Cloak and Dagger
Twilight tapped her hoof against her desk as she stared out the window. Outside, the cool wind of fall blew, carrying with it promises of snow and cold in a matter of weeks. Only a few pegasi dotted the skies, the majority of the weather now being handled by spell work alone, cast by large cadres of unicorns. It required far more pony power than if pegasi did the work, but with so few left living in the city, the method had been deemed necessary by the all-unicorn weather council.
As such, there were a scarce few clouds that were being pushed or pulled across the sky by pegasi. None of whom were making clouds, as that was handled by a massive sigil that glowed high above the city which spat out flat, dull grey cloud cover. As she watched, the spell flickered and died, and the clouds which had been building dissipated as well. The few pegasi Twilight could see seemed angry and relieved, with most shaking their heads at the futility of it all.
With a sigh, Twilight activated a spell, causing the window to darken significantly, while doing her best to ignore the sorry sight playing above the streets of Canterlot. Instead, she picked up the letter she had received, a small smile overcoming her features as she perused the contents of the correspondence once more. Though short, it was a pleasant affirmation of where her and Cadance still stood, with the young alicorn brushing off her break up with Shining Armor. In the letter Cadance also urged them to meet again, and soon, but Twilight hesitated to pen her response, despite their shared enthusiasm for such a meet-up.
Seeing the young alicorn would be nice, but with Twilight’s schedule so full and her lessons so intense, Twilight knew she would have precious little time to waste socializing. Even if she really wanted to see her childhood foalsitter and close personal friend, whom probably needed to see a friendly face about now, time was at an unfortunate premium. There was another, darker reason that Twilight wanted to see her, but the unicorn brushed off that thought for now, reassuring herself that Cadance would never fall into the clutches of the great houses.
She was simply too kind for that, Twilight reasoned.
“There is always Hearth's Warming break,” she muttered as she tapped a quill against an empty sheet of paper, her letter still only sporting two words.
Greetings, Cadance.
The rest was empty, and though Twilight’s heart told her that meeting up during Hearth's Warming would be a great idea. Her head told her that it would be a waste of time and would ultimately take away from the personal study time she had planned.
She hummed and hawed a few times while tapping her quill before she picked up the writing utensil, putting it away in a drawer, determined to deal with the letter at a later date. When the drawer was opened though, something grabbed her attention. Looking down, the pony saw her favorite quill as a child and the small charm still attached to the end of it.
The quill itself was useless, having been worn down far past the point of being able to write, yet she had kept it anyway. She ran a hoof across the nearly flat face of the tiny blue fish and smiled faintly, remembering well those early days she had spent by Celestia’s side. She thought back on how the alicorn had never once looked at her funny due to Twilight’s unusual eyes. Or her other, less obvious quirks, and never judged her for her strange habits, or overall bookish personality.
With a sigh, the unicorn pushed the drawer closed, wiping the corners of her glowing orange eyes, dismissing the tears that had begun to build there.
Spike stirred on his bed of pillows nearby, the dragon sitting up and rubbing his eyes. “What's wrong?” he asked while yawning.
Twilight shook her head. “It's nothing, Spike. Sorry for waking you.”
“Well, I’m up now,” he declared, before stumbling up from the small nest he had made for himself. “And you are going to tell me what’s wrong.”
“Just… getting nostalgic, is all,” Twilight replied with a sigh.
Spike walked up to his mother and draped an arm around her shoulders, giving the pony a gentle squeeze. “You know, I don't think you are allowed to be nostalgic yet. You are not even old enough to drink, after all,” he pointed out.
“Hey, I will be next year,” Twilight shot back.
“True, and then and only then will you be allowed to get sappy over something that happened in your childhood,” Spike added, giving his mother one last squeeze before taking a step back. “So, what are we doing for lunch? I’m hungry.”
“Wait a second,” Twilight interrupted, the mare standing and turning towards the door, her horn glowing with power.
A second later a small slip of paper was tucked under the door of her room, tempting Twilight into frying it. For a moment she simply glared at the small object, her horn glowing brightly, magic ready to be unleashed at a moment’s notice. When nothing happened, she changed the flow of her mana, and focused it away from a disintegration spell and towards a scanning spell.
When her horn flashed, she was instantly assured that it was nothing more than a scrap of paper, with a small ward placed on it that allowed it to bypass Twilight’s defences. With a frown on her face, Twilight hesitantly approached the piece of paper only to be stopped by Spike who grabbed her shoulder.
“Are you sure you should even look at it?” Spike asked nervously.
Twilight nodded. “The only spell on it allows it to get through my defences, not hurt anyone. Besides, I want to know what someone would go through all the effort of sending us.”
Spike frowned, but let go of his mother’s shoulder. “Alright… be careful though.”
The unicorn turned, and gently lifted the piece of paper from the ground and towards her. A quick spell made a forcefield spring into existence around the note, making doubly sure it could do no harm. With something between him and the paper, Spike leaned in, his curiosity getting the better of him.
The paper itself was plain in the extreme, and was folded haphazardly down the middle. Opening it up revealed only two, short lines of text written in slightly crooked letters.
Meet me in the training room in ten minutes.
Come alone.
Twilight snorted, dismissed the shield spell, and disintegrated the note. “Like hell I’m doing that,” she muttered in disgust.
Spike raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure that's a good idea? What if they have information, or if it’s Blueblood again?”
“If it’s Bluey, he would just show up like he owned the place,” Twilight retorted. “And if they had information, why not just include it in that note of theirs? No. This is clearly a trap. One that is designed to suggest that my defences are not enough, and that my tower is compromised somehow.”
“Really? I mean it just slipped through your wards, surely you can patch that hole, right?” Spike asked while scratching his head.
Twilight sighed. “It's a show of knowledge. They know how to get past one, meaning they likely know how to get past the other defences I have erected. We aren't safe here.”
“Then what do we do?” Spike pressed, as he nervously began to wring his hands together.
“We go straight to Celestia’s apartment,” Twilight declared. “I won't be able to teleport inside the castle due to the interdictor spell they have placed on the premises, but that should mean no one else can either.”
“So we just walk over there then?” Spike asked. “Because I like the idea of sending her a letter and hunkering down here.”
“We can't do that,” Twilight replied. “Celestia is in a meeting with her cabinet for the next six hours, your letter won't go through until it's over.”
Spike mumbled a curse under his breath. “So what do we do then?”
“Celestia taught me the key spell needed to get into her private apartment. She has more defences on that place than anywhere else in Canterlot. Except maybe the royal treasury,” Twilight answered. “If we can make it to her room we will be safe from everything from invading armies to a direct meteor strike.”
“That's if we can make it that far,” Spike replied.
Twilight snorted. “We are stronger than the guards, and they haven't been able to corrupt them all, meaning they couldn't afford to attack us in a large number.” The unicorn began to pace back and forth. “They probably aligned some sort of distraction so there are no staff between here and the training room. This also means that most of the distance to the royal apartments is also empty, but that's acceptable.”
“It is?”
The unicorn smirked. “We got this, Spike. Come on. We just need to get to Celestia’s apartment.”
“Are you sure this is the best idea?” Spike asked.
“It is. Now hold still while I cast some quick enchantments on us,” Twilight exclaimed, the unicorn already summoning her magic.
In no time at all, both Spike and Twilight glowed faintly, as numerous defensive wards and other spells fell into place. Her horn dulling, Twilight nodded slowly, appraising her work. “There, that should protect us at least a little bit.”
“I don't suppose I can talk you out of this, huh?” Spike pressed.
Twilight shook her head. “Celestia’s room is the safest place in the castle.”
“I guess…”
The unicorn sighed and ran a hoof down the dragon’s frills. “Don't worry about it, Spike. We can handle anything those fools throw at us. Celestia has been teaching me for almost a decade at this point, and training me in offencive magic for the last year.”
Spike took a deep breath and squared his shoulders. “You are right,” he declared. “You know tons of magic. They don't stand a chance.”
“That's the spirit, now let's get moving,” Twilight announced before turning to the door and lighting her horn once more.
A ping of magic alerted Twilight to the fact that the area just outside of her tower was empty, the guards that had been stationed outside vanishing within the last few minutes. Pushing the door open a sliver, the unicorn peeked outside and found neither sign of struggle, nor a note left behind to explain their disappearance. With a frown on her face, the unicorn pushed open the door the rest of the way and silently ushered her son into the hall before closing and locking the door behind them.
She knew it wouldn't do much since they knew about her defences, but it put her mind at least a little more at ease to have her room locked. With that done, she lit her horn and began to creep down the hall, with Spike eyeing the stairs to their left closely. When nothing happened, and they had made their way over the skyway, and entered the castle proper, both creatures relaxed slightly.
“It’s empty,” Spike muttered.
“It sure seems that way,” Twilight only half agreed.
“Why do you say it like that?” Spike asked as they turned down a hall and made their way towards a spiral staircase that lead up a floor.
“Because something isn't right here,” Twilight replied, her horn still glowing, though not nearly as much as it had been a minute ago. “Why lure me out only to not do anything? They evidently expected me to leave the room or they wouldn't have bothered to clear the castle halls.”
Spike paused as the pair reached the stairs, with the unicorn peeking around a pillar before nodding to the dragon, and prompting the pair to begin climbing. “That is weird. What do you think it means?”
“I don't know,” Twilight admitted. “I still feel like our best chance of safety is Celestia’s apartment though. Noone should know we are able to enter without the princess’ presence.”
“I still don't like this,” Spike muttered.
“Just keep a look out and warn me if you see anything,” Twilight replied.
The dragon nodded.
Twilight strode forward, standing tall and silently hoping to attract any attention first and spare her son from any potential harm. Harm which never seemed to come as empty halls proceeded only more empty halls, all of which were utterly devoid of any staff or sign of battle. The sheer emptiness was beginning to get to the pony, as several minutes had already passed, and they had yet to see another soul.
Twilight peeked her head around a corner and surveyed the next hallway closely, her nerves beginning to fray after so much silence. Sure enough, another empty hallway opened up before them, one which was surprisingly bereft of other exits, be it doors or windows. Frowning deeper, the unicorn trotted into the hall, her hoof going up to where she knew there should be a pane of glass.
“Odd,” she muttered.
“This is really starting to weird me out,” Spike muttered, crouching slightly as he looked left and right. “Where is everyone, and where are we? I don't remember this hallway before.”
“That's because we are either not in the castle anymore, or this is an illusion.” Twilight lit her horn and cast a quick dispel, only for nothing to happen. “A very, very good illusion.”
“But it feels real,” Spike muttered as he tapped the wall. “Shouldn't there be a window here?”
“Powerful illusions can replicate all of the senses and convince the mind that what it perceives is indeed real,” Twilight explained, her horn flashing once more, to the same effect as last time. “And this is the work of a master.”
“So what do we do then?” Spike asked as he looked over his shoulder.
“We could stay in place, fire off a few flares and attract a lot of attention,” Twilight began, the unicorn leaning towards the wall and tapping it several times. “That should be able to attract at least a few guards not under the great houses’ sway. Or we could-”
“Hey look, it’s Celestia!” Spike interrupted, the dragon already running down the hall. “Hey, Princess, it’s us! Come back!”
Twilight cursed and spun around. “Spike, wait, that's not her!”
Despite her warning coming as quickly as she could speak it, the dragon was already at the end of the hall, vanishing around the corner a second later. Muttering a string of curses under her breath, Twilight silently reminded herself that despite his appearance, and his general maturity, Spike was still a kid at hear. One that was in a stressful and strange situation.
Putting anger from her mind, Twilight focused on what needed to be done and began to sprint after him, her head down and her horn blazing with life. Thankfully she wasn't wearing her usual boots, and had only thrown on her coat earlier due to the slight chill that pervaded her tower. Without anything slowing her down, the unicorn was able to easily catch up with the dragon, who was standing in the middle of an intersection.
“Princess Celestia!” he shouted. “Where did you go?”
“She isn't here. That was an illusion,” Twilight remarked sadly.
The dragon stumbled back and raised his hands as if he were about to karate chop the pony in the face only to stop when he realized who was standing there. “Oh, thank goodness. I thought I lost you for a second there,” he remarked.
Twilight reached out and gripped the dragon by the shoulder, looking him dead in the eye. “Do not do that again. Our opponent is master illusionist, and likely intended for you to run off.”
“S-sorry. I just thought I saw the princess and…” He stopped and blinked, looking around the room. “How did we get here?”
“What do you? Oh no,” Twilight muttered in shock, before turning around and bolting towards the exit.
The door she had just passed through slammed shut, clicking audibly and making her screech to a halt as something heavy was placed against the otherside of the wooden portal. Cursing, she spun around and scanned the area, only to find that the training room looked empty still. “How did we get here?” Spike asked hesitantly, the dragon close at his mother’s side.
“More illusions, these ones even better than the last,” Twilight explained, before pushing the dragon back a step. “Give me a moment and I can knock down this door.”
The unicorn lit her horn and began to summon forth the necessary mana to knock the door clean off its hinges with a well-placed fireball. That was until her horn suddenly flickered and died, the second an oppressive wall of force sprung out of nowhere and stopped her spell dead in its tracks. Wincing, Twilight did her best to mitigate the backlash quickly before stumbling over to Spike and placing herself between him and however else was in the room.
“Ah ah ah. There will be no cheating on my watch,” teased a female voice that seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere at the same time.
Twilight tried and failed to bring light to her horn once more, grumbling when she found the act completely impossible. The force was powerful and the unicorn guessed that the training room was probably set for ninety or so percent magical reduction. More than enough to make all spell casting impossible, and to leave her with a pounding headache. Spike winced, the dragon clutching his head with both hands as he stumbled backward a few paces.
“W-what’s happening?” he asked in confusion.
“Magical reduction field. Focus on your breathing and don't move unless I tell you to,” Twilight commanded.
“Ahh yes, that would help, wouldn't it?” remarked the distinctly female voice. “If you weren’t an abomination deserving of oblivion!”
Twilight shoved Spike hard, pushing him out of the way of a bolt which had been aimed at his head. The dragon toppled into a heap and Twilight quickly stood over him, her muscles flexing as she turned this way and that. “Show yourself,” she shouted. “Unless you don't think you can take me in a fair fight.”
The voice laughed. “Oh please. You came here loaded to the gills with enchantments. The game was rigged from the start.”
“What do I-?” Spike began, only to be shushed by Twilight, who kept him down.
“So what if I put on a few enchantments? They are gone now, yet you are still hiding, cowering in the dark and relying on your illusions and weapons while I have neither,” Twilight spat back.
“Me? Cower? I long for combat and with honor guiding me I will strike down the enemies of our great nation!” the voice exclaimed, a second before Twilight heard hooves hit the ground.
“So predictable,” Twilight muttered before raising a hoof and bringing the full power of her psychic might to bear.
Her opponent flickered into existence a few feet away, whatever ability that had kept her invisible dissipating now that she was moving, only to be thrown back by Twilight’s psychic push. Rather than be caught off guard, the pony simply slid back, her hooves gripping the floor tightly and stopping herself relatively quickly. She threw her head back, throwing her long, light teal braided mane back over her shoulder and out of the way, subtly shifting her large gold and blue gauntlets back into place on her hooves.
“You are stronger than they gave you credit,” mused Twilight’s opponent, who slowly began to circle the unicorn, her golden armor and large, bulky bracers clacking audibly with every step she took.
Twilight snorted in irritation and stepped forward. “Your masters are fools to believe I am easy prey. And even more foolish to only send one of you.”
If Twilight’s opponent was unnerved, she didn't didn't show it, the pony merely scowling from behind the bit of cloth that obscured her mouth and nose. “That is where you are wrong. Wherever I go, I bring the might of my ancestors. And you are no match for us all!” she yelled before charging forward, magenta eyes flashing dangerously as she did so.
Twilight gritted her teeth and focused on the ill-used part of her mind dedicated to bringing forth her psychic abilities. Reaching out, she tried to grab the other unicorn, only to find that her opponent was ready, and an alien will rose up to rival her own. The other pony slowed as her eyes blazed with fury, pushing back Twilight’s attempt to batter the other pony senseless through psychic might alone.
Having never felt resistance to her psychic abilities, Twilight found herself struggling to figure out the correct course of action. Gritting her teeth and pouring all she had into the act seemed to do little, and she quickly abandoned the effort, not wanting to take away from her mind’s defences. Stumbling back, Twilight glared at the other pony, who was smirking victoriously at the infested mare.
“Is that it?” she asked, throwing her nose into the air haughtily. “And here I thought you were going to be a challenge.”
Twilight snorted and pawed the ground with a hoof. “You may be able to resist me and your mind may be shielded, but I could feel that power is not your own. You are but a mare. A scared and angry little mare.”
“I am not scared of you, or anyone!” shouted the other unicorn, who suddenly lurched forward with hate in her eyes, burning away the grey emptiness that had been at the edges of her vision.
Taken aback by the response, Twilight moved subtly to the left, knowing instinctively where her draconic progeny was without having to look. With the other unicorn barreling directly at her, and with little time to figure out a plan, Twilight slammed her forehooves together and used what little psychic energy she had left to cover her forelegs in a thick, scaley hide. Just in time to deflect a knife which had flown out of nowhere, and had been aimed at her face.
Knowing it was a feint, Twilight leapt back, dodging out of the way of another dagger strike, this one coming from the mare who wielded a pair of short, sharp weapons. Seeing her prey duck out of range, the attacking unicorn screamed and threw herself forward once more. “For the empire!”
Twilight stood on her back legs and brought her forehooves up in time to knock aside a series of lightning fast attacks aimed at her midsection. The blows were short and quick, lacking any true power behind them and forcing Twilight to rapidly shift her weight in order to stop herself form being poked full of holes. After a few seconds Twilight managed to create an opening and brought her left forehoof down hard on her enemy's foreleg, knocking her weapon to the ground.
Utilizing the brief disruption of her opponent’s concentration, Twilight grabbed her enemy's foremost limbs and brought her forehead down hard against her opponent’s face. Twilight felt and heard the familiar crunch of cartilage buckling under her strength, signalling that she had shattered the enemy unicorn’s nose. A second later and the sound of falling metal alerted her to the fact that she had also managed to make the other unicorn drop her remaining dagger.
She wasn't out of the fight yet though, and the teal unicorn spat a wad of blood directly into Twilight’s eyes, forcing her to stumble back and blink the foreign matter away. The unicorn raised her heavy, scale covered forelegs up, expecting the enemy to have not given her any time to prepare, only to find noone there. Instead, the other unicorn had taken a step back, and was staring down at Twilight, a disgusted look on her face.
“You are even more hideous up close,” she remarked. “I mean your eyes are one thing, but your face is scarred and deformed, almost as bad as that foreleg of yours.”
Twilight snarled. “Only the weak fret over aesthetics and mere appearances. The strong care only for results.”
“Well, if you were planning on being ugly as sin, then congratulations,” remarked the other unicorn, who hopped up onto her back legs and ignited the bright blue blades that extended from her bracers. “Let’s see how well you fare against the weapons of my people!”
Twilight was hesitant to put her hoof in the way of the glowing energy blade that had sprung from her enemy’s wrists and tried to dodge out of the way, rather than potentially sacrifice a leg. That was easier said than done though, and she quickly found herself forced to decide between getting a weird, glowing energy weapon to the chest, or losing a limb. Thinking quickly, Twilight deflected the blade away from her with her bulkier left leg, her scales faring relatively well against the odd weapon.
The daggers hadn't so much as left a scratch on her natural armor, unlike the odd, humming blue blades the enemy unicorn now sported, which burned even her hardened scales. Grimacing, Twilight pushed down the pain that threatened to distract her, focusing instead on her opponent who was still bearing down on her. Deft cuts and quick thrusts were either dodged or blocked by scaled limbs, ensuring that Twilight gained several more burns, but did not take a blow she couldn't afford to.
Spike, feeling the pain now coursing through his mother, began to look for an opening, in order to unleash his own attack. Only for Twilight to feel his aggression without having to look, and quickly stifle his urge to defend her. Stay back, you’ll only get in the way, she mentally commanded.
Spike, shocked to hear someone else’s voice in his head, stumbled back, and did as he was told, nervously watching as the two unicorns continued to duel only a few feet away from him.
Glowing blue blades were turned aside by tough, scaly flesh, adding numerous burns to the mare’s forelegs. Twilight’s limbs were heavy and slow, while her opponent's strikes were fast and precise, meaning she was stuck on the defensive with seemingly no way out of it. Without magic or her psychic abilities, she knew it was only a matter of time before this newest foe wore her down and struck a blow Twilight could not recover from.
Thoughts of her own demise didn't trouble her terribly, but thinking of what would happen to Spike if she were to perish made Twilight’s blood boil. If careful calculation, planning, and intelligence could not win the day, there was only raw brute strength and the power that came from rage. Throwing caution to the wind, Twilight brought about as much psychic power as she dare use before releasing it all at once into her opponent’s face.
The spike of telekinetic power was enough to knock the pony’s forelegs outwards, her defences forming a millisecond later and saving her from being knocked across the room. That was more than enough of an opening though, and Twilight let out a snarl of rage before leaping forward and bringing her hooves down over head.
The other pony was fast though and recovered quickly from the shove, raising both blades above her head in order to block the coming strike. Not like Twilight cared, for she had something the other pony did not, earth pony strength and far more muscle mass. The blades ultimately slowed Twilight’s attack, but did not stop her completely, forcing the opponent’s forelegs into a weird angle and battering her in the head with her own limbs.
“What the-” Was all the other unicorn could mutter before Twilight brought her forelegs down again and again, batting aside her enemy’s defences and pounding her face in.
Steel bent and the mare’s helmet warped before being knocked clear off her head, allowing Twilight to see the faintly familiar features of a pony whom looked a few years older than she did. There was just enough time to commit most of the pony’s face to memory before she was able to bring her guard back up and burn Twilight’s hoof bad enough to force the larger unicorn back a step.
Though she had managed to get her guard up and adapt somewhat, it was clear the other unicorn was still a little off balance from the battering she had just received. Ignoring the cries of pain along her forelegs, Twilight snarled, and was ready to throw herself forward once more when the other unicorn reached back and produced another dagger.
Knowing what was coming, Twilight raised her burnt forehooves in order to cover her face and other vital areas. Only for the dagger to fly right past her, and across the room, right where she knew Spike was standing. Eyes wide and filled with fear, Twilight reached out with her mind and forced the blade to stop mid-air, only a few feet away from the terrified dragon.
“For all your talk of strength you sure are weak,” spat the other unicorn before stabbing the infested mare in the shoulder and delivering a cross slash across the front of her body.
The simple leather cloth couldn't stand up to the mare’s strange weapons and didn't even slow the blades before they met the pony’s flesh. Searing pain flashed through the infested unicorn’s mind, making her cry out as she stumbled backward. Twilight tried to get her hooves up in time to block the next attacks. She was too slow however, and as she felt hot blood begin to cascade down her left foreleg, and chest she felt the heat of her opponent’s weapons as they neared her neck.
White hot panic coursed through her body, making the young pony realize that this may very well be the end. In that moment, time seemed to slow, leaving Twilight with ample opportunities to ponder her own mortality. Such grim musings were tossed away quickly, the pony too stubborn to even consider the possibility that this was indeed the conclusion of her story.
In that moment, she realized that she had never given it her all before, never truly allowed herself to delve into the true depths of her own soul. Her psychic abilities were always distant, and Twilight had feared what possibilities they may bring about if used and expanded.
Yet she would need to do so now, to give in to the most primal emotions that had warred within her for so long. That seemingly endless, yawning abyss of power that she had been too frightened to touch would finally be put to use. With grim determination, she tugged, no, ripped the power she felt swirling around her wellspring for over a decade, putting it to use for what felt like the very first time.
The teal unicorn’s smile began to slip away as the milliseconds passed, and she saw her enemy’s form begin to build with purple light. Putting everything she had into her attack, she desperately tried to cut off whatever the infested mare had planned only for the world to go white. Then she was airborne, the pony flying through the air until she hit the opposite wall, near a certain lever, her armor crumpling, but ultimately saving her life.
The first thing the assassin heard was a scream so powerful she felt it in her very bones. Her mind cried out in agony as it was attacked as much as her physical body was. Her ears bled, and crimson tears dripped down her face, yet despite all that she forced herself to look up, hoping desperately to find a bloody and broken opponent. Though Twilight’s wounds remained, the assassin no longer considered ways of attack and focused instead on escape.
For the infested mare was humming with power, the pony levitating several feet above the ground with massive glowing, ethereal purple wings having appeared on her back. Her eyes pulsed with an angry orange glare, promising the assassin a quick, but utterly brutal end. Grunting, the illusionist quickly pulled herself up, one hoof going to the hidden compartment in her armor which contained her daggers.
Twilight meanwhile was so shocked by her sudden transformation that she didn't notice this shift in her enemy’s attention until she saw a dagger in her enemy’s hoof. Reacting quickly, she reached out and tried to tug it out of the assassin’s hoof with her mind, only for it to slip out of her grasp as it was thrown past her. Growling in irritation, Twilight knocked it aside, as well as the next dagger which was thrown at Spike.
“Coward! You are fighting me, not my son!” Twilight boomed, her voice echoing in the minds of all who heard her.
“Oh, I’ve already gotten what I came for. I’m not fighting anyone,” the assassin replied with a smirk.
Twilight blinked, and looked over to where she had knocked aside the enemy’s daggers, only to see a trio of small black orbs on the ground. She was about to curse her own obliviousness, when the orbs exploded, filling the room with smoke. Reacting on instinct, Twilight half flew, half levitated over to where she knew Spike was, wrapping her ethereal wings around the drake and erecting a barrier between them and their enemy.
Spike clung to the pony desperately, his confusion palpable even while he coughed his lungs out. Twilight cursed herself for knocking the pony so close to the activation lever, but kept her mind focused on her surroundings. There was time for regret later, when they weren’t in danger, as now she had better things to do.
Opening her wings wide, Twilight let out a powerful flap, one which dissipated the glowing appendages and returned Twilight to the ground once more, their job done. Smoke billowed away from them, forced back by the sudden surge of wind Twilight had managed to summon.
Allowing Twilight and Spike to breathe a little easier and see that they were alone, the smoke now gone, as was the assassin. All traces of the unicorn’s daggers and broken armor were gone as well, leaving only a few dents in the walls and floor of the training room as evidence of their struggle.
“Are you okay?” Twilight asked, her voice weak.
Spike nodded and squeezed his mother harder. “I’m fine. But you are bleeding.”
Twilight snorted and straightened her back. “It's nothing. Now get ready to move, we still need to get to Celestia’s apartment.”
“That won't be necessary,” announced the kind and gentle voice of the alicorn herself.
Twilight stumbled back and lit her horn, nearly slipping on her own blood as she did so. “Don't believe her, Spike, she's probably another illusion.”
The alicorn smiled and trotted toward them. “Your first crush was on Feather Duster, your second maid.”
Twilight’s jaw hung open, and her shield vanished. “But I never told anyone that. Not even Celestia…”
“You talk a lot in your sleep,” Celestia replied with a smile. “It's actually quite adorable.”
“I think that's really her,” Spike added.
“But how did you get here so fast?” Twilight asked, hardly even noticing that she had fallen to her knees, her world spinning.
Celestia frowned, and gently wrapped the young unicorn in her golden magical aura. “I don't know, to be honest. It was like I heard you cry out in pain and I knew you needed me. So I teleported here as quickly as I could.”
“No way…” Spike muttered in disbelief.
Twilight opened her mouth to speak, only for Celestia to cut her off. “Now is not the time for talk. Sleep now, and know that you are safe.”
Twilight hardly had time to contemplate the alicorn’s words before she felt a low grade stun spell wash over her, knocking her out. The last thing she saw was Celestia’s warm, inviting smile, and then darkness.
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Oh hey, it's pony Mysterio.
Also that's fantastic, Twilight got her wings. Now she needs is a crystal castle and she can start her own school!
Celestia's training is getting nasty.
And yet you appear to be siding with the ones who's actions will destroy this country
Twilight hit a nerve there
Okay seriously Celestia. how stupid are you to allow so much before this attack. now you have clear signs of treason .ACT ON IT!
Convenient, they're only testing the waters and Twilight wrote them a book. Next time won't be this easy...
She fell for the oldest trick in the book- slip past the weakest defense and convince them that their strongest defences are worthless. Of course, Trixie really should have used that opportuniity to, say, plant a bomb outside the door, but I suppose that wouldn't be quite the same.
9973289
Very astute of you.
Y’know, I think this is the first time I’ve ever seen someone act logically in response to this kind of thing. Every other time this has happened, they’ve followed the instructions as if noone’s trying to kill them and traps aren’t a possibility. It’s refreshing to see someone finally break from that cliche and act smart.
Granted, Twilight is still leaving as she’s assuming they know anything and not checking, but that’s okay :3
Well I mean they do now if anyone was listening.
Add a space.
my first thought was they were using Twilight to bypass Celestia's defenses