Twelve - Ground Zero
“Do we really need to tie her like this?”
“I saw what she’s capable of, Jasper. We're better safe than sorry."
Inside the big main hall of Ponyville’s townhouse, Jasper and Night Watch studied Trixie. She was hanging from the ceiling, forehooves tied by an iron chain, forcing them to remain upwards.
The commander, prepared for the capture of the infamous Twilight Princess, had brought with her a potent nullifying ring for her horn. She never could have guessed she would be using it on a common unicorn.
However, Trixie’s display of strength, and loyalty to the commander's sworn enemy showed Night Watch that even as just a civilian, the “Rune Witch” shouldn’t be treated lightly.
“The perimeter around the town hall has been secured. All the units have been called back. We are short six stallions though. Rat Trap, Leather Flap and Sonic Boom, as well as the three from the fifth division we found near the Everfree a few minutes ago, were all sent back to Canterlot to treat their wounds.”
Jasper had a clear preoccupied tone in her speech. Night Watch was certain that Jasper didn’t agree with the methods that her commander was using to lure Twilight into their trap...
But Princess Luna’s orders are absolute.
“Wake her up. I need to chat with her.”
The nightcorn sighed, throwing away her gaze in shame. Following Night’s orders, she applied her telekinesis on a bucket full of water, and in a single motion she threw the liquid against Trixie.
The unicorn immediately opened her eyes abruptly, breathing sharply from the shock of being bathed in cold water.
Night Watch gazed at her, coldly.
Trixie’s vision was blurred and confused. She couldn’t recognize the place where she was. Every muscle in her body ached, but she quickly had her attention attracted to her pasterns, as the firm grasp of the cuffs wounded her, the weight of her own body and the slow rocking caused by the water being tossed at her only worsened the pain.
Out of breath, she was scared to the bone. The terror of waking up surrounded only by enemies was intense.
“Congratulations. It was an amazing strategy.”
She couldn’t answer. Trixie felt her eyes begin to sting with tears. The despair made her feel like crying, but she knew she couldn’t...
Crying pathetically like that would only give her captors more space to torture her. With courage she gulped down the tears, slowly normalizing her frenzied breathing.
“I take you’re aware as to why we brought you to the town hall instead of immediately sending you to the capital’s prison, right?”
Night Watch’s voice was horribly calm. Trixie knew it was a form of torture, but experiencing it was completely different than reading about it.
In silence, the unicorn nodded.
“Good. I will be blunt, Rune Witch, I had no intention of keeping you alive, but I decided to do so in honor of your glorious display of power during our battle. Princess Luna could certainly use somepony with your unique abiliti-“
“If you’re thinking about brainwashing me with your propaganda and asking me to betray Twilight, forget it, bat!”
How she could muster the courage to stand her ground like that was beyond her, but Trixie did so anyway.
She observed Jasper sighing right behind the commander, biting her lips in frustration. Night Watch seemed to be fuming and trying her best to control her urges to smack Trixie’s gut.
“I was afraid you were going to say something stupid like that. I will proceed to the next question, then: Where’s the Twilight Princess?”
“Far away, I hope.” She monotonously replied.
“Jasper, leave us alone.” Night Watch ordered without a single trace of feeling in her voice. It made Trixie almost wet the floor below her...
“Commander... We should not forget that we are Equestrians, and that this mare is our sister; we do not torture any living being, let alone our brethren; it’s written in our honor code, the same honor code you and the other Unseen commanders signed on the day of your promotion.”
Jasper had a fearful look in her eyes. Trixie lowered her head, and pressed her eyelids closed, once again halting tears of fear trying to escape her grasp.
“Leave. It’s an order.”
Night Watch rebutted and glanced over Jasper, shooting daggers at her soldier.
Jasper bit her lips, and turned around, slowly trotting out of the town hall.
“I can’t believe you’re seriously protecting her like this.” Night Watch turned to Trixie, looking at her with both curiosity and ire.
Trixie opened her eyes, and gazed over the moori, using every last acting lesson she had learned from her father to look as serene as possible.
“Won’t you do the same for Luna?” She replied. The pain from her cuffs was becoming more and more pronounced as the steel wore its way into her flesh.
Night Watch ironically laughed, “The Twilight Princess is an aberration. My Princess is the legitimate ruler of this land.”
“Why do you keep calling her that? Don’t you try to fake it! I know you and the other commanders from the Unseen know the truth! Twilight Sparkle, the Element of Magic and Princess Celestia’s personal student! This is who the Twilight Princess really is, and you know it!”
Trixie's harsh words made Night Watch react with anger; she flew towards her and grabbed her by her mane with a hoof. Night Watch pulled Trixie’s silver hair, raising her face, forcing her to look inside the moori's dragon-like eyes.
“She destroyed our Elements, betrayed her mentor and killed her friends! She’s not Twilight Sparkle anymore! She’s a monster, and she will pay for her crimes!”
Trixie gulped hard. Those magenta orbs, filled with fury bashed her heart with fear. However, at the same time, the unicorn could feel a force driving her to continue firm in her belief...
“You’re wrong. She didn’t kill her friends. She didn’t betray Celestia. We’re going to prove it. You will see.
“You seem amazingly confident for somepony who was abandoned a few hours ago by this same imposter you defend.”
Trixie just smiled.
Night Watch, taken aback by her reaction, released her mane, and flew a little backwards, asking with a discontent voice, “Why are you smiling?”
“Because of how bad you are at lying,” replied Trixie, serene eyes glowing with a content happiness, “You do not believe she left me behind , because if you did, you wouldn’t keep me here like this. You never planned on an interrogation; you wanted a reason for her to come back here. A bait. Deep inside, you know, just as well as I do, that Twilight can’t abandon a friend, and you will try and take this opportunity to seize her again.”
Night Watch couldn’t reply. Her mouth opened, but no words came out of it. The scene made Trixie’s smile grow larger.
The moori bit her lip and landed, asking, “And what if she doesn’t come for ya?”
“That would prove she isn’t Twilight Sparkle, but just a monster disguised as her.” Replied the unicorn, with satisfaction, “But if she does come, what will I prove to you, Night Watch?”
Silence befell the large room.
Trixie couldn't understand what made Night Watch grow silent. Her question was almost rhetoricall, but it did spark something inside her enemy. Unsure of what was going to happen next, the unicorn kept the silent.
"Princess Luna is suffering," Night Watch replied at last, lost in thought, "I’m not sure why, but it must be because of Princess Celestia. They are both hiding something from us, all of us... It’s something regarding Twilight and her so called ascension. They are doing things they would never do for the sake of something... But I still believe in them, because deep inside, they are the same... Otherwise, Twilight would be already dead by now. Remember that Luna – no, that Celestia wants Twilight alive.”
Trixie got surprised by Night Watch’s sudden answer.
“Why are you telling me this?” She asked, narrowing her eyes.
The moori sighed and licked her lips before replying, “Look Trixie, I know that ponies like me, Jasper, Midnight Blossom and Jasmine, are nothing more than pawns in the grand scheme of things. But you and your Princess are different; you girls are destined to change the course of history, be it succeeding in your goal of finding the truth, or even by failing here tonight. I’m nothing but a spear being wielded by Selena Caelum Noctis Una, Princess of Equestria. I have no right to question her order. But it doesn’t mean I’m completely blind; I know there’s something wrong going on, and if your Princess can show us the light, then I’m interested to see it.”
With that, the moori walked out of the main hall into a side door, vanishing from Trixie’s field of view.
Finally, the unicorn could cry in peace.
As her wails filled the hall, and her tears drenched her face, Trixie slowly dived into the moori’s last words, trying to occupy her mind and ignore the pain coming from her pasterns.
Princess Celestia wanted Twilight alive at any cost... It was obvious; seeing how Jasper even saved her from a suicide leap against an arrow meant for Trixie.
It was so much easier to simply kill Twilight, but Celestia wanted Twilight safe in a prison cell at Canterlot... But why?
What makes the sworn enemy of Equestria, the betrayer, the monster who destroyed the Six Elements of Harmony, and now threatens to usurp the throne of the Two Sisters so important, that they needed to keep her safe and sound?
There was nothing Trixie could make out of the few clues they had gathered so far. The intense pain wasn't helping her thinking, either. Suddenly, the unicorn is startled by a familiar voice shouting from the outside...
Twilight walked slowly into the big plaza, the town hall clear in her field of view.
An immense sense of dread assaulted her chest. She kept walking though, defiantly placing one hoof in front of another.
In due time, she reached a nearby fountain, her gaze going straight to the town hall. It was flocking with moori guards, armed with their spears.
Each one of them looked at her with a certain degree of awe and disbelief, none of them really believed she would come back.
Twilight gathered all of her inner strength. In that moment, she thought what would have happened if she had the chance to stand her ground like that for Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Fluttershy and Applejack...
For each one of her dearest sisters, lost to the uncertain fate of that night...
Nonetheless, she could do it for Trixie. And she sure as hay wasn’t going to lose another friend!
The alicorn inhaled sharply, closed her eyes and yelled at the top of her lungs, “Give my friend back to me!”
Her courageous shout echoed all across Ponyville. The vampire fruit bats lingering in the nearby houses all fled. The soldiers exchanged unsure glances, uncertain of how to respond to that display of willpower.
She wheezed, eyes still closed, head hanging low and ears perked up, as if waiting for an answer from the forces of Equestria observing her.
The doors of the town hall opened. Jasper trotted out with sadness in her eyes. The knights turned their attention to her slowly descending the steps.
The nightcorn narrowed her eyes and shouted at Twilight, “Why did you come back?!”
To that, Twilight answered with a thunderous voice, “Because I won’t leave my friends behind ever again!“
The nightcorn seemed to be assaulted by a wave of disgust. She motioned her head away, covering her mouth with a forehoof. Twilight could faintly hear her whispering, “She’s really her... Why are we hunting down a heroine? Are we fightning for the wrong side?
Twilight finally raised her head, and almost bursting into tears, declared, "I’m not a heroine anymore. I’m just the monster you all want dead. But even so, my friend still means the world to me. And I’m not going anywhere without her!”
“Seize her!” Jasper shouted, unable to look away from Twilight’s face.
Some soldiers found themselves paralyzed. They couldn’t fly, let alone capture the dreaded Twilight Princess. One of them complained, “Screw it; Princess Luna’s orders are to accomplish, not to question.”
And with that, he soared from atop the town hall, going straight towards Twilight with high speed.
The alicorn entered a fighting stance. Her big horn flared, and she prepared to strike him with a magic bolt, unaware of the powerful obsidian armor he was wearing. Before he could attack her though, a yellow blur surged from behind a house.
Lightning Dust smacked the tip of his nose with a merciless punch, sending him staggering backwards all the way back to the town hall, where he crashed against the wall, going out cold.
The mare, still floating at Twilight’s side, cheered happily, “Yeah! Right on the nose!”
Jasper and the rest of the soldiers couldn’t believe in what they saw.
“He’s not dead is he?" Twilight asked, looking over Lightning.
“Nope. But he will have a headache for days. You really wanna do this with zero losses, huh?” She replied and asked.
Twilight nodded, covering the spear left by the soldier with her magic aura, and preparing to charge head on towards the town hall.
Infuriated by Lightning’s attack, more soldiers soared from their places, ready to strike down both mares.
Running through the plaza, all Twilight could focus on was at the door of the town hall, her goal, even though Jasper was still protecting it. Soon, the first pair of moori guards reached her, motioning their spears to try and cut the alicorn in half.
She quickly managed to block one of the incoming attacks with the spear she grabbed from the first knight; her enhanced telekinesis was capable of withstanding the formidable force of the blow. However, she left her other side open for the second moori guard, who came in for the kill.
Twilight’s eyes widened as she noticed Lightning entering the tiny space separating her from the soldier about to cut her. The pegasus landed a vicious punch against his chin, sending him away before he was able to attack her.
With that, the alicorn refocused on her first attacker. Without him noticing, she enveloped his own spear within her magical grasp, and in a single motion, before he could even think of letting it go, Twilight slammed the knight against the ground, head first, knocking him unconscious.
“Open fire! Use the electrical round tips!”
Both Lightning and Twilight quickly raised their heads towards the top of the town hall when they heard Jasper’s thunderous roar. Four knights, armed with bows were preparing to rain down arrows on them.
“Tch! How’s your agility, fake Goddess? Ever escaped from arrows before?” Lightning asked, an insane smile plastered across her muzzle.
“We’re not going to need to."
Lightning’s smile disappeared, and she cocked an eyebrow, “Huh?”
Twilight’s giant horn flared with not-seen-before intensity. She focused all her might into the spear and made it spin madly, faster and faster on a horizontal axis. The rotation made it look like a discus-shaped object.
As the knights opened fire, Twilight send the spear flying towards them. Their arrows and the alicorn’s spear clashed in the air, and each projectile was deflected. The lance, however, continued on its trajectory.
The knights lowered their bows, trying to comprehend how she could have enough power to perform such an attack. They were forced to jump out of the roof when the spear, powered by Twilight's magic, passed right through the building, cutting bricks and wood like a hot knife against fresh butter.
Twilight watched as her attack completed its purpose, and with a determined gaze, she ran towards the door. Lightning Dust even cringed a little, she barely could believe in watch she had just witnessed. She followed suit, though.
“What are we going to do, Jasper!?” One of the moori guards shouted, scared.
“She’s isn’t going to give up... Dammit, you guys retreat! Call reinforcements! Princess Selena can’t blame you guys if you run for your lives!” She yelled back, waving with a hoof for her companions to escape from Twilight’s fury.
“Understood, but what about you and the commander?!” Another knight inquired, worried about Jasper.
“We can stand our ground! Just remember to alert the HQ about those knightresses aiding her!”
With that, like a flock, all the bat ponies still capable of flying left the ground, and escaped from the battle. Watching it made Lightning laugh hard, and she turned to Twilight, “Can you believe that? You’re making them run as if you are some kind of monster!”
Jasper used her telekinesis to bring from inside two crossed sheaths at her withers a pair of long, silver combat knives. The weapons floated slowly to near her forehooves, “Why did it have to come to this?”
The nightcorn vanished.
Twilight didn’t seem to care; she was really close, almost at the steps leading to the entrance. Suddenly, Jasper appeared right above the alicorn, both knives firmly wielded in each hoof. Their blades gleamed in the moonlight, pointing to Twilight’s neck as if they were hungry for her.
Before she could fall on Twilight, Lightning appeared flying at high speed and tackled the moori, taking her by her waist, and flying away with her.
Twilight wanted to thank the pegasus for helping her, but there was no time.
She continued onwards, conquering the steps and reaching the door. She immediately applied her magic on the handles and slammed the big double doors open... Only to find Night Watch waiting for her right behind it armed with a crossbow, and a killer smile.
“Gotcha."
Lightning Dust threw Jasper aside with all her strength.
The nightcorn crashed hard against the soil, rolling along with the dust she left in her fall.
Lightning couldn’t help but laugh at the situation. Landing near Jasper, she stood and waited patiently for her opponent to get up.
Jasper picked her daggers from the ground with her magic, and got up in all fours, passing a hoof against her nose.
“Who are you?” She asked, looking with fury towards the pegasus.
Lightning licked her lips with satisfaction, “Your little boys were calling me a ‘beast’, so yeah... I’m a beast, Jasper.”
“Why are you helping the Twilight Princess?”
“You mean that whorse over there?” She paused to point Twilight, still going towards the entrance door with a hoof, “Because she’s going to lead me to Rainbow Dash.”
With balance not common to all ponies, Jasper managed to get up on only her hind hooves, and she picked her floating daggers with her pasterns, crossing them in front of her face, “And are you willing to die in order to protect her, and your goal?”
Lighting smirked, “I’m sure as hay I am!”
The nightcorn lunged at Lightning, daggers ready to impale her chest, “Die, beast!”
Lightning easily dodged her first attack by stepping aside, “Whoa! You could can hurt somepony with those things, catty!”
Jasper launched yet another blow towards her, cutting swiftly with her knife in a horizontal arc, leaving a trail of silver light behind.
The pegasus avoided the attack once again simply by lowering her body, and side-stepping to the other side.
“You’re fast, beast! Faster than any civilian I have ever encountered!”
Jasper shouted a battle cry, and brandished her weapon in a vertical, descending cut this time, the same shining trail of silver following the trajectory of her blade. Lightning dodged yet again, rolling out of the harm’s way, much for Jasper’s irritation.
“Civilian?” The pegasus asked, smirking, “Did you ever visited a Wonderbolt Training Facility? I lived my whole childhood at one, and I can tell you; we do military level training over there bub. Same as you guys from Canterlot.”
Jasper tried to throw a knife towards the pegasus, but Lightning easily avoided it, flapping her wings and gaining the sky.
Jasper’s horn flared, and she applied her telekinesis on her knife, calling it back to her hoof. The nightcorn stood still, closing her eyes, as if she had just given up.
Lightning looked at her in confusion, and asked, “What’s the matter?”
“Mission accomplished.”
Lightning’s eyes shot open in surprise, and she turned around to see Night Watch pointing a crossbow at Twilight.
“Twilight!” Trixie wailed from inside, shouting to her companion.
The alicorn was shocked to see her friend tied up like that. She grinded her teeth, lowered her head and forced her eyes to close. The poisonous rage began to erode her unstable psyche once again.
Night Watch, however, had no doubts; she shot the projectile at point blank. The arrow exploded, turning into a net of sorts, and encasing the alicorn with ease.
Twilight struggled inside the net but an electric current struck her. The more she struggled more energy caused her quite the pain.
“It’s over, we won. I would advise you to stop struggling, Twilight Princess. This net was prepared alchemically just for you,” Night Watch warned and threw her crossbow aside.
Inside, Twilight wasn’t sure about what to do. She couldn’t let it end there, but each time she tried to launch a spell, an electric jolt passed through her body, destroying her concentration. The same happened every time she tried to break free using her strength.
“She came back, Night Watch!”
Trixie’s voice startled everypony there.
“She came back just like I told you she would! Are you satisfied now?! Does it not prove she’s the same Twilight Sparkle she once was, except in a different body?”
Night Watch looked at Trixie for instant, completely expressionless.
“It doesn’t matter.” She scuffed.
Trixie whimpered, closing her eyes in defeat. Night Watch turned back, picking from inside her new suit of armor another nullifying ring, “I’m but a pawn of the Goddesses’ will, Rune Witch. If their order is to capture the Element of Magic, I will oblige. That’s my sacred duty as knightress.”
“Screw you!”
This time, Lightning’s voice called their attention towards the set of stairs. The pegasus had captured Jasper, and she had her unconscious over her withers.
Lightning threw the nightcorn onto the ground, and picked one of her knives with a hoof, pointing towards her throat, “Here’s the deal, batty; you let this purple whorse here and that other blue one there go, and your little lead soldier won’t get thrown at the fireplace.”
Night Watch grinded her teeth and cringed, “How dare you?!”
“That’s how I play my cards batty. So, what’s it going to be?”
“LET HER GO LIGHTNING!”
Twilight yelled suddenly, scaring everypony.
“Are you nuts, Twilight?” Lightning asked, face contorting into a puzzled frown, “I’ve just put this batty here and her lead soldier in the fray and you’re going to sacrifice yourself for them?”
“Equestrians don’t kill each other! Princess Celestia taught us that our soil is sacred and that we should never tarnish it by spilling blood on it! Let alone the blood of our sisters and brothers who have been born under the same sun and the same moon as us!”
Night Watch gazed at Twilight in awe. Lightning stared back at her with her mouth agape and asked, “Then what do I do now?!”
“Leave me! Take Trixie and escape! I will think about something later, but you two need to get away!”
“I’m sorry filly, but you’re in no position to bargain!” Night Watch interrupted, “Once I put this nullifying ring on your horn, you will be nothing more than drooling macaroni.”
Enraged, Trixie shouted from inside, “How can you have so many nullifying rings with you? Those things are rare!”
“I only need one to take down the Twilight Princess so it’s no big deal...”
Twilight narrowed her eyes, “Only one? So, what about the one you used on Trixie?”
“It’s huh – a weaker one!” The moori replied, clamping her mouth shut and throwing her gaze away.
“You’re lying.” Twilight affirmed. She could see through a lie when somepony tried to throw one at her. And this moori was as bad as Applejack when she tried to lie.
“Trixie! Try to use your magic! She used a fake ring on you, you can break free!”
Twilight’s voice echoed through the hall, reaching Trixie in no time. The unicorn smirked and nodded, moving her attention to the small horn on her forehead.
“C’mon, don’t you fail me now...” She whispered, focusing her magic power. A strong pink light ignited and Trixie smiled.
“Good one, Night Watch! But did I tell you how much I detest being mocked?”
Upon declaring that, Trixie launched a ferocious magic blast from her horn, destroying what was left of the ceiling of the Ponyville’s town hall, along with the metal joint which served to keep her chain dangling and her forehooves tied.
Night Watch turned around, looking completely shocked. Trixie trotted near the bench where her cape, hat and belongings were left, and after placing everything on her withers, she turned to Night Watch, her horn flaring with energy, “Get away from my Princess!”
The unicorn launched a powerful blast of energy, nailing the commander straight in her chest. It launched the moori out of the town hall, through the steps Twilight had used to reach them, passing right above Lightning’s head and into the cement floor of Ponyville’s plaza, her face kicking the dirt.
“Lightning, free Sparkle and come here, fast!” Trixie shouted, falling to her knees.
The pegasus nodded, and leaving Jasper’s unconscious body behind, she moved towards Twilight, quickly removing the net used to subdue her. Twilight galloped towards Trixie as fast as she could, and finally embraced her dear friend in a tight hug, to which Trixie responded with the same.
“You look horrible.” Trixie commented, breaking from their hug and looking straight into her friend’s eyes, smirking.
“You don’t look any better.” Twilight replied, eyes filled to the brim with tears as she smirked back at Trixie.
“Hey! Batty is getting up! Why didn’t you fry her, unicorn?” Lightning interrupted their reunion.
“Sorry lady, but who in the name of Celestia are you? And I didn’t fry that moori because she’s wearing sturdy obsidian armor, which cuts the effectiveness of my magic by a considerable amount.”
“Reinforcements must be on their way already,” Twilight said, ignoring the quarrel between Lightning and Trixie and turning her attention to the door, “What are we going to do?”
“Crap... I guess I have no choice,” Trixie said picking from inside her cape a small round stone, “Sparkle, I need your help. My stamina is so low that I’m about to faint, so I won’t be able to cast this rune, even using an actual sigil. I need a batch of your absurd energy to get us out of here.”
Twilight eyed the small stone, and asked, “What are you planning to do?”
“I’m going to use a teleportation spell. I will try to power it up with a rune I’m experimenting on, but I don’t have much energy left in me, so... Your horn...”
Trixie’s cheeks became flustered and she threw her gaze away in embarrassment. The same happened with Twilight, and she begun to blink in rapid succession.
“Last time, okay?” Trixie declared, firmly holding the rune in her pastern, activating it.
Twilight nodded, “Can it have three passengers?”
Trixie cocked an eyebrow in confusion, “We’re bringing that pegasus?”
"Yes she’s coming along. I owe her.”
“Alright... It will probably cut the effectiveness of the spell a little, but you’re Twilight Sparkle; a strange magnet for friends and eccentric types. Get over here Lightning!”
Trixie shouted, and in a flash, Lightning Dust reached their position, looking at them with curious eyes, “What are we gonna do, gals?”
“Trixie will teleport us.” Twilight replied.
The pegasus smiled, “Nice! Where are we going?”
“That’s the interesting part. Trixie is terrible with teleportation spells, and she doesn’t really know how to do it or where her spell will lead us.” Twilight replied, and laughed awkwardly.
Lightning stood still for a few moments, gazing at Twilight with a bland expression, and then answered with a big smile, “Nice! It sounds so fun!”
Twilight slowly moved her face towards Trixie, to which her companion only rolled her eyes and commented, “Pegasi.”
“What do I need to do, unicorn?” Lightning asked to Trixie.
“My name’s Trixie, okay? Stop calling me by my species. Hold on Twilight, and close your eyes.”
She placed a hoof on the alicorn’s wither, “Why do I need to close my eyes?”
Trixie’s cheeks blushed further and she replied, “To be safe! The light produced can hurt your eyes!”
“Okay.” Lightning nodded, and promptly closed her eyelids.
Twilight gulped, and motioned her head towards Trixie’s head, as her friend came in the opposite direction to do the same.
Their horns touched each other, and they stopped. Both mares instantly felt the connection forming.
At least you are a good liar. To be safe was a good excuse.
I don’t want to be seen like this by more ponies! Also, sorry for sapping your energy like some kind of vampony... And thank you very much for rescuing me like this, Sparkle.
It’s nothing. You’re my best friend Trixie. I would do anything for you.
You’re my best friend too, you crazy Goddess...
Now just be sure to not teleport us to one of Canterlot’s towers, okay?
I will do what I can.
Twilight, Trixie and Lightning were engulfed in a blinding azure light. A giant circle, full of intricate designs appeared on the floor, circling them inside. Soon, the light gained intensity and like an explosion, it bathed the destroyed town hall in a strong yet soothing glow that lasted for a few seconds.
In the next moment, none of them were there anymore.
Night Watch finally got up on her hooves. Her chest hurt, just like the first time she got hit by Trixie’s Magic Blast. She coughed, and spit a few times trying to get all the dirt out of her mouth. Defeat sure tasted horrible.
She stretched her neck, feeling the bones pop a few times and calmly walked towards the town hall. She stopped at Jasper’s body, and checked for her pulse: She was alright.
Sighing, the commander resumed her walk and stood still in front of the big circle design on the ground left by the Twilight Princess and her two knightresses.
“What an amazing moment for you to be taking a nap, Jasper.”
Night Watch felt a chill running down her spine. A blow of wind run through the vicinities, and the cloudy weather cleared, revealing the silver, pale moon behind.
She turned to the entrance of the town hall, and walked there, glaring the skies. A flock of moori, twice as big as her small division, was preparing to land.
And somepony really special was tagging along with them.
“Princess Luna?” The commander gasped in awe, watching the descending Night Goddess, coming to the destroyed town.
The moori landed. Two of them were known faces for Night: One was Jasmine, her companion at the Unseen; the other one was a bulky male, wearing heavier armor than the rest of the guards.
His mane was impossible to discern due to the big, eastern-stylized helmet he was wearing, but his tail was dark blue with lighter, vertical purple stripes, contrasting with his gray fur. One of his savages, yellow eyes was covered by a black eye patch; He was Blind Dive, retired commander of the Unseen, the one who passed his sword to Midnight Blossom.
Luna landed right after by their side. A few moori guards with big red crosses designed on their armors galloped to the unconscious soldiers spread across the plaza.
Night Watch slammed her butt against the ground, and laughed.
Soon, one of those guards with the crosses reached her, and asked, “Commander, do you need to treat your wounds?”
“Just give some painkillers. Take Jasper, though, she got a pretty ugly bump on her head.”
The knight did as ordered and carried Jasper away on his back. Night observed as the Lunar Sister scanned the battlefield with narrowed eyes and an opened mouth, moving her neck ever so slowly.
“I bet she had so much fun!” Jasmine cheered, out of a sudden.
The stallion near her wearing the fancy helmet smirked, “You call this disaster fun, Bubbles? I guess Big Boss here isn’t exactly excited about good ol’ Ponyville being torn asunder.”
Night Watch couldn’t shake off the sense of dread haunting her. She had screwed big time this time.
Luna walked towards her, face frowned with confusion, eyes darting the steps instead of her knightress.
When she stopped in front of Night, the moori did a short bow, before going straight to the point, “They escaped my liege.”
“You destroyed Ponyville just to fail, Night Watch?” Luna scuffed, her face passing more confusion than ire.
Night Watch shrugged, “I wasn’t prepared to fight an opponent with abilities like that of her knightress. We lost, but we gained knowledge about them.”
Luna sighed sadly, “You made sure to not hurt the Twilight Princess, didn’t you?”
“I did.” She nodded.
Luna followed towards the magic circle left by Trixie’s rune spell, and begun to scrutinize it, “This is... Rune Casting? I can recognize Starswirl’s technique here, mixed with another, strange pattern that I never have seen before.”
“She’s got backup, Selena,” Night warned, smiling, “A Rune Witch versed in the perfect rune casting theory called Trixie, and a pegasus calling herself a beast; her name is Lightning, and she is the fastest civilian I have ever seen flying in my whole life.”
“So, is she like a Lightning-Fast Beast?” Jasmine asked, scratching her chin in thought.
“That sounds just right, Bubbles.” Night Watch replied.
Pained, Luna closed her eyes and lowered her head, her ears deflating in sadness, “I can’t believe this... This isn’t supposed to happen.”
The alicorn turned around, and begun trotting to the steps, in silence.
“Don’t worry Selena; I will get her next time.” Night Watch said, getting back on her hooves.
“There won’t be a next time for you, Night Watch.” Luna stopped, and replied with a bland voice.
The commander’s jaw almost hit the floor, “W-What do you mean, my liege?”
“You will be put back to your activities at Canterlot Castle, commander, and out of this case.”
She tried to reason, “B-But Princess Luna! -”
She was interrupted by a cold stare coming from Luna, “Not only did you fail to capture the Twilight Princess, but you almost reduced Ponyville, a town that I hold dear in my heart, to scraps. You’re a mad dog, Night Watch, and I can’t let your madness cause this land any further harm. I’m sorry, I know you kind of took this mission as a matter of honor, but you’re too violent for something like this.”
Night Watch grinded her teeth and closed her eyes, ears gluing to the sides of her head in shame, “Can you forgive me, Luna?”
“You’re already forgiven, but please remember: We cannot permit our hearts to be clouded by rage and hate. We shall be beacons of light and hope to those who trust us in this dark hour, my child. Even if the light seems so far away now...”
Luna gently walked near her knight, and kissed her head, giving her a reassuring smile. Night Watch felt relief, but she couldn’t help but to also feel a glint of sadness on her Princess’ eyes.
The alicorn finished walking the steps, reaching Jasmine and Blind Dive again, “I shall inform my sister about those recent events. Jasmine, I want you to track down the Twilight Princess from now on with all your might. Blind Dive, I need you to accompany me to my sister’s side.”
Both moori bowed down.
“Let’s get going.”
As the night alicorn spread open her majestic wings in order to gain the skies, all the moori stopped their activities to look towards her. Blind Dive, preparing to go with her, shouted with a thunderous voice, “Black as night!”
And while the Night Princess took flight, each of her soldiers yelled back, throwing their forehooves up, “Luna’s might!”
The strong azure light faded before Twilight’s very eyes. She had seconds, moments to analyze what was around her; she found a thick wall of leaves and branches, the moonlight being dampened by tall trees...
In the next second, she felt they didn’t exactly had appeared on the ground; rather, upon looking below, Twilight discovered they were floating above a lake...
“Oh crap!”
The alicorn, the pegasus and the unicorn all fell down, spraying water to all directions. They quickly arose to the surface, all at the same time.
Lightning complained, “What the hay?! Do you wanna drown us all, Trixie!?”
Trixie looked at her, throwing daggers, “I thought you were informed that I couldn’t control our destination!”
“Even so, you could have aimed at another place!” The pegasus shouted back, “It’s not like there are many lakes in Equestria!” She turned to a margin, “Do you see that over there? It’s ground! Not water, ground! It’s easier falling on the ground than inside a freakin’ lake!”
“Are you dumb?!” Trixie yelled back, “I just said I couldn’t control our landing point! It was just a terrible coincidence!”
Ignoring the loud sound of yells behind her, the alicorn scanned their surroundings, “Are we back in the Everfree Forest?”
Lightning laughed, “Great spell ya did there, Trixie! We are practically back at square one!”
Trixie slammed a hoof against the water, “You little pest! I saved your feathered butt, and that’s how you thank me?”
Still giving little to no thought about her friends’ quarrel, Twilight continued to look around, “I know this place...”
Before the alicorn could utter another word, she found a very familiar place. It was a small hut, carved out of a strong oak tree, various colorful pieces of pottery and a few masks adorning the place.
Right in front of her, with a big, friendly smile, Zecora observed the trio swimming on the lake in front of her hut.
Twilight’s face becomes brighter, as she smiled cheerfully upon seeing her old friend, “Zecora!”
The zebra nodded, still smiling, “Welcome back, Princess Twilight. I’m glad to see you back too.”
Trixie and Lightning turned to her, Lightning quickly cocking an eyebrow in confusion, “You know her, Twilight?”
“I do! She’s an old friend from Ponyville! We ended up in front of her house by pure luck!”
Zecora closed her eyes, “Maybe not by luck, Princess Twilight, but rather the hand of fate decided it was time to recompense you for all your determination. I see you and your paladins are wounded and tired. Please, come inside, we shall tend your wounds.”
Twilight nodded and helped Trixie out of the lake, the three soaked mares following to inside the oak tree.
Zecora observed them entering patiently, then turned around to face the trees, and asked to no one, “So, all I have to do is not rhyme anymore, as my Gods demanded me to, and our bargain is complete?”
A mysterious voice replied, seemingly coming from the air, “Oh, Zecora! Surely it's a little price to pay for the safety of your old friend, don’t you agree?”
The zebra nodded, “It is a complete desecration of our tradition, but alas, their lives are much more important than a sin to be committed for the greater good.”
That strange yet familiar voice continued to mock the zebra, “I love bargaining with you do-gooders! You’re always going to extremes just for the sake of the others. And what’s best, the favors you ask are always so cheap. Sure, controlling the trajectory of a random teleportation spell is no trouble for the one who controls all the causality of this world, don’t you think?”
“I’m sure it wasn’t. I just wondering what part in this great event you are going to play, Discord.”
A scandalous laugh filled the surroundings.
Stats
Page generated in 0.037 seconds
Total duration
988 users online
423,140 hits today, 2,054,621 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
5117770 Who's speaking in the text that isn't black?
Is this an "Evil Celestia" story?
Rhyming is way too hard so you make it part of a deal with discord.
I was wondering when Discord would show up... He was there, after all, when it happened... Or at least nearby. I would've thought he would have appeared earlier given his relationship with Fluttershy. Oh dear, I hope her apparent death hasn't brought him over the edge (comparatively) assuming he believes Twilight killed her.
Well that's interesting. I have no idea what to make of Celestia and Luna any more, I just feel bad for the soldiers that are their pawns on the field..
5186432
No idea if that's even a thing in this context.
I think you should use 'Have' instead of 'Did' this context unless you want it to be 'Did you ever visit...'.
You have a weird habit of using on when in seems like it would be more appropriate like an "in this" rather than "on this" at the end there.
5187098
That happens because on and in have the same meaning on my native language and I get confused as hell with the usage of them!
If you could point where the issues are, I promise to correct as soon as possible!
5185685
Most readers will find hard to believe, but this isn't a evil Celestia story!
This song just fits this story so perfectly
5214180
I was really thinking about writing a side-chapter for Trixie's background, but when the whole thing turned 18k words long I stopped!
""We're better safe than sorry."
abruptly
worsened
getting wet? Or begin to sting with tears.
forget it, bat!"
Rhetorical
Just "sparked" or "did spark"
kept silent
simply kill Twilight
Missed an endquote.
might
Knightresses, if you're going to keep using that. Knightress would be singular.
Began
Good one, Night Watch!
Night Watch turned around, looking completely shocked.
breaking
You know it won't be, Trixie. You know it won't.
Was this supposed to be a lighter shade than the rest of Twilight's thoughts?
dirt
short bow of reverence?
knightresses. You're not using the possessive so the apostrophe is unnecessary. It's like saying "her clothes" or "his shoes" or something like that.
Besides, unless you were talking about something specifically owned by Trixie (like her Rune Magic), then you'd use the apostrophe, although it'd be " 's " and not just " ' ".
You don't really need "her colleague" there.
might
WARNING! NON-RHYMING ZEBRA DETECTED! CORRECT IMMEDIATELY
"Welcome back, Princess Twilight, I'm glad to see you back this night" will work.
(I'm going to correct each and every instance of this, btw. Pray you did not forget elsewhere.)
Huhwha? What joke is this, to deny this shaman her bliss?
Also, I don't remember Zecora's hut being near any water.
surely it's a little price
Unnecessary comma.
going to extremes just
comma instead of an exclamation point
and a comma before "Discord"
What game is he playing now...?
5185948 Please. I could help with that.
Now that someone mentioned the "on/in" confusion...
in her voice
firm in her belief
believe in them
in the grand scheme
all fours
"onto the ground" or "to the ground"
out of the fray, I think.
Straight in her chest
energy left in me
with big red cross designs on
on the ground; rather, upon looking below
many lakes in Equestria
Swimming in the lake
And yeah, pretty sure Zecora doesn't have a frontyard pool, unless Discord put that there.
part in this great event
5187399 Celestia is punishing Twilight for no reason, is lieing to everyone, and ordered Twilight safe but the death of anyone who tries to protect her. Maybe she isn't Blackest hearted kill everything evil. But she is not a good pony and needs to be overthrown.
Well...
something that has been confusing me is when does this take place. She wasn't an alicorn yet, at the start, so before the Season 3 finale, but Lightning Dust and mention of Wonderbolt training says it would be what after?