Power Of Truth

by Onyourleft

Chapter 3: The Vault

Author's Note:

This chapter introduces one of the romance aspects of the story, I also try at a little comedy :)

Still no editor besides myself, so let me know if you find any mistakes. I really appreciate any and all comments (though I prefer positive), so let me know how you liked the chapter or the story as a whole!

-OYL

Minutes Till The Comet Passing

Well, this was it. The moment that Twilight had been dreading for weeks had finally arrived. Things thus far had gone in accord to her precise planning. Yet, her fear and dread remained ever taunting in her mind.

The princess of friendship stood serene and fixed like stone in front of the towering safe. Her wings were tucked tight and neatly at her side, betraying her terror past her resolute façade. She had always been one to struggle with emotion, but nothing compared to betrayal. Or at least, what Twilight considered to be betrayal.

The wind whipped past her face, allowing her mane to flow in a mesmerizing mirage of dark hair. The mane itself seemed to melt into the clear night sky, dancing among the bright stars. Luna had truthfully outdone herself this time. The moon was nothing less than marvelous. And to complement the moon were the thousands of flickering stars, each bursting with rejuvenating life. The night was a true masterpiece.

Twilight took another moment to admire the scenery (a great distraction). She had always admired Luna and her ability to craft and mold the sky to her will. It was one of the few privileges that she secretly envied. However, a certain out of place, enormous, heavily enchanted safe, broke the tranquility.

It had taken Twilight an overbearing hour and a half to move the safe out of the castle. Her ever curious students had barraged this part of her plan with frivolous insults, but it was necessary. The amount of pure power required to shatter the overly complex wards would have demolished the entire castle.

While the castle was very old and not often used, Twilight would never condone the destruction of any historical place. Or really, the destruction of anything for that matter. Without the aid of Celestia, Twilight had been headed to be the next crazy hoarder. She had even gone so far as to steal a limited edition Heartswarming fork, in the fears that history would forget the existence of such vintage items.

Those simple times were a true blessing. While crazy in their own right, they held a simplicity and peace. These comforting feelings would soon cease to exist in Twilight's world. There was no going back after this. Celestia would most likely attempt nothing, in hopes of escaping the inevitable. Twilight though…… she would pursue everything.

With a sigh, the magenta alicorn lit her horn, allowing the every surprising bliss of magic to take command. She mentaly prepared her spells, and counter spells, and extra safety spells, and many things that no one but her could comprehend. Twilight lightly lifted off the ground, her wings silently extending inside the levitation aura. The process had begun.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Before long, a soft glow hummed from Twilight's location, spreading a supreme feeling of reverence to any who saw it. Her soft eyelids remained daintily closed, complementing the heart melting smile that she now wore.

Magic was truly spectacular. No being, dead or alive, would deny it. So imagine the princess of magic herself, bathing in her own ethereal power. No pony deserved to witness such a glorious and rare scene. In this small calm before the storm, a goddess was present.

Logic kicked in. The moment of precious peace was over. The hour had passed and the seconds were counting down. Twilight killed her smile and reigned it into a straight line, full concentration would be required.

Luna as a nice teaser, sent a few shooting stars across the sky. Bringing to life the fillies and colts imaginations as they let fly their childish wishes. As the final laugh of joy simmered out, an immense orb of light appeared. It streamed across the atmosphere at breakneck speed, dropping what appeared to be waves of color and sparkling dust across the land.

Twilight thanked Celestia that the comet would pass by and not hit Equestria. She had examined it for months, but to witness its enormity in pony was something else entirely. A moment of what her friends called as ‘Twilighting’ almost took over, but Twilight was in too deep for doubt now.

She would have the truth, all of it. After countless years of loyalty as a student, element of harmony, and surrogate daughter, she had deserved it. Yet, the truth had been withheld. Put just out of reach. Almost as if challenging her to leap for it.

Twilight loved Celestia and Luna, but she was a princess as well. Though she technically had less political power (for now), she would not accept this heinous treachery. The fact that it was ponies so close to her made the lies hurt so much more.

The citizens of Equestria were running wild. Their boosted abilities being completely wasted on random and entirely fun activities. The comet continued to release its power, gradually approaching the Everfree forest. While the innocent bystanders and background characters enjoyed the occasion, Twilight’s best friends and students all bit their hooves in nervous anticipation. This would be a dangerous night indeed.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The comet roared as it passed by, the likes of it would most likely not be seen for another thousand years. Meanwhile, Twilight Sparkle was completely overloaded with heavenly power. She was prepared to unleash it.

The princesses eyes finally opened, shining a bright and brilliant white light. The once calm waves of magic that had washed over Twilight now raged like a furious storm. It was a storm quite literally. Bolts of magic snapped out and decimated trees and boulders, elemental forces in near proximity were amplified by a thousand times. The intensity would have killed any nearby mortal.

After what felt like an eternity, Twilight re-obtained control. It was most likely the greatest feat of magic she had ever completed, and that is not a light claim. She funneled the currents of power towards the safe, visibly straining under the pressure.

It would have been easier to let go, the safe would have been obliterated. However, Twilight wished to procure the contents, which meant a certain amount of finely tuned finesse was required.

Finally, her arsenal of complex spells had melded into the raw and untamable power. Beads of sweat floated off of her face at the connection. Now came the hardest part, the attack. Twilight exhaled a breath that she had been holding for an impossible span of time, and she gratefully released her chains.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Inside the vault, a single statue stood above the rest. The statue portrayed a young and handsome male alicorn. His wings were spread to their full impressive length, and his long and deadly horn even in stone hummed with restrained power.

The alicorn's canvas of a face was protected by a visor, which was attached to his feathered helmet. The helmet itself was identical in design to his regal armor. Both, even while in stone, seemed to shine and proclaim its bearers strength. His hooves were shielded by royal sandals, each wearing a spiked tip.

All in all, it was a sight to behold. The grim and determined face, the perfectly preserved display of heavenly power, the finest armor accompanying the finest stallion. Any artist would have taken a lifetime to perfect such a piece, because it was entirely impossible.

The stone figure was not stone at all. Just as the villain Discord had been trapped, so had the grand Prince Iron Eclipse. His mind was silent, as it had been for over a thousand years, restrained by the Sun and Moon itself. Breaking free of his unearthly chains was impossible. Or, at least, it had been.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The walls, magical and physical alike, began to crumble, as a torrent of power glided through. Normally, with such power, there would be a complete lack of control. However, a certain magenta mare would have no such impossibilities hold her back.

Twilight's magic worked like a skilled architect. It wove in and out of the magical wards, disassembling hundreds per second. There were no savage assaults, nor intemperate decisions. The Princesses mind was supreme, and no overextending power would change that.

While Twilight worked her way into the vault, gradually defeating any and all traps. A certain statue began to shake. He had yet to awake, but his subconscious had uncovered the weak state of their prison. In response, he fought like hell.

Meanwhile, Twilight continued inward, passing by priceless artifacts, dangerous weapons, and ‘non-existent’ treasures. She looked at none of it. Her blazing eyes were set only on the present crisis.

Minutes passed, and the final defensive spells were disintegrated. The glowing aura of unyielding power, which was Twilight, began to simmer down. Her flowing, ethereal mane, settled onto her neck. Her scintillating eyes calmed to a normal appearance, and her shaking hooves settled daintily on the cold stone floor.

At first, she almost collapsed. After floating for around thirty minutes, she had attracted a sort of magical jetlag, and it was not pleasant. What could have been a humiliating tumble was rescued into being a sloppy kneel. Breathing a sigh of relief, Twilight at last realized precisely where she was.

The vault was not what she expected. In her mind's eye she had imagined grand pillars of Gold, decorated with suns and moons alike. There had been tapestries and a beautiful wooden bookshelf. To accompany all of it, for some reason, there had also been a garden. She was woefully unprepared for the sight that met her in the center.

The vault itself was insignificantly small. While large on the outside, the interior was nothing more than a single room. This room was also the most underwhelming place imaginable. The stone floor was basic, and appeared like it had been hastily constructed. The ‘beautiful’ bookshelf was a single rack of chained tomes. And finally, almost as if to insult any who entered, there was no garden.

Though the vault itself was an abomination, its contents, for the most part, were magnificent. Piles of treasure were heaped against every wall, and covered the entire second half of the area. The treasure was a mix of gold objects, various sparkling gems, and indescribable artifacts.

Occupying the front half of the vault was the small bookshelf, and an assortment of weaponry. All of them held strong magical signatures, and were crafted into alluring shapes and finely tuned blades. Lying in random piles besides the weapons were what appeared to be non-lethal artifacts.

All in all, Twilight was overwhelmed. After letting go of Rarity’s ideas of presentation and taking in the endless knowledge and history that was laid out before her, she was speechless.

A soulful chord was struck. Twilight turned her eyes from the treasures and gazed upon the paragon of artistry. Iron Eclipse, frozen in time pleaded silently for his release. The now conscious stallion had done all he could, but only an outside force could free him in the end. He cried out from his soul, the threat of eternal entrapment terrorizing his calculating mind. This pony was powerful enough to break through the vault, so whoever they were, freeing him would be a sinch.

Twilight gawked in awe. Never before had she seen such realistic features on a statue. If color had been present, it would have been completely lifelike. She took tentative steps forward, feeling the stone with her magic. Sure enough, it was not at all what it seemed. Twilight could see the hidden spells plain as daylight, and she had come this far already. There was no stopping.

While Twilight was an intelligent mare, she can also make mistakes. Especially when her curiosity tramples her logic. She knew by default that the statue was hiding something, or somepony. However, she just had to know the truth. That was the quest after all.

Eating her suspicion like a delicious apple pie Twilight undid the final spell. She leaned back and prepared for a stampede of magical backlash. Her left eye closed and her teeth ground into each other, nervous sweat reappearing all the while. Nothing happened. With how intense the magic had been thus far, Twilight was expecting colossal retribution.

BOOM

In a brilliant flash of light, Iron Eclipse shattered his prison, broke the chains, and blew an enormous hole through the ceiling. The wind knocked the unsuspecting princess off of her hooves, and whisked her right out the door. If it hadn't been for the paranoid spell casting of Princess Celestia, everything in the room would have simply ceased to exist.

Iron fell forward onto his hooves, gasping desperately for the wonderful crisp air. His face slamming into the cold stone floor was even welcomed. He was feeling again, and it was wonderful. He laid there pitifully on the ground for a couple minutes, not caring in the least that his savior was about one meter away, and ready to knock his block off.

Twilight had taken only a millisecond to recover, and was quick to assess the situation.

1. A powerful male alicorn was now on the loose
2. He was most likely an enemy
3. It was her fault he was free
4. She would most likely have to take him down, or risk dooming herself and any near by citizens
5. He was covered in heavily enchanted armor, so he is most likely a warrior, trained in battle magic. (I am unfortunately not)

Once her usual list was formed, she shot into action. Recovering the distance took no time, two flaps of her wings made sure of that. Raising an intense shield and containment matrix was also no problem. The problem arose when she realized her ‘enemy’ was still lying on the ground, laughing like a fool.

Iron Eclipse was having a blast. Air, it was just fantastic. So very underrated in his opinion. And grimy stone floors also get a terrible rep, there is no better feeling than that of irritating gravel and hard rock. He couldn't help but break into hysterical laughter.

After a few minutes of awkward staring (no she totally did not admire his finely tuned body and frequently conditioned mane), Twilight asked the obvious question.

“Ummm, who are you?” She cocked her head to the side in genuine curiosity.
“I am the glorious, illustrious, and incredibly humble, Prince Iron Eclipse!” He declared his humble titles while his face remained pressed against the floor. There was obvious sarcasm in his voice, but Twilight was not the most socially aware.

“Well, I have never heard of you. And considering you were imprisoned by the Princesses, I will deem you an enemy to Equestria. Unless you explain yourself. Fast.” Her demands were stated in a practiced and firm tone, this unfortunately revealed to Iron that he was in the presence of royalty.
“Well your majesty, I don’t suppose you would allow a poor stallion a chance to catch his breath. It has been what? A couple hundred years?” As he spoke, the stallion finally sat up. It was painfully slow, and gained him some needed pity from the unknown Princess.
“I don’t mean to pry, but would you happen to know if a certain insane Sun Goddess or a moody Moon would be anywhere nearby?” He lifted his visor to get a proper look, he regretted it immediately.

Iron Eclipse had always had the mares. He was a hero, prince, and alicorn. What was there not to like? Not to mention his devilish looks and stunning personality. Unfortunately he had learned through his long twenty four years that the best mares were the ones he couldn't have. He took one look at Twilight and he was in way over his head.

The description of her in his mind went something like this (edited for the children):

Woah a new alicorn, kind of guessed that but still. Damn she has a nice body, and wings too! Woah, her eyes are like the brightest stars, and that smile! Time to pull out the moves, no better way to restart your life.

And then he reached the unfortunate conclusion.

She is smart. Really smart, and most likely more pure than ionized diamonds. She will never fall for me
……….…………………………….Hell, I am still going to try.

Twilight observed as the veil was lifted. He had already been handsome, but now, getting a glimpse of his face. He was breathtaking. Now Twilight was never one to fall for looks, but she could not ignore a handsome stallion when she magically freed one.

Iron Eclipse considered his options. All but one were incredibly risky, and he didn't feel like giving up his freedom. Unfortunately, that course of action meant leaving this stunning mare behind. He sighed internally. She was most likely not going to fall for him that fast anyway. A stallion can dream, but only so far.

After another bout of blank staring, a necessary conversation was struck.
“Ehhm, as I already stated your majesty, I am Prince Iron Eclipse. You seem to know nothing of me, or the past for that matter. So I fear I must take leave.” Iron had reached a quick conclusion and in a split second was on his hooves. Twilight involuntarily flinched and fired a stunning spell. The Prince did not even raise his eyes. The blast struck his breastplate, and was completely absorbed

Twilight was paralyzed by shock. The spell had been by no extent powerful, but to have armor that could absorb magical energy, that was most definitely new. Iron Eclipse took no notice, he simply straightened his weaponry and flexed his sore wings. After a moment of stretching he looked back upon his new angel.

Twilight stared right back, trying not to reveal her utter astonishment. The stallion gave a deep and polite bow.
“I do not think I caught your name.” He gave Twilight a strange and unfamiliar look, which she promptly ignored.
“My name is Twilight Sparkle.” She had to work double time to speak above a whisper. This whole situation had started as too much, and things had only gotten more complicated.

“Well Twilight Sparkle, I hope to meet you again…….. And, how about we keep this whole release our little secret. I do believe that it would be in both our interests.” On that note he tensed his wings and prepared to launch, but abruptly he stopped.
“If you wish to learn who I am, I would recommend the history book.” He levitated an unnecessarily large book over to Twilight.
“I do believe you have been led astray.” With a quick wink and charming smile he shot off like a bolt of lightning into the sky, leaving a scorch mark behind.

Twilight plopped onto the ground and starred dumbfounded at the book, and then at the scorched stone. She was clueless as to what had just transpired. What she did know however, was that she was in an overwhelming amount of trouble. Coincidently the Prince was thinking the same thing, but for entirely different reasons.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The magical surge had created quite the stir around Equestria, and everypony was having a blast. Everypony, included a certain recently re-born King. Among pools of blood, remnant magic, and dead bodies, the King of darkness laughed. His faithful cowered at his side, some soon to be dead, some not. The rightful ruler of the Crystal Empire had returned, and this time he would settle for nothing less than everything.

It had been a thousand years, and his servants were ready. Battles had to be fought, wars had to be won, assassinations just had to be planned. King Sombra was having a blast, and his fun had only just begun. The only subordinate left standing smiled devilishly from behind his masters throne. Starkill Shadow had lived a thousand years and more, and no moment could top this. The Return Of The King.

Comments

[Onyourleft]

I tried to add in more paragraph spaces, let me know if it is still not enough!

[Mlp_Starry_Night]

Interesting chapter. Just one mistake

Woah a new alicron, kind of guessed that but still. Damn she has a nice body, and wings too! Woah, her eyes are like the brightest stars, and that smile! Time to pull out the moves, no better way to restart your life.

Alicorn

[Onyourleft]

10564506
Thanks, I'll fix that.

[Starlight Nova]

Didn't this story used to have more chapters?

[Onyourleft]

10565765
Not that I know of............