33: To the Border
Chapter 33
The next few events went by in a little bit of a blur to be honest. A guard was sent ahead of us to go retrieve the much-needed expertise of Captain Shining Armor. The pony in question, after some minor panic, set about rallying a large quantity of other like-minded guard ponies. By the time Luna and I had reached our carriage, Shining had managed to organise each of his guards, ensuring they were briefed, armoured, armed and had their own carriages for transport.
With that sorted out, all Luna and I had to do, was climb aboard our own carriage and have Loony command her thestrals to take us forward. You’d think it would be hard to sort out for the immortal pegacorn, but nope, that’s why you hire other ponies to do the boring leg work. We need someone who can do paperwork besides me.
Anyway, as our six carriages were baring down on the potential invasion site, my mist started to flow more and more erratically. It’s not my fault if I’m nervous, people might get hurt down there. On the other shoe, from the current conversation we were having, Loony didn’t really seem to care about the coming event all that much.
“Dost thou believe the bug will embarrass Us?” Loony asked from the seat next to me. The side of her muzzle leaning lightly against my helmet.
“Pretty sure Crescent won’t let her.” That thestral takes all things Luna related very seriously. Saying that, all the night guards seem to.
“’Tis just that, We may have left her a little suddenly. She hast had no time to prepare for her role,” Loony said with only a hint of worry, as one of her fore hooves absently rubbed my side.
A light sigh escaped me at the apparently awful realization my pegacorn was just now having. Couldn’t she have thought about this half an hour ago before we left? Right now, she should be thinking about those one hundred angry bulls that probably want to flatten us for whatever reason. Rather than voice my complaint, I tried my best to reassure my best friend by placing my own metallic ghostly wing across her back and musing, “well Skitter is a changeling. They do thrive on blending in.”
That provoked a light giggle from the distracted mare. “’Tis true. She served as Our sister’s maid for many years before We discovered her.” Her smile seemed to increase as she thought of something. “Funny how Our sister failed to notice her and We noticed upon Our first meeting.” As she spoke, her good wing pulled my form slightly closer to her barrel.
Pretty sure I was the one who saw her, no one would have noticed a thing if I hadn’t said anything. Part of me wishes that reveal hadn’t happened like that. Skitter has never mentioned it, but I bet the sudden stripping of her disguise and subsequent violence from those she respected still bother her a little. Then again, without that little scuffle, we wouldn’t have peace with the bug nation. What is their nation called anyway? No one just names their country after their species. Wait, Equestria, Griffonia, Taurus… never mind.
Rather than further distracting her with my irrelevant musings, I simply said, “I don’t know, her disguises seem pretty good to me.” For one thing, she can actually look like a pony on command. Wonder if she could help me? I’m kind of like a shapeshifter too.
My words only prompted Loony to lightly tilt her head side to side, showing her desire to agree to disagree. Fine by me. She’s the one relying on Skitty’s disguise holding up.
Eventually, a voice from the front of the carriage interrupted our nonchalant conversation. “Princess, the minotaurs are within sight,” called one of the numerous thestrals pulling the hurtling carriage.
The news prompted me to pull myself from the slightly tightened grip of Loony’s wing, so I could look at what the guard was seeing. Wow, that isn’t good. I’m fairly certain there’s a few more than a hundred minotaurs down there. It seems closer to a thousand if anything, they cover so much ground.
Following my example, the moon looked down at the mass of possible enemies and authoritatively said, “very good sergeant, take us down to the clearing opposite. Have us unite with the remaining border guard.” Huh, I can’t even see the border guard. They’re probably the little specks standing a little way from the hoard.
“As you wish,” our caddy saluted in response. As she disappeared back to the carriage’s front, our trajectory shifted, causing us to rapidly descend from the clouds towards a very bad day. To the sides of our batmobile, the numerous other carriages matched our descent vector, ensuring more people would be thrown into the life and death situation.
Once the distance started to shrink, it became easier to make out how much trouble we were about to be in. The mass of minotaurs wasn’t just a mess of random barbarians. It was a clearly organised military group, with real soldiers organised into ranks. “I don’t think those guys are on parade,” I said in an attempt to vent some of my reforming nervous energy.
Something, which my favourite pegacorn didn’t seem to notice. “Of course they are not. They are clearly organised into companies,” she said a little too enthusiastically, before returning to her seat. This is one of those moments where I wish Celestia was here. A sudden thud of wheels against grass proved that the noble sun would not reach us before whatever happens, happens.
Upon landing, it didn’t take long enough for one of the thestrals to open the door, where he then stood ready for his princess to disembark. Taking that as her que, Loony seemed to almost spring out of her seat before remembering to regally join her guards on the soft grass. “Thank you Spectre,” she said, taking note of the saluting guard before walking away from the carriage, meaning I would have to follow.
Warily, I followed in my favourite pony’s wake, almost instinctively placing my shoes in her exact hoof steps as I disembarked. Rather than follow her entirely, I took a moment to survey the scene. Around us, the numerous other carriages had all landed neatly. Each one discharging a complement of unicorns and earth ponies, hopefully ready for a fight. The pegasi who’d been pulling the carriages, were all unhitching themselves from the now dead weights and standing to attention ready for orders.
Our own carriage, once having twelve strong thestrals pulling it, had already been fully unhitched. Each of the bats already flying into the air to do whatever it is they do. That was all except for one, who waited to salute to me, just like he did Luna. A little surprised by the action, I attempted to salute back and said, “erm, thanks?” That prompted the vampire to cock his head, before nodding respectfully and flying to join his comrades.
As the lone thestral’s actions distracted me, a number of loud shouts from a familiar guard captain brought me back to reality. “You form up, get into formation. We don’t want to keep the princess waiting. What are you lot doing? Get up there.” Following the direction my cherished pony had gone, led me to see Captain Armor, disembarking his carriage already issuing orders. The ponies who were standing to attention, seemed to panic a moment, before rushing off to stand in some probably practiced locations. One of them was apparently for the pegasi to fly into the air and land on a few low clouds, crossbows at the ready. Wonder if those clouds would stop incoming crossbow bolts? They stop me putting holes in the ground, so why not?
When Shining noticed his approaching ruler, he saluted for a second, before stoically saying, “Princess, you have one hundred of our best and brightest. All of them ready and willing.” His stoic nature appeared to faulter a little when his gaze fell to one side. Mine would too, if I’d just announced how outnumbered we were. Rather than mention what everyone was thinking, he simply asked, “what are your orders?” At least he has faith in Loony. Sadly, this is one of those occasions where I find mine to be a little lacking.
Luna gave the stalwart captain a nod, before disarmingly saying, “maintain positions within our borders. Ensure nopony sets hoof within Taurus territory. We are not here to start a conflict, just to show strength.” I bet we look very strong with our tiny band.
Her words caused the smaller unicorn to look towards the border and hesitantly say, “with respect Princess, I believe the potential is great that they’re here to start one themselves.”
The knowing shake of his royal’s head seemed to avert Shining’s worries ever so slightly. “Nay, this interaction will be perfectly safe. Thy responsibility in particular, is to prove we can hold our border. From the reports We have read, it appears thy shields should be enough. There is no need to risk any of Our pony’s lives.” Suppose, if we’re going to hide behind a shield, it doesn’t matter how outnumbered we are. Then again, she did use the word should.
“That makes sense,” the captain acknowledged, before returning to his duty of shouting at his men… ponies. The main change was getting them to bunch up a little more, likely to make it easier to form a shield.
As the ponies set about digging in, I turned to look at our newest foes for the first time. The initial takeaway being their height. They stood practically eye level with me. That makes them twice as tall as the average guard, and even taller than the mighty moon herself. Granted, they are bipeds, so the size difference probably isn’t as different as it looks, but it’s probably enough to intimidate the guards.
The second major takeaway from these bulls, was the armour. It looked pretty decent to be honest, way better than that of the ponies. If you didn’t tell me there was a fleshy underneath, I’d half believe they were made of mist like me. Half believe because I could still see their orange magical cores burning away, not to dissimilarly to the average ponies. That armour and size advantage, probably means a single one of these guys would be a problem to take down, let alone an entire army.
Looking back to Luna, who was enjoying watching her guards get organised, made the armour situation seem even worse. Apart from her royal regalia, which might count for armour in a video game, she was basically naked. Clearly, I was going to be needed. Welp, if Luna’s going into danger, there’s no place I’d rather be than upon her form.
With that in mind, I approached what would possibly count as a command chariot, due to it being where the two people in charge were talking. “We will need to meet with their king to see what he is after. The minotaurs of old always knew how to send a message,” Loony said, while smiling fondly to herself. Seems she is still enjoying this a little too much. She was way angrier when we dealt with the changelings. What gives?
Seeing as she was a little distracted, I reached out a shoe and gently placed it upon her shoulder. This caused her to turn in my direction, not surprised in the least by my action. Probably because she thought I was stood there the entire time. “So erm, if you’re going to see their king… would you like some armour?” It always feels a little weird asking someone to put me on. At least Loony doesn’t think it’s strange. In fact, she usually seems to like the idea.
The reason I used the word usually, was because the navy pegacorn for once, shook her head in the negative. “Nay, if we are to avoid conflict, we must adhere to the minotaur’s code. That is, We, ahem, I must go alone.”
I will admit to being a little surprised by how much I disliked the statement. It irked me so much, that my shoe gripped my best friend’s shoulder a little too hard. Hard enough for some discomfort to show on her face. “But you will be alone. Let’s just go back into that carriage and you can come out with your armour on,” I insisted while pointing to Shining’s mode of transport. “Come on, they don’t even know I’m a person.” Them thinking I’m an object is fine by me as long as Loony is safe. Saying that, if she wears me, I could probably stop her going into danger in the first place. No, I can’t do that, what would she think of me? Then again, would it matter what she thinks if she’s safe?
In response, Loony gave me one of her strange smile’s she’d started levelling at me these past few weeks. “’Tis sweet that thou worries for Us so, but please believe Us, We will be fine. Thou can decorate Us as long as thou wishes, whenever thou wants, when We return.” She then raised a hoof and gently gripped my shoe, causing my much harsher grip to fade. “For now my knight, We wish to acknowledge thy pony hood, so please remain here. Follow Shining’s instructions, and do not set hoof across the border. It will all be fine, We have dealt with the minotaur’s style of diplomacy numerous times before. They are usually quite entertaining.” She appeared to sigh warmly at some past memory for a moment, before her attention returned to me. “Once We have completed initial greetings, We shall send for thee.” As her words left her, she gradually lowered her hoof, gently placing my shoe back upon the ground beside her own.
Tearing my view away from the now slightly blushing diplomat, and glancing once more at the unending line of metallic bulls, my worries hardly abated. There’s got to be some way I can convince her to bring me along. How will she even get to this king through all those soldiers? Oh, that’s it! Pointing to Loony’s side, I a little to proudly said, “your wing! How do you propose to get to their king without flight? I could be your wings again.” Okay, that might have been a little tactless.
“We are aware of the issue,” Loony said, sounding a little hurt. “However, there is one effective method of traversal thy presence does not aid with.”
“What other method is there?” I’ve gotten pretty good at flying, and I can run faster than most ponies. Swimming? Don’t be stupid, how would that help?
Clearly already aware of the coming question, Loony’s horn lit up with a brilliant blue light. “This one,” was all she said, as her form completely disappeared. The last thing I saw of her, was her face giving me a cheeky wink. That actually would have made me smile, if the situation wasn’t so dire. Well, if I could smile. Anyway, who’s to say I can’t teleport? We’ve never tried.
After taking an agonising moment to stare at the spot my charge once occupied, I managed to turn away and focus on the more important here and now. Watching the minotaurs is probably a good use of my time. Aside from Loony’s basic, don’t go across the invisible line, I didn’t actually have a job. So it was, that I began my watch.
Each of the bulls were standing ready, clearly waiting for something to happen, like an order to attack. None of them were conversing amongst themselves, and they all seemed laser focused upon us. After a few minutes observing, a few of the bulls stood out to have their armour’s faceplates open. Each of them appeared much calmer then their aggressive posture would imply, but that’s just going off my limited knowledge of their facial structure. If I was to be optimistic, maybe the lack of malice could symbolise the possibility of a peaceful resolution. If I was an optimist.
Taking a few shoe steps towards the invisible line had an interesting result. The moment I stood out ahead of the ponies, almost every head in view turned in my direction. A few hands were also clearly placed upon the hilts of their undrawn swords. It was then I noticed that the few heads that didn’t turn in my direction, were already looking at me. A light shiver resonated through the back of my chest plate, as the bulls gauged my presence.
It was almost enough to distract me from the tell tail sounds of hoof steps approaching from behind. Tilting my helmet, it was none other than Shining Armor who’d chosen to come and take a seat beside me, his small frame dwarfed by my own. It wasn’t often that I spent time with the stallion, but from what I’d seen of him these past few months, he seemed decent enough.
As he’d decided only to take a seat next to me, hopefully to show some sort of comradery, I decided to break the silence that had descended. “So, is there an actual plan here?”
My words seemed to trigger a slight darkening of the stallion’s face. “I know about as much about this as you do.” As he spoke, Shining’s eyes scanned the various minotaurs in front of us. He was probably looking for valuable information, like their ranks, fitness and discipline. Or he was just looking at what he thought was going to be smashing into us any minute now.
“That’s just great,” I all but sighed out, disappointed in the lack of preplanning this endeavour had. Don’t get me wrong, I think the little soldier’s done a good job getting his ponies ready. It’s just, I bet the only plans he had an hour ago, were debating on what he was going to have for dinner with Cadance.
In what appeared to be an attempt to ease my worries, Shining began looking over his assembled troops. “Look, as I understand the situation, we are only here for ceremonial purposes. Meaning, this is an attempt by Princess Luna to show we respect Taurus’s strength.” Like a good commanding officer, he’d clearly thought about Loony’s words and was using them to try and inspire his potentially wavering troops. That apparently included me, and I’m not even a member of the guard.
“So… you’re saying you don’t think they’ll attack?” I hope he’s right.
At that, the captain stopped reviewing his organised guards, and began looking at the minotaur’s with open faceplates. One of them appeared to smirk at him, when it noticed his attention. “Honestly? I’m not sure. You know the plan, we can’t really fight this many Taurus soldiers with our numbers, so if they attack, I’ll put up a shield while we wait for reinforcement from Princess Celestia.” Oh great, at least he’s prepared to do what he needs to.
One decent takeaway from this, is that the captain genuinely believes his shields are powerful enough to block an entire army. Now that’s an impressive feat. It just goes to show you don’t have to be as big as an alicorn to be strong. Speaking of alicorns. “Erm, your shield… will it protect Loony, ahem, Princess Luna?”
Shining seemed to tilt his head so he couldn’t see me for a moment. “She’s chosen to try diplomacy alone. I can’t back her up from this distance.”
“This Taurus form of diplomacy feels a little one sided, doesn’t it?” I said hoping for a little solidarity.
A simple, “yep,” from my side brought a return to the horrifying silence. A silence that let my thoughts stew. What’s she doing over their all by herself anyway? Has she met the king? Are they discussing things peacefully? The silence is killing me, it’s worse than the void.
The minutes ticked by, and our little standoff continued unabated. No word had come from my Loony, and I was feeling the ever-increasing desire to do something… anything to try and help. One such idea had me eyeing up my comrade in thought.
Shining does look pretty strong, and he probably knows some powerful combat magic. I bet I could carry him over there to rescue Luna. Me taking the hits and him casting the spells.
My wondering eyes, somehow, didn’t go unnoticed, as Armor started to shift on his hooves a little, before eventually turning to me. “Could you stop that. I’m on edge enough as it is without somepony else blankly staring at me.”
Okay, freaking out your allies is probably not the way to increase their effectiveness. “Sorry about that. But erm… I was just wondering; would you potentially be interested in a new set of armour? Just, you know, in case.” It’s still a little weird to ask someone to wear me.
Seeming to understand my meaning instantly, the captain gave me a long look before making his decision clear. He did this by taking a number of side steps away from me, before returning to a seated position and clearly pretending I never suggested anything.
“It was only a suggestion,” I said, while letting my mist sag a little. Huh, didn’t think my offer being rejected would feel that bad.
With a slight sigh, the stallion looked back in my direction. “Look, I’ll think about it, okay? The ideas just a bit weird for me, I mean, you’re standing right there, by yourself.” He then banged his chest piece with a hoof. “Besides, my armour is some of the finest Equestria can craft.”
That prompted me to review Shining Armor’s armour. It did seem a bit more ornate and colourful than a standard guard’s, but aside from that, the difference was minor. Suppose his armour does seem to glow with more magic than the other guards. Looking down, I could even see his cute little blue hooves, bare for all the swords to hit. Wonder why stallions have hooves that are a different colour to their coat? It does look interesting, but it doesn’t seem to serve a real purpose. Ah, stupid mist brain, stay focused.
Rather than voice my opinion on his lack of hoof wear, I simply said, “fair enough.” It would probably be best not to insist. He’d probably get more freaked out. Besides, I’ve never actually been worn by a stallion before, they’re muscles do seem to be built a little differently.
“Tell you what, I’ll throw you a bone. If you attend some guard training, I ‘might’, wear you for some of my training,” the stallion decided to offer. Hmm, that’s an interesting idea, learning actual combat skills. Bit late now though. Besides, I’d rather Luna wear me than him.
Before I could reply, the loud sound of a methodical drum ended the line of conversation. The sound seemed to cause every one of the guard ponies’ ears to perk up, including that of Shining. “Erm, that’s not a war drum, right?” I said while letting loose a nervous laugh.
Rather than reply, he confirmed my suspicion by calling back to his guards. “Okay ponies, this might be the moment we’ve trained for. If worse comes to worse, you know what to do.”
In response to the call, each of the visible guards saluted before standing even readier than before. The unicorn’s horns started to glow, the ones lacking extra limbs drew their weapons and the pegasi trained their crossbows. This really didn’t bode well at all. Here’s everyone getting ready, and I’m just sat here like an idiot waiting for Luna to come back. At least the minotaurs haven’t moved.
As all the ponies braced for combat, and Shining likely prepared to form a shield, the minotaurs made no obvious moves. All that happened was the continuing bang of a lone solitary drum. That was until a very familiar blue flash echoed across the heads of the minotaurs. Then another and another. It was clear I was the only one seeing this as not a single head took note. A few moments later, a large orange flash seemed to ring out in response.
“I think they’re attacking Loony!” I yelled back to the ponies.
“We don’t know that for sure,” Shining irritatingly pointed out. “Besides, we have our orders. We can’t enter their territory.”
“But… She’ll be assassinated!” Some guard you are.
“A messenger pony is already enroute to Princess Celestia. She will send help when able,” Shining attempted to reassure me, as the periodic flashes of opposing magic continued.
Okay, so they’re waiting for orders and sending for help. There has to be something I can do? Oh, maybe I can get a message home faster, I’m already there.
Miles away, in a much happier place, my mini pulled itself together from its pile on my bed. The book it had been reading, long forgotten since the carriage ride. It was greeted by the slight yelp of a familiar maid, as it sprung from the bed.
“Sorry Bucket,” I shouted as an afterthought, while my now smaller shoes carried me towards my bedroom door.
The pegasus in question gripped her chest while gasping out, “you’re going to give someone a heart attack one of these days. Just a pile of clothes sitting there, then bam, out of nowhere.”
I would have replied to her, but I was a bit busy trying to do my job. Swinging the door open with my mist, my form didn’t even slow down as it thundered through, galloping without a real direction in mind. The thought of who to actually tell burning in my brain. Cadance would probably be the best bet. She’s the only authority figure here.
Numerous stationed guards saw me run, and as I passed them, I spouted various things about Luna being in danger. This resulted in quite a few giving chase. Despite my shrunken size, my second form was still bigger than the average pony and could easily outpace them. Thanks to all the snacking.
During my travel, it finally dawned on me to set a destination, and the first one I could think of was the throne room. Maybe Cadance would be there? I have no idea where she normally hangs out.
Eventually, my gallop brought me to the desired throne room, where I charged through the already open side door. My run was then rudely interrupted by my sudden tripping over of nothing, due to a surprising sight. There on the throne was a very bored Luna, sitting with an amused Crescent to her side. The thestral happily consuming the images me and the Princesses had taken together.
“I could have gotten so much cleaning done,” Luna sighed out before noticing my crumpled form reassemble itself, now surrounded by a clown cars worth of guards. “Ah, Eclipse. What art thou doing here? Has the issues been rectified?”
I looked at the glowing green pegacorn for a few seconds and swallowed the pain it caused me, before rushing up to the ever-reliable Crescent. “Luna’s in danger! The minotaurs are attacking her and she’s been separated from us.”
The guards behind me all gave me strange looks at my declaration, before looking at their apparent diarch. The diarch in question had nervously crossed her forelegs in front of her, before seeming to blush at her expertly crafted disguise being revealed once again.
Ignoring Skitter’s plight, Crescent face became that of stone and she turned to the confused guards. “You heard the armour. Go get Princess Cadance, and send a message to the solar diarch.”
The guards took another moment to eye the glowing green pegacorn, before saluting and heading off in various directions. The glowing green pegacorn nervously waved them off, before turning to me and asking in her regular buggy voice, “do you need me to do anything?”
Seeing as my message was delivered, I said one final thing, before letting my miniature collapse to the floor. “Just help. Please.”
Back in the field where Luna was going to be butchered, I caught Shining’s attention and pathetically said, “I’ve delivered a message to Canterlot.” For what good it’ll do us.
“How?” Shining started to ask before shaking his head and half smiling. “Good work. With any luck, Celestia will teleport over.”
Yes, if Celestia comes, she’ll know what to do. Wait a second, maybe I should have flown to that party. “Celestia’s in Pony town. The message needs to travel from Canterlot. It-it’ll still take time for her to arrive.”
“It’s still faster than it would have been,” Shining pointed out, still sitting with his horn glowing.
“Wait, can you teleport over there and get her?” He’s the most powerful guard we have, right? He must be able to.
To my utter disappointment, the leader of the pony army said, “regrettably, that kind of teleportation is more my sister’s sort of thing. She’s the magic prodigy.” I actually stamped the grass at his admission, causing him to continue speaking. “Look, if she wants to, Princess Luna can always teleport back.”
“Is it not possible for them to be blocking her teleportation?”
“They’re minotaurs,” Shining seemed to deadpan, as if it was obvious that they couldn’t be. Talk about underestimating your enemy. These guys have an entire nation behind them, they aren’t bandits.
Seeing as the ponies weren’t going to do anything, I decided to approach the line of metallic bulls. This caused Shining to warily say, “don’t antagonise them.”
Without scoffing, I said, “I won’t,” without breaking my stride.
As I moved away from him, the captain took a dive to the floor. “Careful with that tail! That thing’s a weapon.” With a slight wince, I reined in my frustratedly flailing tail. Wouldn’t want to decapitate any of the ponies behind me.
Upon reaching the point just opposite one of the fancier dressed minotaurs, I paused, before pointing a shoe at him. “Let me through. The Princess needs her advisor.”
My words caused a few of the minotaurs to laugh. The one opposite me didn’t. He eyed me carefully, before steadily saying, “step back demon. You will not be allowed to interfere with the reassertion of honour.” Reassertion of honour? That sounds bad.
In the vain attempt to be polite, I asked, “what do you mean? Have we wronged you in some way? Maybe we can fix it.” Maybe we should have talked to these guys sooner.
The bull only tilted his head at that, before putting his hand on the hilt of his sword. “It is something a mere pony’s bauble could never comprehend.” Is he trying to irk me?
Taking a false breath to calm myself, I tried to speak up in a measured tone. "̶̹̺͖̀͒̾̈̕͝͝Ţ̶̛̜̮̠͔͉̿̒̎̅r̴̢̠͔̰͈̝̮̞̯͋̋̕͝͠y̸̡̤̝̝̻̘̋ ̸̩̪͔̑͌̈́̋m̴̖̊̀̊͗̾̄̔́͘ë̷͚̯̦̥͓̥̤̣͔́̌͌̏̓͋̊̚,̴̱̗̈͑̌̂̚"̷͔̩̜̳̝̄̏̄̋͌̓́̓̌̍
It came out pretty strangled to be honest. Rather than reply, the minotaur seemed to wince and even went to put a hand on his helmet in apparent pain, before resuming his stare down of me.
“Eclipse! Come back to our line. We need you over here,” came a shout from the pony in charge. Rather than move back, I decided to pace down the line of bulls, seeing as the fancy one was of no particular use. Each bull I passed was keeping a very close eye on me. Through their helmets, I was sure I could make out wariness in their eyes. My actions didn’t sit well with Shining, as he called again, with much more force, “Eclipse! Return to our lines immediately!”
That gave me pause for a second and I looked back in Shining’s direction. He was clearly trying to maintain a strong, stoic impression. It was pretty obvious that they were just going to wait for their immortal Princess to solve the problem for them. They think they can’t help Luna, which means they can’t help me. Besides, they even have their orders. To sit there and do nothing. Technically, so do I, but I’m not a part of the military.
After staring at the captain for a little longer than I probably should have, I simply said, "̶̛̠͍̟̫̈́̆̅͐̏W̶̪̟̮̞͒̄̕͝h̶̢̟̪̱́́̉̈́̒̽̂̏̔̄y̵̫̬̍̀?̸̡̽̌̓͆͋"̴̦͚̥̮̦̪͂̈̓͜
It came out with that same weird screeching sound. I think why’s a good question. They don’t need me at all. I mean, they only need Shining himself for the shield, the rest might as well go home where it’s safe.
The moment the word left me, Shining’s stoic expression broke. Not only that, but I could see numerous members of the guard start to whisper. A few giving me unsure looks. Looks that I really didn’t like.
A bark from in front of me, helped push their eyes from my helmet. “Your master is calling you. Better flee demon, wouldn’t want you to get hurt.” As the bull spoke, he emphasized his words by drawing his sword. My eye lacking helmet slowly turned to the blade. That thing probably can’t hurt me. What’s it going to do? Make me bleed to death? What it can do, is hurt Luna.
While I thought on the implications, I started walking back to the pony’s lines. To the relief of everyone, even what seemed to be the minotaurs. The only thought going through my helmet being, that Luna needed my help.
As I approached Shining, he shivered at an unexpectedly cold wind, before letting a wry smile form and said, “you know this is for the best, right? Luna herself said not to set hoof over there.”
The moment he finished his sentence, I stopped mid shoe step. Remembering Luna’s exact words. “Your right, she did say that. But… I don’t have hooves.” With that final word, I took off into the air and began flying in the direction of the flashes of magic.
Below me, shouts I couldn’t care less about immediately started from both sides. The only thing that mattered, was that I get to my little pony.
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I like an eager/hot blooded Luna, personally I find it fits her well.
On another note, towards the end you misspelled Shining as Shinning
Personally? I think luna going alone was stupid. Eclipse is her armor. She whent into a situation she new was dangerous while injured and naked. Stupid. Eclipse needs to dive on luna like a suite of iron man armor and tell her how stupid she is after saving her dumb blue ass.
Obsessive Yandere Void-Creature Armoured Knight!?
Luna better chill out with her advances.
She may have accidentally created a loyal knight that would do anything to keep her safe.
Anything.
Eclipse is literally a demon I guess. Ticks a lot of the boxes at least. Not only is he a demon, but also an apex predator. I think there is actually very little that could stop Eclipse aside from a very well prepared attack, or of course his blue moon waifu. I like the direction of the story not relying directly on Eclipses strengths, being that most problems are solved through primarily other means because Eclipse is a good boi. This time seems like Eclipse is being pushed to choose a more direct route of violence, which will be a scary time for all involved, including Eclipse who has never really thought of using their strength in this way.
Love this story, always excited to see more chapters~
Hey, see Eclipse, like you Luna can be at two place at the same time! You have so much in common!
I feel like Eclipse is about to start an international incident by interrupting a honorable duel/ceremony, but well, it’s on Luna for absolutely not warned him or anyone about it, despite the fact she clearly show she knew how it would end. Silly Loony.
In retrospect, Eclipse really should have stuck a Mini-Me on Luna. Even if he (it) couldn't do anything, knowing she's safe-ish would be enough to keep him from starting a war over his lack of self-control.
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Well, she's dealt with these kinds of things before. She clearly knows what to do. Or she believes she does anyway. Obviously, Eclipse has their own opinion on the situation.
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Cheers, I've made those corrections. :)
Not sure why, but my brain sometimes makes a mistake and then just repeats it.
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I suppose one pony's angel is another pony's demon. It probably just depends on where you're standing at the time.
Luna's probably already paying him a beating, anyways.
So this looks like honorable combat of some form to me. Would explain basically everything.
And when eclipse figures this out/gets told, I hope he just starts yelling at Luna about how she should have told SOMEONE, him, shining, anyone that was here, about what she knew was going to happen. And because she didn't celestia and a zillion guards are on they're way, thinking Luna is in some kind of danger. Because eclipse, who knows NOTHING of the minatour people, and has no form of high pressure discipline ("alive" for less then a year if I remember the timeline correctly, so who can blame the poor sod), thought some shit was going down.
Tldr, I hope eclipse yells at Luna for not telling people about what was going on.
Yeah, shame on Luna for keeping literally everypony in the dark. Really, this is mostly on her not taking this seriously. Perhaps being a millennia outdated can do that to you...
Well, no ponydid cross the line.
Cant leave loopholes for immortal magic eating armored revenants with the capability of mental domination. Considering magic counts as part of a pony's vitality, (tirek arc for example) and minotaurs apparently have magical cores, eclipse could drain them magically, weakening their vitality physically, with the possibility of draining their very essense, or soul. As they physically cannot hurt him, only inflict pain, they could really only piss him off. Iv said it before lol but eclipse and his abilities is the physical manifestation of the four horsemen of the apocalypse. And the minotaurs just pissed him off.
Always check your loopholes
I love this story.
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I'm glad you've been reading for all this time. :)
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Yeah, she may have been a little too eager to get stuck in this time.
I'm sure Eclipse will have a calm and measured response when he reaches his destination. :)
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It is fun to read. I like that his knowledge seems to stem from our world And everyone in pony land can't understand or is unaware of how he seems confused by pinyisms. And I mean their customs and body language and such. I always look forward to more.
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"Dumbledore asked calmly" 😈
In your universe, does voidstone exist. Or Arcanite? The basics theory is that Voidstone creates a no-magic zone in it's immediate area, it's size determining how big the null zone, and Arcanite being it's opposite in that it amplifies any magic it comes into contact with. This allows other factions/races on Equis to have a way to level the playing field and can lead to some hilarious shenanigans. I think that the minotaures would qualify as having this material, and I find it amusing when someone says stuff like "There's no way they could challenge us! We have magic!" and then get their butts handed to them in a really embarrassing way. (or on the flip side, use their wits to still win despite the odds not in their favor)
What's your opinion on this?
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While I can safely say I haven't heard of Voidstone or Arcanite, I think similar analogues definitely exist in this story. For example, the changelings have already used their throne to suppress magic. I've also had artefact's that provide magic to individuals in the Griffonian empire near the start. It seems probable to me that such materials would see use in a variety of society's, to suit their own purposes.
I like those names by the way, so if an opportunity arises to use them comes up, would it be okay if I used them?
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Absolutely you can use them, though I just came up with those names on the fly. You can technically name them whatever you want. I only called the anti-magic voidstone because I had the idea to mix it with metal (as the minotaurs had a lot on them) to give armor or weapons similar properties and Arcanite was named from a story I once read that talked about crystals used in... Enchanting or runecraft or something, and thought it sounded cool. It's your world! You can do anything you want with it!
Great story by the way.
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I'm glad you enjoy it, that's the main reason I write. That and for the comments, they're my favourite part. :)
Not sure when we'll see any such items in this story again, but I know a few times they can be mentioned.
“Is it not possible for them to be blocking her teleportation?”
“They’re minotaurs,” Shining seemed to deadpan
Five minutes earlier: That was until a very familiar blue flash echoed across the heads of the minotaurs. Then another and another. It was clear I was the only one seeing this as not a single head took note. A few moments later, a large orange flash seemed to ring out in response.
Me: Right there just minotaurs and your just a gullible moron. In a universe where a necklace can give a normal unicorn the power equal to that of a Alicorn and a six set of matching bling can turns gods to stone. Also this minotaur’s code is bull as well as trying to honor the snow flack soldier is talking about. True honor is meeting your enemy in the middle in no mans land where both sides can see if the other ties anything funny. Double so if this is for a duel. Who's stopping them from just killing Luna off and claiming she simply lost a fare dual when there are NO equestrian witnesses? Also there's little honor in dualing and already injured opponent. Alicorn or not.
Can't wait to see how this plays out be it an actual attack with this king somehow blocking Luna's ability to teleport or if this is just a one sided DISHONORABLE dual that will offend the minotaurs for wanting others to just deal with what they want when there the ones standing at the border like there about to invade...I hate waiting
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Just one problem with this...well many. First Luna is using magic so there's no anti magic at play and second there's someone else using magic as well. Anti magic zones don't play favorites anyone in the zone loses access to there glowy bits. I hate everything about what I'm about to say but ether they have found the ability to stop creatures from teleporting making Eclipse into yet again a think less hero or this is just the most dishonorable honorable dual I've ever seen and Eclipse is going to cause problems by trying to save his friend. There's a reason acts of honor between armies was done out in the open between them so both sides can see if there's foul play or avoid fools jumping the gun
Зачем мне заранее стыдно за Затмение?...
Как же я был бы рад, если бы он не ошибся тут.
Ugh some stupid ancient ass form of fisticuffs 'diplomacy' I'm guessing. Still feels like realllly bad idea to do it in the enemy camp your allies cant even see. That's the part that annoys me most other then the old might makes right adage. It'd be so easy to use treachery if the other army cant see the fight. Also luna is being ridiculously cocky for not having won a single fight in this story.
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She won one out of two if you count the Discord fight. :)
But yeah, I don't think I'd have volunteered to go.
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You know, that was a little arc I ended up not going down in the end. I was pretty sure it would be quite difficult to pickpocket someone with a living outfit. That being said, I do want to use that amulet again for another purpose.
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Sorry it took so long to respond, my Idea was that if you were to grind down the Null stone into a powder and add it to the armor/sword/metal while it's being forged (like it's liquid/molten state) it's "no magic zone" will be strictly relegated to the armor/shield itself and not inhibit one's personal magic being used but also stopping any incoming magic from affecting it's bearer.
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So magic armor that protects the wearer. Simple but vary flawed. Wouldn't work well against elemental or indirect magic like say throwing a boulder. As for the elemental side tell me have you ever played dungeons and dragon's? Two words for a simple level 2 spell 'heat metal'.
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YES! Effective but not perfect. Exactly what I was going for. If your smart enough you can bypass the armor, but it does help level the playing field by limiting your options. Examples on what it would counteract: Unicorn magic missile, Pegasus magical lightning strike, Earth pony excess strength against the wearer. Also the heat metal spell wouldn't work as it is directly effecting the metal with magic. The problem that I've noticed with (and one I would like to see exploited) Equestria is that the majority of the ponies that live in it are not very imaginative. Personally I think that's because of their cutie marks restricting outside the box thinking, but the point being is that #1 this ways of thinking probably extends to it's military and #2 according to my knowledge they haven't had any kind of armed conflict for at least 500 years. both of these but together means that most wouldn't think of elemental magic and the likely hood of them being shot down hard is pretty high. Also I'm pretty sure D&D doesn't have stuff like this unless it's home-brew. Good? Bad? Thoughts?
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Ok so I'm pretty sure the pegasus using a thunderhead would work just fine. It's lightning from a cload so that's natural element. Metal Armor is the last thing you'd want to wearing at that point. As for the heat metal spell I'm not talking about it directly but instead the implication. Sure the armor could protect you from magic fire but what about the heat? Yes I'm talking cooking some poor sod alive. You could go for the opposite to by trying to freezing them. Frost bites is no joke. 500 year rule doesn't apply here, this is Luna. To her it's more like 5 years of peace not 500...unless your talking about the royal guard just standing there with the metaphorical thumbs up there collective asses then yes. As for the DnD question are you asking about thing's being immune to magic? If so then yes there's thing's that are immune to certain thing's. Hell they have dragon's that can disintegrate rocks with there roars
Wait, how exactly does the size proportion regarding Eclipse, Luna and the average pony work?
I REALLY like how you show a different side of Eclipse in this chapter. At his very core, he’s still a dangerous void creature capable of destroying anything he comes across, but he has been pacified by his own morals and the friendship given to him. Showing this other side always gives me shivers and it’s exceptionally well written.
10/10 mustaches and a chef’s kiss.
👌
bored
Time to kick ass and chew gum, and Eclipse is all out on gum
Hmm….. interesting
All it needs for the evil to won is the innocent to keep watching on and allow it to happen!
INTO BATTLE!