Guardian Angel

by Absentialucci

Chapter 13

Author's Note:

Sorry for the long delay! Things are going crazy on my end! That being said, I did land the promotion I was going for finally. So hopefully I'll actually have a consistent work schedule now. No promises, but... I think I should be able to write a bit more easily.
Anyways, enjoy!

“Well… the first thing you should know about me is that… I am technically a member of the nobility.”

“No way!”

Trixie nodded.

“It’s true, minor nobility, but still nobility. It’s why I have a title.”

Rainbow Dash stared at Trixie.

“You have a title?”

Trixie stared at Rainbow, unamused.

“What?”

Trixie sighed.

“You think I flaunt around ‘Great and Powerful’ when I’m not worthy of doing such?”

Rainbow Dash stared at Trixie. Blinked, and stared some more.

“Uh…”

“You totally did, didn’t you?”

“Hey! It’s not my fault you seemed like a showboat! And even after I understood why, it still could’ve just as easily been a part of your stage persona!”

Trixie shook her head with a groan.

“I suppose I can’t blame you… still, I reserve the right to tease you about it.”

Rainbow Dash mumbled something unintelligible.

“What was that?”

“Nothing! Nothing at all! Nope, not embarrassed about anything at all.”

Rainbow chuckled nervously.

“Anyways! Tell me more!”

Trixie smiled.

“Well, let’s get moving again. If we want to make it to Canterlot by nightfall tonight, we really can’t delay much more.”

Rainbow nodded, then started to follow Trixie.

“Okay… where to start... Well, I guess we can skip over my foalhood. Nothing really interesting happened then. I’ll skip to where I graduated from Princess Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns, and--”

“Whoa whoa whoa. You’re telling me that you graduated from the same school as Twi?”

Trixie sighed, but obliged the eager pegasus.

“Yes, though the two of us didn’t interact much, and I severely doubt she even remembers me. We shared so few classes that we may as well have not been going to the same place. Regardless, were I to retrieve my school records, you’ll see that I graduated near the top of my class. At least in the theoretical section, not so much in practical application. I don’t have quite the reserves of Twilight.”

“Wow… I’m friends with two eggheads!”

Trixie scoffed.

“I am most certainly not a, as you so kindly put it, egghead. I am beyond such meagre titles! I am… Great and powerful. Not an egghead.”

Rainbow fell backwards, laughing.

“What’s so funny?”

“It’s just… pffft, you go so… so offended! It was hilarious!”

“And why wouldn’t I be offended at being called names?”

“Relax, Trix. I didn’t mean to offend, quite the opposite. Eggheads are smart, and I can learn from them.”

Trixie blinked, and stared at the rainbow-maned pegasus.

“Well, now I feel silly.”

Rainbow smirked.

“Oh hush, let’s carry on moving, yes? Very good, yes.”

Trixie pointedly ignored the snickering that followed.

“I graduated second in my class, only topped by Twilight herself, as I said, she had me beat in raw magical prowess, but I learned how to be creative with my limited mana and selection of spells. That was more than enough to graduate with flying colors.”

Trixie felt nostalgic, and couldn’t stop the smile that soon followed.

“Twilight graduated and got the personal attention of Princess Celestia, earning the title of Good and Faithful Student. I wasn’t selected for such high honors, but my creativity and grasp of magical theory earned me the title of Great and Powerful.”

“Wow… I didn’t realize…”

Trixie smirked at Rainbow.

“Surprised? Well, you shouldn’t be. I am, after all, worthy of such a radiant title.”

Rainbow rolled her eyes, but undeterred, Trixie continued.

“While I didn’t catch the personal attention of the Princess, I did catch the attention of another great unicorn. My Maestru, who personally took me under his stead, and continued my studies for several years following.”

“Didn’t your parents have an issue with that?”

Rainbow interrupted. Trixie frowned.

“No. My parents… didn’t want me. They left me outside of an orphanage in Canterlot. The orphanage raised me, and when my natural talent for magic showed up, they immediately enrolled me into the school.”

“I… had no idea, Trix. I’m sorry.”

Trixie scoffed, ignoring the pit that suddenly made itself known inside of her.

“Happens all the time in Canterlot, a couple become lost in themselves in the night, and aren’t prepared for the responsibilities that follow. That’s why there is no shortage of orphans in Canterlot.”

“But wait… if you were an orphan… how did you know you were nobility?”

“My parents left a message with me outside of the orphanage. It had the seal of the Canterlot Nobility. It’s the only reason I was able to enroll at Celestia’s school. Made… quite a few of my childhood companions jealous.”

“Wow…”

“My Maestru was the closest thing I had to a father in my life.”

“Where is he now?”

Trixie’s expression darkened.

“He… passed away a few years ago.”

“Oh.”

Trixie took a deep breath, then exhaled.

“He taught me many things though, including ritual magic. It’s how I can cast so many spells in a show, without exhausting my mana pool. You see, I’m limited in my innate spellcasting ability. I’ve learned to be creative with what I got, but some of my shows… required a little more. I solved this issue with ritual casting. Runes, certain movement, material components… you can do almost anything. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if pegasi could actually have some limited form of spellcasting with the energy they use in weather magic.”

“Wait, seriously? That’s… that’s AWESOME!”

Trixie grinned.

“Figured that would get your attention. It probably wouldn’t be much more than simple cantrips, but it is feasible.”

“Tell me more, tell me more!”

Trixie chuckled.

“Maybe later, my past is something I don’t talk about a lot.”

“Awwwwww… c’mon… pleeeeeeeease?”

“Great Elysium Rainow, are you begging?”

“Mebbe. Mebbe not.”

Rainbow had a gleam in her eye.

“Well, I wouldn’t mind you begging a bit more.”

Trixie noticed that Rainbow turned a little red in the face at that.

Perhaps she’s not used to having to pry. This could be very, very entertaining.

The pair fell into companionable silence for a while, before eventually making smalltalk to pass the time until they reached Canterlot.

***

Deep within the confines of Hive Mantis, a changeling was studying a map of Canterlot closely. Several figurines were aligned in specific parts of the city. Within the royal kitchens, among the Celestial Royal Guards, some among the newly-arrived Crystal Guard… and most importantly, within the personal honor guard of Princess Mi Amora Cadenza.

Queen Chrysalis of Hive Mantis chuckled darkly. Her plan was working better than she could’ve ever imagined. She didn’t believe it possible to replace the personal honor guard… but the ponies were too trusting amongst themselves. The herd was right. To disagree with the herd meant exclusion, loneliness. This made infiltration laughably easy. Any suspicious figures would just have to be replaced, and the rest would fall in line with the belief that nothing was amiss.

Perfect.

Chrysalis thought. She would be ready to strike within a few days. The royal wedding between Princess Mi Amora Cadenza of House Platinum, and Knight-Captain Shining Armor of House Sparkle would be the perfect time to overthrow the Solar Diarchy. With their allies within the Crystal Empire following the will of Hive Mantis… Equestria would have no choice but to… follow the herd. There was just one more loose end to tie off in order for her plan to work.

Queen Chrysalis would move quickly, striking within twenty-four hours. No longer would Princess Mi Amora Cadenza of House Platinum exist. She would be Her Imperial Majesty, Cadence of the Crystal Empire. And Equestria… would be no more.

Everything was going according to plan.

***

Trixie flopped herself on the bed within the room she and Rainbow Dash had rented.

“Uuuuuugh! Customs are sooooo boring! And usually security checks didn’t take this long! I thought Canterlot was an open city… but security seems to have increased over the past month.”

“Tell me about it… I used to be able to fly right in to give my monthly weather reports for Ponyville… but they said that it was restricted airspace! Seriously? Like… do they recognize me? I’ve only helped save the… like, world about five times now!”

Rainbow Dash flopped beside Trixie. And groaned.

“At least this room was cheap.”

Trixie commented, finally taking the room into account. It was a modestly furnished room, with one bed, two nightstands with candle trays, and one window. She paused. Something wasn’t right…

There… there’s only one bed! And… I don’t see any other furniture! Oh no… that innkeeper must’ve thought that Rainbow Dash and I were… were…

Trixie couldn’t finish the thought. Why couldn’t she? That’s… what she wanted… Was it not?

I usually notice things like this… amateur mistake… not looking over the room details. But the price was too good to pass up! And… if it means I have to sleep besides Dashie…

Trixie blushed lightly.

I guess this isn’t all that bad…

“Uhm…”

Rainbow Dash seemed to finally scan the room too.

Oh dear.

“Th-there’s only one bed here…”

Is she blushing?

Trixie looked closer at the rainbow-maned pegasus. And she was indeed blushing. Trixie felt her heart do a tap dance in her chest.

Quit it. Don’t make it weird.

“It… would seem that way…”

Quick! Offer to find another room! Hurry now!

“I-I can–”

Trixie started.

“That’s okay…”

Trixie stumbled over her words, not able to finish what she was trying to say.

“I-I mean… if that’s okay with you?”

Rainbow Dash was definitely blushing now. Trixie swallowed. Hard.

“I’m not opposed…”

She whispered.

“Awesome. That’s… that’s awesome.”

Rainbow Dash looked away, rubbing the back of her neck with her hoof.

“A-anyways! You were talking about pegasi maybe being able to cast spells?”

Rainbow Dash sounded eager.

Oh Dashie, always focused on the next new thing.

Trixie thought fondly, the previous awkwardness seeming to have evaporated.

“Well, how does weather magic work, first of all?”

Trixie was genuinely curious. She always harbored a slight fascination with how the weather of Equestria was controlled, and not reliant upon the whims of mother nature.

“Well, it’s kinda like, I dunno, negotiating?”

“Negotiating? How so?”

Rainbow Dash chuckled.

“We can’t really control nature. It’s a lot stronger than us. It’s like… like if you’re swimming in the ocean. You wanna work with the currents, not against them. And if you tried to force the currents to your will… Well, the ocean would crush you. The weather is similar to that. So, we don’t focus on forcing the weather to bend to our will, we try to guide it to suit our needs.”

“So… all the weather that happens in Equestria… that’s not the pegasi alone? They’re just… adapting the natural weather patterns to fit a schedule?”

Rainbow nodded.

“Exactly. For example, if somepony was, oh I dunno… running late on an important date or something…”

Rainbow Dash chuckled nervously.

How curious…

Trixie thought, but didn’t say anything.

“Well, they could utilize a front that was already forming, and like… convince it that it wanted to fly behind the pegasus, making her fly faster with a tailwind.”

“Wow… that’s… really neat actually! You’re talking like the weather is an entity in and of itself!”

“It… kinda is, actually. You know how everypony is saying things about mother nature, the spirit of the ocean, and such?”

Trixie nodded.

“Well, pegasi scholars have actually theorized that everything involving nature is from spirits of existence. All those stories about pixie circles, natural leylines and… stuff… are actually thought to possibly exist.”

“I didn’t take you as a spiritual pony, Dashie.”

“Yeah well… just don’t go spreading it around, okay? I have an image to keep up.”

Trixie giggled. She certainly understood that.

“Anyways, these spirits control how everything works in the world. And they’re primal. They don’t form attachments, and just… exist.”

Trixie frowned.

“But surely… every so often there’s news about some accident or another involving weather… sometimes these accidents are fatal. If these spirits feel like you say they do… they must be in shades of good and evil. Because on the other hoof, freak things that happen to save somecreature or another ends up saving them.”

Rainbow snorted.

“Is fire evil for burning down a house? Or is that simply how it’s meant to exist? It’s not malevolent. The same can be said of the spirits.”

“I guess that makes sense…”

Trixie allowed.

“But enough of this egghead stuff, I can only say so much before I get a migraine. Let’s get back to ritual casting and how pegasi can do it.”

“Oh! Yes, of course. The idea is that using your… I guess connection? Is that a good word for it? To nature and the spirits would allow you to perform a series of movements that attuned your innate weather magic to the arcane weave, letting you cast spells. Probably not huge spells without a focus, like the horn of a unicorn, but spells nonetheless. After all, magic is simply channeling the natural magical energy of the world into spell-like effects. They aren’t actually spells in technicality. But in essence, that’s how spellcasting works.”

“That… makes my brain hurt.”

Trixie giggled again.

“Oh come on, it’s not that complicated.”

Trixie teased.

“Whatever you say, great and powerful egghead.”

“Why you little–”

Trixie tackled Rainbow Dash to the bed in a fit of giggles, cutting off the surprised yell that Rainbow uttered.

I could get used to this.

Trixie thought gleefully as she and Dashie playfully wrestled on the bed, ruffling up sheets and probably making the creatures below them blush at the squeaking of the mattress. Trixie paid them no heed, and instead focused on winning the impromptu wrestling competition. It was several hours before the two finally settled down, exhausted.

***

Cadence could barely contain herself. She and Shiny were getting married! Finally! After years of pining for the stallion’s attention, until she had to outright tell him that she was interested!

Cadence fell against her bed, giggling as she held the invitation she was finishing up against her chest. The wedding was only a few days away. All that was left were the invitations. She composed herself, and finished writing up the last of them, sealing them and sending them to their recipients with a pop of arcane energy.

Twily… Trixie… all of Twilight’s friends… and we’re done!

There was a rapid knock on her door.

Odd… usually around this time of night nobody bothers me.

“Who is it?”

Cadence called out cheerfully.

“Princess! Be ready! There’s been a disturbance in the chambers!”

The voice was that of Paradise Luminence. One of Cadence’s personal guards.

“Understood.”

Cadence’s voice immediately steeled, reflecting her guarded state. She didn’t have anything besides ceremonial armor that would be more of a hassle to put on, and a dagger. But she was far from helpless.

“Halt! State your bus–”

Paradise’s voice was cut off by the sounds of a struggle. As soon as it started though, it was over. Cadence burst through the door, dagger brandished in her magical grasp. The crumpled form of the pegasus guard she had known for years awaited her vision.

“Paradise!”

Crimson liquid was rapidly spurting out of her neck, pooling on the polished floor. Cadence was horrified. Her personal guard… her friend… was dead. The major artery in her neck clearly slashed. Cadence swallowed the painful lump that threatened to overcome her, and immediately started to cast an alarm spell of some sort. But her horn sparked once, then didn’t work. Her dagger clattered to the ground. She opened her mouth to yell out a warning to anycreature within earshot… but she couldn’t hear anything.

A zone of silence… and some kind of anti-magic field? How are both happening at once?

Cadence suddenly felt some form of sixth sense kick in. And she felt a presence behind her. Not hesitating to act on the instinct, Cadence ducked down, and spun to the side. A creature she had never seen before was recoiling from slamming itself on the ground. It had the appearance of… almost a beetle. Holes in the legs, and seemingly tattered wings were its defining features. That and the long tongue, and extended fangs.
An assassin… but why now? Why tonight? Oh Shiny… I hope you’re okay…
Cadence didn’t have time to dwell on her thoughts. The creature had recovered and was rapidly closing the distance. With the elegance only innate with a dancer, Cadence sidestepped, then spun behind the creature as it slammed into the wall this time.

Not too bright, are you?

Cadence was upon the creature in an instant. It would not recover this time. Several well-placed hoofstrikes, and the assassin was completely immobilized.

Need to get help… need to raise the alarm!

The sense that had saved her many times over many attempted assassinations alerted her to another presence. Cadence fell into a roll, narrowly avoiding the strike of a dagger.

A bloodied dagger. Upon recovering, Cadence locked eyes upon the dagger and the creature wielding it. Cadence saw red. This creature. This creature was responsible for the death of Paradise. It would not survive. With swift, cold, brutality. Cadence immobilized first one leg, then another. Causing the dagger to fall from the grasp of the creature. It staggered back, attempting to move legs that refused to listen to their commands. A crouch followed by a leg sweep had the creature on its back, stunned. Cadence then coldly stomped her hoof down. Crushing the creature's windpipe. She left the silently gasping murderer behind her. It deserved no merciful end to its pitiful life. Zones of silence were limited in range… she just had to find that edge.

She felt another presence.

How many of you are there?

Falling into the same rhythm as before, Cadence suddenly found herself surrounded by the creatures.

Damn it…

Cadence fought as long as she could. She really did. But there were simply too many of them. Eventually a heavy blow slammed into the back of her head. As she fell to the ground, fighting off the darkness of unconsciousness, she suddenly could hear again. The silence spell must’ve fallen. A voice unlike what she’d heard before spoke in an echoey tone.

“Excellent work. Now our work can truly begin.”

As the last part of her brain flickered into darkness, she couldn’t muster the strength to cry out.

I’m so sorry Paradise…

Then darkness won the battle, and she sank into unconsciousness.

Comments

[horses are fuckin weird]

A bloodied dagger. Upon recovering, Cadence locked eyes upon the dagger and the creature wielding it. Cadence saw red. This creature. This creature was responsible for the death of Paradise. It would not survive. With swift, cold, brutality. Cadence immobilized first one leg, then another. Causing the dagger to fall from the grasp of the creature. It staggered back, attempting to move arms that refused to listen to their commands. A crouched and a leg sweep had the creature on its back, stunned. Cadence then coldly stomped her hoof down. Crushing the creature's windpipe. She left the silently gasping murderer behind her. It deserved no merciful end to its pitiful life. Zones of silence were limited in range… she just had to find that edge.

Alright, "Princess of Love", chill.