Sacanas

by Lets Do This

Careful What You Wish For

In the days that followed, the sorcerer became a familiar sight around the Castle and its environs. Sacanas finally deigned to accept the offer of the private quarters and study that had been frequented by Clover the Clever. And she spent a good deal of her time there, examining ancient texts or experimenting with spellcraft. The guards eventually learned to stop jumping whenever she suddenly appeared round a corner or out of a room or cul-de-sac which they would otherwise have sworn was empty.

And wherever Princess Palladium went, the tall, dark-cloaked, scowling unicorn went with her, or could be seen lurking somewhere in the background, silent and watchful. So much so, the sorcerer began to seem practically a part of the royal family herself.

One afternoon in particular, Lady Indium was holding her regular salon for the best and brightest amongst the town's nobility. Which meant, of course, whomever she deemed worthy of being considered so.

The peppermint-coiffed mare was standing in the front hall of her estate, greeting ponies as they arrived. She had just made a grand show of curtsying to Their Royal Majesties and the Crown Prince, and was turning to do the same to Palladium.

She was brought up short by the stern glare of Sacanas, looming behind the Princess.

"Ah," Indium said with a carefully bland look, "I am afraid this is a private gathering, for nobility and their immediate families. Not staff."

Everyone fell silent. There was a tense moment, as she and the sorcerer faced each other, exchanging cold glares of disapproval. Even Princess Platinum seemed to be nerving herself for an explosion. But then Palladium spoke up, brightly and cheerfully.

"Oh, this is my Aunt," she said, and smiled up at the sorcerer. "Auntie Sacanas."

Then Palladium looked Lady Indium square in the eye.

"And I never go anywhere without her."

Indium seemed taken aback by the assertion. Even Sacanas herself briefly eyed the Princess. Then the sorcerer smoothly shifted her gaze back to Lady Indium. And looked just a little smugly aloof.

"I... was not aware, Majesty," Indium remarked to Princess Platinum, "that you had a sister."

Platinum herself was still wrapping her own social barometer around the situation. "Oh, well," she finally said, waving a hoof airily. "She's more a sort of... distant cousin, really. But nevertheless, Pallas simply dotes on her, as you can see."

"Ah, yes." Lady Indium swiftly rearranged her mental dance-card. "My apologies... Sacanas. Please, do come in."

Palladium and Sacanas did so, following her parents and brother into the drawing room to be greeted by the other notables present. And as they went, Sacanas leaned down to whisper in Palladium's ear. "Very nicely handled, Highness. Color me impressed."

Palladium giggled mischievously. Then she suddenly looked worried.

"It is all right, isn't it? Pretending you're my Aunt?"

"Did I say it wasn't?"

"It's just, well... it's kind of how I think about you, really."

Sacanas came to a halt, considering that. Then nodded her head graciously. "I'm honored, Princess." Then she eyed Palladium narrowly. "But don't think it gets you out of writing that essay this evening."

"Aw, do I have to?"

"Yes. I have to have something to show to your parents, to prove you're still learning the boring stuff, now don't I?"

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

Somehow it was always lessons, whenever Sacanas was around. But Palladium didn't mind actually, since the lessons were seldom boring, and almost invariably practical. She did however sometimes feel as if the sorcerer enjoyed simply dropping her in at the deep end, to see if she could flounder her way out of it.

Case in point: a few days later Palladium and her brother were playing in the Garden behind the castle. Which is not to say they were playing together of course. The two royals kept as far from each other as possible.

Prince Electrum was play-sparring with his pegasus and earth-pony companions, fending off charges from the ground and diving attacks from the air. But more often he fell prey to the two of them ganging up on him, one distracting him, the other ambushing him.

Palladium, by contrast, was seated by herself in front of her playhouse, at a small worktable she'd set up. She was carefully taking apart a pendulum clock, to understand how the mechanism worked. It wasn't something Sacanas had set her to do. It was something Palladium wanted to do. In her opinion, taking things apart was much more fun than more traditional hoof-crafts like painting or tapestry-work. After all, when you'd dropped one stitch you'd dropped them all...

The royal siblings' play was interrupted when a vast shadow fell across the garden, casting everything into chill shade. Looking up, Palladium and her brother both saw a great pall of smoke spreading across the sky, blotting out the sun.

Exchanging worried looks, the Prince, Princess, and the Prince's companions all hurried into the castle, and up to the main hall. There they found Princess Platinum receiving a report from her out-of-breath Guard Captain.

"We think... it might be... a dragon, Majesty," the Captain gasped, then paused to catch his breath. "The smoke, it's coming from farther up the mountain. There are caves up there that might make a suitable lair for such a beast."

"A dragon!" Platinum looked horrified. "Oh, whatever shall we do?"

"Our forces are securing the Castle," the Captain offered, "and the town as well."

"That won't be enough," Prince Electrum snorted. "Not nearly! We need to act on this, at once."

"Yeah!" yelled the pegasus, darting through the air and swinging his hooves viciously. "Who's scared of a dragon? We should head on up there and fight it!"

"Or maybe offer it some gemstones?" suggested the earth-pony nervously. "Persuade it to head elsewhere?"

"Bribery? Or simple brute force?" Prince Electrum sniffed, affronted. "I think not. We need to show this beast the mettle of our new alliance. Come, my friends! We shall devise a brilliant plan, the three of us together." So saying, Electrum proudly led the way out through the door, into the courtyard beyond.

"Do be careful, darling!" Platinum called, following to stand at the doorway herself.

"Have no fear, Mother," Electrum called over his shoulder. "We shall show them what the three tribes are made of!"

The Royal Princess just stood there, in the doorway, fretting anxiously. Behind her, Palladium and Sacanas stood watching the three ponies depart as well. There was a disgusted, dismissive look on the sorcerer's face.

Then Sacanas looked at Palladium. "Well, Princess? What are you going to do about it?"

Palladium blinked. "Me?"

Sacanas shrugged. "You are a Princess. It's the kind of problem Princesses are supposed to be able to deal with."

"Oh. Right." Palladium bit her lip. And then looked hesitantly at Sacanas. "Could you banish a dragon? With your magic?"

"Possibly." Sacanas examined a hoof, unhurriedly. "But do we know that's what it is? Right now, all we have is rumor, hearsay." She let the hoof drop, scowling darkly. "And I have never trusted hearsay..."

"Right." Palladium thought furiously. "Right..." And then she nodded. "We should go find out," she declared firmly. "And if it is a dragon then... well, at least we can tell everypony where it is, huh?"

Sacanas bowed her head indulgently. "As you command, Your Highness."

Roping in a couple of guards who happened to be in the way, the Princess and Sacanas led the way up to the Princess's balcony, where the pink airship was parked. They boarded it, and Sacanas set it chuffing away up the slope of the mountain, in a wide circle to get around the plume of smoke. Palladium hung on the railing, her gaze following the plume to its source.

And she quickly realized it wasn't coming from a cave. "There's a fire down there!" She pointed at a clearing on a flat rise of ground, just short of the coniferous line. Several patches of flame were flickering, both on the ground and in the treetops, and were the source of the voluminous clouds of smoke.

In response, Sacanas brought the airship around and then down, and finally brought it to a gentle touch-down on an open stretch of meadow, well clear of the fire line.

Here they found an anxious emerald-coated unicorn, near to tearing her mane out, staring at an out-of-control bonfire of logs, brush, and other refuse. "Thank Platinum you're here, Highness!" the pony called, curtsying. "I was just doing a burn-off, to clean out some of this rubbish. I guess I stacked things a bit too close to the tree-line, and the wind caught the flames, and..." She shrugged. "It's what I get I suppose, for trying to do a little farming on my own."

Palladium was puzzled. "Don't earth-ponies usually do the farming?"

"Well..." The unicorn looked skeptical. "Even though we're supposed to be friends with these earth-ponies, I'm not sure I trust them yet. Arrogant hayseeds! I figured anything they could do, a unicorn could do better." She shrugged ruefully. "Seems I may have overestimated my skills."

"Can you put the fire out, Sacanas?"

"Easily," the sorcerer replied. "Stand clear, please."

Lighting her horn, and gesturing with a hoof, the sorcerer conjured a shield dome over the bonfire, and smaller shield bubbles around burning branches on the trees. Deprived of air, the flames died out quickly, though the glowing embers took longer to extinguish.

The unicorn sighed in relief. "Thank you, Your Highness! I hope I'm not in too much trouble, making you come all the way up here just to deal with this."

"Nopony was harmed, Princess," Sacanas quickly suggested, "I think we might put it down as a... learning experience, mmm? We ought to encourage self-reliance like this amongst our fellow unicorns, oughtn't we?"

Palladium nodded willingly. "That sounds right to me. I'm just glad we could help." Then she looked up worriedly at Sacanas. "But we'd better get back home quick. Or my brother will show up here with an army of dragon-hunters right behind him."

"Oh really?" The unicorn stared around anxiously. "Why? Somepony seen a dragon up here?"

"It was only hearsay," Sacanas said, with a self-satisfied smirk. "Nothing you need to worry about."

"As you say. And thank you, Highness." The unicorn curtseyed respectfully again, as Palladium reboarded the airship, along with Sacanas and the guards.

They made quick time getting back to the Castle. And when Palladium had appraised her parents of both the cause of the smoke and its resolution, Princess Platinum was beside herself with relief.

"My word! That was brave and resourceful of you, my dear. Even with your tutor's doubtlessly invaluable assistance." Platinum nodded to Sacanas. And then she looked smugly at Prince Argentum. "Seems we may have more than one capable royal in the family, hmm?"

"I have to admit it," His Highness agreed, "that took pluck." He nodded sympathetically to the Crown Prince. "Sorry, Electrum, m'lad! Better luck next time, eh?"

Electrum tried to feign scornful indifference. And failed completely -- he looked like somepony had just stepped on his tail.

"A lucky guess. Sheer chance that it was so simple. But!" the Prince added dramatically. "Had it really been a ferocious, flaming dragon, then Mother, you know what I and my friends would have done?"

"Turned tail and run like blazes?" Sacanas stage-whispered to Palladium. The Princess had to clamp her mouth tight shut to keep from bursting out in giggles, especially seeing the affronted look Electrum turned on Sacanas. And the way that Sacanas smirked back at him, aloof and untouchable.

At the very least, Palladium could not suppress a happy smile, considering how it had all turned out. It was the first time she'd ever outshone her brother at anything. And she had Sacanas to thank for it.

Palladium turned her smile on the sorcerer, unable to put her gratitude into words.

Sacanas merely nodded back at her, in quiet satisfaction.

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

A few days later, Palladium and Sacanas were taking lunch by the fountain in the town square, as they often did. It had quickly become Palladium's favorite part of the day. Everywhere she looked, ponies were bustling about, going about their jobs, chatting with one another. Fillies and colts scampered through the crowds, laughing and playing...

It was marvelous. It was like one of her art books from the library, brought to life.

Everywhere she looked, the townsponies bowed to her, or smiled and nodded pleasantly. She felt safe and welcomed, and more than a little important. It was as if the entire activity of the town revolved around her... around the Princess.

Palladium was just debating whether to go over to the sweet-cart for yet another jam-roll, when there was a loud squawking from the air overhead. She looked up -- and froze. Large winged shapes, like crosses between birds and lions, were swooping by overhead. They were armed and armored, carrying heavy pikes and swords.

"Griffons!" she gasped.

The townsponies had seen them too. They were panicking, running in every direction, heading indoors for shelter, shooing their children ahead of them.

But Sacanas merely sat where she was, idly examining a hoof. The guard ponies accompanying them moved to protect Palladium, but the sorcerer merely flicked her hoof imperiously, waving them back. They subsided, puzzled.

Then Sacanas looked at Palladium. Silently, expectantly.

"They're heading for the Palace!" Palladium said. "They're attacking us! But why? I thought we had a treaty!"

Sacanas shrugged. "Who can ever tell, Highness, with foreigners? They don't think the way we do."

"We have to do something!"

"I am open to suggestions."

Palladium stared, open-mouthed, shocked by the sorcerer's seeming indifference... and then she got it, nodding in understanding. Getting hold of her panic Palladium forced herself to think clearly, deliberately.

Like a Princess would...

"We have to protect the town," she said. "They don't have walls and guards here, like the Palace does. Can you do something about that, Sacanas?"

"Easily, Highness. Here," she said to one of the guards, "hold my cider."

As the guard uncertainly took hold of the levitated mug, Sacanas stood up, grasping her black cloak with her teeth. She flung it off, revealing a suit of polished black mage armor, with armored shoes to match. The armor was blacker than night, and there were sullenly glowing sigils on the flank plates: doubled lightning bolts, flame red in color.

Sacanas's horn sang with power. The sigils blazed. She stamped an armored hoof... and it was as if the earth itself rang like a bell.

The scurrying townsponies came to a halt, staring.

Sacanas seated herself, extending her forehooves to either side. She concentrated fiercely, her horn shimmering, the sigils on her armor lividly bright. A blast of crackling blue energy slammed outwards from her. It formed a huge dome, rapidly growing large enough to enclose the entire town. The few griffons unlucky enough to be caught in its path were batted away through the air, tumbling head over paws, before they finally managed to right themselves.

"There," Sacanas said. She looked relieved and just a little out of breath. "That should keep everypony safe."

She stood up again, then turned and made a show of bowing subserviently to Palladium.

"I await your command, Highness."

Palladium nodded. "We need to get back to the Palace, help Mother and Father defend it."

Sacanas nodded in return, then leaned closer. "Call for your air force," she whispered.

"But we don't have --" Palladium fell silent at the sorcerer's stern look. Then she glanced round, at the nervously watching townsponies. She spoke louder, as if only just thinking of it herself:

"We will need our air force, Sacanas. At once!"

"Your wish is my command, Highness," Sacanas replied.

The sorcerer turned, her horn gleaming. She flung up a hoof, sweeping it in a broad arc. Across the sky beyond the glow of the dome, bursts of flame erupted. They quickly coalesced into winged shapes, something between bats and dragons, though it was hard to tell since they did not hold any one shape for very long. Shrieking, the apparitions fell upon the griffons still passing over the town. The griffons attempted to swing their pikes and swords in retaliation. A few abandoned these and desperately tried their claws and beaks. But they could not get purchase on the wraith-like shapes, even as their pinions were being set ablaze.

"And now Highness," Sacanas quietly suggested. "Your flagship?"

And when Palladium called for it, loudly and decisively, the sorcerer simply waved a hoof and summoned the pink airship. It came chuffing down from overhead, thumping to a halt right beside the fountain. As Palladium boarded the airship, followed closely by Sacanas and the guards, a ragged cheer went up from the watching townsponies. And as the airship rose into the air, the cheering quickly swelled to applause, a thunderous rumbling and stamping of hooves.

The ship passed easily upwards, through the prickly blue shield over the town. Then it came about towards the Palace, escorted by the wraith-like fiery shapes, which swirled and darted, keeping back the few griffons who dared approach. Every now and then the flame-wraiths disappeared, dissolving into showers of sparks. But Sacanas simply waved her hoof, summoning new ones as needed.

Palladium stared ahead, trying to see what was happening up at the Castle, what they would need to do next. Now and again she cast a glance downwards at the townsponies below, safe beneath the blue shield dome. They were all staring up at the airship now, in eager relief, shouting and cheering...

For the Princess, Palladium thought. For me...

She was still frightened by the unprovoked attack, still worried sick about her parents. And about her brother, annoying and stuck-up though he might be. He was just liable to do something stupidly brave, after all.

Yet even so, Palladium found it wasn't quite as bad as she would have thought. Not with a powerful friend like Sacanas backing her up. Palladium felt like she could deal with this calamity. She could face it, and plan a way out of it. For the first time in her life, Palladium felt real confidence in herself.

She shouted for joy.

"Yeah! Let's show these feather-dusters what unicorns are really made of!"

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

The rest of the attacking Griffons were swiftly and thoroughly routed. They were sent winging off, battered and scorched, bellowing empty, powerless threats as they sped hurriedly into the distance. It was over so quickly in fact that everpony kept looking over their shoulders, unsure they could actually relax and let their guard down again.

A grand, jubilant celebration was quickly organized, both in the Castle and in the town below. And the high point of it was a solemn ceremony, conducted in the Royal Audience Hall of the Palace. A still-astonished Princess Platinum found herself presenting her own daughter with the kingdom's highest honor: the Fleur D'argent de la Valeur, in recognition of her courageous and decisive leadership in defense of the Crown and the Realm.

Sacanas, of course, blandly dismissed any such honor for herself. She stated firmly that she'd merely done as she was asked, by her very capable sovereign. During the entire ceremony she stood quietly in the background as usual, a look of proud self-satisfaction on her face. Yet no one could miss her presence there. Her new mage armor thrummed quietly with power, setting everypony's horn on edge.

In the days following, there was much excited discussion of the attack and the Princess's quick response to it. And along with this there was a rising tide of support for reinstatement of the matrilineal succession: in short, for Palladium to be officially named her mother's successor. While the call came mostly from the commoners, and less so from the nobility, the Royal Princess was not deaf to the general shift in public opinion. And Platinum was in favor of the idea herself.

"Perhaps," she noted, when the subject came up in privy council, "we may wish to give the old ways a try again. Just this once, eh? Just to be sure?"

There was a murmuring and nodding of agreement, and those who opposed wisely kept their own council, seeing where general opinion stood. With one notable exception, of course.

The Crown Prince was beyond opposition: Electrum was furious the idea was even being considered. He spent most of his time with his pegasus and earth-pony companions, scowling and grumbling and ranting and raving about the sheer unfairness of it all, working himself up into a high dudgeon.

"My sister did nothing to earn such honors!" he declared. "It was all the work of that witch-mage, skulking about at her heels. That sorcerer, friends, you mark my words, she's up to something. She's after the crown herself -- or worse!"

His friends nodded commiseratingly, but there didn't seem much that could be done about it. No one in the Castle, least of all the Prince, felt like facing down the sorcerer directly, as enigmatically, implacably powerful as she was.

Then one day the Prince was stalking aggressively along the main corridor of the Palace, escorted by his bodyguards. And nearly collided head-on with Sacanas when the sorcerer suddenly appeared out of a side passage. Taken aback at first, Electrum stamped a hoof and stood his ground, glaring aloofly at her.

"Stand aside, hoof-wiggler!"

"Is something troubling your Highness?" Sacanas purred. "Some difficulty with the succession, perhaps?"

"Hold your tongue! And make way for your betters."

Sacanas eyed him dourly. "You mean you?"

Electrum snorted furiously. "Have a care, mage!" He pawed the carpet with a hoof. "Or I'll show you your proper place, amongst those who fight fairly, openly, with honor!"

The faintest flicker of electric-blue power limned Sacanas's horn, as she stared levelly back at him.

"I should like to see you try, Highness."

The Prince's guards stared at her, wide-eyed, clearly wishing they were somewhere else -- anywhere else. Before the Prince could respond, the sorcerer went on.

"Not every problem can be solved merely with hooves and swords, my young Prince," she said. "Sometimes you have to think your way out. And make no mistake: sorcery requires the sharpest of wits." She tilted her head, appraisingly. "Perhaps you might consider adding it to your arsenal one day, hmm?"

Electrum frowned. He wasn't sure if he was being insulted or not.

"My sister should learn to keep better company."

"Unlike you?" Sacanas scoffed. "Who spends so much of his time consorting with representatives of lesser tribes?"

"Mind your words! In their realms, they are nobility!"

"Oh, please..." The sorcerer sighed. "A mud-grubber? A cloud-eater? You flatter them by calling them nobility, Prince."

"What say you?" Electrum looked puzzled. "They are friends, allies--"

"Oh, how willfully blind!" Sacanas shook her head. "They take advantage of your indulgence, Highness. And they will never thank you for it. At best they'll flatter you, lead you on, until they see their opportunity --"

Her armored hooftip struck the marble floor, ringingly.

"-- and turn on you, in an instant!"

"Rubbish! They are... comrades in arms," Electrum declared. "Mother has said we need to embrace this new unification, and she speaks good sense. Together the Three Kingdoms are far more than any of us would be standing alone. We are allies, honorable and true! Our differences are our greatest strength! Nothing can hope to stand against us in battle!"

Sacanas rolled her eyes disgustedly.

"I'd thought you smarter than that," she muttered. "You are too caught up in slogans, Prince, to see things as they are, to remember who you are... a unicorn." Her eyes narrowed. "Pegasi? Earth-ponies? They are not your kind, Highness, not your equals. And they never will be. You'd do well to remember it. Scum like that are beneath you..."

Her eyes glared fiercely. Her horn blazed with cold electric fire. Her voice was a growl, like a claw scraping wood.

"... they must be made to remember... their... place!"

Despite himself, Electrum edged back a pace, at her nearly unhinged ferocity. Merely out of caution, he told himself, not out of fear....

Getting control of her anger, Sacanas shrugged indifferently.

"Well. No one can say I'm not even-hoofed in my advice to you young royals." She started to turn away, then paused, as if suddenly remembering something. "I suppose," she added lightly, "it's just as well her Royal Highness is considering reinstating the matrilineal succession. After all, your sister already knows the proper company to keep, hmm?"

Chuckling, she turned away again.

Electrum furiously stamped a hoof. "We have not dismissed you!"

Sacanas languidly turned to look at him, with a dangerous calm. She held up a hoof. Its metallic surface blazed with electric fire. It was suddenly distinctly colder and darker in the corridor. Pulsing, thrumming energy made the air shimmer.

"I have never required your consent, Your Highness..."

An explosion of scarlet light, and she was gone, the air crackling with power in her wake.

Furious beyond speech, Electrum paused to get control of his own temper. Then he set off, storming angrily down the corridor, with the guards marching along uneasily beside him.

Something has to be done about her, the Prince fumed. And you're not nearly as invulnerable as you'd like to think, witch...

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

"And the Griffons," Palladium said, tucked up in her bed and gesturing with a forehoof, "they were so very cross about the Princess and the Sorcerer beating back their sneak attack, that they planned an even bigger assault... and committed all their armored wings to it!"

Sacanas gave her a wry look.

"Careful what you wish for, Highness. That might very well come to pass."

"Oh..." Palladium looked momentarily worried. "Well, you could handle them, right? Nothing stops you."

"I appreciate the compliment, Princess. But I am a sorcerer, not a knight-errant. I prefer a good book to defending an entire kingdom. Still," she added, smiling with pride, "it was passing enjoyable."

"It sure was!" Palladium said with a grin. And then she looked sheepish. "Thanks, by the way, for letting everypony think it was me. You did all the hard work."

"Not all." Sacanas shrugged off an armored shoe, then rested her hoof on the covers. "I had an calm, collected sovereign leading the way. I'm proud of you, Highness. You think under pressure. That's exceptional among royals in my experience."

"I still have a lot to learn."

"Well," Sacanas replied, "we believe in on-the-job training." She reshod her hoof, stamping it to make sure the shoe was firmly in place. "Now, do tell me more about this terrifying griffon army..."

Palladium readily resumed her story. She described a fiercely pitched battle, against near-impossible odds. The number of griffon attackers seemed to multiply every minute. She waved her forehooves dramatically, totally swept up in the drama...

...until her eyes became heavy, her hooves lowering to the covers, her yawns more difficult to stifle. Eventually, her head flopped back on her pillow, and she began gently snoring, sleeping the sleep of the valiant and the just.

Sacanas stared at the Princess at length, a faint, almost fond smile on her face.

Then the smile switched off like a light.

She rose and swiftly left the room, dousing the tapers with her magic, drawing the doors quietly shut. That done, she returned to her own quarters, the comfortable workroom and the small personal library which finally, finally, felt reasonably well-stocked.

With her magic, she gathered several aged grimoires she had recently acquired, arranging them around a dark, keg-shaped hunk of smoky black crystal sitting on her worktable. And settled in for a lengthy night's work. There was much yet to be done.

She could already summon creatures made of magic, but she needed something rather more substantial than mere fire-wraiths. With the additional spells she had researched she could summon forces even more fierce and determined, yet they would hardly inspire much fear or respect if they kept disappearing every five minutes. She needed something more self-sustaining. And she had an idea for that.

An old spell she'd found in a half-burnt tome had given her a clue. She could enchant a crystal to serve as both a battery and a kind of projector. It would automatically and efficiently reinforce and renew the spell. And with the larger store to work with, she could invoke a much more complex incantation. Then all she would need to do was keep the crystal's store replenished. And that was no great difficulty, with the reserves she had to draw on.

Assuming I can properly tune this thing, she thought crossly.

She set to work, adjusting both the components of the spell and the crystal itself, shaping it with small taps from a hammer and chisel. She wished she could take more time on it, but she needed this done now. There would be time for niceties later. And once this piece was in place, the rest would be easy.

She would not be caught napping again...

Behind her, In the Princess's suite, Palladium slumbered, buzzing softly in the darkness like a tiny bandsaw.

For nearly a quarter of an hour, all was quiet.

Then, with the lightest of clicks, the latch to the balcony doors snicked open. The blade that had lifted it drew back. A hoof gently pushed the doors open, and a darkly-garbed, winged shape slipped into the room.

Listening for a moment, the pegasus nodded, then turned to the balcony and motioned his head. Behind him there followed a second cloaked figure, an earth-pony, glancing about nervously. The two of them turned towards the bed, the pegasus readying the blade, his companion holding a gag and a length of rope.

And they got more than halfway there before the earth-pony unwittingly trod on the edge of a carefully placed ward on the floor.

The floor blazed alight, in arcane, electric-blue sigils. An accompanying deep thrum filled the air. Reacting quickly, the pegasus leapt into the air and spun about, wings flapping, prepared to swoop out through the balcony doors to safety.

And then he hovered in confusion, and no little fear. There was something else there now, standing on the balcony, filling the doorway -- something large, hulking, and ape-like. Its face, dimly visible in the moonlight, was a black, angular fan-shaped mask. The eye-slits of the mask were lit with glowering points of scarlet light. The imposing creature carried an iron-gray shield and a forked pike, and its massive shoulders were covered by armor. On the shoulder-plates, a fire-red sigil gleamed: a doubled lightning bolt.

The pegasus stared at this apparition in shock, trying to gauge whether there was still room to dart past it.

Then something struck the back of the pegasus's head, something small and metallic and painful. Surprised, the pegasus looked down at the floor. And saw, laying across the edge of one of the glowing sigils, a small tin toy. A rearing pony, wearing mage armor, with blowing leaves painted on its flank plates.

Turning towards the bed, the pegasus saw a very wide-awake Princess Palladium. She was sitting up in bed, doing her best to look bold and regal and affronted, while at the same time all she really wanted to do was dive beneath the covers.

"How dare you!" she yelled. "Get out of my room!"

Feeling increasingly at a loss, the pegasus spun towards the interior door, thinking to make a break for it that way. The door crashed open, revealing the palace guards. Their horns blazed, casting sharp-edged shadows everywhere.

"Halt! Don't move!"

The pegasus frantically looked around for some other exit. The earth-pony, in a desperate attempt to regain control of the situation, darted forward and grabbed up the Princess.

And then struggled to separate her from the bedclothes, even as Palladium pounded on his head with her forehooves. Finally getting a firm grip on the Princess, the earth-pony turned to the guards in triumph. The pegasus swept downwards, bringing up the sharp blade to hold it at the Princess's throat.

And the Princess finally gave up trying to be grown-up and self-reliant about things. She shrieked, loudly and piercingly:

"Sacanas!"

In response, a single, booming syllable sounded throughout the room.

HOLD.

Everything abruptly froze. The intruders, the guards, the still-thrumming sigil on the floor. Everything that is, except Palladium, who stared around herself in amazement.

Then Sacanas strode into the room. The sorcerer shouldered aside the paralyzed guards at the doorway, her gaze darkly furious. "I thought things were too quiet around here." She snorted. "I should have guessed." Her gaze fell on Palladium. "Are you all right, Princess?"

Palladium nodded, her eyes wide.

Crossing the room, Sacanas gently but firmly extracted the Princess from the paralyzed earth-pony's grasp. And then held her close.

"I'm so sorry, Princess," she whispered. "I should have been here. I didn't think they'd be this bold..."

"It's all right." Palladium hugged her back tightly. "I'm just really glad you're here."

"My pleasure, Highness," Sacanas softly replied. Then she glared at the intruders, frozen helplessly before her.

"Consider yourselves lucky," she growled, "that I need to show these ponies what comes of placing trust in creatures like you. Or you would not leave this room alive. Guards!"

The guards were suddenly released from their paralysis, blinking and shaking themselves nervously.

"Take these things away," Sacanas growled, "and lock... them... up." She smiled nastily. "We'll let Her Majesty decide what's to be done with them."

The guard ponies willingly hurried forward to take hold of the still-pinned intruders, and dragged them from the room -- more to get out from under the sorcerer's baleful gaze than for any other reason.

In the meantime, Sacanas busied herself with tucking the Princess safely back into bed. With her magic she shut the doors to the corridor, and also the balcony, which again stood empty. She collected the tin toy and set it back on its shelf, and re-set the alarm wards.

That done, she sat down by the bedside. And smiled reassuringly down at Palladium, her horn softly glowing to act as a night-light. "Don't worry, Highness," she said. "I'm going to stay right here. From now on, I won't let you out of my sight."

"Thanks," Palladium said, and smiled up at her gratefully. "I love you, Auntie Sacanas."

The sorcerer nodded. "And I you, Princess... mi amore cadenza..."

Palladium looked puzzled. "What does that mean?"

"It's an Old Ponish endearment," Sacanas replied. "It means my little lovesong." Then she looked doubtful. "Or it might mean a small chest-of-drawers. It can be difficult to tell, with Old Ponish."

Palladium giggled. Then she snuggled down under the covers, shut her eyes, and tried to relax enough to be able get back to sleep.

And Sacanas sat watching her, smiling to herself in deep satisfaction.

And passed the time by planning her next move...

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

"...and we are greatly aggrieved," said Princess Platinum, standing on the dais before her throne, "that members of your respective tribes should take part in such a scurrilous and underhoofed attack on our kith and kin. For which we have not, as yet, heard a proper explanation." She harrumphed, then adopted a more-in-sorrow mien. "We shall have to give serious consideration, very serious consideration, to the terms of our agreements with your respective rulers. Whether there need to be additional safeguards in place. Perhaps the entire unification accord should be re-examined. Yes, we shall be considering this very closely, believe you me!"

Prince Electrum, as shocked as everypony else present, was startled by a voice whispering quietly behind him.

"My congratulations, Highness."

He turned, and found Sacanas had casually strolled through the assembly of officals and nobility, putting herself within earshot. "You encourage the other tribes to do your dirty-work," the sorcerer went on, "while you remain uninvolved and blameless. I commend your inventiveness, not to mention your impressive diplomatic skill."

"Hold your tongue!" the Prince snarled. Though softly, to not attact attention. "I had no part in this! Those two acted of their own accord, and... and..."

"Of course they did." Sacanas replied. "And they keep secret your part in it, out of a misguided sense of loyalty. They don't see how you easily manipulated their baser impulses. Turned their naive, wooly-headed thinking against them. I couldn't have managed it better myself, Highness..."

While the Prince was still sputtering angrily, trying to work up some response -- any response -- without exploding, Sacanas leaned closer.

"Don't worry," she said silkily, "your secret's safe with me. I'm not one to tell tales out of school..."

Turning sharply, Sacanas left the fuming Prince behind her, and casually strolled around to stand beside Palladium again. As she went she smiled the smile -- the one that made everypony around her edge away nervously.

Princess Platinum, having concluded her peroration of regal affrontery, called to her. "Sacanas!"

"Majesty?" Sacanas swung to face her.

"In recognition of thy quick response to this threat to the Crown, and its hier apparent --" She smiled fondly at Palladium. "We should like thou, henceforth, to take charge of security for the Princess."

"Her well-being has always been my priority, Majesty."

"And to that end, if there is anything you require..."

In response, Sacanas merely lifted a forehoof for silence. Then she tilted her head, as if listening.

The entire room fell silent. Everyone else could hear it as well now: a droning, chuffing sound, coming from overhead, increasing in volume by the minute.

Sacanas turned and crossed to the windows on the left side of the Audience Hall, followed by Palladium, as well as most of the attending nobles and guests. And the others all gasped in shock, looking up through the windows at the sky. Palladium herself simply stood staring, her mouth open in amazement.

A massive, grim-looking airship was descending from the sky. It was a warship, heavily armored and warded, chuffing steadily downwards, leaving trails of dark smoke in its wake. On its armored prow, Sacanas's sigil gleamed, a flame-red double lightning bolt, huge and livid. And on its main deck numerous large, hulking, ape-like shapes moved about, purposefully and aggressively.

The doors of the Audience Hall were thrown open. Through them marched two more of the ape-like soldiers, carrying shields and forked pikes. They brushed impassively by the astonished palace guard and rapidly marched across the Hall, coming to a halt to either side of Sacanas and Palladium.

Turning, the hulking soldiers took up a defensive stance, shields and pikes at the ready. Their eyes were bright red dots of flame in their mask-like faces. Their gaze shifted back and forth, eyeing the audience fiercely for any sign of a threat.

And Sacanas chuckled darkly. "I believe I have it covered, Your Majesty..."

Comments

[Spellflame]

The void was filled and so the once-hollow pony changed for the better, but what filled the void was broken and twisted at the core

[Ri2]

Begun, the Storm Beast Wars have.

[Midnight Dreamer]

I think her mommy instincts reawoken and after what happened last time she will do everything it won't happen again :P

[Lets Do This]

11284877
Juuuust wait... nothing is quite as it seems with a mage like Sacanas...

[redmar]

Given Sacanas' manipulations she might well be responsible herself for the attacks to get more control over the kingdom.