Eastern Foothills of Foal Mountain
With the last of the sun's rays peeking above the horizon, nine griffons flew down toward a peaceful looking clearing in the middle of dense forest land.
"Gee bird brain. Why did you have to go start a fight? Now those guards are out looking for us." Muttered one of the griffin patrol as they landed. "If that airship had found us we would have been dead and they would have figured out we weren't just rogue griffons."
"Yea, ya' just made it harder for all a' us." Added another annoyed scout.
Captain Volibeak was quick to verbally lash out, "I'm in charge here. You fools were all bloody useless! Ok? They were outside the city and they ran into us! You should have come back to help when you saw guards were coming. If we quickly killed those guards we would have two dead element bearers right now!"
One of the other griffons muttered rather loudly; "sorry boss, but we weren't gonna go back there when we thought you was screwing Misty."
Several griffons sniggered. Mistwing span in a circle to try and spot the griffon who had just called her Misty. She locked eyes with a lean grey and black beast and dived at him. The scout dodged and Volibeak laughed as she came in from behind and slammed him into a tree. The victim squawked angrily as leaves and twigs flew everywhere.
"I think that confirms angry's status. I don't wish to be scarred for life just because she decided to rut him." A griffon murmured from behind Volibeak.
"Hear that boys, ol' Voli here isn't even enough of a male to rut his mate, she has to do him." Several griffons laughed at the comment.
"We were told not to bother with the blue one." Another leered, "as one of the fastest pegasus in the land, our boss had a special surprise to deal with her properly. Now they will be looking out for trouble thanks to you."
"What does it matter, I bet she died. She looked worse off to me than a chick in a whore house filled with raging cocks." The heavy, coarse tone of a tough jet black griffon filled the air as he landed heavily on a tree, his claws dug deep into the wood to hold him and he smirked, his eyes locked hungrily upon Mistwing. "I might have happened to glance back at what our hot-headed leaders were doing once or twice."
The only female griffon in the squad felt her insides churn as the predatory all-black creature eyed her up. Even with the fading light of the sun, she could feel his heavy gaze. She shuffled closer to her mate and felt one of his talons carefully place itself on her back as though to claim ownership. "And yet you didn't help us."
The jet black griffon shrugged casually, "why should I?"
"Just because you can't find a mate doesn't give you permission to look at mine." Volibeak felt anger building inside. He was not here to be disrespected and Mistwing was for his eyes only!
The black griffon cracked off a large branch and hurled it at the couple. Volibeak smashed the large bough out of the air then leaped at the grinning griffon. The pair crashed out of the tree, landing heavily on the soft earth underneath where Volibeak pinned his antagonizer. The griffon on the bottom struggled against his hold. "Back down Blackout, before I make you."
Blackout gave a shove then relaxed into the plants he had landed in. "You're not the only beak our lord favours. You better watch yourself."
Volibeak chose to pretend Blackout no longer existed as he strode off toward Mistwing and brushed roughly up against her white side.
She grinned at him and nuzzled him back. "That was kinda hot..."
One of his less than pleased followers spoke up with a sneer. "Oh yeah, and you forget the council... they are gonna skin you alive when they find out you almost started a war. We were not to go attacking ponies! The way those airships are flying around, you may as well have just tried to attack the princess herself!"
"I give the orders here. Now shut your traps! No one is to say or do anything without my permission." The wounded leader rounded on the patchy grey and brown speaker.
Oh, how he would have loved to continue the fight and teach those pesky ponies the meaning of pain. But being outnumbered and with his patrol of nine griffins having disappeared, he had no option but to retreat. For the pathetic, insolent little creatures that they were, those pony guards had put up a greater fight than Volibeak had imagined they would. They had even forced him to drop his lunch. And he had so been looking forward to the taste of pony ever since he had been introduced to the illegal delicacy by his superior, the chief, Grandeur.
"Why did you have that blue pony in your claw boss?"
"What pony?" Volibeak snapped to attention, stiffening, ready for an all on verbal war. Did his whole unit see the fight and choose to leave him?
"We saw you with that pegasus in your claws. Were you going to eat it?" An older griffin asked, advancing on the captain.
"What if I was?" Captain Volibeak replied to his inferior, scowl met scowl as eyes locked in a battle of wills.
Mistwing brushed against her proclaimed mate. "It was so hot too. We nearly had us a meal of element bearers. They were lesbian pegasi too. I've never tasted a gay pony before. I only got a brief bite out of the yellow one. She was delicious. Mmmmmmm..."
Several murmurs passed through the small company as they faced their leader in a stand-off, none of the guttural murmurs were nice and all were directed at the griffon couple in the middle of their camp.
Captain Volibeak turned to face the only griffin who stood with him. "Thank you Mistwing. Good to know one griffin is dependable. However, I was not going to tell every griffon here about the joy of pony meat quite yet."
"Huh, you 'ave already gone on rants about meat before! What's new!?" Snarled the oldest in the pack, his deep, raspy voice full of hate toward his fellow griffin. "I'm sick of your antics. You keep overstepping the line. If it weren't for Chief Grandeur, you would be dead meat. Although, as war approaches, I've heard that he is becoming less popular again these days. So maybe your time will be up soon." The older griffin prowled up to the younger, wounded captain and glared up at him.
"Shut it, private Starclaw! If I wanted your opinion on something, I would have told you what it was!" ordered Volibeak.
"Whatever. After you have reported your failure to the council, I will be challenging you for command of this scout group. And you will lose to me." Starclaw declared before he rammed his beak into Volibeak's.
"It's you who's dead." Snarled the captain as he did his best to forget his still stinging wounds. "Soon as I see the hospital, you are done."
The older griffin chuckled as he turned away. "Sure. Soon as you're gone, I can stop listening to those dumb schemes of the master and I won't have to obey that Gilda either." The older scout relished as he strutted back toward his place amongst his loyal companions.
Before the cocky older griffin could reach his comrades, a claw latched into his side and flipped him on his back. The larger Captain Volibeak was on his challenger before anyone else could respond. With harsh deep breaths, he leered down at his older companion.
"No... I don't think I will be going anywhere." With a vicious swipe, he knocked his struggling opponent out with one blow.
To add to the wound suffered by the downed beast, the lead griffin raked a claw through the primary flight feathers on his foe's right wing. Stunned silence rang out across the camp, you could hear the faintest insect noise above the hushed breaths of the group.
"I might be h'injured, but I'm not weak..." spat the captain as he glared down at his downed challenger. The leader of the small scouting group turned to face his other companions. "Look here. I'm still stronger than some of you. But I'm the boss, you will do as I say and no griffin will argue. We camp here for the night. I'm off to make a decision. We might fly home, but I suddenly find appeal in the challenge of breaking into Canterlot and making sure those two element bearers are dead. Am I understood?" The iron tone of the commanding griffin ran out across the clearing, the only answer he received was muted nods from all those under his command. "Good. This one here is your problem now. I'm off."
Satisfied, Volibeak stalked off. As much as he would have preferred to have run his unit with no internal conflict, he was sure they were loyal to him again; at least for now. How those ponies managed to seemingly live in peace was beyond him. At least for griffons, brute force and a keen mind was an ever successful way of retaining command.
Moments after her leader's departure, Mistwing picked up the only bag of healing supplies they carried and sauntered after her boss, happy to leave her fellow scouts in preference of her captain's company.
Tense, quiet moments passed as the small company prepared to camp for the night. Many shot dirty looks toward where their captain had disappeared off to, while others contented themselves with the fact of his iron beaked leadership.
Several griffins burst out laughing as squarks rent the late day air. "Looks like ol' Starclaw was right!" Screeched one of the scouts as he fought back his hysterics. "It's gonna be a long night for those two!"
Laughter followed, then near silence as the unit calmed down once more. Apart from the odd cries of a complaining griffin getting his wounds tended roughly to, the silence persisted.
"I hope she mauls him. Then we are sure to go home. I'm getting sick of these woods. Equestria makes me sick." Spat Blackout as he tended to Starclaw's wounds with concern.
"Well, you're paid to think. But not like that. So shut it." Advised another as he settled down for the night. "Besides, look at what he did to poor Starclaw's wing. That was brutal. No flyer want's their primaries clipped."
"Strix, your watch." Commanded Blackout without looking up from his fallen comrade.
"Fine. But ya' is second." The griffin in question took off to find a nice vantage point to keep guard from, his tawny brown wings propelled him upwards with expert ease.
Somewhere in Equestria...
As Celestia's sun slid below the horizon, two shapes darted along unopposed though the open skies on their way from Canterlot out toward Filly Delphia and the griffon kingdom beyond. The two Wonderbolts blazed through the high clouds, cutting though any that happened to be in their path. The couple were so high up, they were mere specks to the few creatures that actually spotted them from below. None took any notice of the speeding dots.
Neither athlete pulled off tricks or flashy maneuvers as they raced along. They were on a mission and time was of the essence. Soarin carefully felt the left side pouch of his saddlebags and couldn't help but smile. The pie in there appeared to be safe and sound. Therefore, the trip was all good so far.
Canterlot Castle, Princess Luna's Bedroom
With a flash of moonlight, Luna appeared. As the magics dissipated, the night themed bedroom fell silent. The distressed alicorn strode to her bathroom and proceeded to carefully wash her face until she felt cleaner. Once done, she dried herself then took a deep breath. Time to face the music. Time to see Twilight and her friends.
But not Celestia.
There was no way she could speak with her sister now.
Celestia was too... scary?
No. That was not entirely correct. Luna knew she loved her sister dearly, but there were some things that she could simply not share with Celestia anymore. They had grown apart in the last millennia and it seemed neither knew how to bridge the gap.
With a deep breath to steady herself, Luna approached the double doors to the hallway and stepped out. The two bat ponies on night shift slipped in behind her as she strode along. Beyond being thankful for their presence, the princess paid them no heed as thoughts ran rampant around her head.
'What can we say to Twilight? Dost we walk up and demand to speak with her alone?'
Luna shook her head, no. That would not work well, both Twilight and her friends would worry. She needed to find a way to discreetly have a moment with the cute unicorn.
The ruler of the night's mind wandered as she walked till suddenly she found herself in front of the door to the palace dining hall. Luna could hear the banter of the ponies beyond the door and couldn't help but smile. It was so good to hear them be happy and animated. It was such a contrast to her own dark thoughts.
'Well go on, open it.'
Luna was reminded that she had probably been standing in front of the door awkwardly for more than a few moments. She glanced at her accompanying guards. "Thank you for accompanying me, thy services are no longer needed while We dine with friends."
"Yes, princess." The duo saluted then marched off.
Luna smiled. Her thestral guards were nice to have back in service. As her thoughts slowly turned from her guards, Luna knew she was staling. For what?
The longer she waited, the longer it would be till she had to open up and speak to Twilight Sparkle. Maybe if she waited long enough, they would finish their meal and she would miss them?
Or maybe it was best that she simply enter now before she lost her chance and her courage?
Laughter from the party pony drew her attention to the door once more and Luna couldn't help but picture a laughing Pinkie with one foreleg around her Twilight. A jealous fire lit inside the alicorn.
No. She could not lose Twilight.
She would not lose Twilight.
The princess's horn lit light blue as she telepathically reached for the door.
Somewhere still within Equestria...
Under the rising moon, two pegasi sat on a cloud that floated over dense forest land. They were sharing a pie side by side as they lay at ease. Soarin took the last bite then sighed in contentment.
"That was amazing... Totally worth carrying all the way from Canterlot."
"Yea," Spitfire couldn't help but grin at her husband's delight. "I hope you can adjust to basic food too though, we aren't carrying a whole bakery."
"You know I'll be fine."
"Even if we have to eat plain grass for a bit?"
The blue stallion's happy demeanour soured. "I thought you said we had enough food for the trip?"
"We do. I just have this feeling..." Spitfire trailed off in contemplation.
"What kind of feeling?" Soarin prompted softly.
"I dunno... it's like... something bad is gonna happen."
"Awww, don't say that Spitty." A light blue hoof fell comfortingly upon yellow then he drew her forehooves closer.
"Well, that's just how I feel."
"Alright, alright. Should we have brought something more than just food?"
A vibrant yellow muzzle shook from side to side slowly, "I don't think weapons would help. We are trying to be ambassadors here."
"Yea," Soarin half heartily laughed. "By telling them to buck off for a long time. That will go down well."
"Hey, I don't want ponies lives put at risk because of either a bunch of rogues or one of their tribes deciding to have a go at us. Do you?"
The light blue stallion gave his wife a cautious look, " you know the answer to that. Don't worry, worst comes to worst, we just give them the message and fly outa there so fast they lose us. We're Wonderbolts." Blue wings extended then fell slowly till the one over Spitfire covered her in a protective fuzzy layer.
"You make that sound easy."
Soarin shrugged. "In my mind, it is." After a few peaceful moments he continued with confidence; "we fly up, we tell them how its gonna be. They say yes, or no. If yes, we know they are cool. If no, bad things will happen and we gotta high tail it back to tell Celestia. Either way, we fly back safe cause no slow griffon can catch us."
"I like the sound of that." Spitfire rolled on her side as she settled down upon the cloud for a quick moments rest. There they floated for a few, untold minutes of peace.
Spitfire eventually rolled over onto her back and gazed playfully up at her lover. "Oh, best husband of mine..."
"Spitty, I had better be your only husband."
"Exactly, that's why your the best."
The stallion puffed out his chest proudly, "yes, my amazing wife?"
"Give me a massage. All this distance flying is giving my back a cramp."
Blue ears perked up, "does that mean I get something too?"
"Depends," Spitfire settled upon her tummy. Her wings relaxed at her sides and she waited.
With a shrug, Soarin straddled his spouse. A cheeky grin lit Spitfire's muzzle as she shuffled backward, arched her hindquarters and brushed against his lower section. Blue wings shot up to full display.
Spitfire settled down as though nothing had happened. "Well, you gonna start or what?"
"Because of somepony... my brain is telling me to give you a massage while another part of me wants to be inside you."
"Stop thinking with your dick and rub me with your hooves." Spitfire couldn't help but grin as she delivered her order.
"Cruel..." Soarin grinned as he rubbed a certain lower part of himself carefully along his wife's back.
"That's a mighty weird hoof on my back," Spitfire commented casually. Despite her attempt at remaining stoic, she couldn't help but grin once more at how easily her husband was turned on.
"Oh yes... yes it is." Soarin grinned as he continued to lightly grind on his wife's lower back, trying to emulate hoof motions with the rather less solid body part.
"This won't help your chances, pie boy."
"But I'm giving you a massage, just like you asked," Soarin grinned back. "...With my er- fifth leg."
"Really?" A light yellow wing lifted and Spitfire angled her body so that it carefully brushed against said 'fifth leg.'
"Yea," Soarin nuzzled his wife as he continued his work below.
A sunny wing flicked harder. "Use your proper hooves or I won't return the favour."
"Awww, but Spitty..."
Spitfire rolled over and pulled her rather excited husband into a loose embrace. "I'm going to roll over again and I expect a proper massage with no more silly surprises."
The excited stallion took a deep breath then nodded slowly though the building haze of his desire.
Spitfire made sure to not antagonize her spouse further as she returned to lying tummy first on the nice soft cloud.
Soarin dutifully began to massage his mare's upper back. "Hey uh... any chance you might be able to help me shoot for the moon after this?"
Spitfire moaned softly in pleasure and stretched as light blue hooves found more knots in her back. "Keep this up and I might..."
Mighty Wing, Chief Grandeur's mansion
Gilda sat around the dinner table with the rest of her family. They all ate in silence, tearing the flesh from what they were eating at speeds that would leave other animals fearful of the mighty beaks. Beside Gilda sat her younger brother, Glen. Chief Grandeur sat at the head of the table. He wore a black suit with slits to allow for his mighty wings. It could be that he had plans later that night that required formal attire. It was also possible that he simply wanted to show everyone that he was the boss. Either way, no one felt like conversing with the tense griffin chief. On his left side, sat his mistress, a light brown griffin by the name of Gretelda. Across from her sat the elder patriarch of the family, the very father of Chief Grandeur himself, Gigan. This was an ancient griffin who was almost bald on his face while the rest of his coat was entirely grey. Despite this beast's age, he bore himself tall and proud as he continued to devour his meal.
"Hey, dad, when do you get to send me out there again?" Gilda asked as casually as possible. Despite her casual appearance, it was hard for her to keep the eagerness completely out of her voice.
"Oh, me too this time please dad! I wanna do something awesome and cool for once!" Piped in Glen like a little chick.
Chief Grandeur calmly faced his children as he wiped his beak with a napkin offered to him by his mistress. "Glen... I will require you to take up more training before I will allow you out there. You must be strong willed and a formidable fighter to face those who oppose us."
"Would that allow me to get a cool title like yours dad?" The youngster asked, seemingly ignorant of the meaning behind his father's title and the hard work involved in obtaining it.
"Absolutely, son. Much as I and my father before me."
The elder Chief merely nodded solemnly before he resumed eating.
Gilda shot her father an expectant look but he ignored her. She huffed and tore into the leg of zebra she had been enjoying.
The family's butler appeared. "Sir, there is one of your scouts here to see you."
"Let him in." The Chief replied with kingly authority.
A scout entered dressed in dark cloth, he shoved the butler roughly to one side as he barged in. The messenger was bedraggled, his deep brown feathers were ruffled and his chocolate brown pelt wet from impacting with too many rain clouds.
"Sire, we have reports from your operatives in Manehattan and Baltmare." The messenger griffin announced without meeting his master's hard gaze.
"And..." Chief Grandeur's menacing tone made it clear that failure was not an option he wanted to hear.
"They report that no artifact is present in either city. They also wish to tell you, Manehattan is still poorly defended. However, there is an increase in military movement both there at Blatmare. We were unable to get close enough to fully examine their operations due to the number of guards. Airships also come and go at an increasing rate." The messenger bowed his head in respect for his leader as he awaited a response.
Chief Grandeur settled down, his expression neutral. "Conclusion?"
The messenger glanced hesitantly up at his chief. "Ugh... um..."
Gigan slammed a claw down on the table and roared; "don't just stand there yammering like a cowardly slave! Speak!"
The bedraggled scout jumped in fright. He eyed the angry old griffon nervously, frozen in place.
Grandeur sat back in his lavish chair, tired of how slow the progress of information was. "Father, speak like that to our slaves. Not our fellow griffons."
The old beast took a swing of his strong drink then threw the goblet at his son. Grandeur ducked with expert ease while alcohol drenched the tapestry on the wall.
The chief smiled lightly, "continue. What is the conclusion from the scouting party? Is there something we must be concerned over?"
The scout nervous eyed his master. "Um... Maybe. It's almost like the sun horse suspects she is being lied to. Our scouting party was even warned off a patch by guards. They aren't as friendly toward us as they used to be."
Grandeur rubbed his chin with a claw thoughtfully. "Pull everyone out and go into hiding. No further attacks, no raids. Nothing. I shall take full control of the council tomorrow at noon. Keep all signs of thy presence hidden till three days thereafter. For tonight, feel free to take as much slave meat as you wish for your scouts to enjoy. The latest batch, though weak on brains are at least making for a good meal."
"It shall be done, boss." The messenger bowed then licked his chops as he eyed the illegal meat on the table.
The chief rolled his eyes. "Butler. Give this loyal griffon some meat."
"Yes, sir. Does m'lord require anything further?" The butler asked from his place by the door.
"No. Leave us." Grandeur waved the servant away.
The butler motioned for the scout to follow and the duo left the room.
The door closed quietly, leaving the family in peace as the head of the table surveyed his house. "Gilda. I would like you to meet with me come dawn. It shall be in my office as per usual."
"Okay. That sounds cool dad," grinned Gilda.
"Can I come too please, dad?" Glen begged.
"No. Gretelda, take care of my son. See that he is kept from trouble," Chief Grandeur instructed as he adjusted his suit. "Father, we shall depart. I shall summon our followers for a meeting."
The griffin mistress in question nodded in obedience to her mate before resuming what was left of her meal.
"Lame, Dad... Can't I come tonight too?" Gilda rolled her eyes knowing her question would only be met by a no.
"Come on, Dad! Let me come too! Then I can learn the ways of the lords!" The energetic young griffin almost bounced into the air with excitement.
"Son, your enthusiasm is greatly valuable. But now is not the time." Chief Grandeur chided his son. The mighty griffin went to leave, but paused, turning to face his children. "...Actually my daughter... I have a use for you tonight..." The mighty griffin paused in thought. "I want you to summon our followers."
"Aww... yea!" The excited youngster hopped up rushed to her father's side. "Thanks, dad! I'm sure you won't regret getting me to help."
Glen sighed, "okay... whatever dad. Just don't leave it too late. I don't want to take over from some old bag of feathers who can't teach no more..." The young griffon glumly headed out, disappointed that he was about to miss out on such an excellent chance to see his cool father in action, leading others and whatever else he did while he was out. "Guess I'll just go check out that metal concert."
With a single nod toward his son, Chief Grandeur paid no further mind to his family as he led his father out of the room.
Canterlot Palace, Dining Hall
Twilight Sparkle, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rarity and Spike sat toward the head of the palace dining hall. They were sharing a meal together, courtesy of Celestia's staff. A warm, fuzzy head suddenly nestled into Twilight's shoulder. The corner of her eye caught sight of a pink curly mane, confirming that it was none other than Pinkie Pie.
"Hey, Pinkie. Are you doing okay?" Twilight asked.
Pinkie smiled and gave her a hug, "Of course, Twilight. I'm just worried about Dashie and Fluttershy. I can't believe some meanie-weanie griffin attacked them like that!"
"I know... It was rough seeing them brought in, I can't believe Rainbow Dash had to fight off two griffons like that." Twilight replied with a frown before she turned back to the pink earth pony. "But, I'm really glad you girls all came. I think it'll really help a lot."
"Well duh! Of course we were going to come and make sure Dashie and Fluttershy were okay!" Pinkie told her with a grin. "We all made sure to come as soon as my Pinkie sense went haywire! Don't worry, Twi-Twi! We'll be here till they both get all better!"
A heavy sigh escaped the unicorn as she lent against Pinkie for comfort. "Thanks."
Pinkie Pie suddenly shot the door a look. With a cheeky grin, she nuzzled Twilight, hugging her more. "Flutters loves Dashie! They belong together like icing on a cupcake! As long as they are together, I'm sure they will both get all better."
"...Right, yeah..." Twilight hugged Pinkie back. She found herself warming up to the sweet comfort the party pony was offering. Even her scent was nice, a mixture of sweet baked goods and sugar. She supposed it was because of the attack on their friends that Pinkie was acting so cuddly with her. She brushed any deeper meanings off as silly, Pinkie was a good friend of hers, maybe even her best, most odd friend. "Well, I guess all of us being here should help Rainbow and Fluttershy a lot. I hope it will."
"It will, Twilight!" Pinkie nodded, her gaze once upon the door to the hallway outside.
After a few moments of sedate silence, Spike settled down a little closer to Rarity, sighing. "Well I guess it's a case of ...and now we wait."
"Yes. I hope my Spikie Wikey won't get too bored," Rarity wrapped a hoof around the tired eyed dragon.
"Nah, I'll be fine." Spike smiled a bit at the snow-white unicorn in appreciation. "I guess I'm just worried. I had a feeling something like this would happen, I just didn't know when."
Rarity gave a nod, smiling sadly, "I'm certainly glad we had Pinkie Pie to warn us."
Spike nodded, looking around at the other ponies, then down at his claws, "I just hope that they will be able to recover and be themselves once again. None of us have ever been so badly hurt before and I can't help but worry."
Applejack reached over and petted his head, making him giggle. "Believe me, sugarcube, Ah have a huge family, an' yet ah've never experienced something like this before."
The farmer sat down beside Rarity and quickly found herself leaning against the soft white coat of her friend. It was warm and inviting, but she knew she could go no further when said unicorn had a dragon in her forehooves. She let out a sigh as the group sat in thoughtful silence.
Applejack glanced across to Twilight who continued to snuggle with the baker. From where she sat, she decided they looked rather cute together. As her mind wandered, aided by the welcoming presence at her side, a thought struck her. Could this mean their group of six was about to divide up as they found their special somepony was someone they already knew? Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy had each other, as did Twilight and Pinkie Pie it seemed. Although what was that with Princess Luna? However, Spike was maybe getting on too well with Rarity for her liking.
Applejack stiffened. Where did that come from? Was it because it would mean she would be left alone while the rest of her friends shared a special connection with somepony else in the group? Was that a sudden pang of jealousy she felt? The farmer felt as though she could do nothing but watch and be happy for her friends. After all, as a well brought up mare who was a part of a hard-working family. None ever sought after same-sex relationships in her family so of course, she liked stallions, right? Therefore there was no reason to be jealous of Spike. The seamstress cut the farmer's thoughts off by leaning on the tense earth pony. The added weight of the soft mare at her side caused Applejack to slowly relax.
There was nothing to worry about.
"All I can say is that there was one time a couple of years ago: my dear darling Sweetie Belle fell ill to pneumonia. If not for having been taken quickly to the hospital, it was likely she would not have survived..." Rarity murmured sadly, her gaze downcast at the young dragon in her forehooves. "It really does open one up to the gradual possibility of losing somepony you care for."
"Sorry, Rarity," Spike gave her a little hug. "I uh...well, don't really know first-hand what you went through or... Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash now, but you know, I'm still here to help if you guys need it at all."
Rarity smiled warmly, "Thank you, dear. It's very compassionate of you. I think we all very much appreciate it."
"Hey-" Spike was cut off by the door behind him opening suddenly.
"Princess Luna!" Twilight jumped up, "hi- what happened to you?"
The princess failed to respond, her gaze bored into the pink party pony who was attached to her mare.
"Uh... Princess?" Applejack spoke up as she turned to face the ruler of the night. "Hello?"
Luna shook herself out of whatever trance she was in and was quick to back up. "We art sorry for interrupting thy meal together. We must depart."
"But you only just got back!" Twilight stood and motioned to her left where there was a free spot with no party pony. "Please, you are welcome to join us."
"We-" Luna took a deep, careful breath and reminded herself of why she returned to Canterlot. "Can we speakest to thou alone, Twilight Sparkle?"
"Uh... okay?" Twilight glanced around at her friend's for support.
None of them had any clue what the mare of the moon might be after. Twilight evicted herself from her seat then made her way around the table.
Luna shot Pinkie one last warning look before she turned and strode off, purple unicorn in tow.
"What was that about?" Rarity asked in a hushed tone once the door closed.
"About what?" Applejack asked.
"Oh come on, surely you saw the way Princess Luna was looking at Pinkie."
"Uh... yeah. That was kinda hard to miss," Applejack responded with a roll of her eyes.
"What about it?" Pinkie Pie pipped up.
Rarity turned to her brightly coloured friend. "Darling, I think Princess Luna has a crush on Twilight."
"Pfffft," Pinkie giggled. "That's silly!"
"No, it's not. And the way she's acting, I would be very careful." Rarity stated then resumed her meal with a finality that made everypony else do the same.
Pinkie Pie gasped. "Oooooh! I hope she will be nice to Twi-Twi. Twilight deserves somepony extra nice!"
Canterlot Castle Hallway
Some way from the dining room, two mares walked in silence. They passed gently moonlit strips of the hall which projected light rainbows on the duo thanks to the stained glass. This mixed with the warmer tones of the torches on the opposite wall to create a dreamy feeling that calmed the princess of the night's racing heart.
Twilight would occasionally glance up with concern at the mighty alicorn at her side. Luna looked okay now. Yet back in the dining hall it was almost as if some small part of nightmare moon had appeared for a moment. It was actually a little scary. But what could have made Luna so angry?
The princess, for her part, simply continued to walk slowly. The scent of magic mixed with oil as it burned on the torches further mixed with the scent of the young unicorn at her side. It was... nice. Calming even. She needed silence ...and Twilight after what she had witnessed. That had been the wrong time to gather the required courage to open the door to the dining hall. But had there been any good time? It looked as though that pink pony had been dominating Twilight for some time. Now she had saved her. Her Twilight was here, safe.
Twilight jumped as a wing caressed her back and Luna pulled her close. "Uh- Princess?"
"Please- refer to us as Luna. We art thou friend, right?"
Twilight gazed up at her friend with concern. "Yes. And as your friend, I'm worried about you."
Luna paused as they came to an open balcony. "Beautiful, is it not?"
Twilight slipped out of the winged hold of her companion to wander to the balcony's ledge. "Your stars look very beautiful tonight."
"The stars yes... but we were also referring to... some...pony else."
Twilight tore her gaze from the brilliance of the night sky and immediately noticed Luna had not moved. More importantly, she was pretty sure the alicorn's eyes rested upon the wrong star. Despite the cool breeze, the unicorn felt her cheeks flush. "Right. Uh... about that."
"Yes?" Luna tensed, her gaze shot up from the bookworm's flank to meet her eyes. This had better not be about that pink pony.
"About your comments earlier today... and all the other things we have done today right up to now with you looking at my flank."
The princess of the night strode up to Twilight and sat down beside her. Afraid of meeting her gaze she instead turned to vision toward the night sky. "Yes?"
"Remember how I told you I was trying to work out if I like you in that way or not?"
"Yes."
"You're not making it any easier."
"But We desire thee with all mine heart." Luna turned from her night to gaze into the captivating eyes of her crush.
Twilight fought the urge to hide her flushed muzzle. "Ugh... look." A purple hoof raised and prodded the night blue princess in the ribs. "That's not helping either. I know you like me. And ...it's flattering. But this whole putting your wing around me like I'm your special somepony or something... A-and my parents would kill me if they knew I had slept in the same bed as another pony who I'm not married to! We aren't dating, or courting... whatever you want to call it! At least not right now... so please, just... give me some space and stop reminding me how nice you think my butt is or how much you love me. I've worked that out now. And don't even think about telling me how long you've felt that way about me. I just... It's too much. Okay?"
Luna crinkled her brow at this. While she could understand Twilight's angle thanks to the traditional background she herself had been raised with, it was still disheartening the way Twilight was speaking. It almost as if Twilight did not feel the same way. Maybe her attempts had backfired. Had she come on too strong? In old times, when a stallion tried for a mare's hoof in marriage, this sort of thing was not unusual. You had to make sure they knew you were interested. There was rarely time to muck around, especially with nobility. Why, the only missing step in Luna's mind was venturing forth to ask Twilight's parents for permission to court her. Luna's heart began to sink like the moon below the horizon after a long night. This was not good. She felt like she was close to losing Twilight and the mare was right beside her! The alicorn's attention was once again drawn outward to her companion as the pretty purple unicorn continued.
"Look, I like you. You're a great friend. We might even work well together as a couple, who knows. But right now, I feel pressured. And you should know how well I handle pressure."
"But Pinkie-"
"Is my friend." Twilight frowned, quick to cut Luna off. "And you will be nice to her, or we will not work."
"But-"
"No buts Luna. She was comforting me. Today has been hard for us all and Pinkie is a great friend to anypony and every pony in need."
Luna hung her head. "We were concerned..."
"About what?" Twilight asked, then it occurred to her. "Wait... you didn't actually think Pinkie Pie was trying to make a move on me, did you?"
"We- I... perhaps...?"
Twilight groaned. "You just have to go and be the jealous type... don't you?"
Princess Luna wasn't sure how best to respond to that. It was true. After an awkward moment, she turned her gaze upon the stars once more.
Twilight realized the wing had returned to her back. Had Luna even been listening? With a side glance at the dark alicorn, she turned her gaze to the stars and decided to ignore the wing. "So... how was your trip?"
"That is what We meant to speak to thee about."
"Okay?"
Silence.
Luna tensed. How best to tell Twilight that she had lost a valuable artifact and was concerned about the return of the nightmare?
"We..."
Silence.
Twilight shifted around under the warm feathers and gazed at the tense alicorn who was clearly struggling with how to continue. "You could start with why you left? Maybe?"
Luna closed her eyes and did her best to summon all her inner courage. "Some time ago We checked on a highly dangerous griffon artifact." Luna glanced at Twilight and sure enough, her audience was attentive, yet concerned. "For reasons unknown, We decided twas best to remove it. We found it a new home. In my haste, we only laid two defensive spells before returning home. One, an illusion and the other, a shield should any creature wander into the cave protected by the illusion."
Luna took a deep breath and fought back the greed that demanded she locate the artifact now! "We rushed off because my shield triggered an alarm. Some creature had broken through and when We arrived, the artifact was missing."
Twilight looked at Luna as though the royal mare had grown a second head. "But if this new place was so unsafe, why did you move it in the first place? Surely it had been fine?"
"That brings me to a concern I wish to share with thee..."
"Okay?"
"On one condition."
Twilight gave her companion her full attention. "Is this something that you haven't even told your sister?"
"Correct."
Twilight sagged slightly. That was not something she wished to hear. It also meant Celestia was unlikely to know about this missing artifact, whatever it was.
Luna tentatively spoke up once more, "does thou still wish to hear?"
Twilight returned her attention back to her companion. "Are you only telling me because you have a crush on me?"
"Nay. Thou art my best friend as well."
Twilight's ears flattened against her head and she hunkered down low to avoid her companion's gaze. Her head began to spin. 'Luna must be crazy in love with me to trust me with something that she won't even tell Celestia...'
"Tis also because-"
The soft words drew the young scholarly unicorn's attention back to the taller mare.
"Because We see in thee a kindred spirit. Somepony We can open up to in ways We- I... am unable to with anypony else. But should We continue, We would wish to know..." Luna fidgeted slightly.
Twilight was quick to notice and jumped in, "if I'm a kindred spirit and your friend? Or if I love you back?"
"The first would suffice."
Twilight nodded slowly, thankful that Luna appeared to at least hold her friendship in such high regard. "I do consider you to be a very good friend Luna. I also think we share a special connection and a love of your night. If that is enough for now then I am glad." She shuffled her hooves and tried to lightly brush the wing aside. "But I still don't feel ready for a romantic relationship with anypony."
Luna closed her eyes and exhaled slowly. She was careful to completely purge her lungs before she took a deep breath to calm herself. Yet as she opened her eyes and her mouth to speak, no words came forth. She tried to speak, to tell Twilight that the nightmare had survived, that she was dangerous. Yet no words came out. She faltered and fell into silence. At a light nudge, Luna realized her wing must have at some point extended once more to cover and protect her Twilight. She withdrew it. Twilight had made it clear such gestures were unappreciated.
"You... were going to tell me something?" Twilight prompted as she gazed up at the nervous looking matron of the night.
"Y-yes... you are a good pony, Twilight Sparkle. Don't ever be as stupid and selfish as I. We- uh... yes. Goodnight."
Then in a twinkle of moonlight, Luna was gone.
"No, wait!" Twilight sighed in defeat. "Why did she go? I thought she wanted to tell me something important..."
The young mare recalled the talk about the missing artifact and her mind raced desperately. Make that a second something important. She needed to tell Celestia! Now!
As she hurried into the hallway she froze. No. Wait! Luna had confided in her. She had to keep Luna's confidence.
'But Celestia needs to know! And something is wrong with Luna, I need to help her.'
Indecision ate at Twilight as she hovered between rushing off to her mentor's room and hoping that Celestia would be there, checking Luna's room or...
Or she could brush it all off and return to dinner with her friends. They would be wondering where she had wandered off to by now.
She could find Luna and fix this mess in the morning. Celestia would know soon enough. There was no need to add more bad news to her day, was there?
Still uncertain over her own actions and torn over betraying Luna's trust, Twilight rushed off to Celestia's room. Maybe she had returned from the final duties she had mentioned and had a moment to talk.
Canterlot Castle, Luna's bedroom
Luna appeared in her bedroom in a twinkle of moonlight. The mighty ruler hung her head low as she approached her bed and collapsed upon it. Total failure. That's what that was. She had failed.
She had lost a dangerous and valuable artifact all because it called to her darker side.
What's worse, she had been unable to win Twilight over.
Twilight did not love her back. She was unable to tell Twilight that she had messed up and that was why the artifact was still out there somewhere in the hands of some creature powerful enough to quickly break one of her magical barriers.
'Should We go out there and look for it? The night is mine.'
The darker reaches of the princesses mind called for her to find the artifact and punish those who had stolen it. Another part of her just wanted to curl up in bed and cry herself to sleep.
Canterlot Royal Hospital
Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.
The doctor who stood in front of the pair of heart rate monitors turned his gaze to the two bedridden pegasi. While the readings were solid he was still concerned about how well their bodies were taking to all the magic they had been pumped full of. He lit his horn and gingerly felt out to the yellow mare. A simple, non-invasive spell scanned her and the stallion was quick to note down what he discovered. He then cast the same spell on the blue pegasus. This time he scrunched up his muzzle a bit before he scribbled down a few notes. He held the spell active as he carefully felt around her magically repaired sections.
"Hmm..."
The scratching of pen on paper fought with the beeping of the heart rate monitor till the beeping won and the doctor placed his pen down and cancelled his spell.
The stallion sat back for a few moments in thought before he left the room to make his report.
One yellow hind leg kicked at the blankets as its owner tried and failed to roll over in her sleep.
Canterlot Castle, Celestia's bedroom
The moon had risen a bit further into the sky and it was now time for all sensible creatures to be at rest. Celestia would have liked to be one of those sensible creatures.
The mighty ruler of the day lay her head down on her pillow and closed her eyes. She tried to blot out the worries that circled her like timberwolves. No matter how she ignored them, they persisted and grew till her eyes snapped open. No, she would not be defeated so easily. Her eyes closed once more and she willed herself to sleep. Sleep...
Sleep...
The royal alicorn forced herself into sitting and sighed. As expected, the night continued to be rough. Even the quick meeting with a few potential spies had dragged on.
Celestia's eyes wandered her room as her mind raced for ways to find sleep. Much searching revealed all of nothing. Maybe it was time to try a sleeping spell?
Or...
With a stretch of her wings, Celestia left her bed and teleported to a little unofficial sanctuary of hers.
The wonderful white alicorn found herself before a certain statue. She approached it slowly till she came into contact and laid her head against his lower body. No reaction.
As expected.
"Discord, I do wish you were still with me... You would be able to find our daughter. You would have done something crazy enough to find her and bring her back, just like you saved her the first time. I worry that she's in danger, but I can't send her another letter... not yet."
The statue of her long lost lover continued to stand tall and proud. No answers came forth, yet Celestia couldn't help but feel a little better in his presence.
Outlying countryside, many leagues from Filly Delphia
A black alicorn appeared in the middle of a small camp of guards. Everypony leapt to their hooves and grabbed their weapons as they realized the pony who stood before them was not one of the known rulers of the realm. This alicorn was not entirely an alicorn. The guards found themselves staring at the beast who radiated mischief and power. Her right eye was a dull sunny yellow while her left was dark, almost black purple. A short tufty mane stuck out, it almost covered her yellow eye like a crazy unbrushed fringe before it fell upon her shoulders. Her mane swirled with colour as though it was a river of candy and rainbows. While one wing was normal, the other looked like it belonged on a bat pony. A sky blue tail that looked like it belonged to a draconequus flowed in a non-existent breeze. In place of a left hoof, she had a lions paw. The whole left leg was a light brown that suddenly cut off as it met her perfect black coat. Her cutie mark was of clouds slowly moving to cover the sun, a sun that looked rather like the cutie mark upon Princess Celestia.
"Hello, my little ponies." The condescending voice of the mare broke the nervous silence.
"Who, or what are you…?" a strong sense of confusion was evident in the tone of the guard pony with embellished armour as he strode to the middle of his patrols campsite.
"You need not know little one." The jet black alicorn smirked darkly. "The time of my mother's reign has ended. A new age dawns. You all shall join me or die."
"We are loyal to Princess Celestia," one guard spoke up. "And nothing you say will shake our faith in our princesses." All eight armed ponies advanced upon the unarmed strange alicorn thing that had entered their camp.
"So be it." The jet black mare's horn lit up with a menacing deep red glow.
A bolt hit the guard who had spoken. He cried out in sudden pain then collapsed upon the ground, dead. The others took a fearful step backward.
The lead unicorn lit his horn and a small shield shimmered to life. "We don't fear you, beast."
The sort of alicorn smirked back and lit her horn once more. Weapons clattered to the ground all around as her magic took hold. This was followed by the clank of seven armoured equine bodies as they joined their weapons.
The alicorn glanced around at transfixed group that had moments ago threatened her. A dark grin lit her lips as she continued to hold her spell active. A ghostlike flare inched its way up her horn. It pulsed blood red and a deep ghosty purple as it crept into the air. The once beautiful surrounds of the forest seemed to wither and die to the malice this unnatural flame exuded.
The angry red glow of magic faded from the horn of the alicorn. As the source died, the hovering flame exploded. Tendrils snaked toward each of the stunned ponies as the dark alicorn leisurely made her way over to the tent in the middle of the camp to check out its interior.
Small fitful cries of ponies fighting dark magic penetrated the otherwise dead silent atmosphere of the campsite. Limbs flailed every which way while eyes bulged as each and every one of the once strong stallions wriggled and writhed as they fought an impossible battle with the evil that was taking over their minds. Each and every pony appeared to slip into insanity until they lay still like dolls. Eyes open, bodies paused in wait for their first order.
One unicorn rolled over. He was not done fighting! His horn flared with magical exertion and his limbs fell slack as he finally managed to free himself. Long hard breaths drew the attention of the dark mare.
The dark alicorn turned and strode slowly over to face the powerful unicorn soldier.
"You'll never kill the princess!" spat the guard before he fell back panting desperately for breath. The whole time his defiant gaze never left that of his new enemies'.
"I wouldn't be so sure of that… my little pony," the evil smirk on the youthful muzzle twisted as her horn lit. The stallion screamed as he began to convulse and continued to do so until he collapsed in a heap. The dark mare's smile disappeared. "Now rise."
With clunky motions, the guard rose to his feet and stood glassy eyed. His six fellows followed suit.
"I Chaotic Sunset, am your new master."
"All hail Chaotic Sunset." Droned the seven enthralled ponies.
Evil laughter rent the night air. "Pick up your weapons and follow me."
At the instruction of the dark alicorn, the seven ponies trod mechanically after their new leader as she headed into the thick forest.
A/N:
Can you sense the easy times coming to an end?
Soon, these happy moments and tense build-ups will be but a pleasant memory as I reach parts I have had on my mind in quiet development for years... Having given my notes a good read again, I feel as though we are 4-5 chapters out from the shit hitting the fan in a big way and Fluttershy and Dash are out for at least several weeks of healing.
As a random aside, I pretty much envisage Ruffnut's (out of How To Train Your Dragon) voice for Mistwing. Especially when she drops lines like: "That was kinda hot..."