Twilight. Made up of the exiles from the northernmost part of both the Gryphon Empire and Equestria. The Guard isn’t here to protect the town; just the Shipyard, railroad station, and whatever buildings are to the south of the ‘Welcome to Northhoofton’ sign we passed.” She punched the lumpy mattress. “Besides, even if this was Equestria, it doesn’t mean that a hotel like this wouldn’t be in this kind of condition. Outside major cities, most are even worse.”

Twilight blinked in confusion. “But how? Health and Safety inspectors exist to make sure that this sort of thing doesn’t happen. Are you telling me that those overpaid ponies don’t do the ob they’re being paid for?!”

Rainbow shrugged. “I wouldn’t know. All I know is that I’ve seen a fair number of hotels that weren’t worth the price we paid for. As far as the Department of health and Safety goes, anypony that has sense can tell you that that Department is a waste of bits.” Getting disgusted with the condition of her mattress, Rainbow used her pegasus mana to form a temporary cloud mattress to lie on.

Pulling out a scroll from her saddlebags, Rainbow wrote a quick letter. Tying it with a multicolored ribbon, she then lit the scroll on fire with a spark from her horn. The scroll flared before turning into a cloud of multicolored sparkles. “Never thought I’d use one of these before. This hotel isn’t supposed to be this bad off; it looks like we need yet another family retainer.”

Twilight blinked. “Wait, your family has holdings in this area?” she asked. Rainbow nodded sheepishly.

“Actually, House Dash owns over half the town; we were part of the original settlement a couple of hundred years ago.” Rainbow Dash said sheepishly.

Twilight sighed. “Well, I for one wish I’d done my research better. The brochure I have checked out as being legitimate. Well, all for a misprint of the date of issue. Guess that wasn’t a misprint at all.”

Rainbow scowled. “Yeah, that’s a common practice in some of the more low-end hotels. Get somepony to refit an older leaflet, then make copies. If magic isn’t used to make it- not unusual in communities that don’t have a high unicorn population -then it doesn’t trigger as a forgery.”

Twilight would have said more, but she was interrupted by a cloud of sparkles that resolved into a scroll; said scroll landed in front of Rainbow Dash. The pegacorn broke the seal and read the contents quickly. Once she was finished, the scroll flared as a flash flame consumed it. “Well, we’ll be meeting with our escort tomorrow Twi, so I think we should call it an early night.”

Twilight frowned. “You asked for an escort as well? Why? I mean, there’s still my Dusk Guard.” Rainbow Dash looked at her in disbelief.

“Don’t you get it Twi? None- and I do mean none -of the PPP are willing to pass the border without an express order from their superiors. Your Guard may be Sworn to serve you, but their commissions are held by the Commanders of the PPP. Do anything against their orders, and they’ll get a Court Martial.”

Twilight blinked. “Shiny never mentioned that before. No wonder why he was such a stickler for following the rules.” She sighed. “Well, it’s early, but I’d like to make an early start tomorrow. Are they going to escort us through the Wastes too?”

Rainbow shook her head. “Probably not; there won’t be any reason to. Besides, ponies from around here avoid the Wastes anyway. There’s nothing there of worth really.”

The two settled down after that, soon falling asleep.


Equestrian Border, Northhoofton, 04-12-05, 10:30 A.M. A.N.M. (After Nightmare Moon)


The next day, Twilight and Rainbow Dash were at least rested as they met with the retainers from House Dash that Rainbow had requested.

Twilight wasn’t in a good mood. Not only was she frustrated that the journey that should have taken only a week at most was now slated to last even longer, she had found out from a note left for her that morning that her detachment of Dusk Guard had been called away at Celestia’s insistence. A terse message to the solar alicorn prompted an equally terse reply.

I am not certain how you found out that your Dusk Guard was called off; in any case, I had little choice. My commanders in the PPP have stated that no more unsanctioned use of Guard units is to be allowed, in order to prepare against more actions such as what Ironside attempted. Even further, your Guard would not have been permitted past the Border, as that is illegal outside of an order direct from both the Diarchy and the Council of Eight.

Even though they have been Sworn to both myself and you, the PPP holds their commissions. While I do have the authority to remove said commanders from office, I will not do so simply because you feel insecure without your Guard.

Continue to send the reports I have asked for.

Signed,

HRH Princess Celestia Dos Everfree

Rainbow Dash glanced at the scowling alicorn. “Something the matter Twi? I know that that note you got from Celestia wasn’t like her, but is it that bothersome?”

Twilight’s scowl deepened. “No apology; she gave no apology for why she withdrew my Guard. The only one she had right to order around was the Captain she assigned. I may have recruited my Guard from the pool of available PPP officers and taken Luna’s recommendation, but Celestia doesn’t have the authority to recall them. They answer to me; nopony else! I gave them the order to adhere to commands give to them by the Diarchy, but only out of respect for said Diarchy.”

“I followed the advice of both Cadance and my brother. Those Guards-ponies were released from service to the PPP, and their commissions were handed over to me. Not only was that my right, it’s perfectly legal for me to form my own Guard Company, as I’m Heir to both House Sparkle and House Armor!”

“Calm down Twilight!” Rainbow Dash hissed as she hastily cast a privacy spell. “I get that you’re angry, but she did give a reason. Maybe it wasn’t a good one, but it’s still one that she had to consider.”

“Rainbow Dash, I do not CARE what those sawed-off pricks she surrounds herself with think is or is not a good reason to do something that they KNOW is illegal,” Twilight said heatedly. “No, I’m not mad because of that; I’m mad because Celestia continues to make decisions concerning what I say or do, and I am tired of it! I am not Luna!” the purple alicorn ranted. “I am a pony that has surpassed everything that has been set before her! I am not a pony that is still regulated to the sidelines because Celestia is too prideful to admit she is wrong. I am my own mare, and am both an alicorn and Princess in my own right! But most of all, I am sick and tired of Celestia talking down to me! If she wants me to see her as a friend and fellow Princess, then she needs to approach me as Celestia; not a teacher or as Princess, but as a mare! Most of all, she needs to ask me to do things instead of expecting me to. The least she could have done is requested that my Guard return to Ponyville! Instead, she makes a unilateral decision that she would have never made to her sister or my sister-in-law!”

“When is she going to treat me as an equal Rainbow Dash?! Is it going to take me severing my demesne from the rest of Equestria for her to say ‘I’m sorry Twilight’?!” At this point there were tears running down Twilight’s muzzle. “I don’t like feeling this way towards her Rainbow Dash; she’s like a second mother. But I just can’t take the Princess-to-Peasant attitude she displays in periods of crisis any more!” Rainbow’s only action was to hug her friend as she continued to sob.

Boy, am I glad I put up that privacy screen, the pegacorn thought to herself. This really doesn’t need to get back to Celestia.

“Twi, do you think we should just go home? I’ll agree with whatever decision you make here; but it’s your choice,” Rainbow said as Twilight’s sobs subsided. The purple alicorn shook her head.

“I’m not running from whatever is coming Rainbow Dash,” Twilight said in response. “I’ve never ran from anything in my life. Even when I was teased in Magic Kindergarden, I still went. I stopped making friends because nopony wanted to be friends with me. No, it was ‘Twilight Sparkle, Student of Princess Celestia’ they were interested in.” Twilight’s tone was bitter. “No, you and I are going to see this through. For ourselves, and all of our friends in Ponyville.”

Rainbow Dash smiled at that spark of determination. “Well, I’m here for you Twi, and I know that we have at least on Princess on our side.” She broke off the hug to give her friend a stern gaze. “I just wish you trusted me enough to tell me that you had a way to send reports outside of that torc.” Twilight flushed in embarrassment at that.

“I would have told you sooner Rainbow Dash, but that sort of thing is something ‘only we princesses are supposed to know.’ I know for a fact that any pegacorn that has been taught by Angela can use the Pyrelight spell too. I’ve only been using it now because it’s secure. That way I can make sure that Celestia has no way to find out about your changed nature.” She looked at the shimmer in the air. “You set up a privacy screen?” Rainbow nodded.

“Yeah. It’s a sloppy one though. At least nopony can see when I use magic.” Rainbow dropped the spell once she was sure that Twilight was calm. She then noticed that their escort had arrived. “Ah, they’re here Twi. Should we get going?” Twilight nodded.

The mares joined the escort of ponies in armor that denoted their alliance to House Dash. Rainbow Dash smirked at the runner that just took off; she knew that word would soon get to the bandits that they were being escorted. Nodding at the saluting sergeant, the two mares fell into the center of the group. The group then made its way to a waiting waggon that was harnessed to a pair of bison.

There, they were joined by even more retainers of House Dash. Twilight gazed in slight shock at the numbers that were protecting her and Rainbow Dash. “Um, isn’t this a bit excessive?” She counted the number of ponies that were marching lockstep around the wagon.

Rainbow Dash shook her head. “There’s at least three bandit camps that we know of between here and the Wastes. There’s no way that we’ll be able to avoid all of them, but this way we’ll at least be able to dissuade the smaller ones.”

“The Lady Dash is correct, Princess,” the sergeant said as well. “Though we will not be able to get past the larger group, which is why we will be joining with the Fire Brigade once we leave Northhoofton completely.” The stallion paused. “Actually, you being here is fortuitous. We now have an excuse to clean out the largest.”

Twilight paled a bit at the mention of the other group. “Wait, I’ve heard of the Fire Brigade. Isn’t that a cadre of Exiles that formed a mercenary company?” The stallion shrugged. Sergeant Piercing Blade had a small smile on his muzzle.

“Yes, they are mercenaries. What you may have heard about them is partially true. They are Exiles, but by choice. In addition, they are on retainer for at least three members of the Council of Eight. They are why Equestria has not been overrun by changelings; the late so-called ‘Queen Chrysalis’ had a swarm that was three times the size of the one that invaded the first time.” Twilight paled even further.

Rainbow Dash nodded at that. “Ponies don’t get it, but both the Guard and the PPP are frankly useless. Most of the defense of Equestria has been thanks to groups that are still in pay of the various Houses.” She scratched her head. “Then there are those mercenary groups that aren’t, yet still help to protect this land. I feel as though I know why they do, but I can’t figure it out.”

“That would be in thanks to my Sovereign,” one of the ponies in the wagon said. The Nocturne mare smiled a toothy, fang-filled smile. “The ones that you speak of are descendants of ponies that were loyal to Princess Luna. They declared themselves Exiles rather than plunge Equestria into civil war.” Silent Wings snorted. “Personally, they should have fought. Oh, not to depose the Solar Princess, mind; rather, the whole Council of the time- outside of a hoofful -should have been put to the sword.”

“Talk like that can get a pony in trouble,” Twilight said severely. The mare just shrugged.

“I may be Sworn to Luna, but I’m not an Equestrian citizen, Princess. I’m an Exile, born and bred, and have little use for those ‘nobly-born.’ The Lady Dash here has proven herself, as have you.” She grinned again. “Besides, the pay is good, and this way I at least get to keep my head on my shoulders.” Twilight blinked, confused.

“Out here Princess, there’s really only one Law that bandits seem to get; you get caught, you lose your head.” The sergeant snorted. “Of course, that only keeps them away from protected towns. The group we have a high chance of running into wasn’t in this area until fairly recently; from what we’ve been able to gather, a very large sum of Equestrian gems was paid to them to mark a ridge about a league from Northhoofton.” Piercing Blade smiled grimly. “We have Prince Blueblood to thank for that tidbit actually. When he learned that three of his contemporaries paid Stampede to move in this direction, he alerted all of the Houses out here. None of which were actually involved.”

“And that’s why the Fire Brigade is involved as well. Me and my boys have been wanting to take out that bull for awhile now, and this’ll give us the reason we need.” Silent Wings gazed at the two ponies. “I hope you’re both ready; in about a day or so, things are likely to get real bloody.” She turned her gaze more intently on Rainbow Dash. “Unless this one decides to get involved that is.”

Rainbow sighed and dropped her perception disguise. “I didn’t think I’d be able to hide it; the book listed you guys as one of the groups that work for the Watchers.” The Nocturne grinned, nodding.

“Yep, we are.” Silent Wings lost the grin as she continued. “Once we get to the Wastes though, you and the Princess here are on your own.” The two nodded at that.

The rest of the journey went on in silence from this point forward, as the ponies all prepared for what was awaiting them.


Author's Note:

This particular chapter got a bit more wordy than I had originally planned. As usual, it seems like to much exposition and not enough action, but there's really not much I can do here. I have to build the world they're in before I can show it to you.

What you don't see is a lot of the stuff that has happened outside of Twilight and Rainbow Dash's journey, yet ties into it. This story is focusing on both Twilight and Rainbow Dash, so none of that will be here. Plus, it's all just a bunch of ponies arguing, and outside of a few times, I'm going to limit Celestia and Luna's involvement in this particular story.

I'm going to give you a warning here and in the next Authors Note for the next chapter; the next one is going to be fairly graphic. Not enough to warrant a Gore tag, but still pretty graphic. At this point, I'm not sure if it will warrant a Gore tag or not, which is why that tag has been added.