Three: A New Beginning – A Visit From Royalty
The day after the Elements had their foray into the Everfree, Twilight sent a letter to the Princesses, detailing everything that had happened. They responded immediately, saying they would be coming to meet this Adric that they had heard of. So it was that the Royal Sisters were in their carriage, flying towards Ponyville to meet the Elements.
"Sister, what art thine thoughts on this, 'Adric'?" Luna asked Celestia. Celestia hummed in thought.
"From what the letter entailed, it would seem he has many secrets. The fact that he drove off a banshee while looking just like a creature of Shadow himself is more than enough to worry me. His intentions are unknown. Furthermore, there's the correlation between his appearance and the Augur's Meteor, something of which is even more troubling. All in all, we simply do not have enough information," Celestia summed up.
"What should we do, then?" Luna queried.
"Play it by ear, I suppose. Maybe we can negotiate with him," Celestia responded.
"If thou art certain, then," Luna conceded. The small town of Ponyville eventually came into view, and within minutes they had touched down on the outskirts, where the Elements were waiting. They climbed out of the carriage, and Twilight shared a hug with her old mentor.
"Princess! I'm glad you came!" Twilight said as they broke the embrace.
"So am I. Though I'm afraid this isn't a social visit," Celestia said.
"Indeed. We cam'st here to speak with this 'Adric', thou spoke of," Luna concurred.
"Right. Like I said in the letter, we had to abandon our mission to get Rainbow a doctor, but I managed to pinpoint the most likely area that the Meteor landed," Twilight began, turning serious as she pulled out a map of the Everfree with an X marked deep within it.
"Well done, Twilight. This should be very helpful. Hopefully, wherever this Meteor is, Adric won't be far behind," Celestia praised with a motherly smile.
"We suggest that thee remain here with thine friends. The Elements would do little without one of their bearers," Luna suggested, causing the mares heads to lower as the thought of Rainbow came into their heads.
"How is Rainbow faring?" Celestia asked.
"She's fine, but the doctor said she'll need to keep from any strenuous activity for a while," Twilight explained, tone somber.
"I see," Celestia said with a slight frown, before her smile returned. "Do not think that any of you are at fault. You had no way of knowing that a banshee had taken refuge in the Everfree. All you can do now is be there for her." The mares simply nodded before heading back to town. The sisters watched them go for a short time before turning to the dark forest that was the Everfree.
"Well...shall we?" Luna prodded.
"We shall," Celestia nodded. And thus, they began their trek through the forest.
"You know, you could've been more polite to them. Plus, that was basically first contact with a new alien race. Kinda needed to make a good impression," Ghost told Adric, who was currently working on repairing the hull of his ship.
"So?" Adric replied.
"So why weren't you? We have no idea what they'll do now! They could arrest us or capture us for questioning or worse!" Ghost expressed. Adric was silent. "Well?"
"I don't need to explain myself," Adric replied sharply. Ghost sighed deeply in frustration.
"You know what? Fine. Be grumpy and ruin our chances of having aliens as allies for once," Ghost said irritably before disappearing in a crackle of particles. Adric said nothing and continued to work. Hours passed, and eventually, he noticed something heading towards him on his radar. Two somethings, in fact. With a sigh, he put down his tools and turned to face whoever was coming his way.
He didn't need to wait very long before two ponies, as they had called themselves, emerged from the treeline. They were both larger than the other ponies, especially the white one, and appeared to be alicorns as well. What gave Adric pause was the fact that their manes shimmered and moved in an unseen wind. The white alicorn's mane was a mixture of pink, sea green, and violet. The midnight blue one had a mane that twinkled like the night sky. Adric simply crossed his arms as he waited for them to speak. They quickly took notice of him, and the white one smiled in a friendly manner.
"Greetings. Are you the being known as Adric-9?" she asked, her voice like silk.
"I am," Adric said simply. "And you are?"
"I am Princess Celestia, co-ruler of Equestria along with my sister, Luna," she introduced, gesturing to the alicorn next to her.
"Greetings. We came here in search of a meteor, as well as to have a chat with thee," Luna explained.
"Meteor?" asked Ghost, appearing in a puff of electrified particles.
"Yes, it is imperative that we find it," Luna glanced behind Adric, seeing the ship, and gaped at the vessel. "What in the world of Equus is that?" Adric glanced behind himself.
"That's my ship. I crashed here just yesterday," he explained. "I was in the middle of repairing it, until you two showed up." Luna seemed slightly dazed at the robot's lack of manners, but her sister placed a hoof on her shoulder to placate her.
"Did you say you crashed?" Celestia asked calmly. Adric nodded. In her mind, Celestia knew this meant that there was no Meteor, but the fact that Adric's crash had caused such an effect on Ponyville's residents said volumes about his power and capability. She knew that they would need to settle things peacefully, or else things could turn ugly. It seemed Luna had realized this as well, for she had that same look of apprehension upon her face. Celestia cleared her throat.
"Yes, well, we are sorry to interrupt your business, but we would very much like to ask you some questions," Adric sighed deeply. Ghost turned to the rulers.
"Could you give us a moment?" it asked. The diarchs slowly nodded, before the Ghost floated over to it's partner. They talked for a number of minutes, perhaps twenty, maybe thirty, and it got more heated as it went on. But finally, they seemed to have resolved something, and Adric turned back to the ponies.
"Alright, I'll answer your questions, but!" he said, raising a digit. "If I don't want to answer, then I won't answer. Got it?" The diarchs glanced at one another for a few tense moments, a silent conversation seeming to go on between them, before they turned back and nodded.
"Very well," Celestia agreed. "First, why do you carry weapons that resonate with dark magic?" Celestia asked, face a neutral yet stern mask.
"They are made from the bones and energy of a race in-tune with the Darkness," Adric answered. The sisters looked disturbed by that answer, but continued.
"We did not ask what they are made of. We can tell what they are made of quite clearly. We're asking why you carry them. Do you not know the danger of having such equipment?" Celestia asked sternly.
"I carry them for the same reason any soldier carries a weapon. To protect myself and others. As for the danger, there is none. This, 'dark magic', you speak of is just energy. No magic involved," Adric said with a slight growl of irritation. Luna growled in return.
"Alright, I see this is getting us nowhere, so let me just ask you this; what is your intent?" Celestia asked, placing a placative hoof on her sibling's shoulder.
"My intent? Honestly, I don't know. I have no way off this planet, not without professional help, so it's up in the air at the moment," Adric admitted, voice softer as he seemed to sit and ponder for a moment.
"Maybe you'd like to work with us?" Celestia asked.
"Sister, thou cannot be serious-!" Luna began.
"He saved the Elements, Luna. That shows he has kindness," Celestia interrupted, before whispering in her sister's ear, "And should anything go wrong, we can stop him before anyone gets hurt." She turned back to Adric. "So? What do you think?"
"...Fine. I'll do it," Adric accepted.
"Wonderful! Could you come with us then, please? We'll need you to sign some papers to make it official, as well as give you a few tests," Celestia said with a smile.
"Fine."
And thus began Adric's new career.
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Well.....
That seemed a little rushed towards the end there
7674780 I agree with your statement, this definitely seemed a little rushed
7674780 Yeah...sorry about that, it should be fixed soon.
7675611
OOH! I GOT NOTICED!!! YAY
exaggerated answer
7675626 Of course, I endeavor to listen to all my readers.
The title reminds me of
Please tell me there will be more, I love this story
7856039 There most certainly will be, I am not abandoning this story under any circumstances. It simply takes me longer than many people to come out with chapters.