Chapter 3: The Threat.
When they got there they found Princess Celestia and Princess Luna in the throne room talking with Shining Armor and Princess Cadance. Princess Celestia looked up and upon seeing Twilight, greeted them.
"Hello, Twilight. I'm glad you and your friends are here. We may need the Elements of Harmony," she said, giving Alex a nod of greeting.
Shining Armor however, did not react kindly towards Alex. "What is a human doing here? Twilight! Have you sided with the enemy?" he exclaimed glaring at Alex.
"Shining Armor! What do you mean? What is going on?" Twilight exclaimed, confused.
"What I hope to stop," said Alex looking grave.
"What do you mean? Explain!" Shining Armor demanded getting in Alex's face.
"Shining Armor! Please contain yourself! Let the human explain without being in her face. Go on, Alex," Celestia encouraged, looking kindly at Alex.
"My name is Alex Castaway. My half-brother Ryan Shadowrider has usurped the throne of Humania from my cousin Greg Harmonious and locked him in prison. Ryan is your enemy, not humans. A time of great darkness has fallen upon Humania and many have been exiled or killed because my half-brother seeks to secure his power. The only thing that surpasses his cruelty and malice, is his lust for power. I see he has sent a threat. May I read it?" Alex asked.
Celestia nodded and Alex read it aloud.
'Ponies of Equestria, I am Ryan Shadowrider, King of Humania. You shall be my first conquest, for I intend to spread my Empire to encompass the whole world and take my rightful place as Master of all.
Argreth talse regoth undal ratho libo tegoloth.'
"What was that last part? We were unable to make it out," said Shining Armor.
"The language is that of the ancient wizards. It is a challenge to me," said Alex.
"What do you mean? How could he know you're here?" asked Shining Armor.
"Because he banished me here. I opposed his rule, for he is a power hungry madman. Anyway, the challenge in the common tongue goes like this, 'Staff to staff, skill to skill, magic to magic I challenge you.' I must find my staff," said Alex.
"Oh, did you lose it? I'll help you find it," Fluttershy offered.
"Thank you, Fluttershy, but that's not what I meant. Each wizard finds their staff as they travel through the world. Wizard staves are made of the black ironwood and are set with a jewel in the knob at the top. They are hidden all throughout the world. I must begin searching for one at once. His challenge is dated for tomorrow," said Alex.
"Wait. I believe we may have saved you the trouble. Follow me," said Celestia.
She led the way to the treasure room and unlocked the door. There were jewels and gold and silver and all kinds of valuable things, but in a rack on one wall, were six staves. All were made of black wood and each had a different jewel set in the knob at the top. One was black, one white, one purple, one green, one blue, and one red. Alex walked over to them, closed her eyes, and stretched out her hand towards them. The staff with the red jewel shook, then flew out of the rack and into Alex's hand.
Alex opened her eyes and looked at the staff in her hands. The smooth black wood felt like it was carved just for her. She then went through a series of combat moves. The staff felt like an extension of her body and she had perfect control. Alex then raised her staff skyward and the jewel began to glow with power. At a command from her, the staff discharged a bolt of red energy that passed harmlessly through the ceiling. Alex lowered her staff to the floor and looked around at the astonished faces of the ponies.
"This is indeed my staff. Thank you, Princess Celestia. You may have very well saved your kingdom. Now there is nothing more you can do, for the rules of a wizards' duel are very strict in that there can be no outside interference. Besides, I doubt your magic could stand up to Ryan's. He is master of the Black Rune Staff, a powerful artifact from an age best forgotten and buried," said Alex.
"Why should we believe you?" asked Shining Armor, his eyes full of suspicion.
"Alex speaks the truth. She has no reason to lie," said Princess Luna.
"I don't know," Shining Armor muttered.
"Dear, please. Don't be distrustful of Alex. I can see that she is honest and true," said Princess Cadance.
Shining Armor sighed. "Alright, Cadance. I'll trust her, for your sake."
"What will you do now, Alex?" asked Celestia.
"First we all need food, then we shall lay our plans," replied Alex walking out of the treasure room.
Celestia led the way to the dining hall and was about to call for service, but Alex stopped her. With a wave of her staff, Alex caused food suitable for all present to appear. Once they had all finished, Alex cleared the table with her magic and they all repaired to the council chamber. Shining Armor wanted to call out the military and meet King Shadowrider head on. Alex explained that such an action would be foolhardy, for even though ponies were stronger and faster than humans, humans had the advantage of agility and stealth.
"Also, Shining Armor, he first wants to defeat me and thus secure his power," said Alex.
"Well, then what do you propose we do?" asked a very frustrated Shining Armor.
"Here, in the courtyard where the duel shall take place, I propose this plan of attack. Princess Celestia shall be stationed here, on the north balcony, Princess Luna shall be on the south. Princess Cadance shall take up the west balcony and you Shining Armor shall take the east. Twilight, you, Rarity, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie shall be here, here, here, here, here, and here with the Elements of Harmony. In this manner, should I fail to defeat Ryan, you will have the best chance of beating him. You must entrap him and take his staff from him any way you can. It is the only way to stop him, for without his staff, he cannot control his magic because he lacks the discipline of a true master," Alex directed looking grave.
"If I may ask, why this particular configuration? Why should it matter who goes where?" asked Twilight.
"I took the liberty of studying up on Equestria magic and this configuration actually provides the most efficiency. This will give us our best chance for victory in the event I am defeated," said Alex.
"Heh! Ya know, Twi, Alex is a lot like you," Rainbow Dash commented with a grin.
"Yeah, I guess we are rather similar. I guess that's why we became friends so quickly," said Twilight smiling.
"Another lesson in friendship, Twilight?" asked Princess Celestia.
"Yeah. I think I can safely say, we all learned that, when you don't let fear or prejudice blind you, you might find that somepony else, who seems very different, isn't all that different at all. Alex here may be human, but she's certainly no monster," said Twilight nuzzling Alex's shoulder.
"Yeah! When everypony in Ponyville let the stories we'd all heard about humans go to their heads when Alex first came to town, they totally couldn't see what a good friend she turned out to be," added Pinkie Pie.
"As wonderful and touching as this is, we do have the small problem of my half-brother wanting to take over the world to deal with," said Alex looking a tad impatient.
"What other preparations do you have in mind?" Rarity asked.
"I'm glad you asked, Rarity, because I need your help. You know jewelry and fabrics right?" asked Alex.
"Well, yes, but…"
"Good. Come with me and I'll explain on the way," said Alex interrupting. As she led Rarity through the shopping district of Canterlot, she explained what she was looking for and why. "You see, Rarity, I'm looking for two things in particular: iron canvas and blue ice silver."
"But, those are some of the most common and ugly materials available! Why in all of Equestria would you want those?" Rarity exclaimed.
"Iron canvas is impervious to extreme heat and blue ice silver is impervious to magic. Now, the rules of the wizard duel prohibit me and Ryan from wearing armor, we can only use our magic for attack and defense, but that doesn't mean I can't protect my friends. You've never seen blue ice silver that has been properly forged, Rarity because it must be done at an extremely high temperature. Otherwise it remains a dirty bronze color. The iron canvas will protect us from the heat of the forge as we process the metal," Alex explained.
"Hold on a moment, dear. Did you say we? As in you and I?" asked Rarity.
"Yep. And Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Twilight. The process requires everypony for the amount we need to process. So, will you help me?" asked Alex.
Rarity did not hesitate. "Of course I will help you! I may be fated to wear the ugliest outfit in history, but all of Equestria is at stake. No, the whole world is at stake. I must do everything in my power to help." Rarity took the lead and soon they had more than enough supplies for the tasks at hand.
Alex and Rarity first made the iron canvas suits and they were very ugly, but very necessary for the task ahead. Alex then started everything off and quickly had everypony working together to make the 10 suits of blue ice silver armor. Applejack and Rainbow Dash were manning the bellows and feeding the fire, Rarity was responsible for judging when the silver was ready to be poured from the crucibles into the molds and then pouring it, Pinkie Pie then took the cooled ingots from the molds and made them into wire, Fluttershy set the empty molds back up for the next batch, Alex made the silver wire into rings and then forged them into the 10 chain mail suits that would protect her friends for the fight ahead, and Twilight kept everything organized and running smoothly. They worked for hours until all the silver had been processed and made into wire, then Alex practically ordered them to go eat and get some rest while she finished the suits. At first they didn't want to leave her, but eventually they saw they had no choice. That didn't stop them from worrying though.
"I hope Alex will be able to fight tomorrow. She's been working non-stop on those suits for hours. She must be exhausted," said Twilight, concern showing in her face.
"And she hasn't eaten a thang since lunchtime. She needs ta keep up her strength fer the battle," added Applejack.
"If I know anything about that woman, she'll put all of us before herself. She won't stop for anything until those suits are done," said Rarity, a look of understanding worry on her face.
All the ponies nodded in agreement. Even though they'd only known Alex for little more then a week, they could see all but one of the Elements of Harmony in her. She had Rarity's Generosity, proven by her tireless work on the armor for her friends. She possessed Applejack's Honesty, proven by her straight forward answers to Shining Armor's questions. She had Fluttershy's Kindness, proven by her efforts to protect them. She had Rainbow Dash's Loyalty, proven by her willingness to stay and fight her half-brother. And she possessed the Magic of Twilight Sparkle, as evidenced by her magical abilities. The only Element not present in her was Pinkie Pie's Laughter.
The ponies were startled from their pondering by Alex's entering the room. She looked exhausted, but there was the stubborn gleam of triumph in her eyes as she held aloft a rack which held the finished suits. Everypony in the room stared in awe at the beautiful armor. It was superb and expertly crafted and every ring sparkled with the radiance of pure silver. However, there was a blueish hue to the metal, giving it a unique beauty all its own.
"Well? Are you all just going to stare at them or are you actually going to put them on?" Alex asked.
Soon everypony was clad in the armor and they marveled at how light it was. The rings were smooth as silk if cold and did not pinch even the delicate Rarity's skin. The fit on each was perfect and none of them noticed the weight after they had worn them for a few minutes. Alex smiled at the success of her plan, but the toll the non-stop work had taken on her body was enormous. She let out a tired sigh as she lay down on the floor and fell asleep.
Everypony was shocked to see just how tired Alex was. Princesses Celestia and Luna at once took charge and carried her to a private bedroom near their own. They returned and told the others to get some sleep and Celestia retired for the night, while Luna took up her duty of guarding the night.