He stood there, All the work he has done, All the Blackmail,Threats, And Favors called in came into this moment He stood infront of a dazzling sphere of light,
White Star(Or as he calls himself-Zero) Became fascinated by history, to the point of becoming a historian once he finished high school, He became fascinated by this Artifact called "The Essence of Life" To the point of avidly spending bits to gain any information to it's whereabouts, He was pointed at the Castle, He quickly knew he wasn't going to get it by asking, so he made other plans of obtaining it
WhiteStar sat at his seat in the empty train cart anxiously, he waited for what felt like eons in this half hour ride, he was tending to his own thoughts, think of his plan to get the orb, He planned it all out but now he was having doubts,
“I'll enter Canterlot at 3, I'll hang around for 6 hours-”He interrupted his own thoughts Not, I have to minimize my presence, 4 hours.....that seems ni-” A loud noise and the force of the train stopped him and pushed him a few inches,
He quickly looked out the window, Not Canterlot but a rather large town, A bit bigger than his home Ponyville,
“We are sorry for the inconvenience, but one of the new employees accidentally sent in the wrong forum for our fuel storage, we will refill and be out in 15 minuets” The mechanical voice said through the train, He quickly became angry, Unforeseeable variables in his plan could put the entire thing in jeopardy
The train doors open, He went out to get some fresh air and stood near the stand that marked the end of the Stations wood flooring, he looked off into the distance and saw Canterlot and Ponyville in the same view, a breathtaking view, it put him at ease in his rather unfortunate moment
he heard some grunts coming nearby a small greyish pony with a well cut mane was struggling to lift a cello up the few stairs of the station, He quickly glanced at her struggles and quickly shifted his attention back at the view of Canterlot
“Hey you there sir-Can you help me?” The light Grey pony said in between gasps
WhiteStar looked around, The only other ponies there were mares and fillys, he glared at the Grey pony
“Yeah you!, Can you help me? My friend left and now I'm stuck
WhiteStar, Reluctantly agreed and slowly walked to her in hopes of her friend coming back to help, then he realized her friend wouldn't just magically appear and helped the distressed mare bring up an instrument and helped her carry it to the train
Once inside she just set it by her and took her seat across from Him
“Oh Thanks for helping me, I don't know where she went...” She sad as she muttered the last half of her sentence under her breath
There was a silence, He occasional looked out the window and to the Grey pony, then a loud voice broke the silence
“ATTENTION passengers the refilling is complete, we will start in a few seconds” the lead conductor said over his microphone
In a few seconds WhiteStar saw the cart doors of other carts, he looked at his and saw it close, but a bright and White hoof stood out and stopped it just centimeters away from closing,The hoof turned into a body as a Unicorn with a Bright Blue mane walked in sporting purple glasses,
“Jeez Tavi you could have wait for me!” She said angry and exhausted as she took her seat next to the light Grey pony
“Well you didn't wait for me” Octavia said without breaker her concentration from the window behind her
“I'm sorry I left my glasses at the club!, not my fault I rock too hard....” The white pony said
“You could have at least told me.....” Octavia said, Going back to sitting normally facing the window next to WhiteStar “I had to ask a total stranger to help me-And you know I hate that”
WhiteStar cleared his through to draw attention to himself
“I mean.....not in that way-Are you going to Canterlot?” Octavia said changing the subject
“Well duh I'm going with y-” The white pony was cut off
“Not you, Him Mr...” Octavia motioned for his name
“WhiteS-I mean Zero” "Zero" Said, both the mares tried to get a look at his cutie mark but couldn't because of his clothing
“Asking Mr.Zero” Octavia completed her sentence
“Oh I’m going for a.....archeology visit” "Zero" lied
“Archeology? Theres no ruins in Canterlot!” The White pony said
“Dang it Vinyl, Stop yelling” Octavia said,
“I was going.......to consult with Princess Celestia......to help move a Artifact.....” "Zero" said, Choosing every word carefully not to let them know too much
“Then she must have a busy night” Octavia said
“Huh?” WhiteStar Asked,
“I get to do a piece in front of her with my group, For a ball....” Octavia Said remembering the last ball that happened and shook her head
“So what Artifact are you gonna talk about? Some sword of a ancient warrior? A amulet of the Sun? Ooh ooh! Is it the Sun itself!?!” Vinyl Scratch said, Enthusiasm increasing with every word
“No.....it's.......it's....” WhiteStar Stuttered, Not wanting to answer the question
“Vinyl stop, It's obviously something that is suppose to be a secret,” Octavia said, looking at Vinyl
“Then it must be a Amulet of an Ancient Warrior who Protected the Su-” Vinyls speech was ended with Octavia hoof in her mouth
“Sorry for my friend......she's........weird....” Octavia Said in a Apologetic tone
Vinyl broke free “Fine, I'll ask him when he's alone”
“Alone? No we need to set up for th-” Octavia was cut off but a hoof to the mouth
“You can set up alone with your group, I can go clubbing with this guy and learn the secrets of EVERYTHNG” Vinyl said taking off her glasses with her free hoof and looking at the sun
Octavia, Breaking free of her friends grasp, Said “You can't discuss Aerodynamics in a place that’s so loud it shakes the ground”
“We can try” Vinyl Said sheepishly ,
Once they both looked back at WhiteStar he was reading a book, Vinyl quickly got up, Ran, And took the book from His Hoof's
“Hey! Give that back! It's important!” He said instantly getting up and rushing to Vinyl
Vinyl used her magic to encase the book in a light blue aura, Making it hover a bit above both of them, while keeping WhiteStar away by holding him down with a single hoof
“Let's see...... '2/20 I have found the location of the Essence of Life I hope to cla” Vinyl was interrupted by a surge of energy WhiteStar brought overpowering Vinyl and taking the book before she could complete it
“This journal is important to me, It just is, End of discussion” He said, putting it back in it's own pouch and losing said pouch, He moved to another cart that was empty and settled there
“See? You always do this, Scare people away, I'm going to apologize to him, Stay here or so Celestia help me...” Octavia Commanded
Octavia exited the cart and moved to the next one as Vinyl sat there sheepishly alone
He was tending to his things making sure the bright thief stole nothing else, he saw as Octavia entered and immediately got up to exit the cart
“Stop, I'm sorry for my friend she gets rowdy sometimes...... I understand that your journal is precious to you” she sat down, He was still up and looking at her
“its......” Thousands of insults were popping into His brain, The DJ Nearly put his entire journey, And maybe even life in jeopardy “OK I understand, Sorry for freaking out...”
“Oh good, Sorry again” Octavia said, Exiting the cart, Vinyl was in the area between two carts and laughed at her
“Somepony's In Loooooove!” Vinyl Teased
Octavia ignored her and entered the original cart, She then locked it, Vinyl tried opening it
“Come on Octavia” Vinyl Said Playfully “Open the door...........Octavia........Octavia Open the door! TAVI OPEN THE FREAKING DOOR” She said slamming her hoofs against the door
Canterlot 3:30 Celestia Clock Time,
WhiteStar exited the cart and saw Octavia And Vinyl Scratch grabbing their items near the center, Quickly He tried to exit but was quickly stopped by a white pony
“Nope I still want to go clubbing with you” Vinyl Said “And learn about the Artifact!” Half Jokingly
“Stop messing with him, he doesn’t want to go with you after the incident” Octavia said, Without even looking at them
“That's exactly why we should go!” Vinyl said resting her glasses upon her horn
“No...I'm go-” He was quickly cut off
“Were going and that's final!” Vinyl said dragging WhiteStar down the streets of Canterlot
“Wait I need help unpacking!” Octavia said, Emotion now coming to her
Vinyl Ignored her
Canterlot Ally Ways,Titan Club, 3:15 Celestia Time,
WhiteStar sat awkwardly at a bar stool in the middle of a raving group of ponies dancing to loud electronic music, he could see Vinyl dancing to the beat of the sound, He just took a sip of his drink and started to leave, he was quickly intercepted by Vinyl
“You can't go yet! The bass hasn't even dropped yet!” Vinyl Pleaded
“I really have to get to the....meeting with Celestia” He said, walking around her but then getting pushed by a much larger pony
“Oh sorry dude, Didn't see ya there” He said
“Its OK” He said, standing back up and dusting himself off, he left as Vinyl look
Vinyl quickly took notice of his journal that was lying on the ground She quickly levitated it with her magic “HEY DUDE YOU LEFT YOUR BOOK THING!” She said trying to get though the crowd, But He already left
She opened it
“Date of 2/22, I have acquired the necessary equipment to take the Essence of Life, it cost a pretty bit and a few favors but I got it, I will take it on the 28th when Celestia shall be tending to matters in Ponyville for the week” Vinyl's mouth fell
3:30, Celestia's Clock Time, Royal Hall Octavia was preparing with her small orchestra, Tuning their various instruments and taking request from the first few early patrons, a burst came through the main door and 4 Royal Guards came in, followed by a tall white Alicorn, Celestia came walking towards the small orchestra
"I Hope everything is going right?" Her Majesty asked
Octavia, Now stopping her bow, "Yes, we just finished setting up, do you want us to play the same songs as last time?"
"No, Luna shall be taking care of the request, i have to take matters in Ponyville for awhile..." Celestia replied, starting to walk away
"Huh? I thought you had a archeology appointment with somepony" Octavia asked, Puzzled
"Archeology? There aren't any ruins in Canterlot....And i have nothing scheduled for the week other than visiting Ponyville and other towns..." Celestia replied, Now becoming the puzzled
"Huh.....Ok then......." Octavia said, Piecing something together in her mind
3:40 Celestia's Clock Time, Air Harbor of Canterlot
WhiteStar braced the cold rushing winds of the Air Harbor, hiding around boxes to stop some of the wind from hitting him, He occasionally looked up and saw blimps or Pegisai looping around, Finally He found the warehouse
The inside of the warehouse was horrible lit, you couldn't see anything passed 5 feet even if everything was painted bright white, He tried his best to navigate the maze and head to the main office(Which appeared to be the only thing noticeable in the sea of darkness)
Finally when He reached the Main Office he was a bright red Unicorn doing paperwork, too engross in his job to see another current sentient being there
WhiteStar cleared his throat and the red unicorn snapped out of his trance,
"Uggh... if you here about the shipment from Titan then your late, Like," The red unicorn checked the clock behind WhiteStar and narrowed his eyes "23 and a half hour late" He said, subtle anger in his voice
"No I'm here for the request" WhiteStar pulled out a piece of paper from his front pocket "form SF/FA/P/EDC" He slid the paper across the desk
"Oh that crate," He stopped and pressed a button to a two-way radio "Bring me..." He stopped and read the request once more "...Crate SF/FA/P/EDC"
Silence came across the radio before static, obviously the radio connected outside
"Alright, We'll.......there in about.....Minutes!" A voice said
"Repeat" The unicorn said, Angered by the old radios
"5 Minuets" The voice repeated crystal clear this time, He took a seat across from the unicorn
"As you can see, The builders weren't smart implanting a radio outside at the highest elevation in Equestria" He said, a sly grin took form, WhiteStar just nodded his head and sat in silence, Once the unicorn knew he wasn't going to talk his horn glowed red as well as a quill and started working
"Hey" WhiteStar said, Breaking the unicorn's concentration "How exactly do unicorns......you know levitate things and do spells?"
"Uh......Magic...." the unicorn replied, looking up
"I know magic but how do you guys do magic?"
"it's like learning a language, you see it all the time and you start to get a hang of it"
"It can't be that easy,"
"It actually is, i learned basic magic at 5"
"Basic Magic?"
"You know.....the things we do on a regular basis, Levitation, Conjuration, Alteration...."
"Ah.....Ok"
"How do.....Earth Ponies plant seeds and we can't?" The unicorn asked, Keeping the conversation going
"Some law during the 2nd age of Reclamation,when a unicorn made a magical law and allowed only Earth ponies access to the knowledge, Somehow that worked and ended the
"Huh? i don't remember that in school, Who was he?"
"Star Swirl the Bearded"
"Ah Ok....." The unicorn realized WhiteStar was done talking and return to his paperwork
The door opened and leaked light into the darkness, A small female Pegasis stood in a bright blue uniform and goggles
"I Take it this is his?" She asked the unicorn
"Yup, If i remember correctly it was 100 bits?"
WhiteStar grabbed a small bag near his Cutie Mark and tossed it on the Dark Oak desk, Splattering a small pile of golden coins across, The unicorn nodded his head at the pegasis and the pegasis handed the small parcel to He, Who then ripped open the package which revealed a small white orb with blue lines going all around it with a red button in it, and a light grey belt, with two parallel black lines going around and meeting in the light blue buckle in the front
WhiteStar then attached the orb to the belt and equipped the belt, Check One
4:00 Celestia's Clock Time, Entrance to Royal Hall
"Hello?" Vinyl Scratch waved a hand in front of one of the royal guards,
"Stop messing with them Scratch" Octavia said, Emerging behind the door, Holding a small box and then proceeded to walk out of Vinyl's view,
Vinyl then tried to walk into the door but was meet with two crossing spears nearly hitting Vinyl's nose
"You do not have the appropriate Approval to enter this wing" The Left guard said
"I do so!" Vinyl screamed She quickly poked her head above the spears, "Yo!......Octavia Tell them I'm with you!"
Octavia did so, "Shes......sadly is with me"
The guards lifted their spears and allowed the unicorn in,
She went to follow Octavia who was fixing boxes with important things in them "I learned something about Our friend Zero today" she said emotionless
Octavia thought about what Celestia said but pushed it back "What? Something about everything?" she said jokingly
"What...? No! He's a thief! He plans to steal something from Princess Celestia today!" Vinyl horn glowed white and pulled out a battered journal and opened it in front of Octavia
"31st.........bought ticket..... going to Canterlot and picking up some packages........" Octavia looked away "This doesn't prove he's a thief, Vinyl"
Vinyl bit her mouth and changed the pages to the 23nd Octavia began looking again "23rd........Essence of Life?, Whats that?" Octavia said looking up, Vinyl motioned with her hoof, "It is set in the StarSwirl the Bearded Wing, I will set to it in a week, When Princess Celestia will be tending to various towns and cites"
Vinyl used her levitation magic and lowered it down, Closed, Octavia was piecing this new information together
"We have to tell the princess" Octavia said, Worried visible in her voice
4:15, Celestia Clock Time, Progression Street, Inner city of Canterlot
WhiteStar walked through the streets of Canterlot, He would have enjoyed it if it wasn't under treasonous circumstances, He looked at the various high-class shops with legions of high-class ponies coming in and out of these stores, He turned a corner and walked down to the Castle Garden,
He saw plethora of people and objects, A well aged unicorn was giving a lecture of magic by levitating and changing the appearance of his surroundings, Many of the students were taking notes but some were lying down and looking at the sky, Those who did had apples appear on above their head and fell down on them
He shifted his attention to a Musician standing on a small round stand made of marble playing the lute to three well dressed mares,
WhiteStar's attention was interrupted by a mare, She wasn't well dress like the others, She was just wearing clothes ponies back at Ponyville would wear
"Hey you there, Take this!" She said,handing Him a small advertisement
The small colored paper looked like it was made in the span of five minutes, Font sizes ranged from barely readable to incredibly over sized, there was a new color every letter and paint was thrown in at the last second
"RealX?......thanks I'll be sure the check it out...." He lied, He wasn't really a fan of electronic music
"Oh thanks!"she said, Now shifting her attention to a small group of mares, he then stuffed the paper in his front pocket and took his leave
WhiteStar sat at a bench, waiting for Luna's Night Spell to take in
Red Shift walked into his office, he took off his tie and coat and laid it on his desk chair, he fell onto his chair shortly after and look around the office
No one was there, No one was ever there, Except a few new recruits but many of them left soon after, He looked up at the ceiling and saw the same icon every hall, every door, every document he looked at,
Federal Bureau of Anti-Anarchy
Basically sit down at a boring office and stare at nothingness but 3 pieces of reports on a local drunken bar fight,Res Shift didn't care, he got paid twice as much as his old job at he Aerial Dock, and he did ¼ of the work the Royal Guards did most of the work, sometimes coming in and putting convicts into the FBAA's empty cells
He sighed, He wondered why Celestia would build on precious Canterlot soil with this in mind, Canterlot was a very nice place, if anything happened it was near the outskirts, Nothing every happened inside Canterlot, Not even near the Palace
“Hey.....” A blue Unicorn said, Well dressed but in pauper clothes compared to Canterlot's Regulars , he has a well cute mane but were still overlapping the top side of his eyes, Shading them from Red Shift's
Red Shift quickly got up from his seat “I take it your here for the FBAA Job listing?, The unicorn nodded and made followed Red Shift into a room with a table and 2 seats on different sides
Canterlot Hall
Vinyl Scratch was drinking,
For reveling her stress and mind instead of partying like every time,
Octavia was also drinking for the first time, First time in forever, Their group was about to start but Octavia didn't really care, too many thing were going inside her mind, Firstly was why somepony would be so distrustful, Secondly was why somepony would want to steal something close to Celestia, When Octavia told Celestia about the journal and the pony-in-question her face went from excitement from the part to a completely different tone several emotion down to dead serious.
Octavia took another drink, In perfect harmony with her best friend and sent their drinks spiraling downwards, Vinyl removed her glasses and rested them upon her bright white horn and rubbed her temple
At the Canterlot Hall many of the patrons were starting to come in, all dressed in great fashion, then a sound of the horn came upon the room, moving the eardrums of everypony, Everypony bowed to the great princess
Instead Luna appeared at the door
“I'm Sorry everypony, Celestia has been called for important matters, Rest assure that she will come back” She said, She exited the room as mummers filled the room, One of the Royal Guard silenced their talking
“Nothing is going wrong, Our majesty just forgot to do some paperwork, She will be back” How wrong he was
Canterlot Cabinet Room, 7:00 Luna Clock Time
Celestia and Luna sat themselves at the end of a dark room,
Few windows were in the cabinet room, Even fewer painting, It was a long rectangular room with a table nearly as long, Chairs seated in and around the room, Those who were important sat in the inner-oval Having space to lay work on the solid magical table, those who important ranged from life-to-death were seated close to the princesses, Those who had little matter but enough to hear everyone were seated in the outer circle, just their to watch, usually high ranking members of the Royal Guard or famous reporters who had high-level clearance to see all these important ponies in the same room
As the room filled it became apparent that they were excited to be here, The last time they were here they agreed to use the Elements of Harmony to defeat Discord, This situation was much easier to deal with and didn't have the fate of Equstria about to be executed
How Wrong They Were
Red Shift and his new employee-Blue Harmony, were seated at the front in the outer circle of chairs, their importance was of little to the rest of everyone
as everypony filled a mare got up from her seat and approached the start of the room,She was in a grey pant suit, her mane also projected her suit as it was grey and well made She closed the door and pulled a lever, a large white cube fell down from the wall extending to the entire wall of the room, it was a projector screen, she then pressed a button which started the projector, She then cleared her throat
“As you all know” She said, Extending her hoof, pointing at the screen, Which resembled a collection of different lines of colors all circling a very small but noticeable yellow circle, which seem to resemble a scale of a atom, the colors being electrons “The stallion in question seems to be targeting the....”
Her voiced trail off, her face confused
“The.......Essence....of Life?.....Anyway the thief's name s White Star, Our information tell us that he likes to be called Zero”
“We don't need to know this” One of the commanders said, Obviously wanting to get out and stop the thief for himself
“Let her speak” Celestia Said, immediately stopping any side conversations
The talking, obviously fluttered by Celestia stamped “i...uh.......” Luna cleared her throat, ordering her to get on with it “Yes....Uh...” He pressed a button, Reveling a new slide of the item WhiteStar got when he was at the Ariel Harbor
“He seems to have gotten a ancient relic, The “Tomb” as they call it, it allows him to make a seemingly perfect copy of himself, the copy follows all orders and can harm other beings but you cannot harm the copy, he will no doubt be using this to trick the guards”
“Ridiculous! Our guards can see through all tricks!” a commander said, the entire room erupted, arguing that the guards were incompetent or were trustworthy, this went on for a full minuet until Celestia put her hoof down, Literally
“Enough!, Commander Hawkwing I want quadruple guards on duty tonight, I want the most trusted,” She said looking to her left, mostly with militant leaders they all stared at her as she stared back “Any questions!?” the weight of the situation was now dawning on her
A hoof went up, it soon took a form as she stood up
“Are you sure we can trust the royal guards? The numbers of royal guards has fallen dramatically and 65% Of them are new recruits!” She said, as a matter-of-factly
“This isn't one of your campaign trips Miss LoveHeart, You can stop with the facts” One of the militant leaders said, a erupt of “Yup,” “Yeah” and Yes” soon followed, Ms. LoveHeart soon fell back in her chair, the rest of the table soon looked back at the front to the pony who was lecturing everypony
She was fluttered again, Seeing all these important ponies made her blush, it soon faded as Celestia was near deadpanning her
“Oh Yes....” She said, again pushing a button which now showed a bird eyes view of Canterlot Castle “He will presumably enter here” She said grabbing a long wooden pointer and pointed to the front of the castle ad then moving to the Royal Garden, “If he enters from the front he will try to blend in as one of the patrons, If he enters from the Garden his disguise will be unknown” She finished, pushing the button with her pointer
It was the same map but with two colors, one blue, entering from the entrance and walking down long hallways in perfect fashions, the second was red, with 3 different entrances and each going in random non-linear paths “Celestia has told me that the Essence of life is being held in her room” She said clicking the button with her pointer again, The lines leading into her room “But sources tell us that the thief does not know about this, He thinks it is being held in the Starswirl The Bearded wing of the Royal Library”
She clicked the button again, This time the lines being lead to the Royal Library and not Celestia's Room, She clicked the button for the final time, Ending the slide show and tugging on the Projector screen to send it up, Light soon filled the room as she flicked the light lever
“Any Questions?” She asked, the entire room filled with yells and voices
“One at a time” Celestia Whispered, the entire room died down in volume
“Are you sure you don't need extra protection?” One of the outer ponies said, Obviously a Mercenary leader trying to make some coin
“Yeah but not from you!” One of the Commanders laughed, a knife soon followed, cutting some of the Commander's mane off
“I don't miss twice” He said, grinning, the room once again erupted in yells and threats
Red shift had enough and stood up, Blue Harmony soon followed “We would like to volunteer for the mission, if that is alright” Red Shift said, as nopony listened
“I got this” Blue Harmony said as his horn light up in a giant blue and red aura, It extended around the room and everpony soon looked at the two FBAA Agents
“We would like to apply to the mission, If that is alright with you Celestia...” he repeated
“Absolutely Not! The Royal Guards have this under control...” Commander HawkWing said, he then turned to Celestia “I don't understand why you brought all these ponies in!”
Celestia did nothing but put a hoof up to shut up HawkWing, “it is alright, I trust you Red Shift”, a great smile formed over Red Shift as HawkWing fell into his seat, muttering to himself insults
“That is the end, The Royal Guards shall protect the castle with four times as more guards, The FBAA Shall also lend protection to the Guards, If that is the end to this we shall start now, He might be in here already” Celestia Said, the room was smiled as she smirked, “Good” With a quick flash of light she vanished, Luna soon followed, Everypony exited the main door
As Red Shift exited a forceful grab on his shoulder pulled him to the side, it was the commander HawkWing
“We don't need no help, Especially from some pony in some Fancy Shmancy suit!, Go home, let the big stallions do this and cower in your corner” He finished, his breath weighing every word, Red Shift struggled to get out
“No.....No!” he said, finally breaking free
“Oh....Ok.....it would be a shame if something happened to you if you were protecting Celestia's prized artifact.....” He said, as he slipped into the shadows
Royal Canterlot Garden, 7:15 Luna Clock Time
WhiteStar was walking around, the Garden look like a completely new place at night, Many of the trees look different and the statues seem to be life-like,
He took the Artifact from his belt, He's read about this it was called “T.O.M.B” It was written in ancient tongue of the Alicorns, but it meant in normal language “Flesh and Faith” Meaning that the wielder had to have great faith in in tools to complete any mission, Many of the Earth Ponies used it in the 3rd Age of Desolation, to prove that they were worthy of the Alicorns, It allowed to make a complete life like projection of the wielder by taking a few drips of blood(The “Flesh” In “Flesh And Faith”), It also could scan the area for any sentient beings,
He tossed up the T.O.M.B to scan the area and then fell into his hoof with the Blue Lines now turning Red, he was scared, then it turned blue quickly and a wave of relief hit him, he continued to the Library
Royal Canterlot Library
Blue Harmony has been tasked in defending the library, it seemed like a easy job, how hard could it be to stop one pony? He walked around, using his magical powers to create a beacon of light around him to see, Stopping once in a while rest, using magic for long period of time were now starting to get to him, In the middle of his rest he saw a darkened figure walk past down a hallway
“Stop right there!” He said, quickly turning on his light and chasing the figure, when he approached the corner and shined the light on the figure he just saw a drunken patron who got lost
“Your not suppose to be here...” Blue Harmony said, Sighing
“I.... Hic! Can........ be Hic! Here!....” Berry said, Obviously had one-to-many shots
“Guards?!” He yelled, Soon a Lunar Guard approached the two “Take her back to the Party and make sure she doesn’t get back here” The Guard just gave a dead stare to Blue Harmony, Not wanting to take orders from a Lowery person but did the job anyway, Blue Harmony continued looking
Celestia's Room
Celestia paced back and forward, her normally nice grin and good attitude were replace with a cold stare at nothing and anxiety, She had the Essence of Life only a few feet away from here but feat as if she had it stashed in the roughest part of Manehatton with a sigh that said “Take me!”
“It shall be alright my sister” Luna said, with a smile “He shall not take our gem”
“I.....I Know...” Celestia said, Not even sure of herself
“Shall we call our friends?, Calling the Elements may put you at ease”
“No......we can't bring them into this....”
“Are you sure?”
“......No......Don't summon them yet.......” Celestia would rather have Discord helping them than allowing her student and friends to get sucked into this
Suddenly Celestia got wide eyed “We have not told anypony about the Essence of Life, how could He find out!?, If he knew what it was but went to the Library” She was interrupted by a large Aura of blinding bright colors
The light settled and showed a WhiteStar, standing there looking at a locked metal but colored wardrobe, he pulled out the Flesh and Faith, he pressed the button with the top half of his hoof, a spike went out, not stabbing him directly but graving the top half of his hoof, WhiteStar proceeded to use the blade to break the lock
Quickly WhiteStar was encased in a yellow aura and was shoved to the front door
"You!" Celestia said, Anger in her voice than can shake a world, WhiteStar quickly got up and reached for his Flesh and Faith but it wasn't there on his belt, it was across the room, on the ground, protected by two powerful Alicorns, WhiteStar quickly got into a standing position
"You know you won't leave here with it....you know?" Luna said, Getting up from her standing position and getting out of the bed
WhiteStar was silent, he stared at his two brick walls that stopped him, He tried to speak but muffled yelling and pounding were heard out the door, Suddenly the door forced open and revealed another two WhiteStar's, One with scratches and the other with the same scratches but also flickering
Both the Alicorns looked at the 3 ponies, Each Different, One Harmed, The other not, and a Hologram
Both Luna and Celestia extended their wings to create a blockade and their horns were encased in a aura, waiting to be released at the intruders, quickly the hologram WhiteStar rushed over and slammed against Celestia, knocking her back a few inches but enough to fold her wings and stop her spell, The scratched WhiteStar did the same to Luna, but this time knocking her back more
The unharmed WhiteStar ran to the other side of the room, Sliding down to grab Flesh and Faith and continued to try and break the lock on the wardrobe, Celestia quickly took noticed and encased him in a Aura and moved him back to the main door of the room, The hologram WhiteStar quickly tackled Celestia to try and stop her magic, At the same time the Harmed WhiteStar was stuck in a stalemate with Luna, Both not gaining any room in their struggle
The unharmed WhiteStar got up and noticed he still had his faithful tool in his hand, He pressed the button and stuck it into his front right hoof, two seconds later a new Hologram WhiteStar, Who immediately knew what to do and ran to help the other WhiteStars fighting the alicorns, Alternating between Luna and Celestia overpowering them every time he joined the fight
WhiteStar(The one who appeared here at the beginning of this chapter) Ran back to the lock and broke it with one swift hit of his blade, the door slowly opened and all the fighting stopped punches and spells stopped in mid air and looked up the the wardrobe
There WhiteStar starred at a Dazzling display of light and colors, Every favor he did, Every Blackmail he made, Every amount of money lead up to this moment,
WhiteStar slowly took the Essence of Life, it was much smaller than he predicted but it was now his, even if he got it in unorthodox methods, Then.... Light, WhiteStar vanished from the room, Celestia Yelled in frustration and anger
Star Swirl the Bearded Wing, Royal Canterlot Library, 7:30 Luna Clock Time
WhiteStar looked down at the ground, He saw an sleeping Berry Punch,Discarded Lunar Armour, and a Time Travel spell scroll inside a circled 120 pointed blue star, each 20 points making a line stretching a few feet outside to a new circled star, these new stars are five pointed, and each a different color, Purple, Blue, Yellow, Orange, Pink, And White,
WhiteStar knew what he had to do to keep time in check, Unless he likes having the fabrication of time and space being torn apart by a paradox he had to go back to Celestia's room, He quickly ran to out the door and on the way to her room
It didn't take long, He was at the hallway to the room but it was guarded by........at least 15 Lunar And Celestial GuardStallions, then a Idea popped! He took out Flesh And Faith and stabbed his front hoof, he sent the hologram to the door and then ordered him to come back, most of them followed the hologram, All of them wanting the glory, WhiteStar Watched from under a table as they ran to the nonexistent WhiteStar, he then stabbed him self again and summoned another hologram, this one to help deal with the remaining Guardstallions
There were 3 left, 2 Lunar and the other a Celestial guard, they watched as 2 figures approached from the darkness and into the light of the door, they looked at WhiteStar, and his mirror Hologram WhiteStar, they quickly charged at them and the WhiteStar's countered their attacks, he was no fighter but his hologram was able to take on all 3 with minimal damage, Regular WhiteStar just kicked the unconscious heads of downed fighters
After 2 minutes of fighting it was Just Hologram WhiteStar fighting the Celestial Guard, the Guard having many bruised and Scratches from his hologram foe and the Hologram WhiteStar just flickering with every hit, The Celestial Guard set up a punch, this time putting all his energy into it in hopes of diminishing the hologram, When he struck he went through the hologram and punched the real one instead
WhiteStar was taken back by this and punched the guard in the head, which hurt the him more than the guard because of his armor, the Guard then punch WhiteStar again and made WhiteStar stumble back into a table, The hologram took it from there, jumping on his back and repeated blows to the head
Once the hologram was done with his barbaric attacking they both opened the door
What they saw was the same as WhiteStar sighting a few minutes earlier(Or Ahead if your being technical) but from a different standpoint, His hologram was already halfway to Celestia, He looked to Luna and knew what he had to do, he charged at the Royal Princess in hopes of achieving his dream....or the other him in helps of achieving both dreams
Then.......Time slowed, he turned his head surprisingly fast, he saw a flickering of himself charging THE Royal Princess in a frame-by-frame look, the look of a disgruntled Celestia wrestling something not even she could take out, WhiteStar saw her fall on her back wrestling the hologram
He turned his head again, He saw his past self trying to break a metal lock with a ancient relic, He realized that it was a very stupid idea and could have resulted in the breaking of that valuable artifact, He turned to the Princess of the Night, she had a different look on her, Instead of being scared she looked like she could take on the world with a hint of sadness
A voice invaded WhiteStar's head "Balcony" it sounded like both a Stallion and a Mare, but also... alienated, Nothing like Pony-Kind but also exactly Like Pony-Kind
The voice distracted him and slowed his charge to a slow walk, once he regained everything at stake he looked up to the princess of the night and saw her black mane cover most of his vision, her eyes inches away with a bad menacing look and a even worse frown, like a foal trying to intimidate a biker stallion who just got out of prison
she quickly put her hooves up like a boxer, shaking on her hind legs, WhiteStar started to make himself gain speed and proceeded to ram Luna
This caused both of them to fall, Whitestar of top and Luna struggling on bottom, She quickly charged a blast of magic and hit him right between the eyes, this caused him to fall back on his back while Luna quickly got on top of him, shooting magic but missing while WhiteStar struggled and dodged
A loud click was heard, all heads, both real and not look at the metallic lock finally breaking, they saw him take hold of the aura and then......light
The light blast was so powerful the holograms vanished the entire room was a mess, books,pillows, everything was where it should not be
Once everyone recovered they all looked around at the mess
WhiteStar was stuck under a bookcase, he couldn't push it off because it was on his back, Celestia's horn glowed a bright yellow and so did the bookcase, it was thrown across the room, the normally nice, forgiving and happy Princess was replaced by a angry and killer aura,
"Where." Her voiced seem to shake the entire world
"Is." She took a few steps forward to WhiteStar, the earth trembling under her
"It." She was looking down at the petrified earth pony under her, like a executioner getting ready to use his halberd
WhiteStar took a moment to choose his words, even the most right answer could lead to......undesirable outcomes, his mind froze
"I'll ask again" She said taking one of her hooves and putting it on his, Nearly crushing his hoof "Where......Is.....It?"
"Why....."WhiteStar manage to say "Why......Does It Matter?"
Celestia though for a quick second, she looked at a horrified Luna Her thoughts were interrupted by WhiteStar trying to stand up, She just put more pressure stopping his advancements "You know right? You wouldn't try to take it if you didn't" Putting even more pressure on him and looking down at him
"Sister...." Luna said, Celestia sighed
"If we don't stop him now what will make him stop from doing it again?" Celestia said, turning away, he took this as his moment to grab something, Anything! he looked, and saw a book only inches away from his hoofs, he reached with his free hoof and only hit the corner, bringing it only a few centimeters, he tried again and got a good grip
Celestia looked down at her prisoner, or more so a book-to-the-face, this caused her to stumble back before falling and clutching her nose,Luna Stopped for a second and then lunged at WhiteStar, who rolled over, She hit the door with her horn, unable to break free
WhiteStar looked around, only window was blocked by a bleeding princess and even if it wasn't it was a 300 foot drop, the door was also blocked by a princess, he looked
The Balcony! he ran to the balcony and looked over the edge, a 100 foot drop onto
A)Stone floor, which, assuming he's still able to move his eyes, will have to deal with a every guard rushing into and out of the castle
B)The grass area of the Canterlot garden, it was around 25-75 feet drop and a hill he could roll on but then the jagged and rusty area of the garden's gate were at the bottom of the hill
He quickly heard a noise, both princesses got up from their daze and looked at WhiteStar, And to make thing worse the door opened and reveled around 10 guards,Not even with the help of Flesh and Faith could he be able to win this round
No stopped for a second and weighted his options as a small militia started running at him, Life In Prision or 99.999% chance of death?
the force was almost 3/4 of the way to him, once he saw the anger in all of their eyes he though the jump was better, he quickly rushed over the counter and fell,
Aura encased him, Neither Yellow or Blue, he turned around and faced the guards and the princess looking at him, none of them had horns glowing
WhiteStar watched as time slowed down again, he saw Celestia and Luna horn's glow trying to do a spell but magic could not keep up with the speed he was falling down.
His vision blurred, he was so far down that he could not see the royal sisters or the guards anymore, in fact he couldn't see the castle or the grass. Just darkness
A flash of light made him see again, he was in a cave with water dripping every few seconds from different areas, he seemed to land on a bunch of coins and bits, he looked up and saw a circle stone cylinder, he fell down a well
He took out the Essence of Life and smiled a bit, he still had it, he used it as a flash light, although it was so bright he never had to hold it close to anything
WhiteStar knew he could not jump up and get out of the well, he looked around and saw a small hatch that was being open, He quickly pocketed the Essence of Life and hid behind a rock
It was a normal brown Earth Pony who was using a wheel barrel to shovel money into, he seemed to be whistling a tune
WhiteStar took this time to go out the hatch he came from that he left open,
He saw Luna's moon shining everything, it felt good to breath a bit now,, he looked around and saw he was in the Royal Garden, he was alone, atleast he thought
He took out the Essence of Life and it illuminated the garden, he never really took a good minuet to look at it,
Looking at it made him happy, he didn't know why, Well he knew why,He worked hard to get it,
WhiteStar took a second to recall what the Essence of Life did.......He couldn't,
"Was......No......it.....no........"He thought, staring deep into the center of the atom-like sphere he was holding, Then he heard rustling of leaves and quickly pocketed the orb, everything dimmed like it was never there,
"Sir do you happen to know where the thief is?" A voice said, obviously a guard's, the darkness shielded him, the darkness also shielded WhiteStar
"Thief? There's a Thief?" WhiteStar said, With fake nervousness
"Yes, A White Stallion wearing a cloak that is white as well, He has something important to the princess" He said
"What is it?" Whitestar asked, Immediately regretting it as he wanted out of this conversation as fast as possible
"Something that looks like a space-orb atom thing, that glows and sparkles" The guard said, Not even believing himself as he said it
"oh.....I'll keep a look out then"
"Thank you sir, Enjoy your Gala" the guard left allowing WhiteStar to breath a sigh of relief, He started walking to the front gate but stopped at the edge of the garden, he saw more guards then ponies
He thought for a quick second and came up with a horrible yet wonderful idea: Create a scene
He turned around and headed to the other edge of the garden, the one where the rusted gates were and saw the main hall were most of the Gala guests were, he saw bright lights and ponies who had one drink to many
WhiteStar trotted up the small incline and picked up one of the glasses of discarded and headed back to the other edge of the garden
He took aim at the stone wall near the front gate
He lowered his hoof, thinking of what happens if he fails, he then tossed it with all of his might,
He was already going to jail, Might as well add vandalism to it
He watched the glass chalice begin to arch and fall to the ground bellow........and hit a guard straight in the face......who fell immediately down while half his friends came to comfort him while the other half investigated where it came from
He quickly tried to think but his brain was filled with fright and adrenaline
He ducked and crawled to the side and watched as about 20 Celestial and Lunar Guards rushed past him he then sprinted to the front gate passing the guards confronting the dazed and confused one, He was surprised to see nopony following him, he rushed down the steps of the main district of Canterlot, Market District
With the Gala going on nearly all the stalls and shops were closed, that and it was near midnight
The empty area gave him a unsettling feeling, the occasional couple rushing to the Gala was all that comforted him and pulled him back into the world
He felt as if the Market District grew.......1,000 Miles, it felt much longer but that was probably the anxiety
While walking on the cobblestone street he came at a 4 way crossroad, he didn't know which way to go and his mental map seemed to be mixed up since he didn't pay attention to street signs, When he tried to get close to a street sign it seemed to be most impossible to read if that was even possible. The buildings seem to have gotten smaller instead of the 3-5 stories Corporate buildings and 2-3 Mega Stores
His deduction of the streets he was on was stopped by hoof's hitting cobblestone, At a faster rate than the fancy ponies he saw rushing to the Gala, They also seemed like metal sounds instead of glass sounds. WhiteStar quickly ran down the street that was left when he entered the crossroads, Or was it Right? It didn't matter the sounds became quiet after awhile, they seemed to go down the wrong path if they were guards
Grand Hall, 12:15 Lunar Clock Time
The wave of guests have died down and Celestia was able to reside inside the Grand Hall with her sister and friends, To her right was her Sister, Putting on the same fake smile as Celestia was carrying, to her left was her faithful student, Twilight
In front of here was a long golden table covered by a white silk cloth, with assorted foods and drink covering that,
She watched as the patrons of the Gala sipped their drinks and listened to the music Octavi's group was playing, Although she was sure there was 4 in the classical music group, one seemed to be missing
she didn't talk while she was in the Grand Hall, she didn't want to scare Twilight and she didn't want anypony to listing in if they were talking about the Essence of Life, no need t-
Luna stood up and used her magic to encase a empty glass and spoon, she then tapped both of them together smashing the both the spoon and the empty glass cup, a wave of laughs and a few Lunar guards came to clean up the mess,She didn't yet master the art of getting everypony attention, She cleared her throat and said:
"Welcome guest to the Grand Gala" the sound of horses equivalent to human clapping happened She smiled, a real one, "I would like to thank everyone who helped" She ended, More Horse clapping happened
Still up she look down to her left, Princess Mi Amor- I mean Cadance and ask to her "Where is your husband?" While sitting back into her seat
"Oh he said that somepony broke into the castle so he's organizing troops to get that pony" She replied
"Oh the guards can do fine for a night without him" Luna said
"I know but he's all about honor and things....." she said looking down at her empty cup
"It will be ok, He'll find a day for you, i promise"
"Thank you, Luna" They engaged in a hug, Twilight took note of their conversation
"Somepony broke into the castle? Who?" She asked Celestia
".....Some thief broken ......into the library! yes, he broke into the library" She said, making Twilight freeze from her past crime "It is OK you need not to worry, the Celestial and Lunar guards are on it,"
"I can help, I mean i have nothing to do" Twilight said
"It is OK, Your are important but you shouldn't be chasing what the guards can accomplish"
Entertainment District, 12:20 Lunar Clock Time
WhiteStar knew he was not going in the right way, he needed to be at the train station in around 70 minuets, the darkness seem to send him in circles and the silence made the stomping louder making him hear it everywhere, In fact it's getting louder.....
"Hello Sir, Have you seen this man?" Red Shift said flying a bit overhead from him and holding a Wanted poster, Blue Harmony quickly caught up to him, breathing heavily, Once Blue Harmony looked up his eyes seemed to grow
"It's!!.....Him!" He yelled, Red shift couldn't see very well so he went closer to WhiteStar,
"It Is!" Red Shift said, Now trying to Air-tackle him, which he failed......miserable.........he rammed the stone ground, Blue Harmony didn't fare any better, he was to tired to tackle him, instead he encased WhiteStar in his aura and levitated him
WhiteStar struggled as hard as he could, then.....the voice....
"You are trapped............i will fix this...."The gender less voice said to his mind, Blue Harmony's magic stopped, causing his eyes to widen even more
"How!" He said, but he was given no answer as WhiteStar took off running, Red Shift quickly got into the air and followed him, diving down every once in a while to get him but never succeeding as he ran in a Zig-Zag pattern
WhiteStar found a noises that wasn't the occasional rush of wind Red Shift was making and his steps, the sounded like electronically music, he turned a corner and saw a large building with lights and lasers and smoke come out of the entrance, there were about five bodyguard(Not Celestial or Lunar, Just paid ones) ponies guarding the entrance so the dozens of ponies outside didn't get in, He had no choice but to wing it and rush into the building, Red Shift took notice of this and landed infront of the club
"Sorry you can't get in" One of the guards said, tossing him across the street,
WhiteStar fastened himself and jumped over the barricade of ponies into the club, he looked behind and saw that they were now chasing him, he quickly rushed through the crowd of ponies who were listining to the DJ High up on a staircase box, half his mane cut and the other half covering one side, he looked at the sign that was flashing behind him, obviously his or some other unicorn's magic, It read "REALX" in big flashy letters
He was not fast enough as the guards caught up to him and grabbed him "You don't have the invitation" One said,
"I think i do" WhiteStar replied , taking the crumbled up paper from his pockets and showing him the flyer, the guards just sighed and let him go
"Sorry for interrupting you, Enjoy the concert" One said,they all walked back to their post
The music was was playing seemed like the Dubstep that Vinyl Scratch was showing at the beginning of the day, the lasers seem to flash at him and everyone every few seconds and the music was so loud it controlled his heartbeat
WhiteStar looked at the mass of ponies jumping up and down, He enjoyed it just not as much as other genres of musics, he took a seat by the bar knowing full well that those two ponies who were chasing after him could come in at any time, As well as any Lunar or Celestial Guards could come in as well, he couldn't run away, the crowd that covered nearly all the building wouldn't let him pass through, and as far as he knew there was one exit, Not to mention Luna or Celestia themselves, everypony follows them, the princess saying that he was a enemy of the state would cause everypony in the building to chase him.
Canterlot Castle, Grand Hall, 1:30 Luna Clock Time
"...And so i couldn't get in...." Red Shift finished his speech, He looked up to the princesses for their judgement and made eye contact, he then quickly looked back at the ground, The normal and annual celebration came to a end, the happy atmosphere was replaced by a much less happy emotion, Only the princesses and the all members of the FBAA Were there,
"This is disappointing news...." Luna said, After listening to the red Pegasus
"It is, You failed to capture the thief" Celestia said, "This would cause for you to be fired from your position"
Red Shift looked up to the rulers, "But that is for Royal Guards, and you are far from one, You and your friend here have one last chance, Do not fail us or this will hang upon you" She finished
"He is still at the club, He has a appointment at the train station in 30 minutes, Blue Harmony you will go to the Train Station" Luna said, Her horned glowed and the room went bright, Soon Blue Harmony wasn't where he was, She turned to Red Shift and her horned glowed, but with a delay
"Do not fail us, Failure will mean more than shame" She Said Soon a last surge of magic happened and Red Shift was not where he was
Club Pound, 1:35 Luna Clock Time
Luckily the bright light did not transfer to the club, Even if it did most ponies will mistake it as part of the on going concert, Red Shift looked around, he saw ponies dancing(Or at least he thought it was dancing) to the ground-shaking music, He looked up and saw RealX he was a fan of him but now his job mattered more than his likes
He searched around for a pure white earth pony and saw one quickly sitting at the bar, he quickly rushed to catch the culprit and grabbed his bright blue mane
"Hey get your Hoof's off of me!" A mare's voice yelled out, Quickly loosening his grasp allowing the wronged mare to turn around
"The heck are you doing!!!" Vinyl Scratched yelled, throwing her drink at Red Shift
"I'M SORRY! i mistaken you for somepony else..." he said, whipping away the liquid from his face, the sting of alcohol burned some parts of his eye causing him to hold onto his temple
"Don't mistake me again...." She said turning around to the bartender who was cleaning a glass encased in his magic aura "Another one please...." She rested her hooves onto the surface
"I think you had one to many, Miss" The Bartender Said, giving a concern look "I can call a cab if you like"
"I don't need a cab, Get me another drink!" She said, slamming one of her empty glasses into the surface, a red hoof appeared on her cup-hoof
"You've had one to much miss" Red Shift said
"I have not!,Go mistake other ponies for ponies they aren't!" She said turning to Red Shift who was seated to her right, He sighed and looked down and then backed up, he saw a white pony in the background he looked closer
Vinyl took note of this and looked behind her, she saw WhiteStar at the end of the bar, She used her magic to put on her glasses
"He was here the entire time?" She said, taking a sip of her new drink
"I guess so...." Red Shift said, getting out of his seat and walking to the culprit
He finally reached WhiteStar, he was checking all of his things and paid the busy bartender a few bits and went for the back exit, the drink seemed to ease his mind only a bit
"Hey" Red Shift said, Startling the Archaeologist
"Oh.......Heeeeeeey" WhiteStar said, opening the door very slowly and staring the FBAA Agent in the eyes
"You aren't leaving Canterlot with it you know..."
"A Stallion can try....Maybe i'll even surprise you"
"I will make sure-" Red shift was interrupted by Ear-Splitting sound of a fire alarm, Louder than the dubstep that was playing water poured down from the high roof and drenched the musician and his set of electronic instruments
RedShft looked back at the chaos and was soon pushed away from the door, making the only thing between him and the thief about 100 ponies rushing to safety from the ensuring rain
He ran into the crowd pushing everypony away in hopes of getting to the white pony, he then remembered he has wings and went up for a bird's eye view
He saw a white blur rushing down streets to the Station, He could not allow the chance of him getting to the train, He landed infront of WhiteStar, Hearing a crack, being happy it wasn't his bones but the stone street
He saw the thief pull out this magic glowing orb, it then wiggled a bit and released a small blade, Red Shift never been in armed combat but he better learn quickly
Instead of WhiteStar lunging at him with his orb-knife he cut himself
Red Shift was silent, he never even heard of a pony cutting himself let alone during a fight
He quickly saw the reason as a doppelganger appeared next to him,He was stunned and had to rub his eyes
The two of them were still there, One holding the orb knife, The knife retracted into the orb, the other in a battle stance, one of them quickly rushed pasted Red Shift, causing him to look back and quickly fall to the cold stone ground by a kick to the head
He was dazed for a few seconds and quickly got up in a fighting stance
The clone he was looking at seemed to flicker ever so often, he didn't know what it meant but it was probably something that can help him he sent a barrage of punches at the clone, all of them falling through the hologram
he quickly turned around to throw another punch but he was face to face with a hoof, but his muscles were already in motion and threw a punch for it's face, this caused the hologram to flicker for a quick second, Red Shift's Punch went threw like it was air but the hologram's punch also went through
Red Shift was amazed and got ready for another punch by the hologram, It came and he punched at the hoof, Once again dealing no damage to either party, he didn't harm the clone but he found a way not to get hurt
They went on trading non-collective punches, like a stallion and his shadow fighting, they seemed to mimic each other fighting style until they were almost identical and in a loop. then something happened
In the midst of fighting and copying each other during a punch it connected with the hologram, it was a small jerk and then it went through but Red Shift surely felt the surge of feeling in his hand of connecting to a solid object, Either the hologram was getting "Tired" Or it was nearing to be destroyed
It didn't happened again the next time he sent a mirror punch, it just passed through, he tried to remember what he did differently, nothing, he did the exact same thing the past 30 times, nothing different, the hologram was messing up and getting "Sloppy"
He kept trading blows with the hologram, he didn't understand the reports of the guards when they said the hologram was hard, Maybe they were fighting the real one? He didn't know, maybe he was different that the grunt guards....
He wondered how his friend was doing, he didn't know how many clones the thief could make, maybe one, maybe one hundred,
He noticed as the hologram started to flicker more often, it went from from a flicker every ten to fifteen seconds to every three, he wondered if it was because of him connecting a punch
The fight seemed to have no end, Red Shift did not have another moment where he was able to connect a real punch to the Hologram Clone, But the Hologram Clone did have chances to hit Red Shift, He was getting tired, feeling pain in various joints and all over his face, His mimicking of the Clone seemed to be delayed from the pain that he was feeling, allowing him to get hit again, Making him delay his attacks longer
Red Shift stopped fighting for a second and leaped back to get some ground between him and the Hologram Clone
"What are you"He plainly said, breathing heavily, trying to regain some of his energy before his next skirmish
The Hologram looked at him with his fake eyes, other than the dust on his white outfit he was perfectly fine, the same could not be said for Red Shift, he had dirt, scratches and blood almost all over the front part of his body,
His mouth did not move, only his legs to finish the fight, Red Shift didn't think it though and threw a punch instead of dodging and...... it connected! he sent a barrage of punches with his new found adrenaline, each of them connecting and not going through the non-existent body
Finally the Hologram began flickering more often, from three seconds to half of one, and then......light, a beacon of light rose from where he was and then exploded, leaving only Red Shift with temporary blindness
He stayed there for a second to regain his strength, he didn't know how to feel after defeating a hologram who nearly beat him Ecstatic? No........not that happy, he felt no emotion really, the Princess words wanted the real thief, not a dead fake one
He looked around to see if the fallen foe had dropped anything,
Nothing, Not that he really expected a hologram to carry real items, The only remains of the battle was the wounds on his body and the crater in the street, He continued to the Train Station to catch up with WhiteStar, He didn't know how much time he had to get him before he reached Blue Harmony, he might pull the same trick and Blue Harmony not might be able to fend them both off
He extended his wings and sent a wave of pain through his body, bouncing off every point and sending another surge, the hologram must have hit more to his wings that he must have though, it's only going to be walking now
So he walked, Even walking sent small bits of pain around his legs but it was better than flying
The Moon seemed to hang over him as if he was being watched, which he was, the princess were looking through their telescopes to find the thief, but finding a small dot in the middle of the largest town in all of Equstria proved to be much more complicated than anything they have done,
He was somewhere, Celestia, Luna,RedShift,Blue Harmony, all four knew he was still in the city, the train station was the only way in and out of the city, White Star knew it as well, He knew that at least three people where trying to stop him, And he was about to meet the fourth, He wondered if the hologram beat the Pegasus, Which he had no doubts it took out a group of Royal Guards he knew it would be able to take out some normal pony
Blue Harmony yawned, he was still at the train station and only saw a few ponies in fancy suits and dress getting ready, obviously from the Gala .
He used his magic to encase his pocket watch in a blue aura, opened it a few inches from is face
1:50 Luna Clock Time
He heard a whistle from the train indicating 10 more minutes to pack.He used his magic to put the pocket watch back in place and looked out into the dark streets, just the occasional well-dressed ponies that may have had one too many or they were just sleepy. Or both
He then saw a small white dot approaching , fast too, he saw another dot but couldn't make out the color but the other dot was catching up, He lit up his horn and in preparations for levitation to take out White Star.
"Dang it Vinyl stop running so fast!" A Brown pony said
"The trains about to leave! it would be good if one of us got there instead of none, also your rich, you could buy a zeppelin and go home" A white pony said
Blue Harmony stopped his spell and let the two mares go past him.He heard them pay their tickets and walk onto the train.
"Hello Sir, Are you coming onto the train?" The train conductor said
"Oh no, i'm waiting for someone here..." Blue Harmony responded ,
"Alright, Have a nice night" He replied
"You two...."
A few seconds later a horn let out a scream and all the ponies on the deck quickly got on, the train left the station, Blue Harmony was relieved, at least WhiteStar couldn't return home if he got past Him.
Wait what IF he did get past? It's not that hard to jump the railings and walk along the rock points to the other side of the train station
No.... WhiteStar Never saw him right? He remembered when they chased him in the streets, He could have seen him and take a different path...
A gust of wind came over Blue Harmony, this was different winds that seemed to hit the high city, this one felt....wrong it didn't feel like the normal humid air this one was cold, freezing almost as if it was ice, he quickly left the feeling as a hotter air came quickly and brought him back to reality.
Then he heard stone hoofsteps, he looked at the three main roads and all of them seem to have the same noise from each way, he looked again at the center and saw a figure running to him, his horn started to glow like a beacon and began a spell,
His hunch was right, the pony that now stood only a few feet away from him, shocked, was WhiteStar he shot sparks of magic at his Hoof's and bonded WhiteStar to the perfectly carved stone
Thousands of saying flushed through his heads, comedic one-liners and degrading insults,
Finally he spoke
"You are under arrest for the crimes against her majesty and the people of Equstria, you punishment will not be made by me but it will be severe" he looked at WhiteStar, his face looking down "What do you have to say"
WhitesStar just continued staring at the ground,not even attempting to break free of the magical grasp that encased him
"I said, What do you have to say?" Blue Harmony said, this time in a much more commanding tone and started to close the space between him and WhiteStar
Nothing changed about WhiteStars
"Fine be that way, we will wait here for my partner and we will escort you to the Royal Guards" He plopped down and focused on the thief
Time seemed to slow down for Blue Harmony, his vision blurred and he started to fall down, but to him it instead of a few seconds of falling down and a small thud it felt like decades turning into centuries and when he finally hit the ground it was as if his body was being crushed by a boulder,
He blacked out and his spell wore off of WhiteStar, The voices in his head helped him once again, Now WhiteStar just looked at the unconscious body of the unicorn.
He left the body for his partner to come, he looked at the empty train station and a train that he was just late for.
Now he has to find a new way of exiting a city.
he remembered the Ariel Harbor had ships, Or a way of getting out of the city without going through a bunch of checkpoints like the train station will have.
he started making his way up the stair case to the Harbor, it wasn't long as his thought seemed to have passed the time, His normal thoughts of piecing old history together were replaced by the consequences of his actions and worries of what his family or friends will think if or when he is convicted
No it's not going to happen, he planned this to much to let it fail, he WILL leave the city, and he WILL not be caught, he told himself this a thousand times but his doubt always sneaks in.
He came at the entrance to the Ariel Harbor, a bunch of landing pad and a few rich company building like MicroNoft and Bapples populated most of the buildings, giving them a much faster transport of goods than carriage or train, it also allowed shipments to places where land transport wouldn't or couldn't go
the Ariel Harbor was pretty much deserted, except for a few pegesai doing some last minuet placements and storage movement, He looked around and saw only a air boat (Zeppelin?). it had a few crates left on it and was different than than the royal ones in a number of ways
It didn't have the purple balloon instead it was a sky-blue with big black MICRONOFT Written on both sides, the mast of the zeppelin(Air Boat?) was made out of strong oak wood with metal covering the sides, front and back to protect from accidental hits with mountains or other things, other than those changes it was like a regular Royal Air Boat(Zeppelin?)
he made his way to the floating Zeppelin, trying to act confident, it worked as he planned none of the pegesai paid any attention to him, they just thought he was another worker
As he got into the Zeppelin(Air Boat?) and went to the steering wheel, he never really knew how to drive one, the only time he did was when he was a colt and it was only for 4 seconds before he was pushed aside, looking back on that moment it was really stupid of him to do that...
It's not like he need to know, the instructions were behind the steering wheel of the ship, he started pushing levers and pressing buttons and the ship finally was released from the grasp of the dock,it started to move toward ponyville, well slowly but faster than by walking
A nap would help, if the pegesai did nothing while he was leaving the dock then they would be doing nothing while he left the city limits
4 Luna Clock Time, Royal Castle, Celestia's Room
Red Shift stood with his wobbly partner in front of the Princess again, they were reviewing the reports they both told,, although most of it was being disregarded as one was unconscious for most of the time
They stopped talking to each other in old Pony Latin so that the FBAA Agents couldn't prepare for what they were going to say
"You have failed us" Celestia said with a sigh and closed her eyes "This would means severe punishment for you both"
Luna took over "But as FBAA Agents you operate outside the Royal Guard, and our jurisdiction as commanders of the Royal Guard"
Celestia took over again, this time with less feeling in her voice "But not outside of our jurisdiction as rulers of Equstria, we are giving you one last chance, Fail us and nobody will know of this operation or you, Everything you did or who you were"
She stopped and sighed again, she looked back up to the agents who were shacking, Red Shift more than his disoriented partner
"But succeeds and we will make sure everyone knows of your victory and triumph over this terrorist" Luna completed, through the entire order she looked at both agents in the eye
"Y-Yes Princesses, we won't let this happen again" Red Shift bowed
"Blue Harmony will stay with us during the remainder of this mission unless we believe he is in perfect mental and physical shape to go against him,"
"I have a question......If i may ask" Red Shift said
"You may ask" Luna Said
"Do most of the Royal Guard know about this mission? only commander HawkWing seemed to care about our involvement, Do they know about FBAA In general?, and Parliament, it seemed only a few of them seem to know some of the mission we should tell Par-
"There are things i do not tell the Parliament, There are things i do not tell about the Royal Guard, This mission is more important that all of that, i would send everything i have at the thief if i could but then ponies would question the use of such a aggressive force over one thing, you are different you are outside of Royal Guards touch, they are only looking for a white pony that is unarmed and is unwilling to fight, you are looking WhiteStar who is armed and is willing to fight"
"I.....I understand..." He said with uncertainty
"Good, we believe he went off in a stolen MicroNoft ship, he is heading to PonyVille, you will meet him when he gets to the dock" Celestia said, her horn started to grow We will send you in a special kind of teleportation spell and you will arrive at the ship when he hits the dock of Ponyville, Sleep while you are traveling, we need you to be your best"
"Wait, why can't you go and do this? You are alicorns, You can easily overpower him with your magic!" He said,
"We have matters to attend to, if we escape these matters people will question and look into this mission, we can't have that, that is why we are sending you none of the papers know you or the FBAA"
"Oh.....alright i won't fail you this time" Red Shift said, finishing his bow and looking up at Celestia
"Here is a special pass, show this to the local guards who give you any trouble in investigating the thief" Luna said, making her horn glow and levitating a small specially marked badge made of metal with the imprint of FBAA with a coat of arms
"Thank you" He said bowing again
Both of the princess horns glowed in their respective aura then a small orb of yellow and blue magic floated above, being linked to both of their horns, the orb got bigger and then started to move to Red Shift, he appeared in a white room, the only things that weren't white were a big red clock that showed the hour,minute, and second, it moved slower than his watch
the other thing was a small frame that got bigger, he couldn't tell what it was but it probably the Zeppelin.
He fell down and closed his eyes, the princess were right a bit of sleep could help him.
Meanwhile back at the castle Blue Harmony Was in the bed, Luna had healed him the best she could.
Afterwards she went to the throne room to take over for the night
Not many ponies come for assistance during the night, most of them were still scared that she would turn back into Nightmare Moon and would wait until the day
she waited at the throne, the occasional Lunar Guard would come and bring her something, a glass of water or a loaf of bread most of the time.
after a while a escort of guards came though the door, this time bearing not bearing gifts, she soon found out they were guarding one of the commanders
"Princess my guards tell me you have deployed the FBAA Agents to the thief and not us, Why is that?" Commander HawkWing said
"That is sensitive information that will be released after the FBAA Agents are done with the mission" Luna said, Not even reacting to the loud and obnoxious Commander
"Sensitive? Most of the Royal Guards missions are printed the day they are approved! I demand to know that is going on!" Commander HawkWing said, stomping the ground
"I cannot tell you Commander, Just get some rest and increase the guard count in the outer cities and town, the use for them in Canterlot is not needed anymore" Luna said, using her magic to levitate a scroll filled with orders and passed it to the Commander
"I will not take this mission!" Commander Hawkwing said slapping away the scroll, One of the Lunar Guards came and picked it up and handed it back to the princess of the night
"Fine, then another, Better Commander can take the honor of capturing the Criminal..." Luna said, Using her magic again to lift the scroll behind her
It took awhile for the information to register in Commander HawkWing's head and when it finally clicked his eyes light up
"Wait, I'm sorry princess i would like to take the mission" He said with a bow, something he never had done before
"No you have proven yourself Incapable for the mission, Shining Armour will take the mission, Guards take the Commander away to his house, he had far too many drinks for the night" Luna commanded as she watched the Commander
The rest of the night was quiet, The occasional guard came in to give the princess a loaf of bread or a glass of water, The sun soon took back the sky
