Land of the Rising Sun: Quelling the Ryu

by TheronSniper

Ch. 3 Comprehension of the War

Ch. 3 Comprehension of the War

A couple of hours of enduring a panic attack, Twilight awoke still before the barge she’d soon ride to another country. One with a purpose to show the capability of Equestria just to show it wanted nothing more than friendship and harmony for all. Ironic as it felt, she had never gone to a new place with such a boisterous hello, she felt dirty taking the air boat. If she had brought the girls, they’d all still marvel at the construction even if it was dated, but like Fluttershy would probably faint as well. From what she remembered Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie handling Griffonstone, you needed bits and a good business sense to work around the cranky griffons. Guessing that would be the only example she had to go off with, it did not make her task any easier.

“A two year war…” she sighed to herself remembering some of early Equestrian history where the tribes had fought each other in small scale conflicts before the Windego Winter both in the land that would be Equestria and abroad, “Ponies here just hurt themselves a little with the usual stalemate when the tribes were not yet unified. Now… two major countries have… and who knows how many lives... stupid violence!”

Just touching upon the subject made her realize that Equestria had no real idea of the world around them that only the brave adventurers and sailors know even of. How long had she been in Ponyville doing princess things and keeping the library in shape before the Dazzlings had caused problems? Before them, what parts of the world were warring for whatever reason that had no true reason for ponies or others to accept fighting for? Where they really so convinced to see that arguing on such a level produced no positive results?

“I haven’t even been at the Castle with Spike for that long before Celestia had me go there to rest. Although he’s done a marvelous job of keeping it in tip top shape and educating the ponies around, I’ve been locked up in the Black Tape Archives looking for what might be causing more trouble where Sunset resides. All that has been my life worrying about being there and here, finding that blasted book, and figuring out if Equestria is truly in danger! While the rest of the world is still apparently undiscovered and at one another’s throats!” she stomped a hoof in frustration, the echo carried through the hanger bay like a ball pin hammer to a sheet of hallow armor.

She stood up and headed back to the teleportation pad, the boat already put enough on her mind and being so close to it wasn’t helping. The revelations of other regions of Equis that she could have gone to and helped with who needed more assistance than what the cutie map ever showed. The reports she’d gotten from the others where they were sent, it flabbergasted the young alicorn beyond her perimeters when matched with a global scale issue. How had anything gone past her radar, surely after she ascended the princess would have given that knowledge over to her sooner? There had to be a reason to this madness, even the princesses wouldn't turn a blind eye to their allies. Were they so content to await a form of declaration of war to care? Where were Equestria's embassy's that could have sent news at the start of it all? Did others of the world have a reason to hate Equestia? Was it something else she had yet to figure out as if it were a maze elaborately developed by Discord himself?

Most of the unicorn guards did not engage or react to the perturbed mare, most knew their station and what a highly magical alicorn like her could do in her state. The unlucky pad operator up ahead though had taken the few seconds he had to breath in and be ready for the trouble heading his way.

“They HELPED a failing restaurant! Brought a community together!! Helped those con artists that contested against Applejack’s FARM!?! And we had no idea a war that could be sending many innocent PONIES to their untimely END! Or... whoever lives over there?!” a few hairs on her mane stuck out just as that day she devolved into thinking the want it need it spell was a good idea.

She snorted before arriving at the pad to which the guard wordlessly activated the spell. The magical route of course did its thing and left her with a touch of vertigo which tossed away her perturbed state which would have sent her into an unbecoming mare. With her hooves giving out beneath her, she ended up hugging the carpeted floor as she regained her body and mind. Unlike her usual teleportation spell, this one went through palace and the mountain itself with the anchored beacons. More magic was needed to activate which meant the usual feeling she could overcome had been tripled. Though to her fortune, two maids were nearby and came up to her to assist.

“Princess do you require any help?” a copper colored earth pony mare softly trotted to her after setting down the feather duster.

“Maybe a doctor? You don’t look to well?” a blanched white unicorn mare asked as she held a hoof out for her to grab.

Shaking her head as she used healing magic to restore herself, “Thanks, but I’m fine… I think. Just need to rest for a moment is all.” She sighed as the lingering effects were managing to persist like a deeply burrowed tick.

The two mares looked at each other, knowing protocols dictated aid be immediately called upon the ill state noticed of a Royal. However, they knew about the pad and what could happen to those besides the two sisters. Training meant in most cases, nausea and disorientation were the most common and usually only ailments. If the Princess of Friendship said she was fine, caution to not cause a ruckus meant they had to take her word for it.

It did not take long for Sparkle to leave to her room, thinking of nothing in general besides the vertigo that still glued to her flank like a tick. She almost could not even figure out why she was angry at first, just rest and prepare for the big trip ahead. Even the fear of doing the best job possible wasn’t even on her radar anymore. All in all, Twilight had to seek bed rest and get a fresh start, everything else could wait.

Palace Guest Room 9pm

It had been late in the evening before Sparkle stirred again, her body had long recovered from the side effects hours ago with sleep. Feeling rested and lively once again, she stretched her limbs out as she laid sprawled on the large bed, how she even got into the room was a loss much less the sheets covering her. Until her eyes fluttered open and she lifted her head to find Vibrant silently reading over notes to something. Even if she could have wanted to shout at the stallion for being in the room while she was at her most vulnerable, that lone question in her mind had to be answered first.

“Well, its good to see you're awake Princess Twilight! Princess Celestia asked me to escort you after the palace staff and a few guards found you wandering the halls aimlessly looking rather ill. I took it upon myself to check up after you’d been asleep for a good eight hours. Don't worry I just arrived.” the gray unicorn popped an eyebrow looking up from his papers.

Twilight sighed thank full for the reason he was in the room, rather than one of those pepping toms which were rare but very unpleasant nonetheless. At least his image in her mind wasn’t tarnished, he wasn't the type of stallion to do something so low or so she had thought prior. Reaffirmed in her safety she took a deep breath and a left the bed, the worry about her up coming trip had her resurfaced to bother her again.

"Oh and before I forget, Princess Luna had came by three hours ago to check up on you herself. When she assured you were fine well, she sort of asked me to remain here till now." he added.

“I’m very fortunate for everypony looking out for me. What are you looking at by the way?” she asked in hopes to delay the scheduling mess she knew she needed to organize, she was still too confused with the ordeal.

He folded the scrolls up and stacked the papyrus sheets into a neat stack, “Oh its nothing Princess Twilight, I just really needed to double check on a new portal theory I found looking through a few diaries of Nocturne the Elusive. Much of it is all archaic and outdated, but there are a few spells that I believe are worth revisiting and refurbishing into something viable.”

“Oh? And to what end if you don’t mind me asking.” She wondered at what old spell crafting the mage found interest in.

Vibrant looked at her and gave her a quick grin, “It would allow me to see into a less taxing transportation method of goods to disaster truck areas so that even the untrained unicorn could set down anchors and keep it sustained. After the last cyclone that hit Seaddle, there's been a call for inventive minds to help ease with recovery and rescue.” He shrugged.

“Well I wish you luck, Harmony only knows what I’ll be dealing with…” her curiosity mellowed into gloom, she remembered seeing that horrible storm in the newspaper one morning when she and Luna ate together after a night in the Archives.

The Adept tilted his head to try and keep eye contact with the Princess as his magic stashed away the papers, “Something’s bothering you? Are you not going to be here for the completion of our research? I know you were looking forward to proposing our final findings to Princess Celestia?”

The mare gently swayed her head as he would be the first pony she’d tell her new assignment to, “Vibrant? Are you aware of the world beyond our borders? Other places our normal maps don’t show?”

He appeared confused at first, lifting an eyebrow in consideration, “We’ll I’m going to assume you meant before I stepped hoof into the Archives. So going off on that, then no I was not aware of any other kingdoms or beings we’ve known to exist here on our continent.”

Knowing he could have some semblance of why she felt as such, she jumped into her concern that clung to her coat like a sickly tar. The huge responsibility which she deeply wished she’d known before hoof and put a cease fire into affect for all kind. Most of all, the differences in culture which put the two halves of the world on opposite ends of the way life went on.

“Princess Celestia is sending me to the eastern lands, I’m not being forced to but it’s important that I go there for her to stop a war that’s been going on. A war… could you imagine that here?! Conflict that harms lives and destroys homes! It's like Tirek all over again! I mean we came close war with the Yaks!” her breathing picked up as anxiety kicked in.

He gave an approving nod and attempted to cool the Princess down, "I can see why your rather disturbed then, I cannot relate but I've been in a similarly stressful situation. I discovered an already affirmed theory when I went about my early work. You never want to plagiarize in the Arcana even if it is by accident, the Head Master and the council would ban anypony regardless of the intent. I had to restart from scratch, my focus had been in the Biologis studies prior and surprisingly enough portal magic was the next best thing. I... don't know where I could have ended up if I was denied from the Academy. It's been my dream to earn a mastery and serve Equestria for the better." he smiled as he reminisced over the unpleasant memory.

Twilight's wings spanned outward as she huffed in frustration trying to keep her cool, "I'm not joking Spectrum! I seriously don't know anything about the second continent or what else there is and you'd think the Princess would have at least informed me?! I was her student for Harmony's sake! After all I've done and I was never given the chance to meet these kirin or dracony ambassadors that came bearing such bad news!?"

Spectrum shook his head and chuckled at her frustration, "Princess Twilight if I may? Think of this as a learning adventure just as it was your first time going into the Black Tape Archives. A section of the library closed off for various reasons all of which are due to forgotten knowledge, buried under the rug all the black and dark magic that has ever been conceived by ponies or others? Information of dead cults and gods who'd come back if enough ponies believed in them and bring Equestria into a world that would make Discord's reign look like a daycare event. All to the point, if she had to keep this land a secret it was probably for the best. Perhaps our cultures are far too different and incompatible? Maybe they have their own kind of harmony that does not sync up with us? There is no telling what lies beyond the oceans from whence ponies traveled from after Hearth's Warming Eve that united the three tribes in this sacred land under friendship? Those records were forgotten and lost to time as far as I knew, though why the Black Tape possesses them for some reason I cannot fathom. That's my two bits for you. That and... would you have become the mare you are today if you instead went off sailing to such unknown lands to help them and not your fellow pony? As they say help yourself before you help others." Vibrant sighed as he rubbed his forehead just below the horn.

Sparkle was as mulled in the fact that somepony thought it to be wise to hid such knowledge from the masses. They did essentially cover up pony ancestral lands, leaving many to believe Equestria was and will always be the homeland of ponies. While there was a moral crime to essentially deny common knowledge to ponies, could she herself really say doing so she had not done herself to others? None really questioned where the three tribes had originally lived and what was colonized before they migrated for better lands. The story itself is more of a foals story than a factual depiction of true history, but it served its purpose to maintain friendship and give reason for everypony to feel the joy of harmony with all. Even if it fell short in such occasions as with Zecora.

"I kind of see what you mean, I'm still just... I don't know. I just wish the Princess trusted me enough? I'm the Princess of Friendship! I've defeated Discord, Tirek, survived a Hydra... went to another world and saved it twice with the help of friendship! What good is a global community that can stop wars from starting if it is barely maintained beyond informing declarations? Are we ponies really so... oblivious to the plight of others?" she replied morosely.

Vibrant turned off the oil lamp on the desk nearby that he used to read with, leaving the other two on the other side of the room to provide lighting. Knowing how Twilight could get when she fussed over something, just like with her missing book scene she needed to focus on the task at hand. Lest she cause herself to go into a path of depression which would hamper her ability perform wherever she decided to go on. He would not be the one pony who could have prevented a mental breakdown that crippled the morality of a princess.

"As the saying goes, if there is a solution then there is no need to worry. If there is no solution then worrying is meaningless. Princess Twilight Sparkle, I may be an Adept myself but I know when an aspiring student is about to crash and fail when they could easily press on in the right direction. The Princess had her reason for keeping all of us in the dark, that I'm sure of since she's been around far longer than any of us. Now you can either keep wondering and accomplish nothing, or prepare yourself for the journey you've taken upon yourself. There are nations apparently at stake and in need of some kind of peace, you'll learn and you'll make new friends that will hopefully see us as a whole as friends too? Reconnect the bridges crumbled by paranoia and distrust! So are you going to do that or not?" he spoke in no stern manner, though his words held heavy upon her sense of guilt as it melted away to the clarity.

She gazed at him and lost the irritability, shying away the very idea of her foolish train of thought that was then all too clear. Just as she embraced tests she thought were planned for her when in reality they were not even existent, tunnel vision overtook her better judgement and she let it eat away at her energy and spirit. Celestia did everything she could for the betterment of ponies and friends to them all over, if she truly needed ponies to be oblivious to other countries and lands abroad then who was she to question it?

She was still barely ascended herself so what right was it of her to demand access to anything classified? The dracony did seem to want to remain hidden, trading through tight lipped merchants and the ever elusive representatives was a political move that had to be respected. Twilight could envision her friends right now as Applejack would have slapped some sense into her, Rainbow would have scorned her for wavering loyalty, Fluttershy reminding her that a war should not go on for very long, Pinkie giving a much needed smile to shake off the descending notions, and Rarity offering her whimsical words to cement everypony's take into one whole lesson that had to be realized.

Twilight's muzzle sported a slowly growing look of satisfaction, one that Spectrum had hoped would be one of calm understanding. There was no evidence of doubt nor negativity, just the mare who looked ready to take on the world with warmth in her heart and an open sky of the spirit.

"You're right! I don't know why I let myself get wrapped up so badly." she began to say until it appeared something important popped up, "I let myself get distracted... that means I have less time to prepare! I need to get my supplies ready! I need to meet ponies! I have a list to make first! Bye! Gotta go! Thanks Spectrum!"

The princess teleported away, leaving a smiling stallion with a crisis averted for the better. Allowing a breath of relief, he reached into the pouches of his Adept robe and extracted a little quartz stone using his horn. It gently fell onto a hoof he extended outwards, then looked to the door to lock it with his magic. Once he was sure no one would disturb him he caste a spell upon the crystal which began to glow white.

"This is Spectrum, I've completed the task. The Princess will soon be off in another land too far for her to meddle with the plan. What are your orders?" he spoke directly into the magical item.

The crystal glimmered as another voice echoed off of it, 'Good... return and your reward will be granted.'

Vibrant let the magic fade away as the recipient ended the communication, he began to put it back in its proper pouch as a mad grin overtook his snout. Like a foal in a candy store with a bag of bits just waiting to tell the cashier what he wanted.

"Excellent!"

Princess Celestia's Private Study

The indigo purple themed room hosted a few common things any ethereal being would find necessary to rest in. Unlike a bedroom, Celestia's private study was essentially one third a library, one third an office, and the rest held her tea collection and constantly stocked cake repository for easy access. A fire place lit upon her entrance through a simple spell which reacted to her magic by proximity. Complimented by a large throw mattress which really counted as a futon with a fancy design and elaborate dressings making it royal and expensive. A large supportive pillow sown into the base offered the neck and back rest for the Princess to find reading easier.

At the time she simply read over documents detailing the latest affected with the magical exhaustion ailment to date and the numbers were not looking good. Even after the latest boosts to medical studies to train more staff, everything seemed to be as if it were a slowly sinking galleon with a hole that would not stay sealed. She herself was tired from the day court and the attempts by other noble mineral houses to try and push their coal agenda through with the crowns support. Celestia however shut them down and ensured her sister knew the constituents that would likely attempt again with her. Ever since the failures of the past that became the Ankarda incident, coal producing factories were forbidden unless they were headed by the Obsidian noble family who had proven time and again to uphold high standards for both the environment and their workers. From what she'd experienced in the last ten years were a surge of opportunistic vultures trying to gouge out mountain sides for coal and push the train industry in a different direction in which magic and horsepower was no longer the fuel of locomotion. The use of more mechanic means to propel vehicles were not only detrimental to the environment, but they were obviously bad for with their byproducts that even had her gagging. The Ankarda incident reminded her and now Luna of what happened when technology grew beyond understanding and in favor of profit. She barely remembered the details itself, but the reports came in to the fact that coal dust had ignited and detonated the buildings which processed it. All sorts of heavy metals and poisonous materials drained into whatever nearby water source there was and polluted for forty years before unicorn teams could clear up the toxic waste.

Since then, unless it was from the Obsidian nobles, all others proposed very lax restrictions of safety and disposal of waste. Once they even hinted at such aims, Luna or her would immediately drop the case as if it were dry ice in their hooves. Only bits lingered in those ponies minds and not the environment which further study after Ankarda revealed how many creatures were inadvertently killed off by the run-off even, from containment pond as well as ash. Twenty of the species were known to react with a horrible magical allergic reactions that ended in their untimely doom upon a mere sampling of the metals. Most of the bodies were too fargone before Arcana teams descended upon the affected areas and took over the damage control. Never again would she let that happen, from small fish to large creatures the death toll reached even the merponies who were found to be victims in the ocean the rivers flowed into. A near war with Aquestria had nearly happened from the Ankarda incident, and it took everything Celestia had to prevent a war with the mysterious ruler known as Poseidon. The one who'd sink Equestria under the raging seas to exact proper revenge, the being similar to her even if she never met him in person. The messenger they had sent gave the dire warning, one of which she placated as best as she could so that no pony would be harmed. That was when the Obsidian Nobles were given exclusive rights over coal for the next two centuries before she relaxed the restrictions on how could join the coal scene there after.

Just another second of memory in her thousands of years of being, and now the latest was the illness. No matter how bad it would try to be, no matter how virulent Luna and her would see it eradicated. Even in her down time before sleeping, she took up medicine and healing magic studies to see if she might offer another perspective to guide her ponies through. Though there were an army of ponies who were put through the educational grinder in such a field and hard at work since the magical exhaustion blinked on the news papers. It was never too late to keep adding to the think tank, one of the reasons she used cosmetic spells to appear lively and well rested. She may have lead the ponies into an age of harmony and prosperity, but most of the work was by their own hooves and she on the throne passing a few bills and making herself known to her ponies. This was not a problem in which she'd hope her loyal subjects would figure out by themselves this time, it had needed her help if she wanted to or not.

Closing the sixth tomb that Starswirl the Bearded had gifted her in those younger years of her life, the alabaster equine deity gazed in contemplation at the fireplace before her. How little she really needed the fireplace for warmth so much as it was something that eased her mind when haunted by the many worries of an immortal in power. As the solar goddess she had a natural element with the sun itself, lending her an unending warmth that even in a harsh blizzard she'd never feel the claws of below zero temperatures. How the fire moved and its shapeless form dancing about, the flames of reds and yellows in an endless waltz with the air current drawing fumes and smoke up into the chimney. One of the many small things she could rely on like a breath of fresh air.

"What has befallen my little ponies that even a legion of highly trained minds cannot figure out after so long?" she sighed as her magic levitated a cup of herbal tea that had been sitting at her side for a while.

It was cold, though the sweetness of the honey she used mingled with the hints of vanilla, cardamom, and various other flavors. As soon as her lips met the rim of the porcelain cup, she applied some of her mana towards the liquid to mirror the radiant aura of the crackling logs before her. Another sip and the tea came back to life as she very much preferred. Delighting in the moment, she pondered if she should call it a night and head off to bed. With Twilight under the care of the Palace staff and the Adept called Spectrum, there was little she had to close on that wouldn't bother her dreams. Though as she motioned to do so and stack away her reading materials, a knock came to the door from an armored hoof belonging to her door guards.

Muffled by the thick enchanted door, "Your majesty! You have a visitor requesting an audience, it is the Head Master of Scholar Arcana. Nova Star."

She continued putting her books away with a continuation spell that needed no control from her after she caste it, allowing her to to guess at why they would need her at this time of the night. She never closed her doors to a concerned citizen much less her advisors, though why they did not go to Luna was baffling enough. A Royal Decree she crafted upon Luna's return had all Night Court hours to receive developments or dangers so her sister could be assimilated as lovingly as she was to the ponies and government. If Head Master Star came to her, than it was truly worth a need to at least please the second most magical capable unicorn alive in this time.

"Send him in please?" she beckoned and pulled herself up to her haunches to sit.

The tall redwood doors opened inward with a Solar Guard appearing first in his golden armor and magical uniform white coat, nodding in confirmation the pony behind him was safe. Moving aside with his armor clanged a little as he allowed the way in to a wine red coated stallion with aged dull pruce main curly at the ends yet well kept. Head Master of the Arcana was a position that was earned through feats of magical knowledge and casting prowess, magical potential was also key. They were also older mares or stallions who dedicated their lives to preserving the magical arts of all the tribes, their commendations paved the way to the title. Nova Star had been in the seat of the Academy for the last forty years and he was nearing his time to retire. She could see it in his indigo eyes that he was a very worn out unicorn mage, one who would have become the Transcendent Master if he so desired. The type of pony Star had become was one who looked out for those who joined the Arcana and journeyed to create new magic to help the world or fight the enemies who'd assail the kingdom. By giving up the position that could have been his easily, like she herself, his machinations within the Scholar Arcana allowed for much progress to be taken. Some of it even Twilight had been privy to in their vast book stores of the latest research he ensured was captured and copied for everyday ponies to have access to.

Wearing the trappings of his position, a dust gray robe with silver borders containing every commendation he'd ever received written in old equish. A few badges of his later achievements fluttered in the air pinned near the collar of the neck, and to compliment it all was a wizard's traditional conical hat. Although his was bent and worn with some similarity to Queen Chrysalis's horn, it seemed to suit the master just fine.

"Presenting Head Master Nova Star." the guard said before motioning to leave himself and seal the door behind him.

The cloth dragged on the ground a little, but a charm protected it from wear and tear. A few wrinkles around his eyes and mouth garnished his otherwise still capable body, it was a personal quirk of the stallion to always have a reliable body should danger ever threaten Equestria. To know ponies could still keep in shape even as they neared their senior years was a pleasant piece of information to have. At least the illness had not affected the Arcana's vital assets, there was word of how he alone kept the Changelings from breaking into the Arcana when Chrysalis and her ilk invaded.

The door closed and locked gently, "My Princess, it is good to see you. Has it really been ten years since we had a moment for tea?" he spoke in a fluid manner with a docile kind tone she remembered of him.

"Yes it has unfortunately, I do apologize for not visiting the school as of late. Please take a seat with me I still have a cup to share if you'd like? It is a Rooibus blend, quite the fall tea if I do say so myself?" she smiled warmly at him, it was always a treat to enjoy pleasantries and general quality time with her subjects than be their near all mother.

The Head Master nodded with tamed glee, "I would love that. I do have news to bring you, but how about we enjoy a little talk before hand?"

As her magic poured what was left of the brew from the copper teapot, she inwardly lost her happiness as worry came back to the surface. What news did he have and was it good or bad? It felt as if she had another item to add to her conundrum as it seemed, indeed to have a pony like him here reminded her that she was still one of the diarchs of the land. Friendly calls were rare and far between, what ponies who really did such a thing was Twilight herself or Cadence without doom and gloom in tow. As the honey was spooned and stirred in, she mixed the contents together and maintained her mask.

Floating over the cup, "How is the Arcana doing these days? I've seen the names of the brightest undergraduates and graduates making the headlines these days."

Nova took the cup in his own magic and enjoyed the steam wafting away, "Rather well your highness, I'm proud to see former adepts and masters doing so much for Equestria. May their progress please you and Princess Luna, I've always aimed to satisfy since I was made the Head Master.

Celestia giggled, "All my little ponies make me proud no matter what they do so long as they live in harmony and befriend all. Now then... pray tell why have you come seeking my council? As late as it is I'm surprised you bypassed my sister for this?" with the niceties aside she had to know sooner or later.

Nova did not lose his placid state as he swirled the cup softly around, those deep blue eyes starring into the moving particles of the tea that escaped the fabric bags that kept the larger pieces out. A deep exhale left his nostrils, giving no hint or prediction of the message he came to bring.

"It is a little bit of a mix I bring you my princess. Though I guess it would be best to relay the bad news of course." he sipped from the cup and let the notes of every part of the tea blend coat his tongue, "I'm not sure if Twilight has presented her finding yet, but there was a book found missing from the archives."

"Missing you say?" she asked.

"I'm sure it would have been very crucial to their labors. The Master who had it has returned it with his utmost apologies for the error. I bring this up because of the contents of the manuscript are relevant to the danger being presented."

Celestia nodded, "What did the book hold that would have a Master Mage possess it outside of the archive? I thought it was illegal to remove anything with the Agents of Shadow running about?"

"Yes it is, under certain conditions of course. They were working with the Night Guard. Arcana rules apply I'm afraid, but onto the contents shall we? It had been the old banishment records before Starswirl had ended the practice. Every top tier criminal that threatened the nation of the likes of Tirek himself. I say this as a warning for us all. I fear exiles may be the ones trying to return to finish what they started." he shook his head in disbelief himself.

Something clicked in the ancient goddess's mind, slapping her head like with a gust of air, "I do remember a little about that magical imprisonment sentence, but I also remember why it was stopped in the first place. To which I am ashamed to admit I did not realize how the siren foe Princess Twilight battled had been connected to it. I remember when Starswirl held a seminar of which I then made a ruling to ban such cross dimensional sentences. How we were sending our problems to other worlds in hopes they would find a way to stop them when we could not. I recall the magic mirror being the concentrated form of that banishment portal mages of old used, Nocturn the Obscure had something to do with that?" fragments dawning on her about the truth to the mystical portal to the magicless world.

Nova sighed as if it pained him to see his Princess surmount regret upon her spirit like the weight of the moon prison she sent her sister to way back then, "Even for us on older years can make mistakes Princess. Such as I for not keeping a tighter record on who enters the archives so long as they have a key and Luna's permission. As it stands the Shadow's claws have been quiet for a reason. Now you might know why I suppose."

"All this time such a dangerous artifact had existed, once only opening every thirty moons for barely even a day in our world... what manner of evil exists in the human world seems to have thankfully not harmed them. From the reports Twilight has given me, they've... do you believe they've been biding their time?" she lost her smile to a still emotionless expression, her mane and tail still blowing softly in the ethereal winds.

"I would have done the same your majesty. It looks like we will be run afowl soon if they have any use of that gem I've heard about." he finished his drink and gently set it to his side.

He cleared his throat as he noticed the royal taking the news rather ill even if she did not believe he could detect it. If being near the pinnacle of unicorn power did anything to one such as him, it was to be sensitive to the aura of others with such mystical energies. He could feel what worry, anger, sadness, joy, and all other powerful feelings that could affect a caster in action or push them beyond their limits. Now was the time to guide the deity to the right path.

"I would also say the Arcana has not sat on its plot since the Changelings. We've been fighting the Agents of Shadow long enough. There is a response force ready at the crowns call and one that can take down even the Dragon Lord himself." Star bowed to the sun goddess who took his offer of aid with a pinch of salt.

With war abroad, the Arcana was stepping forward to offer help if she still chose to send Twilight overseas. To think that such powerful beings that needed to be imprisoned in Tartarus below in the present day Equestria were a threat now? There was no end to the chaos that would be wrought upon the lives of ponies everywhere. One Sombra was enough to do what he had done to the Crystal Empire, the use his name in the plural sense was madness. Not only that, but these haunting shadow's of Equestria's past would be coming back with a vengeance no doubt about it with no aim at forgiveness. She started to believe that even with every alicorn on the front lines that they'd still have a hard time repelling ancient magic. Her ponies wouldn't be equipped for this magnitude of an attack for when not if they came, she'd have to assume they may have been caste to the human world in hopes they'd no longer endanger ponies again. They were likely sent away without any methods or cautionary taken to strip them of their powers and with a reconstituted siren gem in their grasps. This far surpassed the magical ailment in scale of danger.

Celestia took in a deep breath to clear her thoughts as they ventured over the many strategic ways to handle the threat. To both prepare her ponies in secret and fight off what might become an army of evil at their doorstep. Using a small meditation trick she learned from the ponies of Bhārat, she quelled the negativity as if a small bell rang with a single tap. Her mystical mane and tail ceased flowing and lost their color, reverting back to their pink hue of her natural color before her ascension. It came as no surprise to the elder, even he had to use calming spells when things had gotten too complicated.

When Celestia finally spoke it was with an soothing voice like that of a mother before her child, "I will consider this and the Arcana's help after I have taken some rest. This is a very delicate matter of concern to everypony involved... even the foals of every creature around this world. I will hope this danger does not come to pass, but I'm aware that not even all of my best royal guards nor unicorn regiments will have the magic to defeat those who have been banished. If there was anything Starswirl the Bearded told me about that spell he fought to seal away into the Black Tape Archives..." she paused as the most prodigious magician to have ever lived appeared in her forethought, reciting his own words himself.

Nova awaited like a statue before his ruler, feeling the placid spirit that could conquer any problem and decimate any army's will without having to fire a single spell, "The Gardens of Elysium will be our new home should the deported ever find their way back. Mother Faust help us all."

Celestia stood up on all her hooves, her wings spread wide with an all encompassing warmth to the air as if she were a black sun within the room, no blinding light nor reaching flares. She stretched every ounce of her magical network as if to cleanse any clots in the lines, the mana she flexed had enough might to be felt by every pony in the palace and then some. The act had no physical force itself, she did it as a means to revitalize after years of essential docility. Those many decades after she began trying to figure out how to help solve the sickness that had been steadily becoming infectious, unlike any common flu. She held this for a couple moments before the magic died away, falling into normal levels she maintained in a passive state with her mane and tail returning to their multiple hues. The doors opened to her magic and the two Royal Guards flanking the entrance saluted to the approaching princess.

"You have the Arcana's support in whatever decision you choose, your highness." Nova said as he joined alongside her with the fireplace blinking out into cold inactive burnt logs, "Shall I depart then and let you have your rest?"

"Yes my little pony, you may go." she smiled to him from up above as she towered over the stallion.

She having took to the left hallway to her quarters, the Head Master went down the right trotting at a slow gait. With the day adjured, there were little other ponies about except maids and cleaning staff preparing the palace for the next day. Feather dusters cleaned vases, tables, pictures, and all sorts of decorative assets one would see around every turn. Vacuum spells quietly hummed as they sucked in floating debris and cleaned the floors, glacier blue spheres inhaled all the little things into a small compacted ball of dirt. The most numerous however were the Night Guard who stood watch over as many turns and angles throughout Nova's trek, the windows and exits being their primary stations.

After the Head Master departed the Palace, he made headway to an awaiting carriage. Across the long front lawn designed specifically for land battles, forcing any invading force to march across killing grounds. An Arcana transport awaited with the dedicated runes of the Academy and Department of Magic, two earth ponies awaited in full armor unique to the sanctioned school ready to pull after their occupant embarked. Two more Night Guards stood at the large golden gates hosting the two sister's marks, armed with sheathed swords and their midnight colored combat gear they opened the primary entrance. The two bowed to the powerful mage as their golden eyes shimmered in the rising moonlight.

Nodding his head at them, the wizards hat jiggling slightly by the motion he mounted into the vehicle and closed the door behind him. Which the ponies tethered in began the trip back to the Academy twenty minutes away through mostly empty streets. The oil lamps lighting the way over the cobblestone roads forward besides the night sky.

Nova looked out through the thin cloth privacy curtains, through his aged eyes he gazed at the pony kingdom with admiration and love, "The final pieces are in motion, and so it begins... for the good of Equestria."

A bright light managed to shone just barely through his robe, which when it's illumination reflected off the glass window of the viewing port he extracted it. A pure unblemished white quartz hummed low as it relayed a message from another pony.

"This is Spectrum, I've completed the task. The Princess will soon be off in another land too far for her to meddle with the plan. What are your orders?"

Comments

[enderchangling]

Are the Arcadia the same as the...uh... shadow thing? The ponies who are trying to use deamons and fight the bat ponies.

[TheronSniper]

8309497
No the Scholar Arcana are the opposite of the Agents of Shadow.