Chapters of a Revamped Tome

by Snowy Helmet

Equestria Girls Revamp: (Not So) False Alarm

The Crystal Empire, October 13th, Year 1372 of the Equestrian Era, not long after midnight…

Once upon a time, it had been kept in a secret vault built by Star Swirl the Bearded, where it remained until it was discovered by the wizard’s last student, Faustus Blueblood.

Later, after Princess Celestia and Princess Luna officially took the Equestrian throne, it was moved onto a specially designed vault in Canterlot Castle, where it could both be protected and kept away from other magical artifacts.

Eventually, it was transferred to the throne room in Canterlot Castle, where it remained under the near-constant protection of rotating guard units, being put back in its vault only when there weren’t available guards to protect it.

And then, after the Crystal Empire returned and Princess Mi Amore Cadenza took the throne she got by right of succession, it was moved to an isolated room in the Crystal Castle, to be watched over by the newest Crystal Princess.

Exactly what was so special about it, Lieutenant Veaceslav had never known. He had stood guard by it more than once, and talked to others who had done the same, but it had always seemed an ordinary mirror.

Yet as he had been sitting on top of the Crystal Castle, keeping a bird’s eye watch of the surrounding area, a cloud of light-gray magic aura had floated up to him and exploded into a hornwritten note that suggested that the mirror had just done something it wasn’t supposed to.

“We need you at the Mirror’s Room. Come quick.”

Some might call it vague, but Veaceslav had understood all that mattered. And thanks to his race’s ability for ultrasonic calls, it had been easy to call for a quick emergency relief from one of the other vespertilians patrolling the sky while he answered the summons.

The ‘we’, Veaceslav realized as he approached the Mirror’s Room, had been two familiar guards, both of which would be recognizable even if he only had a pony’s ordinary night vision rather than a vespertilian’s cat-sharp one. The white-maned unicorn mare with a sandy coat, clad in the familiar lunar armor, was Even Tide, a good friend since his early days in the Lunar Division. The goldenrod crystal pony stallion with dark blue mane, wearing the Crystal Guard’s silver armor, was Captain Smeriglio, the oldest Crystal Guard on active duty and technically still its leader even though Prince Shining Armor ranked above him and did most of the commanding duties. Both were standing in front of the open door to the room keeping the so-called Crystal Mirror, the artifact itself standing behind them, at the far end of the room. Both looked anxious to see him, which Veaceslav could tell both from their expressions and from the smell they were releasing. What he couldn’t tell was why.

Nothing like the present to find out. He thought as he landed, folding his bat-like wings.

“What happened? Why do you need me?”

Her lips curling into a smirk, Even Tide chuckled.

“Straight to the point, as always,” she quipped.

Veaceslav merely shrugged. He was a vespertilian of few words, even if he wasn’t as quiet as he’d heard the Bearer of Honesty’s brother was.

Her smirk fading, Even Tide rolled her eyes and turned to Captain Smeriglio.

“Could you please explain, Captain?” she asked. “You’re the one who actually saw it.”

The native guard’s captain blinked slowly, first once, then twice, like he was making sure he visualized the whole scene thoroughly first.

Veaceslav only looked on, but Even Tide’s face tensed, like she was having trouble repressing visible puzzlement.

“I’m not entirely sure I saw anything, as I already told Lieutenant Even Tide,” Captain Smeriglio ended up replying, the usual raspy edge to his voice slightly deeper. “That said, what happened seemed serious enough to merit a better look.” He took a breath. “I was at my post, and I thought I heard something behind me. I turned around, and I could swear I saw a fading white light through the keyholes." Stepping aside, Smeriglio halfway turned and glanced at the mirror before looking back at Veaceslav. "I opened the door for a closer look, but I saw nothing other than the mirror, looking as ordinary as it always did.”

Veaceslav blinked. While inherently magical according to the unicorns that had guarded it, the Crystal Mirror had never been known to cast lights of any color. However, most of the Guard agreed that if it needed protection, it had to be special in some way. Perhaps he’d be about to find out why.

“For safety’s sake, I kept an eye out while I waited for another guard, and when Lieutenant Even Tide arrived, we searched the room together,” Captain Smeriglio carried on. “We found no one hiding, and I know for a fact that no one teleported out, so if anything did happen, it must have been due to the mirror itself, although Lieutenant Even Tide assured me she can’t detect any anomalies in it.”

Veaceslav nodded, more to acknowledge that he’d heard and understood the explanation than for any other reason. But more than that, he had also realized why he had been called.

“I take it you still want me to take a closer examination,” he offered.

“From the little I learned about Vespertilians so far, I’d wager its best,” Smeriglio replied.

Again, Veaceslav nodded.

“I’m on it, Captain.”

|||||||

Even before he finished replying, Veaceslav had already spread his wings again, the view alone enough to make Smeriglio suppress a shiver.

Then, barely an instant after he finished speaking, he took off with a mighty flap, moving through the room in a series of loops and dives and turns and rises, his flaps and flight speed slower than a pegasus’, but each beat and general movement so silent that it was like looking at a scene from one of those ‘movies’ that had been invented during the Crystal Empire’s absence with the sound switched off. The only sound Veaceslav made was a loud sniff from time to time, akin to a wolf trying to catch a prey animal’s scent.

Smeriglio tried his best not to shake. Lieutenant Veaceslav seemed like a decent pony - well, more like a decent batpony, if one used the alternate name for his race - but seeing him flying still gave Smeriglio the creeps, as he had heard young Spike saying once. Between his utterly silent flight and the general similarities between Vespertilians and Sombra - especially when Sombra had been a youth - it was far too much like looking at a ghost. The cat-like glow on the vespertilian’s eyes and the way his tufted ears would flick about while he took whiffs of the air didn’t help matters.

You’ve only got yourself to thank for that. He thought. If there was anything here in the first place, you’re the one who was too slow to catch it before it hid. And you know he’s the best for the task he’s performing. Now behave like a grown pony and get a grip.

Easier said than done. Instinctive reactions weren’t always the easiest to ignore, and the toll Sombra’s rule had taken on him hadn’t helped there.

But that was inconsequential. He was a sapient being still in full possession of his mental faculties, and a trained soldier. He might be old, but he was still sound and strong enough to not let phobias or similar things get the best of him.

The unease creeping through him gave it a good try, though, one that only grew more valiant as time passed. Rather than taking just two or three flights around the room, Veaceslav did at least seven complete flights through the whole room, always flicking his ears, always with the same focused, glowing-eyed gaze, always sniffing, always silent as a shadow. No wonder Equestria had feared Nightmare Moon’s army so much when vespertilians had made up the bulk of its forces. A mass attack from them in the night was bound to lead to a high level of casualties.

Finally, Veaceslav turned around and landed before him, his landing as silent as his flight and take off despite the metal hoofguards he wore. Years on the guard allowed Smeriglio to keep his cool, but inwardly, he couldn’t help a relieved sigh as the unease protesting within him finally settled down.

“As far as smells go, I can’t be sure if this room had visitors it shouldn’t have,” Veaceslav said. “Unfortunately, I’m not yet familiar enough with the scents of everyone in the Crystal Castle to identify them all. However, I know for a fact I don’t hear anyone breathing other than the three of us. And if someone was hiding here, I’d hear them.”

Beside Smeriglio, Even Tide gave a fierce nod, as if to reinforce her comrade’s words and convey her trust in them. Smeriglio gave a calm nod in return. He might never have seen a ‘batpony’ before the Crystal Empire had been thrown into the future, but he’d already learned that sharp hearing was a trait they had in common with bats, despite not being related to them. If he wasn’t hearing anything, there really was nothing here to hear.

“My mistake then,” Smeriglio said. “I apologize.”

I guess I really was hearing things. He inwardly added.

If that was the case, it was just another sign that he really was getting too old to be on active duty.

His heart sank, enough so that the sparkles on his coat almost went down and made the reaction visible. Relief flickered through him at realizing he had kept enough of a grip to avoid that, but it barely eased the sting of seeing yet more evidence of his age.

Veaceslav’s gasp brought him back to reality.

“Maybe it wasn’t a mistake,” he said, his eyes wide. “Maybe there is actually someone here with us, using some spell that not only conceals them from view, but also masks their smell and the sound of their breathing!”

Smeriglio gasped. He hadn’t thought of that. And given how versatile unicorn magic could be, that was a real possibility. Granted, no unicorn he knew had been able to do that, but the Crystal Empire had always had a low unicorn population, even before Sombra’s rule. Bar a few unexpected occurrences, the most notable of which still was Princess Amore’s bond with the Crystal Heart, new discoveries on unicorn magic had been at a standstill for a long time, even before Sombra’s takeover took its toll on the unicorn population. And many things could change in the almost twelve centuries the Crystal Empire had been away. Perhaps that kind of spell had been discovered since.

“There isn’t any such spell,” Even Tide put in. “I’m sure of it.”

Both his and Veaceslav’s gazes fell on her.

“I remember a question about that in a test we took at the academy,” she added, her voice cool, confident. “The right answer to it was that such a spell doesn’t exist.” She paused, as if to make sure the information sunk into them both, before she went on. “And speaking as a unicorn, I understand why. That kind of spell would not only be very difficult by itself, both in terms of complexity and raw power, but in this particular case whoever cast it would need to be constantly moving around, given how thoroughly we searched the room, and they would also have needed to keep at it for a very long time while being focused on dodging us. I don’t see that happening.”

Veaceslav said nothing, but his calm face was enough to say he agreed.

Smeriglio’s forehead creased. Even Tide sounded like she was telling the truth, or at least, that she believed such. And she was a good pony to believe it. According to Prince Shining Armor, each of the few Equestrian guards that had been sent to the Crystal Empire had been picked both for the strength of their character and for being above average in their race’s skills. If she said that with such a confident tone, she had to be sure of what she said. And it was true that the scenario she had described seemed highly implausible.

But Smeriglio in turn was sure that he had heard something in the room. He might be getting old, but his senses were still sharp enough that he’d heard it, and his reflexes were still fast enough that when he turned around he had seen a hint of a fading light through the keyholes. It had lasted just an instant, but he was sure it had been there. And he knew for a fact no one had teleported out - he knew enough magic to know that all forms of magical teleportation were noisy in some way, and he hadn’t heard anything. If someone had been in the room, they had to still be inside.

But I might just be wrong. He thought.

His heart sank again, so much so that this time he felt the sparkles on his coat dimming. If he was wrong, that could mean he had been even more affected by age and Sombra’s rule than he had thought. And in turn, that meant that the moment enough new guards were trained, he’d be sent into retirement and just spend the rest of his days wasting away sooner rather than later.

Not that it wasn’t going to happen soon anyway, but he’d rather do a good job in the few months or years he had left, and perhaps be able to squeeze out a bit more usefulness before his purpose ended.

I still can. He told himself. After all, Even Tide may also be the one who’s wrong.

True. She could. Even if the possibility she had described seemed practically impossible, she had acknowledged it. Perhaps whoever was hiding was simply exceptional enough to meet the necessary requirements.

But how could they be sure? It wasn’t like they could afford to wait for hours until whoever was hiding revealed themselves. If the guard was more numerous, that would be an option, but even with the small Equestrian reinforcement, they were far too thinly spread to devote full guard duty to a single room for so long, especially now that some of the Equestrian reinforcement and a few of the native guards had gone off to Yakyakistan on Prince Shining Armor’s expedition. They had to find another way to check.

And I think I know how. Smeriglio thought, an idea instantly forming, like it had only needed his realization to come about.

“Very well,” he told the other two guards. “Let’s consider this settled.”

|||||||

Hearing Captain Smeriglio’s command, Even Tide narrowed her eyes.

Not because of the order, but because of the way he had given it. Despite his words and his calm tone, he remained tense, like he was gathering himself for something. It was subtle enough for the average civilian and maybe even many guards to not notice it, but she did and, from the way his eyes also narrowed, so did Veaceslav.

Still, both simply nodded and turned around, walking out of the room, the Captain to her left and Veaceslav to her right.

And as they did, for some reason, Even Tide couldn’t help but feel like she had been put on somepony’s sights, like a pair of eyes was intently watching them all.

As sneakily as she could, she snuck a glance behind them, trying to see if somepony had been hiding in the room after all and had taken their turned backs as a chance to drop whatever spell they were using.

There was nothing or no one. The only things in the empty room were the three of them and the Crystal Mirror. Though then again, perhaps whoever was in the room was playing it safe for now and keeping the cloaking spell up.

You’re being paranoid. She told herself as she crossed the doorway. There’s nopony here but the three of you.

Well, the two of them, she corrected herself, given that Veaceslav, despite his physical appearance and one of the names for his race, was not even an equine, much less a pony.

But the basic point was still the same. They had been the only ones in the room. And now none of them was even there, for they had all exited ahead of her.

Bringing her magic forth, Even Tide seized both sides of the double door in her light-gray aura and pushed them in, the two panels clicking together as the door shut. Retracting her magic, she turned around to stand at her post - and then her eyes fell on Captain Smeriglio as he gestured towards the end of the hallway with his head.

“Come here, both of you!” he whispered, the sound barely audible - except maybe to a vespertilian - and yet as filled with urgency as an order shouted during a battle, a feeling reinforced by the alarm in his eyes.

Forcing her confusion down, Even Tide conjured a beam of light from her horn and cast it before her as she followed the Captain and her comrade to the end of the corridor.

A set of golden armor gleamed from around the corner as they got to their destination. Turning her eyes to the pony’s face, she saw Flash Sentry standing at his post, casting them a confused sideways look.

Sparing a brief nod to acknowledge him, Even Tide turned back to Captain Smeriglio - and then started as she met his stern gaze.

“Turn your horn off,” he whispered. “And you, fly back to the room and peep through the keyhole,” he added as he turned to Veaceslav. “Make sure you’re hovering at a height that won’t show your hooves through the gap between the door and the floor. Stay there until I tell you to come back, and keep both eyes and both ears out.”

Veaceslav immediately flew back to the door with all the quietude of a shadow, his eyes put to both keyholes as he hovered before them.

Even Tide understood. If there really happened to be somepony inside the room and they had somehow dodged all the attempts at finding them, said pony would drop their guard now that the three of them seemed to have left. True, she had been the one saying how low the odds of somepony being there were, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

A light shiver prickled up her neck. Casting her eyes back, she saw Flash casting her another sideways look, the confusion in his gaze now giving way to attentiveness. He soon turned forward to watch his designated area, but his eye soon flicked back to her and Smeriglio, as focused as it could be at that angle.

Unsure of what else to do, Even Tide shrugged and turned her focus back to Veaceslav. Nothing about the way he hovered suggested that he was seeing anything he shouldn’t, but Captain Smeriglio simply looked on attentively, barely blinking, like any moment could be precious in catching a suspicious sign.

But time crawled on, and the only thing they could see was Veaceslav hovering there, his wings almost hypnotic as they constantly flapped to keep him in place. It was almost enough to give her the urge to yawn.

Had she not been trained to fight it, it might have gone beyond the urge.

It didn’t, though, even as time kept creeping by and Veaceslav hovered on without any change in his flaps or overall body posture, other than a few brief sags which suggested he was getting sick of peeping into an empty room. But Captain Smeriglio remained alert, nothing about him suggesting he’d be calling the vespertilian off.

Five minutes went by like that.

Five more followed.

Concern started to settle in her chest. Even with lowered standards to admit more recruits, a slightly quicker training period, and a small Equestrial reinforcement, the Crystal Empire’s guard force was still below its ideal size. The three of them wasting so much time with a seemingly empty room might have an impact on safety elsewhere.

But the Captain remained at attention, his face still as stern as before. Even Tide waited.

Then, about fifteen minutes after they had closed the door, Captain Smeriglio finally relaxed.

“Come back, Lieutenant!” he whispered.

A pony wouldn’t have heard such a call at that distance, but Veaceslav didn’t even ask him to repeat before turning around and flying towards them again. As he landed, Even Tide noticed that his usually stoic face had a hint of relief, a feeling only reinforced by him stretching his wings before folding them again.

“Report?” Captain Smeriglio requested.

His wings twitching before he stood at attention, Veaceslav replied, “I’m absolutely sure of it. I saw nothing in the room.”

Silence ruled for the next moments, enough so that even her lass sharp hearing could pick up hints of their breathing.

Then, Captain Smeriglio sighed.

“My apologies, both of you,” he said. “It sounds like it really was my mistake.”

His head actually dropped as he made the admission, the wrinkles on his face suddenly more visible even in the darkness, his sparkles again dimming. Even Tide parted her lips at the view, her eyes widening. For an instant, the whole ordeal seemed to have actually made Captain Smeriglio age significantly for the minutes it had lasted.

Before anyone could offer any attempt at sympathy, however, Smeriglio straightened himself, his expression stern once more, though the sparkles on his coat were still duller than usual.

“Now let’s really consider this settled. Back on your designated duties, both of you.”

After saluting to the Captain, both Veaceslav and Even Tide did just that, the former taking off and flying down the corridor and the latter trotting back to the door she was meant to be guarding.

Here’s to some hours of boring but important duty. She thought as she settled in, all her senses alert for anything unusual. And may they be boring hours indeed.

Less than a minute after Even Tide had that thought, an advanced cloaking spell was dropped and a unicorn mare in a black cloak unveiled herself in the Mirror’s Room.

Author's Note:

Well... honestly, this was a bit of a tricky chapter to write, and even now I'm not entirely sure I struck the right balance.

The effectiveness of the Equestrian guards seems to be a bit of a running joke among the fanbase, and well... while I can't claim to be an expert on military, I think that, modesty aside, I've heard enough of the common criticisms to understand at least some of the reasons why they're called ineffective.

This chapter was an attempt at showing the guards being more competent, while still making an understandable mistake (which they kind of have to make, because otherwise, the whole plot of Equestria Girls would need to change, and that's not what I'm trying to go for in this particular universe).

On another matter... as it concerns the batponies - or, as I refer to them, vespertilians - I know they are most commonly referred to as 'thestrals', which from what I understand is due to M.A. Larson using that term for Luna's guards in the Luna Eclipsed script. I've also seen 'noctral' and 'threshal', and there may be other designations for them that I haven't seen. However, given my general ideas for batponies, I thought I should go with a different name. I will explain my reasons better in a blog post later on, but to make one thing clear right now, I'm not calling my take better or worse than anyone else's. I'm simply saying that I feel it's different enough that I felt it would be more appropriate to give the batponies a different 'other name' as well.

As for the descriptions of where the Crystal Room was kept, I know they are different from what Luna describes, but I don't feel it made much sense that it was 'literally always' kept in the Canterlot throne room, especially given that it would pose a great risk of someone stumbling through it at the wrong time, so as per this universe, it had more resting places, so to speak.

On one last point... I will give more details later on, once he plays a more promiment role, but to give credit where credit is due from the get-go, Faustus Blueblood is in a sense my 'personal G4 version' of a certain G1 character. I will specify which one once more direct references to him are made.

Thank you to all who took the time to read this. As always, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. :)

Comments

[EchoWing]

I definitely support all efforts to make the Guards more competent.

[Snowy Helmet]

11188311
Well, to that I can only say: I'm glad for the support, and I hope you enjoy my future attempts at that, and that they overall come across as 'believably balanced'.

Thanks for the comment!