A/N: Hello again, mortals. Originally, this was going to be the fight scene, but due to my lack of attention for detail, Guardian figured I should have a filler chapter. And so, this is the final product. The fight scene is being edited by Guardian and it should be out within a few days. Have we made you guys happy? I hope so. As promised, I will do my replies in this chapter.
Ultimoto The Great: I'm super glad, dude. I'm happy that I (more Guardian than I) can entertain you all with this story.
Omega Wing: Sorry, man, but this ain't gonna be a Celestia and Death fic. While I like her more than Princess Luna, even if only by a little, I just think that it would work out better for everyone if Luna and Kyle were together. However, I have been thinking about doing a self-insert into a pre-feudal Equestria. Or, in other words, the time when Celestia and Luna's parents ruled.
godzillafan1: I understand how you feel about Celestia, dude. Some stories manage to make me hate her even if she is my favorite pony. It's just easy to make her seem evil when she looks so damn perfect. Also, I appreciate your sympathy, but it's all good. I don't get depressed or anything, so I'm all good! :D
RebelAnarchy20: That's something I've been waiting for someone to say. My character is well thought out and original! You, sir, get 30 Death points! I hadn't forgotten about the Blackwatch soldiers, but I didn't know what to do with them. Chapter eight gave you your answer.
Lord Guffington:Thank you for being one of the only two people to care about giving me some advice on Kyle. It has been a big trial and error system with him.
Guest: The son of the Grim Reaper, eh? I am the Horseman of Death, or the Grim Reaper. May I refer you to this link here: . /wiki/Grim_Reaper
The first sentence will clearly show that the Grim Reaper is one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. You're grounded, buster :D I'm just playing with you, man. Thanks for reviewing!
I'm gonna underestimate the SHIT out of you
Wolfsalvo: I already gave you my reply, so I'll simply thank you for your review. Waiting for that sequel!
Let's get to it!
Chapter Ten
POV: Third Person
"Ridiculous. This conversation we're having is simply ridiculous, dearest." Shining Armor growled to Princess Cadance in the medical wing as he watched the hustling along with bustling of medical ponies tending to Blueblood, "After everything, you still wish to have our foal be watched over by that beast that calls himself Death? Hmf, my love, you need to stop. You need to think. You need to understand that after having seen him do to Blueblood what he just did, Kyle Death Drake is not the sort of guardian we'll want to have… watching over our little one in the future."
"And if I hadn't seen what exactly had happened back there in the dining hall nor if I didn't know Kyle as well as I do now then believe me, Shining Armor, I would fully agree with you at the moment. No, Mr. Death wouldn't make a good example for our heir." The Crystal Princess replied to the Crystal Prince, attempting to get him to settle down about what they'd been arguing about for the last half hour since having departed the eating chamber after breakfast, "Nevertheless, as I keep saying, even though you're at odds with him, I know that you know in your heart that you're being the, well… ridiculous one here about Mr. Death. Kyle didn't just let his anger get the better of him back in the dining hall for no reason. He got angry plainly because Blueblood went and-"
"My opinion about Kyle is not one that was formed just by his actions against Blueblood in the eating chamber alone, Cadance." Shining Armor immediately argued back, showing a bit of impatience when trying to keep his cool with one of the only alicorns that mattered to him in his life, "Truly, you must know that I'm not one to explode over nothing for no reason. Yet, everypony that's been involved with him since his coming knows that there's always been something… off about who you call Mr. Death."
"Ever since Kyle beat you those many months ago in the courtyard during your duel, you've always said that there's been something off about him, Shining." The Crystal Princess joked, flapping her wings a bit in forced patience, "And I'll admit it, like he showed us in the dining hall against Blueblood, Mr. Death does have his peculiar moments. Still, every moment he does go a bit odd… he instantly apologizes afterwards. He doesn't ever mean it.."
"Apologies only do so much repair to a situation!" The Crystal Prince exclaimed, stomping his hooves in turn, "Do you think apologies are ever going to make those moments of Kyle's go away? Do you think it's going to help Blueblood fully recover? Do you honestly think his sorry would help our foal if he ever went berserk and ended up hurting him or her because-"
"Shining, quit. That's more than enough said about something that has not and will not happen." Cadance exclaimed, her eyes flashing in warning about what was about to be said, "Stop this. Stop being so small minded. Stop rambling and listen to me like you always do about these situations."
As requested of his gentle lover there in the medical hallway, although wanting to very much go on spouting about the build-up of bad feelings he'd felt towards Kyle Drake for the last six months, Shining Armor did indeed quiet down. Like the respected captain of the guard as well as beloved husband he was trying to be over the current argument, the white unicorn took to gazing back at bedridden Prince Blueblood while his pink alicorn wife began explaining her opinion of unpredictable Kyle. In the meantime, as she spoke to him, the Crystal Princess took to gently nuzzling up to her concerned Crystal Prince.
Mind, considering what they were presently discussing, Cadance and Shining Armor were being an ordinary pony couple over what had recently transpired. Without question, everything that had occurred back in the dining hall between Kyle as well as Blueblood had shaken everypony present to their cores. Undoubtedly elsewhere then, the Elements of Harmony – spurred on by gossipy Rarity – were talking about the entire ideal to their own hearts' contents. And seeing as it'd been their relative that he'd knocked around, no doubt Princess Luna if not Celestia especially were fuming with Death somewhere in Canterlot Castle about his explosion.
On everypony's minds were many questions. Questions some like Cadance and Luna were trying to handle with grace. However, there were ponies like Shining Armor now whom were intent on trying to inflate those riddles to make Kyle appear more monstrous than he really was.
Still, even though she didn't want to admit it, the unicorn Captain of the Guard had pointed out several well intended questions to the Crystal Princess about how Death had made a pretty big mess of the castle's dining hall. For instance, even though honestly a piece of work, had immature Prince Blueblood really deserved what he'd been dealt in the end? Even though his family's honor had been insulted, could Kyle not have controlled himself better rather than flung himself into battle? Even though always sorry afterwards for his angry moments, could Kyle really be trusted in watching over the hair of the Crystal North when the moment came?
In full honesty, Cadance didn't really know what to think of Kyle Death Drake since he'd fallen from the sky six months ago as well as torn up a good portion of Canterlot Castle. Nevertheless, his having dropped into Canterlot had been in the past when he'd not been given the chance to adjust to the life Equestria could offer him, when he'd been through plenty of nasty in his other world beforehand, when she'd not had the opportunities like now to see that despite the bold, tall, steely personality he forever put on… Kyle was a warm, caring, dependable being with a sense of fair justice.
Indeed, Death could be quite the puzzle if not be a piece of work too at times like back in the eating chamber during breakfast. Yet, he wasn't a beast like Shining Armor had been trying to make him out to be since arriving in the medical wing and handing over Blueblood to the medical staff.
Perhaps, six months back, Kyle had been cruel and withdrawn. Not now, though. Cadance believed that he was grand. He was loyal. Having been their bodyguard, he was trusted by both Celestia as well as Luna today. Maybe, seeing as they had had the moments to do so, Twilight had even bonded with if not had come to trust him as a friend of Equestria also. And knowing this, knowing that he had come to be friends with mostly everypony who had met him, the Crystal Princess wholly trusted that Kyle would be one of her heir's dearest companions in the future. All the while, he'd never ever dream of harming her.
Yet, Shining Armor… he just seemed to not be able to see any of what his wife did. No, it wasn't that he wasn't able to see. Ever since six months back where he'd been bested by Kyle in that duel, the Captain of the Guard just didn't want to accept reality. He wanted to keep a hold of his pride, of his speculations, of his anger. Nevertheless, when his wife had nuzzled into his side in the hallway where they watched Blueblood being tended to, when he listened to his lover's words, he couldn't keep from keeping quiet, from hearing her speak, from listening to the truth of the matter.
Shining Armor, the Prince of the Crystal Empire, the older brother of Twilight Sparkle, the former Captain of Canterlot's Royal Guard, the husband of Princess Cadance, had developed something of fierce a rivalry with Kyle Death Drake on the day they'd had a tie during their duel. Why was due to them being boys. It was a boy thing. Moving on, it was now left up to a girl – to patient Cadance – to help settle the matter.
"Shining…" Princess Cadance whispered to her brooding husband as they watched bruised Prince Blueblood undergoing medical attention, "My dearest Shining Armor. Heh, it feels only like yesterday when I was standing in the throne room with my auntie Celestia declaring us as one couple whom would love each through sickness and health until death do us part. And even then… death will not tear us apart, will it?"
"No. Do not speak such foolishness." The Crystal Prince breathed in turn, affectionately glancing at his smiling wife, "Nothing will ever tear us apart. Not in life nor death."
"Nothing will tear us apart, you say?" The Crystal Princess wondered, nudging into her dearest husband as she did so, "Well, what if I were to tell you that your constant paranoia against Kyle is tearing our marriage apart, hm? What if I were to inform you that you need to stop being so hostile towards him so that I could stop suffering from mental anguish?"
"I'd say that you're being…" Shining Armor quickly interjected, the determined glint in his eye fading away as he registered what had been said to him, by she whom he cared about so very much, "I would say… Why? Why do you stand up for he who calls himself Death, Cadance? Why are you so very against me and so very on his side? Why? Just why?"
"Because he is a good soul. He has done neither you or I such wrongs that deserve our hostilities or dislikes." Princess Cadance explained, regally throwing back her mane, "Every time he calls himself Death, Kyle reminds me of you, my love. He puts on an air, struts around like he means business, then deflates and goes back to being the dear friend I can depend upon. Only in your case and not his, you are my one and only. You are my everything. And I want you, my everything, to understand that I… understand more than enough."
"Do you? Do you, understand?"
"I understand he calls himself Death."
"And that doesn't bother you in the slightest-"
"I understand that he's trusted by everypony except for you. I understand that he's everypony's friend when given the chance."
"Sure, he's everypony's friend when given the chance. Given the chance to start throwing tables and hurting others that is-"
"AND I understand that he's monstrous, that he's odd, that he's a bit on the unpredictable side… But always has he meant for good to come out of his actions. Always has Kyle Death Drake treated me and even you with the utmost respect."
"Utmost respect?!" Shining Armor almost bellowed aghast, giving his smiling wife the most disbelieving look, "Cadance, have you not heard him address me? He calls me Bitch Boy, Sir Bitch, Bitch A'Hoy, Guard Captain Bitch, just a bitch all of the-"
"And you call him a beast. What is your point?" Princess Cadance chimed, laughing at her lover's angry reply to her honest words, "However, the difference in your name calling is that Kyle means to be funny… while you aim to hurt him. Is that what you want our child to be seeing in the future, my love? Do you want your foal to see you being hostile towards others who mean well?"
"Cadance, you're not being… What you're trying to do… It's not that I…" The Crystal Prince mumbled gently, his ears drooping back to his head while his eyes dropped humbly to the floor, "Our foal… You see, I… I only want what will be best for him or her. And you saw Kyle back in the dining hall. You know what he's like. With him involved, there's no telling how our heir will grow up."
"And if you continue to be negative towards Kyle in the future, if you go on meaning to drive him away, then, yes, who very well knows how our heir will grow up, Shining. Confused? Isolated? Withdrawn?" The Crystal Princess sighed, trying to keep a hold of her patience with her lover, "That is why you must be the one to understand something, dearest. For as long as I've watched since your duel with him ended six months ago, you have been nothing but angry towards Mr. Death. You've not done towards him what I did to you since I first met you."
"Since you first met me?" Shining Armor questioned, showing curiosity, "And what was it that you… did when we first met?"
"Why, I gave you a chance." Cadance simply answered, beaming from ear to ear when she noticed the look of comprehension show in her husband's face along with eyes, "I opened up to you, let you be yourself around me, and never ever have I regretted that decision. In fact, if anything, I feel like crying each time I wonder if I hadn't stayed by your side after our first encounter. What a mistake it would have been for me on that night… to have not given you that chance to pass me that note after I'd gotten done watching after Twilight yet another time."
"C-Cadance…" The Crystal Prince gasped in wonder, feeling the heart in his chest tremble with dumbfound emotion while he nuzzled his wise wife back, "I… Heh, you and your way with words. That is why I'm the Captain of the Guard and you're the Crystal Princess. That is why, for forever, you have left the fighting to me and I've left the talking to you."
"Exactly, you empty headed goof." The Crystal Princess snickered at her lover's acknowledgement, her wings stirring against her sides as she went on nuzzling him, "I am the yin to your raging yang and vice versa. Well, apart for the raging part with me."
"I'm not the yin to your raging yang? Hah, I don't really know about that." Shining Armor chuckled, smiling broadly when his horn tapped against his humored wife's, "You can get pretty scary sometimes, my love."
"Oh? Is that a fact? You think so?" Princess Cadance laughed in turn, the sound of her laughter similar to the chiming of wind chimes dancing in the breeze outside of Canterlot Castle, "That is SO not true. Yet… perhaps it is. You being my husband and all, you would know me better than most anyone, my dearest Shining Armor. Either way, please say that you understand what it is I'm trying to spell out for you."
"Hm? What it is you're trying to spell out for me?" The Crystal Prince wondered back, having quite lost track of what it was they had been talking about a second ago relative to Kyle as well as the future of the Crystal Empire's coming heir, "What do you… Ah, yes. Cadance, you gave me a chance long ago. I very much appreciate that you did that for me. Yet, as for Kyle-"
"Kyle is a being. Just like you and me, Shining." Cadance impatiently stated next, feeling annoyed that her lover was still resisting the idea of him opening up to Death, "Ugh, you are being so very unfair about all of this. Don't forget that everypony in ponydom formerly saw Discord as an enemy. Now, thanks to the Elements of Harmony having been open minded, the Spirit of Disharmony is a valued ally if not friend to us all."
That was true. That was very true. Discord had previously been only a foe of the peace of Equestria. Now, thanks to Twilight and her friends, that same Spirit of Chaos was instead a keeper of the peace of Equestria. Again, leave it to Princess Cadance to be the one to go pouring truer than true facts from her heart to keep gradually turning her husband's attitude from being stubborn/angry to being cooperative/honorable. Leave it to her to be a constant voice of reason, to be a pool of wisdom.
"Shining Armor, as she did in giving Discord a chance, follow your little sister's example and allow Kyle Death Drake that same chance." The Crystal Princess pleaded, her eyes entrancing her lover's like always, "Trust in your wife's words. Nothing bad can possibly come from you being just as open minded towards Kyle as Twilight was towards Discord. If you do so, I guarantee that Mr. Death will be one of the best things to happen to you in this lifetime, love. He will be one of the best things to happen to our heir as well."
"You truly… think so, don't you?" Shining Armor sighed, feeling his once firm resolution in staying mad at Kyle fading under the hopeful gaze of Cadance, "You see Kyle as your friend? You would really trust him to be our heir's guardian? Even after having seen him throw that table and Prince Blueblood around in the dining hall?"
"I would. Because I know for a fact that even though he calls himself Death, Kyle wouldn't ever hurt our foal. He wouldn't hurt any foal." The Crystal Princess wisely argued back, settling the argument for good there and giving her lover no more room to squirm or disagree, "And where I know that fact now, you will too when you follow my advice and open yourself up. Just give up this uneasiness of yours. Don't be so hostile. Also, where he calls you a bitch… everypony knows you truly are not. In all of Equestria, you are anything but that."
A long pause of silence passed between the rulers of the Crystal Empire. For the longest time, both Crystal prince as well as Princess took to wordlessly watching Blueblood be put to sleep as his injuries were finally going to be looked over by serious medical professionals. Then, as the curtains were being drawn so the operation on his snobbish highness could be done in privacy, Shining Armor looked to his hopeful wife. And in his face, in his eyes, she could finally see a light at the end of the tunnel.
There in the medical wing of Canterlot Castle, Shining Armor, for the betterment of his family along with future, was willing to set aside his rivalry with Kyle Death Drake. And he would have said so to his happy lover too… if a massive quake hadn't just shaken the entire foundation of their fortress home as well as knocked almost everypony off of their hooves!
At once after the quick yet ill-tempered earthquake, there came a massive commotion from the nurse ponies from inside the room where Prince Blueblood had just been readied for operation. Nonetheless, the only attention Shining Armor gave to anything was to his wife who he'd kept from falling onto the ground. Then, as if one hadn't been bad enough, a second terrible shaking of the world passed by. In turn, Cadance had tripped into her lover while Blueblood had fallen head over hooves out of his tipped over bed nearby!
"What in Equestria…" The Crystal Princess whispered in wonder, looking around at the formerly clean yet now messy medical wing hallway, "What happened? Of all the places for them to happen, why were there earthquakes here in Canterlot? Celestia and Luna have magically reinforced the fortress city to not be affected by such happenings."
"Whatever the reason for the quakes and the unlikelihood, my love, they still occurred." The Crystal Prince replied, his eyes narrowed in suspicion, "And they were quite strong."
Next, a third shaking happened. When it had ceased, a sense of alarm was shared not only in Canterlot Castle's medical wing but between everypony in the city itself. Rising to his own hooves when having finished in hugging his wife close to him during the trembling of the earth, Shining Armor purposefully looked eastward; towards where the center of Canterlot Castle's courtyard near the front gate could be found. Then, with a determined furrow of his brow, the white unicorn stallion began towards the said courtyard.
"Cadance. The earthquakes… They came from by the front gate. I'm going to see what's wrong. So, I want you to stay here and watch over Blueblood. Stay here where it's safe." The former Captain of the Guard ordered of his bewildered lover, "Do not argue, do not fret. As the former Captain of Canterlot's Guard, I cannot simply let these quakes pass on by without going to see my old comrades in arms and seeing what has happened."
"And as your wife, Shining, you do not possibly think that you can tell me not to fret and not to follow you to the very ends of the world, do you?" Princess Cadance retorted, flapping her wings irritably at her husband's sense of honor, "I'm coming along. Duh."
"You're going to come? They were simply earthquakes, dearest." Shining Armor said, trying to discourage his love about coming with him to investigate the unnatural natural disasters even though knowing she wouldn't be turned away, "Nothing that I can't handle and nothing you need exhaust yourself over."
"Regardless, where you go, I go." Cadance naturally said back, trotting forward, "Was that not clarified on our wedding day?"
"And was it not clarified at breakfast this morning that you are pregnant?" The Crystal Prince replied smoothly, approaching his good wife too, "Not only that but was it not discussed between us only moments ago that you have always left the fighting or trouble to me… while the talking and such has been left to you?"
"I – you – well – that's not – oh-" Cadance began before being quickly kissed on the cheek.
"Stay here. Please, stay safe." Shining Armor pleaded of his loyal one and only while turning to gallop off towards the source of the earthquake commotion, "Please, just do this for me, Cadance. Your caring for me is very much appreciated. If anything, it makes me feel most undeserving of you… But, truly, do as I say. If anything were to happen to you, I would not be able to bear it. And do not worry. Nothing will happen to me. On that, I promise you."
"Do you? Do you promise that?" The Crystal Princess called after him.
"Of course." The Crystal Prince exclaimed back in mid gallop, pausing a moment to look back at her, "As I've done in the past, now, and forever always will. And, my love, I will never break that promise."
"And what of Kyle?" Cadance quickly put in before her husband could escape the inquiry and change his mind later, "What will you do… about Mr. Death?"
There was a long moment of tense silence. Then, Shining Armor announced over his shoulder while running off towards the courtyard towards the front gate, "For our heir, for you, Cadance… I will cease being pig headed. I will give Kyle a chance. If he goes and messes up, however, then-"
"He will not mess up the chance you will give him, Shining!" The Crystal Princess laughed after her Crystal Prince, very much inspired by his understanding, "You will see! Thank you! Thank you for giving him a chance at last!"
Good. Very good. Despite the abrupt trembling of the world, even though things had seemed to get tense for the guards in Canterlot's courtyard by the front gate, things had seemed to get very much brighter for Shining Armor as well as Cadance; especially so for Cadance, mind. As for the Crystal Princess, with a wide smile showing on her expression now at the thought of her husband giving Death a chance to be in his life, she took to noticing floundering Blueblood being put back into his hospital bed.
"I wonder, dear nephew Blueblood…" She whispered to herself, tilting her head curiously to the left at remembering Kyle's certain proclamation of her relative back in the dining hall, "Did my husband perhaps somehow gain a bit of your pigheadedness at some point in time in the past? Does he have something shoved up his ass too that I don't know… about? Ew. I hope not."
Then, Cadance chuckled to herself, "Truly, Blueblood had something shoved up his rear, Kyle? Heh… why do I believe in that? Ha ha, why am not so surprised that I do believe in it? Wow. What is wrong with me. More importantly, what is wrong with you, Prince Blueblood?"
From the capitol city of Canterlot into the castle home of Celestia as well as Luna, there were two public entryways; the massive front gate guarded by rank after rank of Kyle's trained stallion troops and the train station located a little west of there. The most commonly used if not familiar of the two entrances was and always had been the front gate, naturally. So, when a massive disturbance that had split the very air had occurred above the said gate a heartbeat ago, there had been many a pony coming as well as going… and every one of those bustling citizens of Canterlot had quite forgotten their reason for coming to the castle when large objects had begun to rain down upon them from the heavens.
The three earthquakes that had shaken Shining Armor, Cadance, everypony within Canterlot Castle, had been caused by the mentioned shower of immense objects. From flashing spot in the sky above, flaming debris, wreckage, huge items in general, had crashed fiercely down into the castle's front courtyard while the ponies had fled in every direction for safe ground. In turn, although no pony had remotely gotten hurt by the unexpected deluge, the damage to the castle's grounds couldn't be ignored. Where everything had formerly looked regal a heartbeat ago, there was only seared ruins for the gathering crowds to look upon.
The disturbance in the heavens, the splitting of air so that objects could materialize from nothingness, had been something done beforehand; around six months ago when a certain Prototype from another dimension had literally popped up in the throne room unannounced. Nevertheless, with everypony focused on the now rather than then, nopony gave Kyle Drake any thought nor connected him to the devastation that had just been done. No, the ponies gathering around the semi-wrecked front gate were only keen on understanding what was going on now… and why there was a titanic, steaming boulder of bloody red lodged into the ground with a huge crater around it.
"What is that thing?" One royal pony questioned to her baffled stallion companion about the red boulder that seemed so interesting to everypony, "Ugh, it's hideous. That shade of red… blah. It doesn't go at all well with my dress, does it?
"Mommy, what happened here?" One earth pony filly asked of her astounded along with clueless mother from amid the wondering throngs of onlookers, "Mommy, can we go? I want to go. I don't like it here."
"You wanna bet this is the Spirit of Chaos finally attacking Equestria again?" One pegasus confidently questioned of the other as they hovered over the crowds below, "Heh, I always knew this day would come. They can say it all that they like but every other pony knows that Discord… will always be Discord. And from the looks of it, he means to be serious with Princess Celestia and Luna this time, huh?"
Whatever the reason for the previous shower of flaming debris from above, whatever the recent crime that had been supposedly dealt by Discord against the land, nothing could be confirmed. There were no facts, no solid evidence, nothing had been written in stone by anything for the castle guards when they went about recovering from the rain of fire and started getting everypony to back off from the searing hot wreckage throughout the castle's front courtyard. In the meantime, as the troops got control of the situation, they themselves couldn't keep from conversing over the matter.
"What in the name of the spirits of Equestria…" One royal unicorn stallion guard said to his pegasi fellow as they got around to observing like everypony else at the red boulder that had just violently smashed down moments ago into the courtyard near the front castle gate, "Yo, Thunderwing? What are we looking at here? Any guesses?"
"Pft, like I'm supposed to know anything about what's going on around here, Heavyset?" The pegasi guard or Thunderwing replied to his unicorn companion or Heavyset, "We got trained to patrol around here in the castle, not deal with literal firestorms like this. And here I'd thought I'd seen the worst of things in my career when those freaky changelings invaded."
"Bleh! Changelings! Don't say anything more about them!" Heavyset groaned to Thunderwing in disgust, recalling a bit of his unwanted past consisting of bug type pony creatures having nearly swarmed the whole of Canterlot with unnerving ease, "Actually… do you maybe think all of this that has happened has something to do with that bug queen of theirs?"
"What? Their queen? Why would she have anything to do with a fiery shower of rock like this, bud?" The pegasi guard wondered of his unicorn partner, being a bit sarcastic, "Bugs don't favor fire, remember? And seeing as how hot all of these rocks along with pieces of wreckage are, I doubt any changeling would go anywhere near them or risk bursting into flames in seconds. Nah. We're… We're dealing with something else here."
"Something else? Like, er, what?"
"Again, Heavyset, we were trained to guard this castle! Not be masters of all of the knowledge in this world!" Thunderwing snapped at Heavyset, making the unicorn guard show a bit of guilt at having hassled his friend on stuff they didn't know, "Seriously, I'm no encyclopedia on the ways of, well, magic. And, honestly, although I still don't what's going on at all, magic is the only explanation for this. Sooner or later, we're going to need the princesses here to look this over."
Indeed, simply by looking at the smoking, gigantic boulder of fiery red in the crater laid out in the remnants of the castle front gate alone, everypony knew that the princesses – all of them if need be – were going to need to be clued in on what had happened. So, it came as a welcomed relief to the ponies gathered in the courtyard when Twilight Sparkle along with her group soon appeared as well as took over the situation almost at once.
"Then nopony was hurt by any of these things that came down from the sky earlier?" The Element of Magic asked of the earth pony guards that had come forward to explain to her in fullest along with greatest detail of what had happened before her coming, "The castle grounds took the beating and everypony remained safe? Is that what you're saying?"
"What fortunate luck we had in that endeavor then, sugar cube." Applejack said to Twilight when the earth pony guards had nodded about no ponies being hurt by any of the fallen wreckage, "Princess Celestia and Luna will be happy to hear that their subjects are safe. Where lives couldn't be replaced, Canterlot Castle can be repaired like always."
"I couldn't have said that better myself." The Princess of Ponyville admitted to the Element of Honesty in turn, allowing a small smile of relief to show on her purple face in turn, "And seeing as this is a royal matter of the utmost order and you're also the fastest of us, Applejack, can I get you to fetch Princess Celestia along with Luna to come down here to see this. I may be royalty but… I have no idea what I'm doing."
"Heh. The Element of Magic can defeat a dark unicorn king as well as reform a Spirit of Disharmony… but she can't handle a bit of hot rock, hm?" Applejack jokingly questioned of Twilight before turning to go, giving a wink over her shoulder, "Hah, I'm just joking around with ya, Twi. And, yes, seeing as I'm the fastest pony around, I'll have the princesses back here in lickity-split-"
"Hold up you! Who's the fastest pony around?" Rainbow Dash barged in, tackling Applejack off of her hooves and onto the ground so that they were face to face next, "It most certainly ain't you, fat hooves! Nuh-uh. That's me! I proved it during the falling of the leaves last year!"
"Rainbow, actually I need you to-" Twilight began brightly before being interrupted.
"Pft, you didn't prove anything during the falling of the leaves, Rainbow Nothing." The Element of Honesty huffed in the Element of Loyalty's, adjusting her messed up hat back onto her head meanwhile, "If you'll remember right, we tied then. So, seeing as it happened that way, seeing as we're both fast… we can both go the princesses together."
"That won't be necessary." Twilight interjected, having a plan already, "Rainbow Dash, I need you to stay here with me and see about checking out that large, red boulder that crashed into the-"
"Hah, we both can go get the princesses, you say?" Rainbow Dash laughed over Twilight while letting Applejack get back onto her hooves as well as brush off, "Fine. I can work with that if you can. Last one to find their highnesses is one rotten egg. Got it?"
"Got it." Applejack replied, poising herself for the coming race with her rival, "So, on your marks."
"Get set." The Element of Loyalty breathed to the Element of Honesty.
"GO-"
"NO!" Twilight shrieked out in annoyance, using her magic to grab a hold of the two of her tense friends and make them fall flat on their faces, "NO, listen, I need you both to listen! I need one of you to go find their majesties while the other helps me look over that rock by the gate-"
"Twiley!" Shining Armor exclaimed from the crowds, galloping over to see his little sister after having just arrived to the scene, "What's going on? What's up with the debris around here? Is this all what caused the earthquakes? Why.., why are Rainbow Dash and Applejack lying on their faces-"
"SHUT UP! SHUT UP EVERYPONY!" The Element of Magic literally screamed at the top of her lungs, her eyes along with tail igniting for the briefest of seconds before calming down like her voice when her demands had been heeded, "Shut up and listen, all of you… Applejack, I need you to get Celestia and Luna. Go quickly. Please."
"Of course, of course." Applejack replied, quickly galloping off so as to not see Twilight burst into flames again, "I'll be back in a blink, sugar cube. Just hold on a bit longer."
"Aw but – Twilight, you know I'm the fastest pony!" Rainbow Dash started, showing impatience, "I can fly circles around Applejack all day long. You know I can."
"I know that, Rainbow. Duh. Still, I also know you're brave." The Element of Magic explained, getting the rainbow maned pegasi's attention along with loyalty back at once, "So, I need you to be courageous and help me in studying the giant boulder over there by the front gate. I need your aid in looking it over from top to bottom."
"Ugh, boring nerd stuff." Rainbow Dash sighed, trying not to show overexcitement at having been called brave to take on this simple task, "But if you need me to brave it for you, Twilight, then, pft, I'm all over it. And three… two… one… I'm off!"
Then, as the Element of Loyalty took off towards the steaming rock being guarded by a number of castle guards, Twilight took a brief moment to embrace her older brother along with apologize to him. As brother along with sister trotted towards the source of everypony's interest next, they went over what they knew and didn't know about what was happening. The Element of Magic explained Shining Armor what she'd been told by the guards; that a shower of fiery objects had crashed down unto Canterlot from above, that a huge rock had destroyed the front gate, that nopony had thankfully been injured during the disaster.
"And so, this thing we're looking at now…" Shining Armor wondered to his little sister as they stood in the smoky shadow of the massive rock that had taken out the castle front gate and made a wide crater, "Was what caused that third tremor throughout the castle? That's what the guards told you?"
"Yes. Yet, they didn't have any information that I really needed." Twilight admitted taking a moment to look over the giant rock before them as well as notice Rainbow Dash observing it from above, "Like I needed to know what caused this thing to come out of the sky. The guards say there was no sign, no warning, no sound even until the objects starting hitting the ground… And none of them could tell me if magic was involved at the moment. Ugh, I arrived a second too late."
"It's not your fault, Twi. None of this is." Shining Armor stated, his eyes scanning over the oddly dark lines running over the surface of the blood red boulder before him, "Magic or no magic, for a reason or not, this has happened. And what a chaotic outcome it's had… Speaking of chaos, do you maybe think that this was the doing of-"
"Discord?" The Element of Magic said for her brother, chuckling dryly, "No. No, Discord, believe it or not, knows when to draw the line with a joke. His version of making ponies run for the hills for a laugh is getting the roads to become, well, soapy suds. That way, ponies aren't just running for the hills… they're literally slipping and sliding there. He wouldn't make fire rain form the sky."
"Wouldn't it be nice if we could get the Spirit of Disharmony's input on all of this?" The Crystal Prince questioned, not liking Discord but wanting to hear his side all of the same for some reason, "I mean, fire falling from the sky… that sounds like something he'd be interested in, right? Wouldn't he want to help us in the slightest?"
"It's not a good idea at all to get the lord of chaos involved with this event." Twilight disagreed, rolling her eyes in impatience at the very mention of Discord being even hinted as to what had happened to Canterlot Castle, "Shining Armor, there's me, the Elements of Harmony, you, and soon Princess Celestia along with Luna will be here. We have more than enough means to figure out what happened here without that Spirit of Disharmony getting me all distracted."
"Okay, okay. I see what you mean, sis. Including Discord into any of this most definitely wouldn't be a good idea." The Crystal Prince admitted, scolding himself for his pointless thought, "And you have Applejack getting Princess Celestia as well as Luna at the moment, don't you? Yeah, then when they get here we really will have the means to understanding what's going on here without further Disharmony involved. As for now, what is it you're having rainbow Dash doing?"
As the rest of the Elements of Harmony were busy in doing what they could to keep the crowds of onlookers calm about what had transpired to the courtyard, as Applejack was indeed galloping through the castle halls to find out where the princesses of day along with night were currently, Shining Armor came to discover that Twilight was having Rainbow Dash aid her in examining the curious, giant red boulder before them. Thus, with determination, the Crystal Prince began at once in helping look over the odd rock for any clues as to what had made it appear, where it had come from, what it was perhaps made from.
What nopony present or anywhere in Equestria could have guessed while the Elements of Loyalty along with Magic and Shining Armor closely scanned the boulder in its crater amid the castle front gate was that… the black lines running over the rock's formation were not as unmoving as forethought. Soon enough, in secret, the black lines began to stir, to inflate/deflate, to pump some mysterious liquid throughout the rest of the red stone. Then, in a heartbeat next, a portion of the rock stirred near Rainbow Dash whom gave it not a fearful look but a quizzical one.
"Heh, maybe just my imagination." The Element of Loyalty told herself as she went to look elsewhere but hesitated when some portion of the rock close to her moved again, "Hey… what gives? Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. And seeing as I've seen this boulder move twice now… my eyes can't be lying."
Then, for a third time, the rock closest to Rainbow Dash moved. And not only did it move, it seemed to open up so that a larger than large eye of orange could look around, adjust to the light, then focus onto the Element of Loyalty who wasn't so brave anymore under its gaze. No, as the boulder that had smashed down the front gate began to actually make a low grumble of a noise, the rainbow maned pegasi was quick in diving down towards Twilight and Shining Armor.
"GUYS! GUYS! AUGH!" Rainbow Dash practically squealed in a sheer panic, trying to be a bit brave despite what she'd seen, "This thing isn't a rock or boulder or whatever… It's something else! It's alive!"
"Alive?" Twilight questioned back, not at all buying it from her fretting friend until getting facts straight, "What does that mean? What are you talking about, Rainbow? I'm not sensing anything from this mass apart for heat."
"Twilight, I kid you not about this!" The Element of Loyalty exclaimed with the Element of Magic, "That boulder isn't a boulder! It's alive! It looked right at me when I was up there, flying around the top!"
"Around the top?" Twilight responded, looking up not with uncertainty but with eagerness, "It looked at you when you were flying up there? How about that? Care to take me up for a look?"
"No way! Not happening!" Rainbow Dash hissed, hiding her face under her hooves in actual fear, "There is no way I'm going back up there and letting that thing see me again-"
"What? Rainbow, what's wrong with you? Come on." Twilight lectured, honestly feeling a bit taken off guard by how cowardly the usually brave Rainbow Dash was behaving at the moment, "This rock is just a, well, rock. If it was really alive then I would have sensed it somehow in some way. Right now… I'm getting nothing back on my magical readings. The boulder is hotter than hot but not alive at all."
As Rainbow Dash, Twilight, along with Shining Armor were conversing rapidly amongst themselves, Fluttershy, Rarity, as well as Pinkie Pie were with the on-looking ponies keeping everypony calm. Then, out of nowhere, when having looked up behind her, the Element of Kindness had erupted into a jumbled, trippy, pale faced mess of fearful exclamations. Indeed, as Rarity had taken notice of Fluttershy's eyes having become the size of dinner plates over something overhead, she tried to tell what the tan pegasus with the pink mane was trying to say.
"Fluttershy, darling, slow down." The fashionista unicorn got around to sighing at her mumbling fellow, throwing aside her amethyst mane in turn, "I cannot make out anything you're trying to tell me. Speak up. Slow down. Wait, what? Something about… whom?"
"Fluttershy is saying that something is coming, Rarity. Something wrong." Pinkie Pie put in, her own tail having gone completely crazy as it always had whenever something bad was on the way, "Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Shining Armor… Ooh, they need to look out!"
"They need to look out? Why?" The Element of Generosity asked of the Element of Laughter, "What's coming? What's wrong? What is it Fluttershy is saying?"
"What is Fluttershy saying? Well, she's saying this!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed through her shaking with her tail, "She'ssayingthatthatrockisnothwatitlookslikeandthatit'sabouttoattackusallandthatweshouldetTwilightandRainbowDashandShiningArmorknowsothatwaytheydon'tgetsquashedbythatgiant armthatboulderisabouttoswingatthemjustaboutnow-"
"STOP! Pinkie Pie stop being silly, dearest!" Rarity whined, clapping her hooves over the pink pony's rambling mouth, "I cannot at all understand what is you're trying to say on Fluttershy's part when we're-"
"TWILIGHT!" Fluttershy exclaimed over everypony's talking, getting the attention of her friends near the blood red stone, "Rainbow Dash! Shining Armor! All of you, look out! Something's coming off of that rock above you! You're going to get smashed!"
At hearing they were in danger, at seeing a shadowy something indeed breaking off of the main rock mass to fall towards them, Shining Armor grabbed up his two comrades before teleporting them out of harm's way as a large object crashed down where they'd been. Yet, even with how far he'd magically jumped them away, the shockwave of the piece having hit the ground sent Twilight, her brother, and Rainbow Dash falling over each other like everypony else.
"There! What did I tell you?" The Element of Loyalty yelled as the massive rock in the ruined castle front gate actually began to split up, to show oddly shaped limbs, to become alive, "I told you that thing wasn't a boulder! It's alive! It looked at me! Hey, there! There's its head! See – Oh, ew… What is that thing?"
Rainbow Dash had asked a good question. What was this thing that had appeared to be a boulder? For before everypony that had gathered to see it since its falling unto Equestria, before Twilight and Shining Armor who's eyes were becoming as big as Fluttershy's, the titanic rock that had smashed down upon the front gate from the heavens was indeed showing that it wasn't an ordinary alien stone but some sentient being.
It was as it was standing completely upright from the wreckage, though, that the ponies came to realize that they could've been visited by a more favorable creature than that which was showing itself… for the blood red boulder was actually turning out to be a monster of mutated size, with mismatched legs keeping it wobbly upright, with a scythe like whip of an arm and a humungous muscle of an arm that had aimed to smash Twilight as well as the others earlier, and the thing's face… it was little better than a fanged skull of somebeast devoid of flesh while its pair of topaz eyes glowed like embers from within bottomless pits.
"Shining…?" Twilight whispered to her big brother, not taking her eyes off of the monster that had just shown itself to Equestria, "What… what is that? It's a goliath of a thing. What do we do? There are too many ponies here to start a fight."
"Agreed. There are too many innocents that could get hurt by this thing here." Shining Armor answered his little sister, glancing quickly around to see where guards could be found and what places citizens could begin running for if they were smart, "Still, I need to make the first move. That monster… what it's doing is measuring us up. If I don't act soon, it will do so instead. And we cannot let that happen."
"You're going to attack that thing?" Rainbow Dash questioned, her eyes becoming even bigger at Shining Armor's plan of what to do, "We don't even… No pony knows what it is or what it could be capable of."
"I'm well aware of that, Rainbow Dash." The Crystal Prince growled, taking a lone step towards the beast of gigantic size and noticing its eyes immediately turn onto him, "Yet, for Equestria, for you all, I need to do this. Regardless of risk. In the meantime, Twilight, get all of your friends together, keep everypony calm, and have whom you can go out searching for Celestia and Luna. The faster they get here now… the better."
Shining Armor stayed quiet for a moment before adding to his little sister, "Kyle Death Drake. Find him too. I have a feeling that with how he came from some other world and has so much power… he'll be of great help against this beast."
"Yes. Kyle, Celestia, Luna. We'll be sure to gather them together, Shining." Twilight agreed, showing her concern for her brother next, "But, big brother, I can't just leave you here by yourself. Even with guards to help you here… it's like Rainbow Dash said; who knows what that monster can and will do against you."
"If you're wondering if I'll live through this, sis, don't. I promise you, this creature will not be the end of either me or Canterlot." The Crystal Prince stated, scuffing his hooves against the ground to help him prepare for his fight against the fleshy, mutated monster from whatever world, "Until you get Celestia and Luna here, I'll show this thing who is boss of this world. I'll keep it busy. Still, you have to be quick in searching. I'll buy you as much time as I can."
Before anything else could be said, seeing as everypony had their plans planned out, Shining Armor suddenly broke formation and charged forward towards the newest monster of Equestria; this goliath of a creature. In turn, everypony panicked as the beast that had been the boulder came alive. It raised its massive arm up to bring it crashing down upon the Crystal Prince whom, with a gritting of his teeth and focusing of his magic, teleported away to another place. Safe for the moment, he fired a blast of magic from his horn to attract the monster's eyes off of the crowds of fleeing ponies and onto him.
"Here! I'm over here!" Shining Armor yelled above all of the noise, preparing himself to teleport again as the scythe like arm whipped at him this time, "Come and get me! You have to be faster than that!"
The Crystal Prince vanished out of harm's way once more as the mutated, goliath beast slashed at him with its whip of arm. In turn, where the scythe of a limb had swiped, many objects, items, the very ground of the courtyard itself, exploded into pieces. Yet, to Shining Armor's relief, he found that he had the full attention of his monstrous opponent while his sister and the elements were getting everypony to flee the scene effectively in the background. Now… if he could survive long enough against this fiend until Celestia, Luna, or even Death showed up…
"That's it, come this way! Come and get me, freak!" Shining Armor roared upwards towards the goliath creature as it wobbled towards him and even launched itself into the air to an unbelievable height, "Oh, coming back down at me, are we? Well, you're not smashing me!"
By the time the goliath beast had crashed back down onto the courtyard to smash up the ground with a tremendous punch of its muscular arm, the Crystal Prince had already teleported elsewhere and softly grumbled to himself, "Nah, you ain't crushing me, demon. I made a promise to my one and only, you see. I'm going to be father soon enough… and I'm going to see my heir before I let you even graze me with anything you have in store!"
End of Chapter Ten…
Alright, guys. I want to say one more thing before this chapter is wrapped up. There is one author by the name of Raine Moon who has a story called The Eclipsed. She/he has tremendous writing skills. Far better than what I'm able to do. Yet again, another skilled author is being ignored. I want you guys to go give him/her a review. God knows he/she deserves it. Just do this for me. Please?
I also got a new xbox live account. Death and Kaos
Send me a friend request and we'll play sometime! I had to start over on my gamerscore which was at 36,000 points. I was pissed. All good things must come to an end, however. Like this damn chapter! Review and we'll see you soon!