Chapter 31: Magus, Magic, Changeling, Spy
What does a Hero Truly Need?
By: Zelkova48
Chapter 31: Magus, Magic, Changeling, Spy
As quickly as it started, Rubick’s burning anger dissipated mere moments after his eardrum shattering verbal threat into the deep darkness of castle Canterlot’s dungeon. The elemental hurricane that swept throughout the dungeon died down almost immediately and left without so much as a whimper.
The goop that was the molten iron bars from the empty cells cooled into a smoldering pile of smoking metallic gunk. The turbulent whirlwinds eased itself back to a gentle breeze that no longer clawed at everything around it. The biting chill of the icy caverns were melting into a cold wet puddle and the once violent earth was no longer churning like a wild storm.
Taking several slow deep breaths, Rubick struggled to compose himself from his uncharacteristic outburst. By the time he finally managed to return to his usual self, wittiness and all, everyone in the room were gawking at the magus as if he had grown a second head on his shoulders. He simply returned their gawking with a serious look of his own before walking over to Twilight’s side to continue their information gathering.
“Um... are you feeling any better, Rubick?” Twilight asked hesitantly, letting out a relieved sigh when she noticed Rubick’s expression soften up as he faced her.
“I’m terribly sorry about that emotional typhoon. It doesn’t happen very often you see” replied Rubick as he let out another sigh “It’s just... n-nevermind. Ahem, are there any other questions that you would like to ask Chrysalis or perhaps you want me to take over now?” he asked.
“I do have a few more to ask, but until I can find further evidence that the Descendants really are the ones who’re pulling the strings on the whole invasion debacle, I’ll need to have her highness clarify some more point” said Twilight as she met Chrysalis’s gaze “Do you think you can continue telling us why you’re here exactly?”
“Whatever do you mean?” said Chrysalis.
“We get that you were kicked out of your homes in the badlands, but why on Equestria did you go Canterlot, and how did you enter without anypony knowing?” asked Twilight.
“Someone as smart as you should’ve already know the second part” rebutted the queen without sounding smug “As for the first part, we changelings can acquire sustenance in two ways; by consuming food normally, or by collecting various forms of emotional energy and absorbing it into our bodies. Regardless of the type of emotions we absorb it acts like regular food to us”
“Okay, I get it. You were hungry and needed food” replied Twilight “But I’ll ask again, why Canterlot? Why not go to some other major city like Fillydelphia or Manehattan. Or better yet, why didn’t you just go request an audience with the princesses? They could’ve helped you! Doing that would've prevented everything that had happened last week, heck, maybe they’d even find and arrest those who wronged you!”
“Help me? Bwuah ha ha ha ha!” the queen laughed callously “I don’t care if you’re the princesses’ personal little student or not, but I doubt you would know much about how both Celestia and Luna actually operate. Besides, whether it be six months ago or last week, it wouldn’t change a single thing. They’d never help anyone like me. They leave the unwanted issues to the fat bloated pigs of the Equestrian nobility”
“Excuse me?’ Twilight asked with a raised, if not annoyed, eyebrow “Would you please elaborate? Why wouldn’t they have helped you?”
“Have you ever seen your precious mentor ever give an audience to anyone that isn’t a pony or some kind of important official?” said the queen, taking note of Twilight changing expression “I’m only a queen by name, for it is my nature as a broodmother. I hold no real claim to any throne or even territory. Therefore my social status among you ponies would be that of the lowly insect”
“Your altruistic princesses, as pure and kindhearted as you all make them out to be, doesn't have time to deal with anything that isn’t related to them on an imperial scale. They only care about the Equestria that they shaped, their nation’s affairs and the peace they’ve kept for so many years. Throw in the fact that the fool Discord went wild months ago and you can see why going to meet the princesses was not an option”
“...” Twilight said nothing for there was really nothing that she could say. She only wanted to listen instead.
“Speechless, eh?” poked the queen “Well I wouldn’t doubt it if you do feel that way, especially with me talking about your beloved rulers like that”
“...Just tell us why you went to Canterlot specifically. We don’t need to go off on a tangent again” replied Twilight with a look that was mix of both displeasure and curiosity.
“If you wish” the queen cleared her throat “Ahem, with the badlands lacking enough food to feed a whole hive of changelings, we all embarked on an exodus to the one city that is practically teeming with edible emotions: Canterlot. There we hid out in plain sight and harvested various emotions to keep ourselves fed before we could find a suitable area to create our new hive. However, we were discovered before we had the chance to do so”
“If I may” Rubick joined it “Before you continue, could you please describe to me how this whole eating emotions thing work? For future references, of course. If I’m going to clear the air between the ponies and changelings, I’m going to need some factual evidence of your physiology to use against the prosecutor”
“Anything for you” said the queen with a toothy smile. It was still odd to Twilight to see why the queen had an exchange of mood whenever Rubick addressed her, but she decided to mull on it in another time “Our unique makeup allows us to magically condense and transfer emotions from one individual to another. We can store it in our bodies until we decide to absorb it or transfer it to another one of us”
“Hmm, how fascinating” said Rubick with his interest piqued “What types of emotions do you usually, um... eat?”
“Oh! All kinds of emotions” replied the queen “But if you want to get more in depth, the type of ‘meal’ we eat depends on the emotion we acquire. At the top, there’s love, which taste like the sweetest honey in all the land, not to mention that we can gain absurd amounts of food from it alone. Then beneath that is happiness and all its forms, followed by sadness, and lastly is anger which is... well, how could I describe it?”
“Uh... spicy? Bitter? Tangy?” said Rubick.
“More like revolting” the queen dry heaved “I should’ve added that lower down the tiers of emotions the taste and quantity degrades to the point where it can become potentially harmful to us”
“Harmful?” Twilight joined in the conversation “You mean certain emotions can give indigestion?”
“Well that’s one way to put it” said the queen “Positive emotions such as love and happiness are like bread, while negative emotions like sadness and anger are like moldy bread. We could still eat anger and sadness and be full, we’ll just be sick by the end of the day”
“I see...” said Twilight as she began brainstorming. Using her limited deduction skills, something clicked in her mind as she found a connection between the changeling physiology and the invasion “You know, all this talk about changelings actually answered another question that I was going to ask you”
“Has it now?” said the queen as she raised her eyebrow.
“If food and shelter was the reason you hid out in Canterlot, then that meant you posed as princess Cadence to gather the love that my brother had for her to feed your brood” said Twilight with a detective’s flair added to her voice.
“How perceptive of you. It appears you’re not as dimwitted as I thought” the queen lightly chided “It’s true that I posed that Cadence to gather love, but know that I had nothing to do with her kidnapping. I was just as shocked as you were when I learned of her sudden disappearance”
“Well, that doesn’t exactly justify the ruthless beating you endured at the hooves of those ponies at the altar” said Rubick “The attack on you was done completely out of rage, not duty. Whatever harm they inflicted on you it was out of pure malice, regardless of whether or not you actually did commit the crime. Those ponies wanted to see you suffer, and suffer badly”
“Please, don’t remind me” said the queen as she winced from the memory.
“I’m sorry for bringing that up” Rubick apologized.
“No, no. It’s fine” said the queen as she shook away the thoughts “I’m over now... mostly”
“So let’s recap here” said Twilight as everyone turned their attention to her “You and your hive were attacked by the Descendants for some reason, forcing you to leave and hide out in Canterlot until you could find a new place to make your home”
“That’s everything in a nutshell” replied the queen “But what I just don’t know was what happened to the real princess Cadence, or how they managed to find out my identity. I was certain to cover my tracks, but it was to no avail. The moment I was attacked by these five buffoons everything went south and my brood instinctively reacted to try and protect me”
“Hence the ‘invasion’ last week” said Twilight, she was on a roll here with her detective skills. It was just like that time on the friendship express again, only she wasn’t the assistant who spouted the obvious. She then turned to speak with Rubick “There’s that fishy feeling again, Rubick. All this info we acquired points to only one thing: the invasion was planned out by the Descendants”
“Is it now?” Rubick asked with a raise of his eyebrow “Hmm... it would make sense. They’re a powerful organisation that has locations all over Equestria. They have resources and willing participants to pull something like this off without suspicion. The only question is why? Why go to all of this trouble? We don’t have a clear motive” it was then that something else was brought to Rubick’s attention as he tried to make sense of everything.
“Chrysalis. Can you describe to me the attack on your hive in detail?” Rubick inquired.
“It wasn’t just my hive” the queen immediately replied “Every hive was attacked. Viciously too. From the looks of these so called Descendants who attacked me you can’t tell at first glance that they were part of a charity organisation. They were like a nigh unstoppable force, loaded for bear and eager to eradicate us” she paused to collect herself.
“My hive was the lucky one. No one else managed to escape. I had a few thousand drones under my wing when I embarked for Canterlot, but after the invasion incident only one hundred remain. Look around you, and what you see is all that is left of the changelings”
“How awful...” Twilight spoke above a whisper “But wait! Like you said you had a few thousands with you. Just last week that number shouldn’t have gone any lower than a couple hundred. How did a few thousand go to one hundred in under a week’s time?” Chrysalis craned her head forward past the bars of the cell and motioned for Rubick and Twilight to come closer. They complied, and leaned in where Chrysalis whispered something that put them on edge.
“The guards here... they all wear that accursed symbol around their necks” she spoke softly “Celestia and Luna come down here everyday for the past week to see if I had confessed to my crimes. Whenever they left, the guards began to thin the herd behind their backs. Hordes of drones were taken from the cells and were... permanently removed. Celestia and Luna are none the wiser of their own guard’s actions”
Feeling a chill run up both their spines, Twilight and Rubick now know that the enemy, the Descendants, were all around them this whole time. Devotees and other established members of the charity organisation roam among the crowds like normal ponies; watching, listening, completely indistinguishable from the rest. In the near future, they will have to be more careful of what they say or do lest they tip off an already elusive target.
“Are you certain?” Twilight asked.
“When you leave, check for the golden gleam that shines in the gaps of their armor and remain cautious” whispered Chrysalis.
“We will. Thank you” replied Rubick as they pulled away from the bars “Well, this has certainly been eye opening. When you see Equestria from the bottom up, it isn’t as peaceful as you are lead to believe”
“I can’t believe myself, but what else is there that we can do right now?” Twilight asked.
“Perhaps you two should leave now before the guards start to get suspicious about this little conversation of ours” the queen suggested “It’s past midnight already, and I believe you two have a very long road ahead of you. You should get some sleep”
“That’s probably the best course of action for tonight” said Twilight “We’ve been here too long. The last thing we want is to have the Descendants sniffing us out for overstaying our welcome, especially after what we said to them”
“And I have to prepare for a court case in a few days” said Rubick as he let out a long yawn “I’ll see to it personally that the persecution of the changelings end on a high note! You have my promise for that, Chrysalis”
“I thank you magus” said the queen with a humble bow as Rubick made his way towards the stairs “And Twilight, I’m sorry for acting towards you as I did. You must understand that I had my reasons. Rubick is right, you do have potential, but that potential is only what you make of it. Influences be damned should you stray from your own path, remember that”
“I will” replied Twilight as she rubbed the back of her neck, unsure of how to properly respond to someone whom she once viewed as a threat and an enemy to harmony “Don’t worry, we’ll fix everything. My and friends and I, along with Rubick and his friends are more than a match for whatever it is that the world throws at us”
“Oh, and one last thing” Chrysalis quickly added before the Twilight was just about to turn away “Beware the red amulet...”
“Huh?” Twilight was confused, what did Chrysalis mean?
“Twilight, dear” Rubick called out “Let’s get going”
“Alright, I’m coming!” said Twilight as she ran to Rubick “Good bye, Chrysalis! We’ll get through this!”
With a final wave goodbye, Twilight and Rubick ascended from dark dungeons beneath castle Canterlot and up back onto the surface. Once they gone, Chrysalis went back to comfort her brood now that she was much more able body, before falling back to sleep but not without bracing her mind for the next few days of torture she will have to endure before her trial and begin.
She hoped by then she would be strong enough to last, to see the sunrise again, to see her kind roam free, and to see the odd magus that had captured her heart with his kindness. She knows that Rubick can succeed, she just knew.
* * *
The echoing clips and clops of Twilight’s and Rubick’s hooves upon the cold stone staircase that spiraled up towards the surface of the castle was accompanied by the unease that built up in their minds. The discussion that they had with the last queen of the hundred changelings was illuminating but it wasn’t bright enough to shine the light on everything. Questions have been answered but that only led to more questions.
To break up the monotony of the long haul, Twilight thought that it would be a good idea to strike up some small talk with her second mentor. She had something on her mind that she wanted to say, and maybe he would oblige by chatting with her.
“Hey, Rubick?” Twilight started as she kept walking up the stairs.
“Yes, dear?” Rubick replied as he kept his pace.
“What was all that before we started questioning Queen Chrysalis?”
“All what, Twilight?”
“Does ‘eyes as beautiful as yours shouldn’t be stain with tears’ ring any bells?” Twilight asked with a smug look plastered on her face “What was with that flirty attitude? I’ve never seen this side of you before. I actually think you had the queen going for you”
“...Was I actually acting flirty?” Rubick asked “Honestly I thought I was being nice to her after everything that she had been through. She was beside herself, I had to say something. It was just the first thing that came to my mind was all. It’s not like I was trying to court her or anything”
“Is that what you think?” Twilight asked as Rubick found himself in a state of deep thought “You do look like someone who has a bit of the Casanova blood running through his veins. I bet you were a hit with the ladies back home”
“Even though I am an all powerful magus who could probably lift mountains and quell erupting volcanoes with the flick of a wrist, or hoof in this case, my luck with women have always been kind of bad” said Rubick as Twilight just stared at him with wide eyes. The smug look she had evolved into a smirk and she rushed up beside him.
“Do you think you can share me some of your tales of tragic love?” Twilight asked with a smirk now transformed into a devious grin "You totally sound like something out of a romance novel"
“There’s nothing tragic about the loves I had, or to be exact, the loves I didn’t have” responded Rubick as he found himself subconsciously smiling as these old memories of his resurfaced “I was a lot like you as a child, mostly stayed indoors and studied. And when I did go outside it was to practice magic or to run errands. I wasn’t too well versed in the art of wooing the dames “ he chuckled to himself.
“I’ll say. My mom has been hounding me for some time about finding some nice stallion as my special somepony” Twilight chuckled alongside Rubick “But I’m not in a rush or anything. Besides, did you see how Cadence and everyone else reacted when they thought you were my special somepony?”
“Don’t remind me” Rubick rolled his eyes “It’s definitely up there as one of the more awkward moments of my long life. I doubt Carl had to put up with this kind of thing”
“Carl?” Twilight raised her eyebrow in intrigue.
“Another hero, only he’s alligned with the Dire” Rubick replied curtly “He and I have history together. He too is a magical meister. Called himself the arsenal magus at one before switching to something that sounded more fitting for him. Pfft, Invoker, such a funny word to say. Heh heh. Anywho, though we both respect each other on a mutual level, he can be unbearable sometimes. Claiming to be both great and powerful”
“Why does he remind me of a certain unicorn I know?” Twilight’s mind went back to The Great and Powerful Trixie. How bizarre that both their worlds are as different as night and day yet she can still draw parallels between them “Eh, so you were saying?”
“Oh, yes. There have been a few old flames in my life, although there wasn’t that significant spark that actually set it off however. We chatted, I took her out to dinner, we laughed and that was pretty much the high point of the dates” said Rubick as he let out a disappointed sigh “As Gondar or Aiushtha would say, I just don’t have any game”
“I’m sure you just need to find it inside yourself to go out there and win over the lady of your dreams” said Twilight with a light giggle “But don’t quote me on that because I’m just as clueless about love as you are”
“We’re birds of kind we are. Eh heh heh ha ha ha!” both Rubick and Twilight bursted into a bout of jovial laughter as they strode up the stairs side by side. Eventually the laughs died down and the two continued as normal.
“On a side note, are there any heroes that you have your eyes on?” Twilight asked “I mean Aiushtha is the only female hero that I know from your world. I bet the ladies in your world are drop dead gorgeous”
“Hmm...” Rubick thought about it for a second “Well, there are at least two I’ve been thinking about. One on both the Radiant and the Dire, but I’m too afraid to make a move on them. I’m afraid the consequences are too lethal if I drop the ball”
“Do tell” said Twilight, sounding a bit like her friend Rarity. Though she was curious as to why she believed screwing up would be lethal, surely botching courting a woman in his homeworld shouldn’t be too bad, right?
“Well, I guess it’s okay if I can confide with you” replied Rubick “Just keep this between you and me, okay? If the others hear about this they’ll never let me live it down. Perhaps you can Pinkie Promise me?”
“Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my ey- ouch!” cried Twilight as she rubbed her stinging eye “I should real stop doing that. Anyway, your secret is safe with me”
“Alright then. The first women is the Legion Commander herself: Tresdin” said Rubick as he swore he felt his heart flutter at the mention of her name “A proud commander of the Bronze Legion, she pushed back a full scale attack upon her home of Stonehall with blazing fire and unrelenting fury. She pressed the attack even though she was against overwhelming odds. In a moment of courage, she slew the foul spawn that threatened her home in a duel”
“Wow...” Twilight was in awe of such a powerful individual “She sounds incredible. What’s she like?”
“Oh, in terms of strength she could most certainly give Sven and Gondar a run for their money, I can tell you that. Eh heh heh” Rubick chuckled.
“She also has this wonderfully toned body to match that warm brown skin of hers. And those piercing blue eyes of her can stop a charging Spirit Breaker dead in his tracks. Clad in golden armor, wings of crimson and armed with a massive sword, she’s like a battle goddess descended from the heavens to do righteous battle against the other heroes. Beautiful...”
“Uh, Rubick? You’re drooling” Twilight pointed out.
“Uh, bwuah?” Rubick ran his hoof beside his lips and found a long trail saliva running down the side of his mouth and onto his clothes. Suppressing a blush, he wiped away his spit and turned his head away in embarrassment “...Pretend you didn’t see that”
“Drool, what drool?” Twilight joked.
“Thatagirl” replied Rubick as he found the courage to face her again “Anywho, as wonderful as she is, and as good as a team we make whenever we fight alongside each other, there are a few things about her that is a tad off putting”
“And that is?”
“She’s a might distrustful of the other heroes and their kind” said Rubick “Not to mention her anger issues are on par with Jah’ rakal. Plus she’s about as battle hungry as Sven is, and that’s on an average day. I’d say those two make a better battle couple than she and I”
“Don’t say that!” Twilight reassured her mentor “It’s talk like that that leads to failure. Well, what about the other woman?” she asked “Who is she?”
“Ah, Modred: The Phantom Assassin” said Rubick “She’s an assassin of the Sisters of the Veil. A mysterious order that even I know next to nothing about. With beauty like the starry night sky, blade as sharp as her wit, and a charming personality to add to everything else, how can I not be attracted to her? Why one time when we were in lane together we decimated the opposition without breaking a sweat. It was practically raining blood that day”
“And her bad qualities?”
“She seems to be the clingy type given her peculiar upbringing with the Sisters of the Veil. Apparently being a highly trained killer doesn't deter oneself from seeking companionship. If we do get together, I fear any action that may tick her off could lead me to waking up without my head one morning” Rubick deadpanned “That, and she gets a tad too blurry to see at certain times”
“Blurry? Like your eyes get blurry or...” Twilight started only to get interrupted by Rubick.
“It’s complicated” Rubick quickly interjected
“Bu-”
“Like I said, it’s complicated” Rubick concluded as they finally reached the door that led them back into the castle “Huh, would you look at that, we’re here” reaching out to the doorknob, Rubick started to turn it before he felt a sudden jolt force him to take his hoof off. As the light from the castle poured over Twilight and Rubick, they felt their heart stop when they saw a golden glimmer obscure their vision. By the time their sight adjusted properly, two guards were looking over them.
* * *
Standing before Twilight and Rubick were the same pair of guards that they had intimidate a few hours earlier to gain access into the dungeon. At first they appeared to be the average run of the mill guards who served under Shining Armor's command, but upon closer inspection it was a Chrysalis had warned them. Both guards had some sort of necklace hidden behind their armor. It was faint but they could barely make out the three pronged gold ring and the engravings.
The two guards before them were members of the Descendants
Swallowing a large lump that was forming in both their throats, they walked forward and were greeted with a cacophony of music and talking. The reception was still going on it seemed, but with extreme caution both Twilight and Rubick walked past the guards with a little nod of acknowledgement as they ever so slightly quickened their pace to lose themselves in the crowd. They were almost there until Rubick felt something pulling on his tail.
Turning around, he saw that the guard had bit on his tail to get his attention. Collecting himself, Rubick calmly spoke with the guard.
“Yes, can I help you?” he asked as he impatiently tapped his hoof on the ground. Trapped in a orange magical glow, a small satchel was levitated over to Rubick to which to grabbed out of the air “My walnut bag?”
“You dropped it as you were leaving” said the stoic guard with his hardened expression.
“...Thank you for that. Now if you excuse me, Twilight and I must be on our way” Rubick and Twilight turned to leave again only to stop again as the guards addressed them.
“You took a pretty long time down there” said the guard “Must’ve been something pretty important if you were stuck there for a few hours”
“Elite royal guard duties” Rubick lied through his teeth “I thought I told you earlier when you refused to let us in. Her majesty sent Twilight and I to inspect the changeling queen”
“Well, did you find anything?” the guard asked.
“She was sleeping” replied Twilight “We had to wake her up, only to get silence in return. When we finally got her to to wake up all we got was a hysterical mess of a queen”
“So... nothing then?”
“You should leave her alone for the next few day” Rubick suggested, hoping he could alleviate any more torment that he queen will probably have to suffer through “She’s in no condition to talk. You should just let her rest until she is able enough to be sent to court” he concluded” Now if you'll excuse me, Twilight and I have some important matters to take care of. Come along, Twilight” he motioned as the two casually left. Once again, they were stopped.
“Court? Who said anything about that bug’s court date?” the guard asked, causing Rubick and Twilight to seize up at the magus’s slip up “Only certain individuals had the right to know about the court hearing”
“I was told by the chain of command of course” replied Rubick, hoping that his gamble would pay off in the end “They was real strict on importance its secrecy, but I had assumed that they told everyone”
“Well your assumption nearly got the secret spilled” replied the guard in a harsh tone “Try to be more careful about it next time. You’re an elite, so act like it”
“Will do, I’ll be more careful next time” without so much as another word, Rubick and Twilight hastily blended into the crowds as they made their way back to the apartment complex within the castle.
* * *
The trek back to the apartments of the castle wasn’t a particularly long one but it was only because Twilight and Rubick had chosen to rush there at breakneck speeds. By the time they had reached one of the long halls they had already slowed down to a walking pace where they could take a breather and steady their nerves after experiencing a rather unsavory encounter with the Descendants. Maybe they were paranoid, but there was too much evidence not to be.
“Phew, that was a close one” said Rubick as he wiped away the sweat from his brow “I nearly gave us away”
“Thank goodness you’re a better liar than I am” replied Twilight “Those two probably had a hoof in getting rid of Chrysalis’s brood. I’m glad we didn’t tip them off” she shook her head “To think that I was supposed to be worried about shapeshifting insects, when I should’ve been worried of the very ponies I walk beside”
“And to think that even your princesses have no clue about any of this” said Rubick with a shake of his head “How much influence do these damned agitators have? There’s no way a charity organisation can elude the princesses watchful eye and incite mass hysteria to frame an entire species, let alone have enough brute strength to nearly drive the changelings into extinction with power alone”
“I think Chrysalis’s words are starting to get to me” said Twilight as she sighed heavily “All the magic to move the sun, the moon, and control the elements of harmony doesn’t mean a thing if they don’t get themselves involved in the matters. But I pale to think of what could happen if this all takes a turn for the worst. Innocent lives could be at stake here”
“And that’s why we need to pass this information onto the others. Come on, let’s find our rooms” as Rubick and Twilight walked down the hallway, they eventually made it back to the complex.
Upon approached their lodging, they noticed that a batpony night guard and Princess Luna were having a conversation by the doorway. They both assumed that it was just idle chit chat and briskly made their way inside but not before bumping into a pair night guards. Falling onto their haunches, they rubbed their noses to alleviate the pain of running into some rather burly individuals clad in dark blue armor.
“Ugh!” cried Twilight “Hey! What’s the big idea!”
“We’re sorry about that, but we have to brief the one called Rubick on a few things first before he can enter his room” the night guard explained “However, you are free to enter miss Sparkle” just like they said, the two night guards moved aside for Twilight to meet back up with everyone else but quickly blockaded the doorway again once Rubick tried to follow suit “Hold it right there. Didn’t you hear me?”
“Well, I’m not feeling good at the moment” Rubick lied once more “Just let me lie down for a couple hours and we can do this whole briefing thing tomorrow in the afternoon. I’ve got a massive headache and it’s only getting worse by the second”
“Don’t worry jester. This won’t take long at all” Rubick turned his head to see that it was Princess Luna who had addressed him “I’ve already had this talk with your colleagues, they can fill you in on the rest but for now please bear with me and Dark Wing”
“Dark Wing?” Rubick raised his eyebrow. From beside Luna, a familiar looking batpony made herself known to him as she formally saluted him to which he lazily saluted back “Um, have we met before?” he asked.
“We were only partially introduced to each other” Dark Wing clarified “I am the commander of the Luna’s personal night guard, we’re comprised entirely of batponies and we specialize in night combat and special operations. My name is Dark Wing, we were briefly acquaint with each other back during your induction in the elite royal guards”
“Ah, yes. I remember now” Rubick responded with a sigh “You were glaring a hole into the back of my head the whole time I was giving my little performance of magic on stage. How do you do?” he shook the commander’s hoof.
“I’m fine. After all, the night is our domain” replied Dark Wing as she tightened her grip on Rubick’s hoof “My squad and I are being stationed here to keep an eye on you and your friends. Especially the big blue one and his anger issues”
“What?” Rubick pulled his hoof away and turned to Luna “What is the meaning of this your majesty? I thought you were only going to keep eyes on Sven”
“Worry not jester, but this is for your own good” replied Luna as she raised her hoof “At first Sven was the only one that was going to be monitored, but after commander Dark Wing here made her case about the elite royal guards I think it will be for the better that you, as well as Gondar, to be under the surveillance of the night guard until we can help clean up your attitude”
“And what’s wrong with my attitude?” said Rubick, doing his best to keep his expression as neutral as possible “I was under the impression that I was actually doing an okay job”
“And that is precisely the issue that me and my sister are trying to address” said Luna.
“You and your sister? Celestia’s in on this as well?” he gave a humorless chuckle.
“But of course. We worked this whole thing so you don't have to worry about a thing” Luna replied nonchalantly before clearing her throat “As I was saying. You three are very strong, that much is true. But you all lack any discipline and respect of your superiors” she explained , causing Rubick’s neutral facade to falter a little. Luckily, Luna didn’t spot the fault and continued speaking anyway.
“We had you hastily inducted to fill the hole that was the elite royal guard so we let all your action slide for that moment in time but that stops today. You don’t act like the proper guardsmen. You’re loud, overly flamboyant, a poor dresser, and are too wild for your own good. Something must be done”
“Loud? Overly flamboyant? A poor dress- how dare you!” Rubick jeered, clearly offended by the comment. But it appeared that Luna was so absorbed with herself in her talk with him that she didn't hear a single word coming out of his mouth. His temper was being tested, and all the stress that had built up over this one day were wearing his integrity down.
“Therefore you will all refrain from acting out of line for the next week until we can get you instated into the royal guard academy to learn proper etiquette and understand how to do your job the way it should be” concluded the princess.
“By acting like a mindless drone?” Rubick snapped back, insulting the members of the night guard in the process “Regardless, we don’t have anytime for any of that pointless nonsense” his voice rose higher and higher “More importantly, I don’t have time for any of that pointless nonsense. I’m a very busy person and I will not have my actions be hindered by a group of Diretide rejects!”
“Hey! Who’re you calling a-” Dark Wing snapped at him with her wings flared with hostility, only to be stopped when Luna brought her hoof up in front of her.
“You will do your best to hold your tongue when speaking ill of your fellow guards, jester” Luna responded sternly “This is non negotiable and will be effective immediately once all preparations are complete. Insubordination will be met with severe consequences”
“Meaning that I’m free to give you a few lumps if you act out of line” Dark Wing smirked triumphantly towards Rubick who returned that very same smirk to the batpony commander, making all the satisfaction she may have had over that one up on the magus vanish into thin air.
“I’d like to see you try” replied Rubick as he formed a small fireball in his hoof, again, without use of his horn which freaked out his peers “I’m not called the Grand Magus for nothing. And if you knew what I did to Shining Armor then you too would be smart enough not to incur my terrible wrath”
“Tough talk is all you have, magus. That, and a horrible sense of fashion” Dark Wing shot back as she backed down and another arrogant smirk “Besides, what are you so busy with anyway? It’s not like you’re doing much around here anyway”
“It’s none of your business” Rubick responded as he prodded Darkwing with the end of his staff “Something that you couldn’t possibly underst-” he trailed off as he suddenly took notice to the sparkly gleams of gold within the gaps of her armor that made his heart tremble for just a second. There it was again, a three pronged gold ring with engravings of a hoof, horn, and wing. Just like the guards before her, it indicated that she was a member of the Descendants.
“What the?” he whispered beneath his breath as he slowly backed away back away "...Commander Dark Wing, where were you during the changeling invasion?" he asked.
"Huh? Where's this coming fro-" Dark Wing started but was cut off as Rubick slammed his staff on the ground.
"Answer the damn question!"
Chapter 31 End
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Why must you end in a cliff hanger D:
Anyway, nice chapter as always.
Omg omg omg omg.....
Such cliffhanger. I really likes this chapter, though it felt a little rushed with so many typos in there, but other than that it was excelent. I eagerly await the next one.
You just had to end it on a cliffhanger, didn't you?
wow....just wow....that was amazingly written. xD
Cliff Hanger Hanging from a cliff~
And that's why He's called Cliff Hanger!
here's hoping you spit the next chapter out as fast as you did this one. #kickass
I like how you stated Tresdin's four skills in just one sentence.