Torchbearer

by TracTix

I. Embarkation

I.

Twilight stood in the room, gazing out at the city through the window. The last rays of the sun had long ago disappeared and night was upon them, lanterns here and there providing dots of light. Luna’s moon and stars hung suspended in the sky, white orbs against a black backdrop.

The sound of knocking drew Twilight’s attention to the door of the room, which swung open to reveal a teal Crystal Guard. The stallion cleared his throat before saying, “Princesses Celestia, Luna, Cadance, and Prince Shining Armor request the presence of you two in the throne room.”

“We’re leaving soon, aren’t we?” Spike guessed.

“They did not say,” was the reply. “They also requested you to bring your saddlebags.”

Her saddlebags were on the ground, packed with supplies such as maps and books. Twilight levitated them onto her back before following Spike, who in turn was following the Crystal Guard, out of the room. The sound of hooves and feet striking the floor echoed as they walked through the vast halls of the Crystal Castle, the temporary residence of the Equestrian monarchs as well as the Elements of Harmony and Spike. They had been here ever since Canterlot had become unsafe, which was a good two months ago.

Has it really been that long? Twilight wondered. Two months of living in the Crystal Empire, miles away from any city of Equestria. The remoteness was actually why they had all came here in the first place; the farther away from ponies, the better.

They reached the doors of the throne room. The rest of Twilight’s friends were already there, each accompanied by their own Crystal Guard. They struck up a short conversation as the stallions opened the massive doors.

“You all ready for this?” Twilight asked.

“It’s a bit late to be saying no now, don’t ya think?” Applejack responded.

Rarity was more straightforward. “Yes, dear, of course we’re ready.”

“Your Majesties; the Elements of Harmony and their friend Spike!” a Crystal Guard holding the door announced. That was their cue.

They filed into the throne room. Celestia, being the senior ruler of Equestria, stood in the center. Luna flanked her on her left, while Cadance and Shining Armor occupied the space right of the sun princess. The Crystal Guards gave a bow to the monarchs and stepped off to the side as the Elements and Spike lined up in front of them. Twilight gave a quick wave at her brother and sister-in-law.

“Twilight Sparkle, my faithful student,” Celestia said. “It seems like Equestria must call upon you and your friends once again.” She paused. “I have no doubt that you seven, who have proven to be more than capable, will be able to succeed in this task. But it is what you feel that is the most important.”

“Are you seven confident enough in yourselves, and each other, for the journey ahead?”

Rainbow Dash flew up and puffed out her chest. “Absolutely, Princess!”

“Good.” Celestia nodded to her Royal Guards. “Bring them out.”

“Of course, Your Majesty.” They hurried away, coming back with a familiar blue-and-gold chest as well as what oddly seemed to be a pile of jewelry. Eight of the Guards then stood at attention beside the items, all of them earth ponies.

“Because this trip will take many days and cross many miles, we have decided to send some Royal Guards with you,” Luna said. “They will assist and protect the seven of you on your journey.”

“But where is their armor?” Rarity inquired. The usual golden chest plates and helmets were absent from these Guards.

“They will not wear them while they accompany you,” Luna replied. “This way, it will be easier for all of you to avoid being recognized.”

Applejack gave a confused look. “Umm…pardon me, Yer Majesty, but Ah don’t see how a few missin’ helmets will hide us.”

“That’s where these come in,” Shining Armor spoke up. He used his magic on the pile of jewelry, levitating one of them into the air. It was a necklace with a magenta crystal hanging from it, the crystal not unlike the substance that the Empire was made out of.

Shining Armor explained the item. “This is a camouflage amulet, something me and Cadance have been working on for the past week. Once you wear it, others will just see another everyday pony when they look at you.”

“But how?” Twilight asked. “I thought only illusion magic could change your entire appearance.”

“This crystal here is the answer to your question,” Cadance said as she used her magic to levitate another amulet from the pile. She moved it closer to the Elements and Spike who gazed at it curiously. “We found that the crystal of the Empire acts like a battery that stores magic. These amulets are made of the same crystal, and I cast some spells on them so that they now use the magic stored inside for illusions. All they need to keep running is a daily infusion of magic, which Rarity or Twilight can provide.”

“Why don’t you try them on?” Celestia offered.

“Oh oh oh! Me first, me first!” Pinkie Pie burst out. She hopped forward, and Shining gave her one of the amulets. She clipped it on around her neck, and asked to her friends with excitement, “How do I look? Am I short? Tall? Fat? Green with seven legs?”

Her six friends slowly shook their heads. “You…look the same,” Spike said in a rather puzzled tone of voice. “Nothing changed.”

Pinkie gasped. “Really? Wow! That must mean I already am in disguise!” Another gasp. “But if this is my disguise and this is how I’ve looked since forever, then that means I’ve been in disguise since forever which means that –”

“Pinkie, relax,” Shining chuckled. “You have to tap the crystal twice in order to activate it.”

“Oh! I didn’t know that.” She raised a hoof and tapped the amulet, the crystal making a tink tink sound. As soon as the second tink reached the ears of the assembled ponies and dragon, Pinkie was enveloped by a blue flash of light. Fluttershy, being Fluttershy, jumped back and let out a small “Eep!”

When the light cleared, the familiar form of the party pony was gone. Instead, a peach-colored crystal pony with a brown mane occupied the space where Pinkie was.

Rainbow Dash cackled. “That is so awesome!”

The rest of the amulets were distributed among the Elements, Spike, and the Guards that would accompany them. Blue light flashed again and again as the ponies and dragon activated the crystals. For a few minutes they let themselves forget about the challenge ahead and study their new forms. Cadance had certainly done a good job with the illusion magic, even managing to render wings and horns invisible. All they had to do was not use these invisible appendages, and their appearance as crystal ponies would be flawless.

Spike was admiring Rarity’s new look – rose red with a lavender mane – when he noticed Rainbow Dash glancing his way and giggling.

“What?”

“Nothing,” Rainbow snorted before turning away with a hoof covering her mouth.

Spike gave a sigh of exasperation. “Rainbow Dash, quit it and tell me what’s going – wait a minute…”

Spike was sure that his right arm was in front of him; he could feel it! His eyes begged to differ, though, as he couldn’t see a purple arm or claw in front of him. He lifted his left arm and waved it around in front of him with the same lack of result. The only explanation was that the illusion magic had rendered the limbs invisible. But why?

“Aw, where did this cute fluffy thing come from?” Fluttershy cooed as she bent down in front of Spike.

Fluffy?!

Spike looked down in a panic only to freak out even more. Where there were once scales was now light blue wool! His feet were gone, replaced by grey hooves. The illusion magic had turned him into…

“An ewe? How did it get in here?”

“Augh!” Spike jumped back from Fluttershy. “Stop! I’m not a sheep!”

Twilight was shocked. “Spike? That’s you?”

“Of course it is,” Spike grumbled. “Though I wish it wasn’t.”

“Looks like you’re going to pull the wool over a lot of eyes,” Rainbow Dash snickered.

Pinkie Pie giggled. “I get it! Good one, Rainbow!”

“Relax, Spike,” Celestia reassured the peeved dragon. “This disguise is only needed until you get to the train station.”

The sound of the rapid echoing of hooves drew everypony’s attention to the throne room doors. Somepony was approaching, and fast. They were greeted by a Crystal Guard who came galloping into the chamber.

“Your Majesties.” He stopped in front of and bowed to the monarchs, then paused for a few seconds to regain his breath. “The train is prepared. It is time to leave.”

Twilight turned to her brother, unsure of what to say. She settled with, “Well, big brother, see you in two weeks.”

Shining Armor responded with a simple “See you.”

The two siblings stood their awkwardly. Then the prince said, “Oh, come on over here, Twily!”

Twilight grinned and trotted towards him. The siblings shared a hug, embracing each other tightly.

“You be careful out there, sis,” Shining Armor said with a firm voice.

“Don’t you worry, BBBFF,” she replied. The acronym made Shining crack a smile.

She let go of her brother, turning to face Celestia, Luna, and Cadance. She raised a hoof to her forehead. “We won’t let you down, princesses!”

Celestia gave a soft chuckle. “And we believe you, my little pony.”

Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Spike, and their escort detail saluted as well. They then turned around and left the throne room.

The Crystal Empire was perhaps the city least changed by the events of the past months. Being one of the last clean zones in Equestria was the biggest factor, of course. But life in the Empire also remained relatively normal due to the crystal ponies being reassured that the Elements of Harmony would protect them.

This statement was false, unfortunately – a necessary lie, but a lie nonetheless. The truth was that the Elements couldn’t do anything to guarantee the Empire’s safety. The princesses and prince had created the fib in order to keep the spirits of the crystal ponies up for as long as possible. If the Empire’s citizens were happy, then this would be reflected across all of Equestria, where the feeling was sorely lacking.

It was because of this presumption that Twilight and her friends had to sneak out of the Empire undetected. If a resident saw the Elements leaving the city, it would take only minutes before a mob of ponies would be at the castle demanding to know why their safety net was leaving.

The group emerged underneath the Crystal Castle and entered the streets of the Empire. Being nighttime, the roads were lit by lampposts that lined the edges. The sources of light also illuminated the buildings and houses of the Empire, but only partially. The result was a city of crystal that faded up and away into the night – a slightly surreal scene.

“This way,” the lead Guard said. He stood in a pool of light cast by one of the lampposts.

“Shouldn’t we stay out of the light?” Fluttershy spoke up. “To, um, avoid being seen, I mean.”

“On the contrary, ma’am,” the stallion replied. “The last thing we want to do is raise suspicion by avoiding lit areas.”

They walked down the road, glancing at the houses around them. Many of them were completely dark, their residents tucked in for the night. The street was empty as well due to that same reason; nopony besides them were out at this hour.

That changed when the group reached an intersection.

“Careful, everypony,” a Guard whispered. “We’ve got two ponies approaching from the left.”

Rainbow Dash flew up a few feet for a look. “They look pretty far – hey!” she objected as Applejack and Twilight hastily yanked her back down.

“Rainbow Dash, do not use your wings!” Twilight hissed. “If somepony sees you in the air, our cover is blown!”

“Oh…right.” She sheepishly rubbed her neck. “Sorry, I forgot.”

“Pretend we’re just some ponies moving things for a friend,” the lead Guard ordered. “Those two will definitely want to know why we have a chest with us.”

“Hello there!” one of the approaching ponies called out.

The lead Guard waved back. “How are you ladies doing this evening?” he politely asked as the duo drew closer to the group.

“Very well, thank you,” the light-yellow mare responded. “Where are all of you headed?”

“Amethyst Boulevard,” the Guard smoothly lied. “We’re moving some things for a friend.”

The other mare, a pink one, frowned. “It seems a little late for something like that.”

“We finished most of the moving during the day,” the Guard explained. “This chest here is the very last item.”

“I see,” the mare nodded. Then she laid her eyes on Spike – or rather, the ewe that Spike was disguised as.

“Who’s this little fellow?”

“That’s, um…” Twilight racked her brains for a name. “Fluffy! My pet ewe.”

She could feel Spike’s glare drilling into her.

The pink mare bent down for a closer look. “I’ve been meaning to get an ewe, but I just can’t seem to save enough bits for one.” She extended a hoof to pet the creature, but the ewe quickly retracted from her.

“Sorry, she’s a bit shy,” Twilight offered lamely.

“She seems nice, though,” the pink crystal pony complimented her.

She stood up. “Well, we best be getting on our way. I’m sure your friend doesn’t want to be kept waiting.” Her light-yellow friend took the lead as they began leaving. “Hope to see you all around.”

The group responded in unison with a “Goodbye”.

The two parties continued on their separate ways. Once he was sure that the two crystal ponies were out of earshot, Spike turned to Twilight. “‘Fluffy’? That’s the best you could come up with?”

“Hey, I’m sorry! I just went with whatever my mind came up with first.” She let out a deep breath. “I was so nervous when that mare tried to pet you. I thought for sure she would realize that the ewe was a fake.”

“Let’s just get to that train,” Spike grumbled. “I can’t wait to get out of this dumb disguise.”

Thankfully, the rest of the trek to the train station was free of any more incidents. At the door of the building, one Guard produced a set of keys, ignoring the sign that read “Closed – be back soon!” With a click, the door unlocked, and the group entered the station.

“Okay, everypony, we’re safe now.” The lead guard tapped his camouflage amulet, returning to his normal appearance with a flash of light. The others did the same, Spike doing so with obvious relief. Once everypony was back to their true forms, the group exited the station and onto the platform.

Their train was the Royal Express, a vehicle reserved exclusively for royal transit around Equestria. It was also the same vehicle that had brought them here to the Crystal Empire. The Royal Express was much smaller than the standard Friendship Express, made up of only the locomotive and four cars: dining, sleeping, passenger, and storage. Crystal Guards, the ponies who had prepared the train for its passengers, stood at attention around it.

“Strong Charger, you’re up first,” the lead Guard announced. The job of driving the train would alternate between the Royal Guards as the trip progressed. As Strong Charger made his way to the locomotive, the two Guards with the chest entered the storage car while the Elements, Spike, and the other five stallions went into the sleeping car.

“Rest up, madams and sir,” the lead Guard advised. “We have a good day of travel ahead of us before we reach Haliflanks.”

“Thank you, sir,” Twilight said. The Guards nodded before leaving the mares and dragon to themselves. Twilight guessed that they would be on watch outside the car’s doors.

She unclipped her camouflage amulet and swung her saddlebags off before jumping into one of the beds. The lead Guard was right; they would need all the rest they could get before reaching Haliflanks. After that, their journey would begin in earnest.

Author's Note:

Hello there! Thanks for choosing to click on this story; I hope you enjoyed the read.

Man, I feel pumped over this. Like, REALLY pumped. Probably nervous excitement from publishing this and letting the whole world see it.

Yeah, it’s likely that.

Thanks for your time!

Comments

[totallynotabrony]

“Sorry, he’s a bit shy.”
I thought a ewe was specifically female?

Anyway, interesting story. I hope it updates regularly.