Six - Huntress in The Dark
“It cannot be!” Twilight yelled, baffled, “My pet owl wasn’t a gryphon!
“Keep calm, my dear mistress. I assure you that I speak only the truth,” said the gryphon, trying to soothe the alicorn’s apprehension, looking at him with a expression of utter shock.
“Did I miss something here?” Trixie whispered, nudging Twilight’s shoulder, gazing upon the gryphon with a questioning look.
Twilight ignored her. She was too shocked to mind her companion, or anything besides that strange sensation tingling at her chest. That claim was just too much impossible to be actually true, but the feeling that she knew that gryphon calling himself Louis was just too much for her.
“If you are truly the one you claim to be, prove it!” She shouted, with an enraged expression.
“It’s just so much like you to question what you can’t comprehend at first,” Louis retorted a tender smile, and adjusted the glasses dancing upon his beak, “Let me see… Before Princess Selena asked you to go to Tambelon you were reading ‘Unicorn’s Anatomy, An Essay by Starswirl The Bearded’. You left at page twelve, chapter five, sixth paragraph, and had expressed to me your discontent about the adaptations made to the modern language.”
The purple alicorn’s jaw dropped. With an even more shocked look, she turned to Trixie, and exchanging glances with her for a few instants, she concluded, “He’s right…”
Both ponies were taken by surprise, as the gryphon began to laugh happily, attracting their attention to him.
“Transcending into Godhood hasn’t changed you at all, Twilight. I’m so, so glad that you are alive and okay. You look amazing, and those wings, they fit you so well…”
Quickly, Twilight withdrew her lavender wings, which had ruffled open due to the shock. After that, she stared at Louis attentively. Slowly, as her heart calmed, her expression melted into one of tenderness and her mouth opened in a content smile.
“It’s you… I can tell by the way you eyes are shining,” Twilight concluded, walking towards the gryphon, without a single hint of fear.
Louis remained static in place, smiling. As she was about to reach his position, the gryphon bowed, “It’s good to be back by your side, my dear mist-”
However, before he managed to finish, Twilight hug tackled him, and whispered while nuzzling his fur, “You’re alive… I was wondering what the night guards did with you, after they invaded the library. I’m so glad to have you back with me, Owlowiscious,”
He covered Twilight’s back with an arm, and chuckled, “Now, now, let’s not be too sentimental here. I’m sure you have a lot of questions, and I suppose we should make haste to answer them.”
Twilight nodded, still glued to him, “You’re right,” she breathed, letting go of him, and taking a few steps backwards. The purple alicorn couldn’t help but to look at the gryphon in front of her, her brain unable to process the fact that the big creature in front of her was her small, pet owl.
“Let’s get inside, it’s safer for us. Can you please tag along, Miss Lulamoon?” Louis asked, turning his attention to the blue unicorn, who still looked completely lost amid the situation.
Trixie shot a questioning gaze towards Twilight. The purple alicorn nodded, with a reassuring smile on her face.
Together, the three walked inside, as the wooden doors closed right behind them.
“Are you sure you made the wisest decision, Shining?”
“It’s for the better, honey, we need to help my sister, in any way we can.”
Shining Armor was hidden behind a house, with a glowing orb floating right in front of him. Cadence’s voice boomed from the object. It was some kind of long-distance communication device.
The emperor was covered in black robes, and used the mantle of night to aid him in his hiding. Judging by the architecture used in those houses, it was clear he was amid the streets of Canterlot…
“Why didn’t you send Laurel? She could have handled things better than you!” Cadence’s voice coming from the floating sphere yelled, sounding as worried as it could be.
“Because Laurel didn’t live her entire life in Canterlot. Calm down, Cadence, I will be alright. You need to trust your husband a little more,” Shining chuckled.
“It’s just that you are so impulsive and reckless sometimes!” She yelled.
“He’s coming, I need to go,” Shining moved his attention to a specific door pertaining to a small saloon, that was just about to open.
“Be very cautious, my love, and don’t get caught!” Cadence shouted from over the magic artifact.
“I will make sure to, Cadence, I love you!”
The stallion’s horn flared with a magenta colored light, and the huge sphere was covered in it. In seconds, the basketball-sized globe was shrunken to the size of a small golf ball. Hastily, Shining stored it safely inside his robes.
He watched in silence, as the double doors opened, revealing the shape of another stallion.
It was a middle aged pony, fur chalk-white, just like the emperor, mane and tail sapphire blue, fashioned in a short, but elaborated style. His horn was big, bigger than the average size of a stallion’s horn. He was wearing an elegant black tuxedo, a monocle, and had a blue mustache under his nose.
The noble seemed to be a little inebriated, as his steps were out of accord. He tripped a little, before completely exiting the saloon, the fur of his face covered in lipstick marks.
What happened to you, Fancy Pants?
Shining sighed, watching from his position, as his friend struggled to keep walking in a straight line, following in a random direction.
Feeling uneasy due to to his condition, Shining Armor decided to leave his hiding spot and follow in his direction in order to help him.
He galloped towards the drunken stallion, “Fancy Pants!”
Immediately, the inebriated noble turned around to find a very suspicious looking stallion halting him on a dark alley…
“Wat’cha ya wanthi ya scum?” He turned around with difficulty, puffing up his chest, “Ya ‘renth going tha tak mah monee! I’m a mothabuckin’ Arms Master! I can kik ya flenks to tha moon!”
Shining sighed upon hearing his drowsy voice, and slowly came near him, “Calm down, it’s me, Shining Armor. Can’t you recognize me?”
The drunken stallion scrutinized the pony clad into those ebon attires, narrowing his eyes and stretching his neck closer.
“Shinin’?” He asked, head and body moving against his will, “Ish that reallee ya?”
The emperor rolled his eyes in disbelief, letting off a discontent sigh, “It’s me, of course. What happened to you? Why are you so drunk?”
“I’mma not drunky,okay? I was only partying!” Fancy giggled, smiling in a really silly way, “Fleur has left me! I’mma have nothin’ moar gettin’ in mah way! I will party hardy until everythin’ burns!”
Suddenly, the noble started to lose his balance, his body was about to plummet to the ground. Before that could have happened, Shining grabbed him, putting one of his hooves around his back, and giving him a place to hold to.
The emperor shot a questioning glare after rescuing his friend, and asked, “Fleur left you? Why did she do it?”
“Becaush she’s a whorshe! She wantad only mah monee! Last week, that bastar’ Bluebloody came over to our meetin’ thingy, and whispered a few thingies at her ear… Durin’ the night, she simply left, withouth sayin’ nuthin!”
The questioning gaze on Shining’s face evolved into a complete contemplative look, “That’s strange. Fleur Dis Lee loved you, Cadence said that when she went to buy clothes with her, she didn’t stop talking about you for an instant.”
“Don’ try to make thin’s betta for her! She’s a cursed whorshe, and I hate her!” Fancy yelled, leaning all the weight of his body onto the emperor, his breath letting off an awful alcohol odor.
“Yeah, right. Let’s hear if you are going to tell me the same once you get all this cider out of your system. Let’s get going to your house, you need to take a cold shower, and rest a lot,” Shining armor concluded, looking towards the direction of his friend’s house, “I just hope to still remember how to teleport us safely.”
After saying this, Shining’s horn flared with a strong magenta glow. He closed his eyes to concentrate, and with great effort, both ponies vanished into a blinding white light.
As the doors closed behind her, Twilight could finally lay her eyes on the majestic structure she saw outside, from inside. As she was expecting already, it was still missing any religious motifs like its exterior.
Her gaze danced around the ceiling, following the amazing design. Different from the classic structures, this one displaying an oval form, which seemed to amplify the feeling of awe the temple transmitted. Twilight followed with her eyes the structure as it opened and cascaded to the floor, with six sturdy looking columns linking the dome to the ground, sustaining it, and forming a uniform pattern, cutting through the middle of the great hall.
Everything was made of a stone-gray marble, cold to the touch, but still reflecting the dim, orange lights from the bronze torches neatly hanging on the walls from strategic points to provide equal lighting to the whole building.
Lines of long, wooden benches were also found there, neatly organized into a uniform fashion. The benches faced the same direction, towards an altar made of the same cold, gray marble, at the top of a tiny set of stairs.
The walls all had beautiful stained glasses as windows, as Twilight had previously seen on the outside. It was a really amazing place, in it’s own right.
he stayed there, observing the building’s uncommon structure, for several minutes. Louis and Trixie were already past her, going towards a door located behind the altar. For an instant, Twilight tried to follow, but her heart raced faster for some reason.
Something got hold of her chest. A strange sensation tugging at her very soul. She felt sorrow…
Twilight’s ordeal so far passed like a film in front of her eyes. The deaths of her friends on Tambelon, Luna and Celestia’s judgement and punishment at Ponyville, her escape with the help of Midnight Blossom, the encounter with her precious family at the Crystal Empire, and the fight against Trixie.
She led a hoof to her chest, gasping for breath. Her whole body had frozen in place, and her mind seemed to burn.
Is this the Nameless Cathedral’s famous power? It’s stronger than I could imagine!
Both Louis and Trixie stopped when they took notice that Twilight was taking too much to keep going forward. They turned around, and stared at the breathless mare, with her head hanging low and eyes focused on the ground.
Trixie was the first to come towards her, and worried, she asked, “Are you alright?”
For a brief moment, Twilight moved her head towards the blue mare, panting, “Is this the power of this church? That sensation you told me that anypony who enters here feels?”
“It is,” she nodded, “but I never knew it was going to affect you this much.”
“Her condition as an alicorn must change the rules for her, Miss Lulamoon,” Louis said, with a solemn voice.
“Can you move, Twilight?” Trixie turned back to her companion.
“I’m not sure…” Twilight hung her head down again, and closed her eyes, heart beating so fast that she felt it was about to burst, “Maybe I have too much regret inside of me to enter here…”
Louis walked towards his friend, “You need to concentrate, my dear Mistress. Try to focus into your current mission, and not the images of your past.”
Twilight did as the gryphon suggested. She took a deep breath, and focused on his and Trixie’s breathing sound, emptying her mind of all her more recent memories. It was hard, but as she continued to tell herself that she had to find the truth, more the sensation diminished.
“Thank you, Louis,” she said, raising her head towards him after a couple minutes, “I’m think I’m feeling fine now.”
“Good,” the gryphon nodded and smiled, “let’s keep going.”
Twilight found her body able to move again. Although her heart was still feeling heavy, the dizziness had vanished, and this time, she could follow Trixie and Louis towards the door at the end of that great hall.
The door lead to a much more simpler place. It was a long corridor, made of plain brown wood. Several small, wooden doors lied shut along it. Louis walked a little further to the right, and opened a door, inviting the two mares to follow suit.
They did so, and reached a smaller room, similar to a kitchen. Inside, there was a table, with some bread, a tea set with some fruits above it, a water faucet lying at the opposite wall, and some cabinets, with several silverware inside of them lied to the right side of door.
The Gryphon walked in, and reaching the table, he pulled a chair, and sat, “Please, do come over here, we can chat with more tranquility.”
Twilight smiled, and followed him, sitting on another chair across the gryphon at the table. Trixie was still a little uneasy, that was clear. For a few seconds, Louis and Twilight looked towards her, waiting for the blue mare to join them at the table, however, she remained in place, waiting for Louis to say something and end the mystery.
“Trixie, c’mon, don’t be so rude with him,” Twilight called her, smiling awkwardly.
“I’m sorry, Sparkle, but I still not convinced. How can he know that we were coming here, at this hour and date? It sounds too suspicious for me.”
Louis laughed, “That’s what I call getting straight to the point!”
“Don’t mind her, Owlowiscious. She’s just worried with our well-being. You may remember she was a little evil back there, but she has changed a lot!” Twilight blushed, embarrassed by her companion’s grumpy attitude.
“I can’t blame her,” he turned to the purple alicorn, a reassuring smile plastered across his face, “To tell you the truth, I’m happy and satisfied that you got Miss Lulamoon to accompany you through this journey. You see, your heart is still too young and innocent, and it will take some time for you to adapt to the harsh world out there. You’re a little too naive for the kind of ordeal you are about to face, and somepony who already knows the harshness of life can help you and protect you from the ones trying to abuse of your kindness, my dear Mistress.”
Trixie raised an eyebrow, “I will take your fallacies as a compliment, gryphon.”
"You may do so, Miss Lulamoon,” Louis bowed, shooting a confident smile towards the blue mare.
“I guess the first thing I was going to ask you is, what happened to you? Why are you a gryphon now?” Twilight interrupted any further attempt for the two to keep discussing over pointless accusations.
Louis turned his attention back at Twilight, “It’s a long story, but I guess we are here for those kind of tales. First, I must ask you and Miss Lulamoon, if you two are aware about the existence of the gryphon kingdom, Griffonia, to the far east of your mainland.”
While Twilight nodded, Trixie looked a little lost. The purple alicorn turned to her and decided to explain.
“The main land mass that composes Equestria, Trixie, isn’t the only continent that Equus, our planet, possesses. There are other smaller continents nearby, beyond the oceans. One of those is known as the Mist Continent, where the kingdom of Griffonia lies. It’s a harsh place, environment wise, seeing how its climate can range from arid deserts to below zero tundras. The gryphons were the only species able to adapt to such conditions, thus they were capable of surviving and developed a kingdom out there.”
“As sharp as ever!” Louis giggled.
“Okay, that’s all amazing and smart, but what does this Griffonia kingdom has anything to do with Sparkle becoming a Goddess and you stalking on us here?” Trixie retorted, still not convinced.
The gryphon cleared his throat, proceeding, “I’m ashamed to admit that, my dear mistress, but the truth is that I’m not your pet owl, turned into a gryphon. It is, in fact, the other way around.”
Twilight’s eyes widened a bit, as she was taken by surprise, “You mean that… The whole time…”
“I’m afraid so,” he nodded, “The whole time you had a soldier of Griffonia sitting right at your side.”
A little disheartened, the purple alicorn hung her head low, “Why? You mean you helped me with my papers that one time, just to have me inviting you to come over the library? Did you take advantage of my naiveness too, Owlowiscious?”
“Believe me or not, Twilight, everything was for your sake. Also, although I don’t mind that you gave me a name, my parents would be rolling in their graves if I decided to keep being called Owlowiscious. Please, call me Louis.”
Twilight raised her head towards him, a serious expression displayed, “Tell me the truth, Louis. Why did you were sent to spy on me?”
“Of course,” he sighed, “I’m Louis Asclepius the Third, a retainer to the Warlord Gilles de Rais from house Crimson Feather. Ten years ago, a rare magic phenomenon occurred here, at the Land of Edenia, or as you two are used to call it, Equestria. It was a strong blast of magic, of uncommon signature, so strong that the whole landmass was able to see it, and its residual blast reached to our land.”
The purple alicorn rubbed her chin, trying to remember what kind of magic event of such proportions could have taken place ten years in the past. Then, it clicked…
“Rainbow Dash’s first Sonic Rainboom!”
The gryphon nodded, “Correct. It took me some research to discover it was your friend’s special talent that caused a magic explosion so great, that every shaman of our country could feel it.”
“It was also on that day that I got my Cutie Mark…”
He nodded once more, “Exactly. That is what I was talking about.”
Twilight raised an eyebrow, “What does that mean? Are you trying to say that, the magic phenomenon of uncommon signature that attracted your country’s attention was-”
“The magic surge you displayed after the Sonic Rainboom awakened you to your power,” he interrupted.
Twilight couldn’t understand it well. Or maybe, deep inside, she could. It was due to that uncontrollable magic power surging from within her at the occasion, that Holy Lady Celestia took notice of her, and decided to take her under her wing.
“Not only our domain, but every shaman on Griffonia could feel it. A magic so strong that some of our best magic users thought to be seeing another Goddess being born. It sounded the alarms all over our land, and the five Warlords decided it was a top priority to discover what that was about,” Louis concluded, waiting for Twilight’s reaction.
However, Trixie took some steps forward and interrupted, “Wait a minute! What does Griffonia have to do with that? Isn’t the problem, Equestria’s business?”
“Unfortunately, Trixie, Griffonia is very different from our Equestria,” Twilight answered, “We are pacifists, while the gryphons… They don’t share our vision. They are prone to war, and to violence if they ever feel threatened.”
“Of course, such an event could only mean trouble,” the gryphon concluded.
“What did the Warlords decided?” Twilight asked, turning her attention back to Louis.
“They were more than afraid of preposterous assumptions. Some thought that maybe, Celestia, who was for more than a thousand years in silence, could be creating some kind of living weapon, to start a world domination campaign. It didn’t help when one of our diplomats sent a letter in regard to the event, and her Holy Lady replied with ‘I have taken care of the bearer of such power. She’s under my utmost care at the moment’.”
The purple unicorn bit her lips, “She was talking about me…”
“Indeed. The ambiguous and short response that her Holy Lady sent to our diplomat only worsened the apprehension that the Warlords were feeling. If Celestia was training a pony that could display such a strong magic prowess, what could possibly happen if we permitted her to do so? Griffonia once fought against the Saddle Arabians over a small archipelago near the coast, because the horses were trying to steal an important trade route we agreed to share with them. They abused our kindness, and backstabbed my kingdom. Tolerance wasn’t an option, especially because of how fierce Celestia once was in the past.”
“They decided to go to war?” Trixie asked, curious.
“I’m not going to lie,” Louis replied, with a pained smile, “A military intervention in order to capture and secure the individual in question was in the plans of two of the five houses.”
Trixie raised an eyebrow, “Houses?”
“That’s right, Miss Lulamoon,” he nodded, “I take you aren’t aware about Griffonia government system. It’s quite simple. Our kingdom is divided into five smaller states that we call shires. Each shire possesses several cities under its control. Those shires are governed as a standalone by a figure of power who receives the title of ‘Warlord’. When the need arises, the Warlords from the five shires gather to make a ‘War Council’ and take the necessary decisions about how Griffonia is going to act in front of a situation. When a situation where there are disagreements about the best way to act surges, a voting system is used, and the majority wins. Of course I could rant on about how this system works in depth, but I guess it is not important at the moment.”
“You are right,” Trixie snorted, discontentedly.
“It was a matter of time before another Warlord could change their mind, and vote for a military intervention. My Lord Gilles agrees with Celestia’s pacifist views, and abhors war. He didn’t want Griffonia to attack Edenia, especially because the other warlords were basing their judgements in assumptions rather than in logic and facts. In a last attempt to prevent pointless bloodshed he, as the Warlord controlling the biggest shire, decided to take the matters into his own claws, and assured the War Council that he would send a spy to safeguard the pony indicated as ‘living weapon’ and make sure that he or she would never be used against Griffonia. Somehow, his confidence managed to convince the other Warlords, and they agreed in letting Lord Gilles send a spy, as long as it could provide them with information for as long as it was needed.”
Louis’s placid facade, for the very first time, turned sad, “Thus, as retainer to my Lord, serving him since he was an infant, I offered myself to accomplish such task. I used ancient shamanic magic from my tribe, to disguise myself as an owl, and be able to reach you, Twilight, without raising any suspicion. For six years, I’ve been watching you, from the shadows, as your life in Canterlot, surrounded by guards and other ponies who could grow suspicious of my behavior, didn’t allow me to get closer to you. Spying you through windows was everything I managed to do. Luckily, it was enough to satisfy the needing of the Warlords, and to send them reports about how you were growing as a normal mare, except that you displayed an outstanding talent with magic. Your later arrival to Ponyville appeared to me as the perfect opportunity to finally reach you, and clear any doubts that Celestia was raising a student and not a weapon…”
“You mean that you have been spying on me since I was ten…” Twilight sobbed.
He nodded, “Yes. I’m sorry my dear mistress, but there was no other way of avoiding a conflict between my country and yours. I wish I could be sincere with you before, but I couldn’t blow my cover, not as long as the other Warlords were still suspicious about you. Before Tambelon’s invasion, they still thought that Celestia trained you to become her weapon of mass destruction, and that she was only expecting a good opportunity to launch you against us.”
She planted a kind hoof over his claw resting above the table. With watered eyes, the purple alicorn smiled, casting a tender gaze over her gryphon friend, “Don’t worry. I guess I must thank you, Louis. I don’t even want to think what I would do if suddenly, a war breaks loose because of me. You were protecting me even before we met…”
He replied with the same tender expression, “I must admit that living the last six years of my life observing you made me grow kind of attached to you. That day on Ponyville, I wasn’t going to appear so suddenly, but I couldn’t help it. I needed to help you, because I knew how those papers were important to you. Thank you for understanding, my dear Mistress, and for taking care of me during those last months…”
“Okay! This is all sweet and cute, but it still doesn’t explain everything!” Trixie shouted, getting closer, “Why did you decide to blow your cover now, after so many years?”
They both glared at Trixie. Twilight’s heart skipped a beat; her companion was right.
As the purple alicorn turned her attention towards him, Louis tidied his glasses with a claw, “You are quite the observer, Miss Lulamoon. After Tambelon’s Invasion, I had no other option but to flee the Golden Oaks Library, and regroup. I decided that the wisest course of action was to return to my Lord, and wait until any news regarding that event came to light. Thanks of how important it was, the news about the Elements of Harmony, Twilight included, being killed by a mysterious entity known as the Twilight Princess spread through Griffonia like wild fire. The Warlords called a new War Council to trace a strategy on how they would react.This Twilight Princess could mean even more trouble than Celestia’s student, so, gathering more information about it was crucial. Due to my previous experience as spy, and my success in keeping reports about Twilight Sparkle in check, Gilles once again expressed his desire to send me to investigate. In fact, it was my and my Lord’s personal wish to find out the culprit behind my dear Mistress’s death, and discover what motivated such an attack. The War Council once again allowed, and I returned to Equestria. It didn’t take me too much time to discover that the nobles forged a lie about your death only to calm the population, and that in fact, you were the Twilight Princess all the time.”
“How?” Twilight interrupted, asking with worry.
“I managed to intercept a few letters from two captains of Edenia’s army, named Midnight Blossom and Cloud Skipper. It seems they are investigating your ordeal on their own, behind the Two Sister’s back. They strongly believe that Celestia and Selena have an ulterior motive to call you a traitor and imprison you, but they are still trying to figure it out. You got friends out there, Twilight, and they are fighting to help you as best as they can.”
She couldn’t help but to smile. It was so reassuring to know that Midnight Blossom was still aiding her, even if it was only from the shadows. Also, Cloud Skipper was involved too, and Twilight had some fond memories about that stallion…
Knowing that he cared for her warmed Twilight’s heart.
“So, you decided to do the same?” Trixie snorted, glaring at Louis with disbelief.
“I’m sorry, but I was really happy to discover that Twilight was alive. I decided to do my part too, and track you down in order to help you in any way I could. I had to follow your trail, all the way from Canterlot, here.”
“I guess you need to be more cautious from now on, Sparkle. If this guy managed to find you, who knows if the Royal Guard isn’t going to do the same?” Trixie said, turning to Twilight.
“I must admit that it was hard,” Louis giggled, “you are pretty good with keeping a low profile, Twilight. I guess I only managed to find you, because of my experience as a spy, and because I have spent six years observing you. Only someone who knows about your mother’s aliases you used to take the trains could discover it was you.”
“Then, it brings us down to the last question,” Trixie kept glaring at the gryphon, “How did you manage to discover we were coming to the Nameless Cathedral?”
“It was the only logical course of action. Twilight’s thirst for knowledge will never change, and turning her into a different being would only give her a stronger reason to try and get information about it. I tracked her until the Crystal Empire, and did some research at the library. I found this book about this place, and deducted it was the only place where Twilight could find clues about the alicorn race. I simply checked the train schedule, and bingo, another of Twilight Velvet’s aliases was in the list of the passengers. I came here, and persuaded the caretakers to let me do some research, and of course, await your arrival.”
Trixie finally grew quiet.
“I guess I’m that predictable,” Twilight breathed, blushing.
“Don’t worry, it’s not your fault. Like I said before, it’s only natural of you to try to gather knowledge about a subject you aren’t aware of,” Louis finished.
“What are you planning to do now, gryphon?” Trixie broke her silence, still not trusting Louis.
“Help you two find what you came here for. Information regarding the alicorns is something that sounds too good to let pass, not only for Twilight’s quest, but also for me. Alicorns always amazed my kind; we do have our own Gods and religions, however, none of them are living beings, walking among us. I am sure that disclosing those secrets is the dream of any scholar, and I am no different.”
“That’s so good to hear!” Twilight opened a huge smile, “I’m sure that together, we can find the answer we came looking for!”
“I guess we should begin, then,” Trixie replied, “We don’t know how much time we have before somepony appears looking for you.”
Twilight nodded, “Right. Louis, during your research about this place, did you find any library, or any kind of place where some info could be stored or preserved?”
“I sure did,” he replied with a smiling face, “There is a library here, and is a really interesting place. Come, I shall lead you two there.”
Shining Armor made sure to wake up really early that day. He didn’t plan to spend the night at Fancy Pants’s apartment, in the heart of Canterlot, but what could he do?
His friend was having a terrible time, and was in need of somepony to help him. Not only that, but he didn’t manage to squeeze any answers regarding his mission here until now.
The night still ruled out there. It was the darkest hour, right before the dawn.
The stallion lifted his body from the soft, velvet made, red couch, placed in the tiny living room. It was a cramped room, floor covered by a expansive tapestry, full of designs from Saddle Arabia. The walls got a red wallpaper, and a golden chandelier dangled from the oak ceiling, providing the room with lighting. Fancy was a huge fan of books, having a small library inside there as well; several glass cabinets fought for space at every wall. Books and more books were scattered across the living room, turning the place into a big mess.
Shining could only think about how his sister would have wanted to kill his friend for letting so many rare tomes lie on the ground like that. After giggling a little, the emperor hoped out of the couch, and before being able to move an inch, his ears moved towards the bathroom door, as they were opened by somepony.
“Sweet Celestia! This is not a hangover! This is death sentence! Divine punishment I must say!”
Fancy Pants crawled from inside, mane still wet and fur still a mess. His sclera had an abnormal pinkish-red coloration, and his voice sounded pained.
The noble followed towards the table, sitting on a comfortable cushioned chair, and slammed his head against it.
“It’s your own fault, Fancy. You should have known that giving yourself to those saloons isn’t going to solve your problem with Fleur.”
Shining glared at him, a snit smile covering his face. He knew that Fancy Pants didn’t want a scolding, but sooner or later, somepony had to do it.
“You are right, Emperor Armor. It’s just that I couldn’t bear being left by her. I love Fleur, and seeing her leaving like that destroyed me. I was willing to do anything to forget everything that happened that night…”
Shining sighed, and slowly walked over the table, joining him. He used his magic to grab a tea-pot, and filled one tea-cup with a good amount of steaming coffee, offering it to his friend, “Drink. It’s no magic potion, but it will help. I’m sorry to bring this up right now, but there was no way that I could imagine this situation happening with you, and I can’t go back without a few answers.”
Fancy, with his chin still glued to the table, moved his gaze first to the tea-cup, then to Shining, “Of course I’m aware of that. An emperor wouldn’t come to see me, if he hadn’t a really important motive to do so.”
“I will try to be really brief, and get straight to the heart of the question. Two days ago, a letter came to our palace. The sender was addressed as being Equestria’s Noble Counsel. However, the content wasn’t pleasant to read… The nobles demanded Princess Cadence, my wife, hand down my father and mother to Equestria’s army.”
Fancy Pants bloodshot eyes widened, and he rose from the table, surprised, “What? That’s completely preposterous!”
“There’s more. The day after receiving that letter, a dispatch unit formed by none other than Night Watch and Jasmine, two of Selena’s generals from the Night Guard, landed on my domain, and tried to, for some reason, interrogate my parents. I don’t know what Equestria is up to, but if I recall correctly, when the nobles vote for a pacific contact with another party, asking for an unharmful custody transfer, the military is immediately dismissed. Also, any military intervention can only be made if the Noble Counsel allows it, meaning if they had already voted for a peaceful approach, Luna should have called her Night Guard off. There’s something clearly wrong happening here, and I need to know what!”
Shining expected any kind of reaction coming from Fancy Pants. He was a noble, one of the descendents of the six families that founded Equestria, a thousand of years ago. Even after his ancestors decided to give full power over their newly discovered land to the Two Sisters, those who carried the blood of the old kings and queens from the three nations still had importance, and their voices had weight when the nation faced times of danger. Those descendants formed the High Counsel, and together, their decisions had as much power as the will of Celestia and Luna.
“I’m completely baffled Shining. I assure you that no call from the counsel was made recently. Last time we gathered was to make decisions about how we should react to the threat that the Twilight Princess represents.”
The emperor raised an eyebrow. He couldn’t find in his friend’s visage a single hint of doubt. He wasn’t lying, but something seemed amiss…
“That’s strange,” Shining led a forehoof to his chin, face turning into a pensive frown, “That letter had the royal insignia! That symbol can’t be falsified, nor it can be duplicated and only a handful of nobles have access to the place where it is secluded… Somepony gave the order to write that letter, Fancy, and this same pony must be plotting something against the Crystal Empire!”
“I don’t think that this mysterious pony is targeting your country, exclusively. You see, if that letter was intended to bring your parents out in the open, it means that it’s target must be your sist-”
Shining clasped his hooves strongly against the table, startling his friend. It was a spur of the moment reaction, but he didn’t felt any regrets, “My sister! What do you know about her?” He roared.
Fancy blinked in rapid succession, dumbfounded by his explosion of anger, and lowered his head in shame, “We know enough…”
“Don’t you dare to hide the facts from me! What the nobles are truly doing?” Shining Armor pressed further, determined to drill through Fancy Pants for any information.
“Like I’ve told you already, we did reunite to decide what we were going to do about your sister. We know that she’s alive, emperor…” The stallion replied, too ashamed to keep eye contact with his friend.
“Who’s the bastard deciding to use her as a scapegoat to calm the population?” He yelled even louder.
“We didn’t knew what to do. Twilight was a national heroine, the leading figure of the Elements of Harmony. Even if they were never expected to, their existence brought hope to the hearts of the ponies all over Equestria. However, when Twilight returned alone, transformed into an alicorn, and accused of killing her friends to transcend by the Princesses, we couldn’t allow the population to have their image of Twilight destroyed like that… Even in death, the Elements of Harmony still bring hope to our ponies, Shining. We needed to keep that flame untouched, or our nation could crack. The decision to ‘create’ the Twilight Princess based on the old fairy tale, was unanimous… I didn’t want to see your sister turned into a monster, and become persecuted like that, but there was no other way.”
‘I can’t… Believe on this madness! I swear that I’m about to puke…” The emperor turned his face away in disgust.
“I’m sorry Shining, I’m really sorry. As long as we can’t prove your sister’s innocence, we have no other means to assure that Equestria is going to be fine,” Fancy Pants pouted, also facing a different direction.
Still enraged, Shining asked, “You said ‘as long as we can’t prove Twilie’s innocence’, what do you mean? There’s somepony trying to find what truly happened?”
The noble returned his gaze to Shining Armor, and smiled, nodding, “There is. Captain Cloud Skipper from the Sun Guard and Captain Midnight Blossom from the Night Guard are both working hard to find answers for Twilight’s condition.”
The emperor smiled.
Those two… Still the same rebellious little wretches they were during their time at the academy...
“Also, me and all the nobles from House Unicornia are secretly supporting Twilight. We think that something is wrong with Luna and Celestia, for them to be so savagely persecuting a mare who they used to adore like their own flesh and blood. I want to know the truth as much as you do, my friend,” Fancy Pants planted a kind hoof over Shining Armor’s shoulder.
The emperor finally rose his head back at his direction, and smiled, “Good. Still, we are clueless about that letter.”
“I think I should examine it closely. Did you bring it with you?” Fancy asked, planting his head once again against the top of the table.
“Unfortunately no. Cadence decided to store it in a safe place at the Crystal Palace in case it becomes some kind of important clue or proof.”
“A wise decision I must say,” Fancy breathed, “Although I would appreciate waiting for this hangover to end, we must make haste and travel back to your country. I will go with you, and inspect this mysterious letter closely.”
Shining nodded, “Alright. I will help you pack your things. Let’s get going right now, the next train departs at five o’clock.”
“We shouldn’t be wandering around this time of the night…” Fancy Pants whispered and gulped, looking at every darker corner and alley of the streets they trotted about.
Shining Armor’s face contorted into a mocking expression, and he smiled with half-lidded eyes, “Don’t tell me you are afraid of the dark, Fancy Pants. It doesn’t suit a grown-up stallion like you.”
“I’m not afraid of the dark, Emperor, I’m afraid of the things that hide in the darkness…”
This time, the emperor couldn’t control himself, and laughed right at his face, “I’m sorry! We are in Canterlot! This is the capital of power of the strongest nation of the world! What could possibly happen here?”
Suddenly, a scream.
Fancy Pants and Shining Armor both froze in place, paralyzed by the sheer terror the voice displayed. It was a pained scream, pertaining to a stallion, and it wasn’t far away from their current position.
They exchanged glances, and as fast as they could, trotted towards the source of the sound.
It echoed one more time, even louder. The empty streets helped the creepy sound to scatter faster through the vicinities. That region of Canterlot was known for its narrow streets and tiny buildings, a paradise for those who liked a bohemian scenery for their art pieces.
Shining Armor’s heart was racing, beating at the same beat of his hooves, galloping quickly through the stone streets. Something was terribly wrong with the sound of that scream...
As both he and Fancy Pants turned the corner, they were dumbstruck by the image in front of their eyes. The main avenue, lead to a plaza where a famous fountain was located. A giant, pale-silver moon hovered right above it, on the blackest sky they ever saw. It seemed so close that, for an instant, one could think that it could be touched…
At their right side, the first house had its wooden door opened. An even more alarming sound invaded their ears. It was the sound of somepony crawling miserably through the floor, dragging the weight of his whole body towards the exit…
The stallions couldn’t move. They watched in silence, mouths agape, as a middle aged earth-pony stallion crawled from inside that house. That poor pony, wearing a black sailor uniform, struggled to breathe. His white-cream fur was tinged into a deep red… It was blood.
His, short, silver mane, messed and drenched in sweat, had several small stains of it too. His blue eyes, slowly losing the glow of life, were stagnated, pleading for salvation. He painfully dragged his lower, lifeless limbs with him, using his two fore hooves, and formed a trail of crimson on the floor that seemed to shimmer in the moonlight.
As he finally managed to creep out the house, an even more hideous scene played…
From the same wide open door, another pony walked. This one clad into a tight, pitch-black attire, face covered by a mask, ears and mane covered by a hood, and eyes hid behind yellow goggles. That mysterious, unsettling figure, trotted out in three hooves, cruelly observing as his victim implored to be somehow, spared.
In one of its pasterns, it firmly wielded a fencing rapier, stained by the stallion’s blood. Although many ponies would find difficult to walk using three hooves, this spectral presence seemed to perform the task with no problems what-so-ever.
It stopped right beside the dying pony, where he lied, no more strength to continue crawling. With its other forehoof, the pitch-black creature flipped him over his back, belly stuffing and deflating in a crazed rhythm, desperately seeking for air.
“I pierced your neck and your lungs and you still managed to survive,” the assassin breathed, voice so low that only Shining and Fancy managed to barely hear it, “It’s no wonder that you became a legend, North Pole, for conquering the Crystal Wall. However…”
The soft voice coming from that pony-esque monster made things clear for Shining Armor. It was an adult mare, identity secured behind the clothes.
“You can’t possibly survive without a beating heart…”
Upon declaring those words, the mare rose the hoof in which her saber rested, and pointed it towards her victim’s chest. With a merciless strike, she drilled his flesh, piercing his heart. North Pole gasped, and then spurted a dust of blood, the red liquid being thrown against the mare’s black robes, staining it.
He still tried to breath once and twice, however, his belly stopped moving, and what was left of glow inside his eyes vanished. They remained open, looking to the pale moon above, eternally frozen in utter terror...
“No!” Shining shouted, he could no longer remain idle watching the scene.
Immediately, the mare turned her yellow goggles towards them, and observed.
“Are you crazy, Shining Armor?” Fancy Pants gasped, scared to the bone, “She’s coming after us now!”
“I don’t care! There’s no way I’m letting her go unpunished after committing this monstrosity!”
Without thinking twice, the emperor charged at the assassin’s direction. The mare, upon seeing him running towards her, turned back and bolted towards the plaza, coming through the main avenue.
The chase continued until the emperor could already see the fountain, and the main square. It was a small plaza, with just a few green benches encircling the statue of Celestia at the middle of the water body.
That place was a dead end. At the other side of the fountain, tall apartments formed an inescapable barrier of stone and iron.
Upon seeing she had no escape, the assassin stopped, scanning the huge buildings in front of her. Shining managed to hear her uttering some curse words, and observed as she walked back a few steps, looking frantically for an escape route.
“You have nowhere to run, monster!” He shouted, standing right at the middle of the street from where they came.
She laughed maniacally, turning around to face the emperor.
“Don’t you think that the one here who should be running, is you?” She asked, voice muffled by the mask in front of her muzzle.
Quickly, the emperor rose his guard. He stared at the two sick yellow lenses of the goggle covering her eyes, trying to imagine a face behind that horrible blackness, “I’m not afraid! You can’t overcome me with fear! I’ve faced monsters far worse than you, and I will not let you escape unpunished!”
He’s once again bombarded with a sick, mocking laugh, “What is this all about? Emperor Shining Armor is far away from his home, and yet is behaving all benevolent. Who do you think you are? Some kind of paladin of justice or something?”
“No pony deserves to have its life robbed like you did with that stallion! Who are you, and why did you do that?
The assassin moved a fore hoof to her waist. With a fast movement, she drew her rapier from inside its sheath, firmly securing it within her pastern, “Go back to your throne and to the safe embrace of your wife, Shining. Equestria is about to change forever, and there’s nothing a foreigner like you can do about it.”
Rage and anger welled inside Shining’s belly. He had enough.
With the same movement, the emperor drew from within his black mantle, a long-sword, just like the mare did, by grabbing it with his pastern. The hilt was made of a sapphire stone, same color as his mane, and wore the Crystal Empire’s crest. The blade was translucent, being almost transparent, and it was hard to discern the length of the edge. That was Chrysanthemum, the Crystal Sword of the emperor.
With determination, Shining pointed the tip towards the mare, “I will tell you why I’m butting in those affairs. My sister still loves this country, as much as I do. I was born here, and I’ve grown up here. Equestria is still inside my very heart, and in the hearts of all my precious family. I will not permit that you stain the soil of my country with innocent blood!”
“Go away, or I shall have no mercy,” she answered blankly, and pointed her rapier in his direction.
“I will not.”
“Fine.”
With a strong start, the mare rocketed with a lunge in Shining’s direction, leaving a trail of dust behind. It was an otherworldly strength, making the mare slide through the ground as if she floated a few centimeters, something that Shining never saw before, not even in his days on the army.
She held the rapier firmly in her hoof, her arm flexed at the side, preparing the weapon to apply a decisive strike.
She is utilizing the Canterlot Master Style. Normally, an unicorn warrior would use his telekinesis spell to hold his weapon. However, we are trained here to use our forelegs to wield them; this way, the horn remains free to launch spells, while still having the weapon at our disposal. The question is, how somepony like her knows it? Only a few knights, and a few nobles are trained to fight using this art!
She pierced mercilessly, the force generated by her lunge producing an air wave around her. In that exactly instant, the emperor’s horn flared with a strong magenta light, and a sturdy, pink colored barrier came forth around him.
The tip of the rapier couldn’t bypass the shield, and the assault stopped. For seconds, the assassin remained in the air, right foreleg stretched numbly, paralyzed due to the stronger force halting her in place. Her hind hooves, on the ground, still emanated a weak dust.
Now!
Shining cried a battle shout, pouring all his strength into an attack. The crystalline blade raised in a crescent arc, and the barrier was cancelled just a second before the edge could cut the mare in half.
However, the opponent was all well aware and prepared for the counter hit. With amazing alacrity, she dodged it with a quick step for the opposite direction, utilizing amazing movements that seemed like ballet steps to the emperor.
“What the hay?” Shining complained, looking over the mare, as she finally landed after doing a somersault.
“Too fast for you, emperor?”
After mocking him with a sonore chuckle, the mare charged at him again, this time running with fast steps, instead of applying her deadly lunge.
Shining started to ask himself why she would try the same attack again, after seeing it wasn’t going to work. Nonetheless, he focused on the mare coming in his direction, and observed that she, for some reason, sheathed her rapier back.
What are you up to?
The emperor decided that it was his perfect opportunity to strike. She had no means of deflecting his blade, and she couldn’t change her trajectory.
With a heavy start, the stallion charged in the same direction, decided to clash against her.
When he reached enough distance, Shining came to a full stop, his hind legs pressing hard against the ground and producing a cloud of debris, and applied a strike, attacking in a horizontal fashion, in order to reduce her options of escape.
As impossible as it could sound, the mare rocketed to the sky, leaping in his direction and evading the blade. She soared above his head, and all he could do was to follow her with his gaze.
Shining saw the mare shuffling around her waist. His ears perked up, as he heard a strange metallic ‘cling’ sound.
Throwing knifes!
Shining immediately brought about his magenta colored shield, and leaped, spinning in order to make his belly face the opponent. In the next second, several silver daggers rained from her forehooves in his direction.
A loud crack sound echoed as the knifes begun to crash against his barrier. Shining Armor’s shield cracked and shattered in several spots.
In a desperate maneuver, the emperor deflected the knifes about to hit his vital spots with his blade with quick slashes, and he escaped unharmed by inches.
The maneuver costed Shining some concentration and momentum, and while his opponent landed safe on the ground, he plummeted to the stone floor like a potato sack, falling onto his back.
A moment with his guard lowered could mean his demise. As soon as he fell, Shining gathered his strength and rolled around, leaping back to all four. It was just in time to block with his sword an incoming lunge from his opponent…
The flat side of Chrysanthemum’s blade served as Shining’s last shield. He still asked the Goddesses protecting him how he was able to react in time before being stung by that rapier. Nonetheless, the swords clashed against each other, the tip of the rapier ravaging Shining’s sword, producing sparks.
“Amazing. Guess your luck is with you today, or maybe being married to a Goddess and being brother to another made you a really blessed stallion,” the assassin breathed, forcing her weapon and trying to make Shining falter.
“It doesn’t matter, does it?” He smiled, and shouting a battle cry again, he poured all his strength into his arm, in order to throw the opponent away. It worked as expected, for the mare was physically weaker than the trained emperor, and she was pushed back several meters far from Shining.
“Guess you’re right…” She replied and chuckled.
“Those daggers… How they possibly could have destroyed my shield?” He asked, distressed.
“Dagger of Origin,” she answered, drawing yet another knife from her waist after levitating her weapon with a telekinesis spell, “They are made of a rare crystal found at the Crystal Empire that is capable of cancelling magic. When they touch a magic construct such as a shield, they immediately cancel the very fabric from where the barrier gains its power, shattering it.”
She’s an unicorn!
The mare scattered several knives in front of her, and took her rapier back into her pastern. After concentrating for a few moments, her magic aura enveloped each knife, and she prepared her deadly lunge once again…
“You had your chance, emperor! You’re going down!”
Once again, the mare prepared her mortal lunge, now with several knives floating above her head, prepared to strike down in case he tried to raise his magic barrier or dodge. If he tried to defend them with his sword, then it was going to be just too late to escape from the deadly attack from her rapier.
I’ve got no other options. It’s now or never!
Shining plunged his sword into the ground. He closed his eyes, and started to concentrate a huge amount of magic power into his horn. The power surging from within him made some stones start to float around him…
Without a second warning, the mare lunged towards Shining Armor, in the same fashion she did with her first attack. This time, the daggers floated above her, following her trajectory like birds of prey, ready to strike down from the heavens.
Shining Armor opened his eyes. They had changed color, somehow. From sapphire-blue, they had become golden, and were shimmering with a strong, uncanny glow. Suddenly, he raised his body, balancing only on his hind legs. With a determined gesture, he pointed his sword forward and shouted with a thunderous voice, “Come forth! Rho Aias!”
At Shining’s command, a huge, circular shield surged in front of him. It looked like a disc, golden but translucent, and had a strange symbol at the middle, something akin to a seven-petaled flower. At the surface, magenta-colored electric sparks passed in a chaotic fashion, through all its extent.
In that moment, the assassin chuckled, Shining could just hear it. She threw her floating knives at the huge shield, and prepared further to strike, by retracting her arm and tensing her muscles.
The sound of the knives clattering against the magical surface filled the air. They were deflected, and thrown in all directions. Shining remained stoic in place, as the assassin, unable to stop her charge, hit the same shield with her rapier, which also made no effect against the mighty guard.
Like the first time her attack was defended, she remained motionless in place, arm stretched and hind legs pressing firmly at the stone floor. She seemed to be dumbstruck, somehow, still unable to believe that her Daggers of Origin failed in front of that strange shield.
“Allow me to present you to Rho Aias: The Strongest Shield. As you must know, my special talent is Protection. This includes shield spells of high levels, and during the time I served under the sun guard as Captain Shining ‘The Shield’ Armor, Holy Lady Celestia taught me this one spell. Rho Aias is considered to be the most powerful shield that an unicorn is capable of summoning!”
“But the Dagger of Origins-”
“You said that the crystal they are made of cancels magic, right?” Shining interrupted, preparing Chrysanthemum for a counter-attack, “This shield isn't a spell, it’s an invocation! It’s one of Celestia’s most precious possessions!”
With a simple wave of his free hoof, Shining Armor called the almighty Rho Aias off, his eyes returning to their usual sapphire coloration. He leaped at her direction, so suddenly, that the assassin didn’t had time to react.
Chrysanthemum swayed through the air, whistling like a bird, and came crashing down. The mare could do little besides blocking the attack with her own blade, and several sparks were produced due to the colliding powers and flew in all directions. Shining forced his strength upon the mare, making she cower.
“Surrender…” Shining hissed.
“No!” She shouted in a cracking voice.
Shining focused, looking straight at her goggles. He couldn’t saw the eyes behind them, but he knew they were there. With a quick inspection, the emperor could see her arm trembling, from either fear of his next action, or because she was about to lose that tie.
Before the mare could think about taking any countermeasure, Shining poured all his strength into the handle of his sword, and using sheer force, he applied a vicious strike with the weapons still glued to each other. His might assault destroyed his opponent’s guard, and send her staggering backwards, as even more sparks filled the air around them.
The emperor stared at the mare being thrown backwards, and raised his sword to the air, aiming it. Shining flung Chrysanthemum against her, spinning wildly like a chainsaw. She could easily be cut in half if she didn’t reacted, somehow…
Time seemed slow down, and the emperor followed the trajectory of her forearm. He managed to easily predict she was going to try and deflect the flying sword with her rapier. Shining’s horn flared, and in a flash of a few seconds, he disappeared, and teleported at the exact minute, before the assassin could change his blade’s trajectory.
He grabbed Chrysanthemum by its handle with perfection, while still in the air and immediately swung it in a horizontal arc. His target, with her guard completely opened, couldn’t react; the attack disarmed her, her weapon launched to the left with fury, and the extra force send her staggering backwards even further.
The emperor managed to firmly plant his three hooves on the ground, a cloud of debris covering his sides, while the assassin crashed into a wall, the creepy sound of her backbones and ribcage slamming against it echoed through the plaza
Breathless, the mare slid through it, falling upon her flanks, in defeat. She coughed, sickly…
Trying to get a hold of herself, the mare weakly rose her head to look towards Shining, and said with a pained voice, “I guess… you need to be… a strong warrior to rule a country.”
“I’m not strong to rule!” Shining shouted back, “I’m strong to protect what’s important to me. Now, tell me, who are you?”
She forced a laugh, which made she cough some more, “You will have to kill me!”
“Fool… Don’t you go thinking that I can’t do it!”
Once again, the vicinities were covered into a bright magenta glow. In the blink of an eye, Shining Armor teleported from his position and appeared right in front of his opponent.
“However, I will not… This sacred soil have been tainted enough by your actions alone.”
With difficulties, the mare at his hooves tried to once again mock the emperor with a laugh, which ended in more coughing and gasps for air, “What are you going to do, then?”
“This…” He answered, blankly. Quickly summoning his power, Shining enveloped the entire apparatus hiding the mare’s identity in his magic aura, and removed everything…
“This cannot be!”
Shining couldn’t believe in his own eyes. The mare who just assassinated an innocent and tried to kill him was… Fleur Dis Lee!
“Fleur!” He yelled, dumbstruck and walked a little backwards shaking his head in negation continuously, focusing his gaze on the white mare, muzzle covered in blood, right in front of him.
Fleur smiled with satisfaction, and a red glow shone at her eyes, they quickly returned to their normal light-purple color, though. The unicorn observed Shining’s morale and determination melt, as the realization that he had just injured a friend sunk in.
“What happened to you, Fleur?” Shining asked, pouting.
Before the unicorn could utter a single word, Shining’s ears perked up and moved towards the top of the avenue leading to the plaza. Fancy Pants voice echoed in a desperate attempt to catch his friend’s attention as quickly as possible, “Behind you Shining!”
Without a second thought, the emperor jumped around and evoked one of his strongest and sturdiest shields. He watched as a searing red sphere of flames, bearing a furious crimson color, smashed against his barrier and produced an explosion, blinding him with a curtain of smoke.
The smoke disabled him of doing much, besides hear that somepony, most likely an unicorn, teleported near him, then teleported away on the next second. He also could hear Fancy Pants trotting near, coming down from the top of the avenue.
As the smoke cleared and gave him some space to see, Shining basked into an unsettling vision. Atop one of the apartments, another black figure had brought Fleur to his back, where she had laid down to rest.
This one was clad in the same attire as Fleur was, however, a creepy, monstrous translucent cape of crimson red floated right behind his neck…
It was something so otherworldly that Shining’s breath was taken away…
The magic cloth was huge enough to blanket one of the buildings almost completely.
As mysterious as it appeared, the pony used a high-level teleportation spell, and vanished into a blinding red light.
Fancy Pants trotted near Shining, staring at the spot where the pony appeared, and helping his friend recover from the shock of almost being turned into cinders, he asked with trembling voice, “What’s happening here Shining?”
Shining licked his lips, cold sweat rolling from his forehead freely. He looked at the place where the pony was one last time, and turned to Fancy Pants, replying, “I don’t know Fancy… But I can assure you that something really sinister is happening in Equestria right now…”
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I'd Absolutely LOVE to give out a proper review of this chapter, and point out the couple of mistakes I found, but I'm on my tablet. I'll give you a full review later, on my computer- but for now, just know that I adored this chapter just as much if not more than every chapter before it.
Holy hell, you came out of NOWHERE!!!
I'm glad though, I'm real excited to see when you update this, shit. Though I don't care for Armor, I have to say I'm real impressed with the length of this battle, I was a bit shocked to see who the assassin was, not by much though, is it odd that the creature's cape reminds me of Spawn?
Damn, Twilight's owl is seriously wise, I never would have came up with him being a Griffon first, very impressed I love how Trixie cares little for what they both said about the Griffon kingdom
You are very seriously improving in your writing art, I bucking love it!
Though it does give pause on what the Royal sisters have planned for Twilight, wonder what Spike thinks of all this, damn, I have a dark suspicion that Cadence is planning something, honestly don't know if she is friend or foe, Gods never give their true motive after all
NEXT!!!!!
3820229
I would love to read your review, mister. It's a pleasure to have fans of my story wanting it to improve.
3821137
I'm always flattered by your compliments Inferno, thank you. Guess that the assassin caught everyone by surprise.
And Spawn makes an appearance...
Just found this story and an enjoying it even with some of the grammar errors. What I noticed most seemed to be using the wrong tense in a sentence (ie. Have instead of has or had). It tends to be a little jarring when it interrups the flow of a sentence.
Otherwise great job, I want to see how this ends.
3824466
Thank you!
I apologize for my lack of grammar. I'm still suffering to deal with the differences between the sentence structuring of portuguese and english. I hope you can keep enjoying the story, even with the errors.
3824492
Oh, well that makes much more sense. You write English very well if you are a native Portuguese speaker. I barely know a few words outside of my native english even though I took Japanese in college.
Why didn't I get an update notification.. hmm. Oh well loving your work as always! That battle was amazing. I look forward to the next!
3824521
Thank you very much!
I'm trying to become a professional translator, and I guess I still need to keep studying. Also, I'm trying my hands at japanese too, wish me luck!
3824581
Can't have an update without your comment, Toast. Glad you liked the fighting sequence. Her Destiny is planned to be an Adventure/Action main fic, so expect it to pick up from here!
3824731
The main issues are that it's hard to find another trustworthy proof-reader/editor, and that I lack the knowledge to fully identify the grammatical errors. I commit several slip-ups, just like any author, however, there are a few things that must be wrong, and I'm clueless about due to my imperfect english...
3822411 Very much so and it's my pleasure, you really are an amazing writer
Sombra? Really? The red cloak and crystals from the crystal empire seem mighty suspicious. This story just gets stranger and stranger.
3826398
I hope it is getting stranger in a good way!
3827461
Err, me too?
3824655 Damn right! Anyhoo good luck with that translating. Have a good one bud.
Ooooh and epic fight
good story so far, but needs more dragons
3840606
Your dragon needs shall be taken care of...
25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lqrka5Dcqq1r05905o1_500.jpg
3840636 YAY!
Your grammar has improved. Your diction is a bit strange though.(Diction not fiction)
Machinations in the darkness surround this cursed land.
Who is truly a friend, ally or enemy?
Awaiting further releases.
3847107
Interesting...
How can I improve my diction, creator of her?
3847429
Study synonyms and experiment with different ways to phrase a sentence.
This sounds a bit off and lacks something[to add drive.]
3847460
Thanks, will do!
3847429
Sounds a bit too childish for Fancy Pants.
Implies the nobles' disposition to Twilight as a threat. Sounds a bit abrupt for a noble, Fancy Pants or not.
Also, always "I & them."
[The nobles] and myself"
3847468
You're most welcome.
3848091
The concepts of Theosophy used by Arakawara Hiromu to create and develop her series are of great importance to this fic. Yes, I did a reference to FMA here, thank you for noticing. You will see several others along the fic!
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Thank you deeply for all your kind words and incentive. Upheaval is one of the bests Adventure fics out there, and comparing my humble work with it, it's a honor.
Updates will be coming soon, and thank you again!
4438827
Looks like someone picked a reference.
Amazing chapter, I must continue this reading binge!
This story just gets more interesting.