Stroke of Luck

by Gboyd

Chapter 2: Canterlot Expedient

'Deep down, there is a place where all great minds go. A place where, if you say the wrong thing, it is either a simple misstep, or a terrifing mistake. It is your choice of what you want it to be. After all, the place.... is your mind.' --Anonymous

Twilight lay there, surrounded dark purple sheets and a tangled cover; a sign from her restless night. The curtains of her canopy bed waved softly in the early morning dawn breeze. She could hear Spike snoring softly in his basket at the foot of her bed.

Yes, peace. It was a peaceful morning indeed, and could easily lure one back into dream-land. But Twilight's mind was anything but peaceful. Anger, regret, sorrow, and fear all roiled around in one confusing ball. Twilight doubted Discord could clear out her emotions.

Twilight sat up, facing the sun. She sat there in silence for a while, then got up. She silently passed over her desk of drawers and her closet, gathering a few things. Once she was done with her morning routine and packing, she paused and looked over at the little boy. Spike was on his stomach, hand up on his pillow, while the early morning light gently lit up his bright green hair, making it glow. Twilight smiled at the sight. It was the picture of perfect innocence.

Twilight walked over, bent down, and kisssed him on the forehead. Spike snuggled down deeper and mumbled a bit in his sleep; his typical response. But Twilight watched, as, from the moment her lips made contact with his skin, a small wave of pink magic coalesced all over the little boy.

The Blessings' Kiss. Few knew about it. A kiss that, when given to one single indavidual, would protect them in times of dire need. It was cliche, but true. But what made the different from any other was that it was an action of love, and partial to the giver alone. Each act is unique, therefore each protection spell was unique. Twilight stood up after the spell had finished, walked over to her desk, and scribbled out a note.

Smiling one last time at the sleeping child, she swished aside her balcony curtain, and stepped outside into the cool morning air. Twilight drew her cloak closer to herself, and, with one last look at Ponyville, she was gone, leaving behind one single, purple, feather.

***

The streets of Canterlot were busy, as per usual. Then again, it was market day, so that was self-explainable. Still, it didn't mean that Lily liked it any less. Because with busy days came the crowds. And with the crowds came the horrible wait service. Seriously. All Lily wanted was a simple sundae with cooke chunks, caramel creme de menthe, chocolate syrup, and a cherry on top. A simple sundae.

"Sooo....." Top Tier asked, eager for details. Lily had asked her friends out for girls' afternoon, and being that she was back from her horrifying exprience that was... Ponyville, the girls had agreed almost instantly. Now here they were, at Lily's favorite ice creme parlour, but Top Tier was done with waiting. She was the group's gossip, ready to spread juicy details at a moments notice. It was really one of the only reasons Lily allowed her into their... group. If you could call it that. "Soo....." She repeated, with that familar glint in her eye.

Lily decided to play along, and played it up some. "So what?"

Top Tier gave her a deadpan stare. "What was it like in Ponyville?"

Lily groaned with distaste, but before she could respond, another piped up, "Did you see Princess Twilight?"

The poor soul recieved icy glares in response from the rest of the group. Lily decided to ignore her. It went without saying that Peach Dream was weakest one after all. Just like her father.

Lily sighed. "It was atrocious. Like, I don't even know what my parents were thinking! A backwater one-street garbage dump? For a week?" She shook her head. "But one of the worst parts was when we arrived." At this point, Lily's drama skills began to take over, and fake tears glimmered in her eyes. Seeing this, all of her friends leaned forward eagerly. "I had literally just stepped out of the carriage, surrounded a crowd, of course, when this.... this six-limbed... airhead came out of nowhere and sent me straight into a mud puddle!"

Gasps of outrage and shock rose from the group.

Lily nodded sagely. "My shinelle pants and my Saddle Arabian silk-imported cardigan was ruined! In every sense of the word!" Lily paused, making sure her story was sinking in, then continued. "I demanded she help me up, but she just flew off!"

Once again, mutterings of disbelief were heard.

Lily continued, the fake tears now flowing down her face. "I was humiliated. Sitting there, in a puddle of mud, the entire population of that backstreet garbage dumb laughing at me. I just..." Lily trailed off and burst into tears, only to be surrounded and comforted by her friends.

Calming down, Lily flipped her hair, adding a little flair to her story; people had thronged about her amd her friends. Lily had no doubts that it was a mixture of eager reporters looking for some gossip, most likely some fans, and just a few curious onlookers.

Lily leaned forward towards her friends, a glint in her eyes. "But that wasn't the best part...." She whispered conspirationally. Getting her drift, her friends leaned forward as well. Top Tier began to grin like a maniac. She was a gossip lover, as everyone knew, and no one delivered gossip like Lily Sapphire Rose Rich.

"I met Princess Twilight Sparkle. In the flesh." That was all she had to say before a din of excited squealing overtook the small outdoor table area.

"No way!" Top Tier gasped.

"Oh, what I wouldn't give to meet her..." Peach Dream sighed.

"I am soooo jealous of you," another piped up.

Lily rolled her eyes and smiled at the eager responses. This wasn't even the best part. However, a few girls seemed to be having the opposite reaction the others did.

Her closest friends, Blanchette Parapette, Mayline Treeborn, and Lacey Fringe went pale, while most were confused at their reaction.

Blanchette leaned forward. "Are you serious?" she asked incredulously.

Lily raised an eyebrow. "Do I look like I'm kidding?"

Peach Dream held up a finger. "I... I don't get what's confusing. What's so wrong with meeting the princess?"

Blanchette shared a knowing look with the others. "Oh, woe is me," she smirked. "Willl I ever be able to teach the Peach how to remember things?" Dramtically, she placed a hand on her forehead. The others snickered, while hurt began show on Peach Dream's face.

"Princess Twilight Sparkle," Balnchette, stressing the first word and grimacing, as if it left a bad taste in her mouth; "is Crylight Sparkless. You know, Spazzle? The dork, the princess' pet who set the royal library on fire and got Lily kicked out of Princess Celestia's school? How do you not know this?"

Lacey leaned foreward. "You really need to pay more attention to things you really don't understand," she scoffed.
Peach flinched. "I understand now," she weakly shot back. It was futile, but Peach conintued, "My mother--"

Mayline let out a bark of laughter. "Your mother! Ha! Does your mommy know you're here?" she asked, scrunching her face into a pout while doing an impression of high, squeaky voice. The others roared with laughter.

Lily snickered alongside them, but decided by the look on Peach Dream's face that the teasing had gone on long enough. At least for now. "Alright, girls, settle down." Peach Dream shot her a grateful glance that instantly switched back to hurt within a millisecond at the next thing Lily said. "We'll let the peach dream a little longer." This little quip, of course, elicited snickers from the other girls. Peach Dream sat back, deciding it was best to keep her mouth shut.

Mayline rolled her eyes. "So, anyway, get to the good stuff! You met the winged freak; what happened?"

"You did always say that if you ever got the chance, you'd get your revenge. Did you?" Another voiced.

Lily held up her hands to stop the flow of questions with a smile. "All in good time my friends, and yes, I did. It turns out that she's 'friends', with a bunch of commeners--including the one that sent me reeling into a mud path. But here's the best part." The group waited with baited breath. "I did some research, and it turns out that these commeners are the ones who weild the Elements!"

At this revealation, outburst of shock rippled through the group. But Lily wasn't finished. "So, I came up with a plan, because this is the perfect opportunity! She's the 'Princess of Friendship', right? Well, guess what?"

A chorus of 'what's responded.

"Friendship is the very thing that weakens her!"

Top Tier cocked her head, confused. "How do you figure?" she asked.

"Look at it this way. I watched them all for a while over the week. They're close. Like, really close. So, I whispered a while little lie here... a rumor there...."

The girls instantly caught on. "And you forced them to confront each-other!" Blanchette finished, as if giving the answer to an exam.

"And if they do that, they'll have hurt royalty!" another chimed in. The thought set in, and group fell silent, looking at Lily in awe. Finally, the silence was broken.

"No way!" Lace Fringe squealed.

"Way," Lily smirked.

Once again, the courtyard came alive with noise. Lily sat back, smirking inwardly as she listened to their hurried conversations, speculating what was to happen to the prosecutors. Hearing footsteps bwhind her, Lily stiffened slightly.

"What iz as matter, Madame?" a heavy Prench accent questioned. Lily turned her head, only to see a young waitress gesture to the animated group. "They no like?"

"Oh, they're going through the paper," Lily dismissed. The waitress hesitated, and set down her tray with Lily's order on it, looking rather sheepish.

"I apologize for ze wait, madmoiselle. Ze kitchen waz very busy, and-"

Lily rolled her eyes and flicked her hand at the young girl, a signal that her work was done. The waitress hesitated, then scampered off. Lily sighed with relief, about to dig into her sundae with gusto, when she got interrupted yet again.

Blanchette had somehow managed to trip the packet away from the girls and brought it over.

"This is brilliant!" she squealed. "I know it was against the law and all, but they got the princess on their side, surely! So how in Equestria did you pull this off?!"

Several others voiced their agreement, and Lily smirked. "Oh believe me, it wasn't easy. But I have friends in high places..." She trailed off, leaving it to their imagination to answer their questions. How had she pulled it off? One simple phrase, dear reader: Magical Persuasion.

***

He sat there, watching in morbid fascination as crismson liquid trailed its way to the floor. His breath came in ragged gasps, and his heart thudded. Anger and fear roiled around in his chest. How..? Why..? Who was she? What did she want? How dare she... HOW DARE SHE FORCE HiM TO..!! Force him to.... Force him to mind-control three of the few people she trusted! Not only that, but with a spell that should only exist in the Great Northern Kingdom! A land, that, in Equestria's eyes, should no longer exist. But she had gotten a hold of it.

He cringed, and tears burned the corners of his eyes as the memories of the deed flooded his mind. The way they suddenly grew limp, how their eyes reverted from their natural color to a sick green. A sick green that reminded him of those.... shape-shifting bugs that left his land in ruins! The princess's teachers, her sister-in-law... And that...that WENCH threatened to decimate his people by the millions if he didn't go through with it!

At the mere thought of it, he collasped to floor, crying out as flames of pain flashed over his body. A lump rose up his throat, and oxygen left him as more blood made his way out of his throat. He could feel his hands burning, and knew they had turned coal black. His limbs shook violently; his body screaming at him not to take another step.

When the rays of the early morning sun peeked over the far-off mountains, he picked himself up, abd slowly, painfully, began making his way home. Tears still streamed down his face, and regret ripped his consciousness to shreds. But despite all his pain, he smiled. He had done it. He may have been frozen in crystal that showed his greatest fears. He may have done the unspeakable by sending tge princess teachers and family in a place of unconsciousness. But, he was still a prince. He was still an alicorn. An alicorn who had magic that surpassed Equestrian magic by a million miles. An alicorn that had twisted the spell one last time to do the opposite of what it was supposed to.

He was Thirthinal, a graveyard, a prince. He had kept his sister safe, and in doing so, had finally set himself free for good from the slavery that bound him fir the last fifteen years. He could finally go home. To the Great Northern Kingdom. To Islay. He just couldn't take his beloved sister with him. At least, not yet.

Author's Note:

So sorry for the wait, ya'll! This one was a MONSTER to write!

Everthing will be explained in time, I promise. I wanted to thank each and every one of you stuck with me during this waiting. Well, the chapter is out now, so I hope the wait was worth it!

And as always, please comment and tell me what you think-I'd love to know your opinion!

Huggies!

Gboyd

Comments

[musoperatica]

To the author - omg freaking god it's amazing. despite some spelling and wording errors [for there's too many to list them] i know those two mares & that story you are referencing Running from myself by torrentialCAM.
Obabscribbler (now known as scribbler productions on yt) audio fic reading/drama was incredible!

p.s: on your user page the 'him' i'm referring to Blackgyrph0n has some sketchy issues going on twitter right now, so please careful about throwing his name around and don't want other people attacking you
also my story's set in season 4 (only goes up to celestial advice from season 7) then everything after that is non canon!

[Gboyd]

10050881
Oh... wow... Okay! Thanks for the warning! I'll be sure to check out your story and YT account! Catch ya later!

[musoperatica]

10052264
yeah.i don't know if anything was settle offline or even at all!

about this story it's an m/m ship of dusk shine x spike (please have an open mind...took the r63 character name only! i'd love to give you more details but currently describing it to another author in PM's.) within a slightly dark subject matter instead going to post a shorter fic featuring that same couple so readers are more comfortable with them

p.s: i'm temporarily leaving this site and yt accounts due to my three old 'Dell' laptop breaking down! i've tried everything and nothing works.
don't worry i have another laptop but it's an older model and will pop in every now and then on fimfiction