Poniville
Minutes before the glass explodes crystal.
"Fuck, fuck, where are my saddlebags!" Shein was trying to find all his most important belongings to gather everything and leave. After the tavern keeper galloped off and stupidly put himself in danger to save Fern, Shein ignored the stallion's order to call for help and instead hurried back to his house and get everything ready to get the hell out of town.
Since he saw that creature he has not been able to stop feeling a numbness in its legs, he did not want to experience a similar feeling again, he felt sick when witnessing such an abnormal shape and... Those basins, ho! For celestia those damned sockets, empty and reflecting only a deep dark abyss.
"That stallion is crazy if he thinks I'll stay in this village and get help." After seeing everything that happened in the tavern he didn't care about anything more than getting out once and for all. "Where, where, where, aha! Here it is." Shein found her saddlebags by bending down and searching under her bed.
The minutes passed desperately stuffing their belongings into their saddlebags and shein was almost ready to leave. He packed everything he needed most into his saddlebags, quickly closed it, and placed it on his back with a little effort.
¡!
"HAAAAAA" shein screamed stridently when she felt that pressure again so horrendous but stronger than before, it almost caused her to fall painfully on the ground "no, not again please!" shein didn't wait any longer and left her house and galloped exactly in the opposite direction from where the pressure came from.
It must have been that creature, I was sure of that, that feeling was unmistakable, I didn't know what was going on in the everfree forest but it was obvious that it wouldn't bring anything good.
Shein continued galloping and saw how all the inhabitants of the town also left their homes with fear and doubt about what was happening at this time. The more ponies left their homes, the more difficult it was for him to gallop through them: "excuse me... Ahg, excuse me, sorry!"
"HEY CAREFULLY"
"Oh! You stepped on my tail!"
At a desperate gallop he trotted tortuously, trying to zigzag and sometimes push and step on the ponies that crossed his path. When he reached a busier area he could hear all the murmurs and conversations of the ponies, wondering everything he had already asked himself.
Shien continued to advance through the crowd, sweating profusely from the stress of not being able to gallop fast out of here and in his tortuous and slow advance he could make out an unmistakable voice, in fact several voices that the entire town knew very well.
"Rarity, I know I said it was all paranoia of mine, but it is true that there was a great wave of energy that I can't totally recognize."
He turned in the direction of the voices, and there he saw them, the elements of harmony!, at least 3 of them. In Shein's mind, several memories will hit him
"Look for help from the elements, any of them and that they bring a search team"
"I have them in front of me, I could..." He shook his head sharply, "NO, because I should—" the memories kept coming in.
"You don't understand Shein, not only did she leave, she also took everything, all the money I had accumulated in my real estate work, I lost everything now I have nothing left... nothing"
"That doesn't matter anymore Shein, just leave at once, come on, move!" I try to suppress those thoughts but more and more kept coming.
"Yes, I see why there are so many ponies outside their house, I'm not a prodigal in magic like you but even I can say that this is something that nobody knows, do you know where it came from?"
"Yes, that strange energy came from the everfree forest but I don't know how deep it is that originated it."
It did indeed come from the everfree but what she did not know was that a pony was in danger, if I told her everything they could rescue it... NO!, Shein stops thinking.
"¡BASTARD! I TRUSTED YOU"
"No... No, that ahg and-I didn't-want" Those painful memories didn't let him rest for a second since he fled the tavern and now they came out with all his might.
"Oh, but how considerate, you deserve a medal for best friend!"
Shein hyperventilated and closed her eyes tightly "I know I screwed up, I know very well, I'm really sorry" tears and sobs emerged from Shein's face like a fountain "By Celestia, it's just that... I'm very scared," his hooves trembled.
Throughout these last hours he could realize the evil he had done as a result of his selfish decisions, and now he was trying to escape and leave Fern to her fate again... Like a treacherous coward.
All that was missing was a little more push to his own being to leave that fear behind and finally do the right thing.
"I'd be surprised if your sister ever speaks to you, if she ever finds out what you did to your friend."
And with that last memory shein gritted his teeth, passed his gaze to the direction that would direct him out of the village. The image of that path was transformed into a road in flames, in Shein's mind it would be equivalent to galloping in the direction of Tartarus. With a look of defeat he dropped his head downwards and then looked back at the mares.
"I'm not running away, I'll take responsibility for my actions!" Shein's determination tightened and with that she advanced towards the group of mares. I hoped that with this one day they will be able to forgive him even if he no longer deserved it.
Shein was so long in his thoughts that he didn't realize that all the ponies nearby had also heard the mares and panicked because of the danger that inhabited the Everfree forest.
However, the crazed mob galloping from one side to the other caused that shein was not able to reach the elements of harmony and was dragged away; to what he supposed, was the city council
"HA, wait, let me in," he tried with effort to push himself in the opposite direction of the ponies: "OH, my tail!" as if it was the work of karma, they stepped on his tail just as he did before.
With one last effort he pushed all the ponies blocking his way out of the stampede of ponies and quickly made his way towards the mares which were now on a magic circle "hey wait, wait-" but it was too late, the mares had disappeared from the place.
Shein was left completely alone on the street as he looked from right to left frustrated and looking for where the hell they went.
Shein quickly thought about where a group of ponies who are considered the heroines of equestrian might have gone and leaving a group of ponies scared and confused, that was impossible, which only left one possibility. Remembering the direction in which the stampede of ponies was headed, the answer came instantly.
"The town hall, SURE" Shien wasted no time and galloped towards the town hall like everyone else.
Elsewhere
Canterlot
The city of Canterlot was enjoying a relaxing night without any worries, not only was it the capital of the entire kingdom of Equertria it was also the residence of the ruling princesses of the entire kingdom, those alicorns that were in charge of giving day and night to everyone with their great power. Being next to such magnificent and powerful beings, the ponies had no need to fear.
The moon shone beautifully in the highest sky, all thanks to the princess of the night.
As every night, the moon princess was on the balcony of her room, seated and with her eyes closed in an apparent meditation.
Not only was the moon princess in charge of raising the moon and guarding her subjects from danger that might lurk in the dark, she also made sure to protect their minds by being able to enter the dreams of all the ponies she could encounter in situations of need.
"Today looks like it will be a quieter night," Luna said with a peaceful face. This night was one of the few where he did not perceive very strong nightmares in his ponies.
It was exactly what I was doing right now. Letting his mind run through the consciousness of every inhabitant he could reach with his range of influence. It seemed that there was nothing that required his intervention.
Unlike her sister whose main job is to handle most of the bureaucratic issues and social problems that came with being in the daytime, Luna kept her population free from mental attacks and nightmares. That was his special talent, his mastery, anything irregular that happened in him would be noticed instantly.
"Well, then I should do something else" Luna opened her eyes and prepared to leave her room for her office to start with her bored paper.
"Good evening your majesty"
As she walked through the corridors, the different guards at her service greeted her with great devotion and respect. After her defeat as nighmare moon thanks to the elements of harmony it has been difficult to regain the trust of her people, but her guards were always faithful to her and patiently waited for her return throughout her 1000 years locked in the moon.
nightmaremoon... Remembering that side of her made her angry. Everyone may believe that nightmaremoon was just his corrupted form, but it wasn't just that... Nightmares were not only a manifestation of the subconscious of each pony, they were also conscious beings in the dream world, and nightmaremoon was one of those kinds of nightmares.
When she began to feel envious of the position of celestia and the preference for day over night, the nightmare used that vulnerability to be able to take her body and use it against her will. But she wasn't completely innocent, it was by her own decisions that she allowed that to happen.
Now he was different, he would not succumb to anyone else's influence again and above all he would never envy anyone else's position again, his talent in the dream world and his taste for the night along with all those who appreciated him as much as she was more than enough.
Luna finally arrived at her office where a couple of soldiers were waiting for her guarding the door. When they realized the presence of their princess they tensed up a little and stood up with all the firmness that their bodies allowed, they did not want to look lazy.
Luna looked at that with a bit of amusement "rest my faithful soldiers, you don't have to act so tense with my presence, on the contrary I should be" she said with a smile "you all were waiting for me for decades despite what I have done" she lowered her head and bowed a little "I am very grateful for all the trust you placed in me".
The soldiers, seeing what their princess was doing, were shocked and quickly prevented her from lowering herself so much for them.
"Please princess you don't have to bow to us!" said one of the guards.
The second guard raised his hair appeasemently "Yes princess, don't worry, we have always been loyal to you" under his hoof to place it in his heart and speaking more seriously "The city may not completely believe in you but we always knew the truth, over the years our ancestors always tried to spread the true stories of Princess Luna, and we are so honored to be able to be alive to be able to witness what all the guardians before us had preached."
Both guards bow completely to their princess.
The moon's eyes lit up as he heard the words of his guards, his heart warmed a little from having such good soldiers.
"I'm happy to live up to your expectations," he said happily. His gaze shifted from one pony to another, looking at them closely, "You're flowy and your Berry isn't you?"
Both guards choked on hearing their names, they didn't think the moon princess knew who they were
Flowy spoke in surprise, "If it's us, it's the first time we've spoken to you, how does your majesty know?"
Before you could misinterpret what flowy said, Berry spoke "no offense princess, it's just that we're not important enough to be remembered," Berry said nervously.
"Don't say that my little ponies, all my guards are important to me and I took on the task of memorizing all those who are closest to me"
His gentle voice soothed the duo. Knowing that the moon princess was kind enough to invest her time to remember them filled them with more respect directed towards her majesty.
"Now I have to finish some paperwork in the office, am I counting on you to guard this door while I do it? He said with a dazzling smile.
"Sure!"
"Count on it!"
They both said sticking out their chests
Luna laughed a little "well, so I know- ...?!" Moon's eyes widened when she noticed something strange.
The dream plane had just generated a signal that disturbed its range of domain, in other words, a nightmare, but this one was different from the others, it was... more intense. It's been a long time since I felt a pony have such strong nightmares.
Flowy and Berry were a little excited at the abrupt cut of the moon princess, their expression was no longer one of happiness but one of seriousness.
"Is everything okay?"
"…."
The soldiers were worried when they received no response.
After a few seconds, Luna was startled when she realized the question "...! Ho, no, no, it's okay my guards, it's just that I just felt that a pony is lieutenant a nightmare, I'm going to solve that problem before the paper, I'll be in my office until then" Luna walked to the poet and opened her with her magic "If you need me you know where to find me".
When Luna closed the door, she quickly went to her table. Something that worried her a lot because the nightmare she felt about the pony was not found in populated areas, it was much farther away. With a quick scan into the dream world he was able to determine its position.
"Everfree forest?!, but why would a pony be sleeping there?!" she said in alarm
Explorations of the everfree forest were not uncommon in equestrian but usually ventured into well-prepared groups, unless they were children who were not aware of the real danger deep in the forest.
The fact of only feeling the presence of one implied two things, the first was that perhaps there was a couple who took turns to rest, and the second and most worrying is that there was some pony who thought that he could venture alone in the forest.
The nightmares you emanated from the pony left the first option unlikely.
Luna was one more worried. Taking a seat on the ground he squinted his eyes and began to move his consciousness in the dream world and send it towards the pony in the everfree forest, he had to find it quickly and send help as soon as possible.
As he got closer to his location, he was able to hear some woods that were some whispers and others were incomprehensible screams.
Because they abandoned me
I'm alone , they betrayed me! Because the whole world is against me?
Liars I HATE YOU! I don't want to be alone
It was a combination of storm-rushing feelings, such intense and pure feelings of anger, sadness, fear, and despair.
Luna felt very sorry for the pony, what was it that caused her so much discomfort?, Luna just kept moving forward, she couldn't worry about her nightmares at this time, what she had to do was locate him and send her soldiers to rescue him.
When he stood in front of the pony's dream sphere, a new voice echoed above them all with a guttural sound.
Friend friend ammmmiaaaago ammiiii
That word that at first should be a symbol of goodwill and appreciation was heard as a deplorable and vile word, it was as if he wanted to curse that word.
The time for questions would have to happen at another time. Luna entered the sphere and quickly emerged from the pony's sleep to see where it stood, but all she could see was a bundle of books and runes scattered across a pile of tables inside a cave that was collapsing in on itself.
To his left he heard the sound of galloping and when he turned to see he was only able to see a tunic that came quickly out of the cave "what is happening".
CRACK
The cave continued to collapse with each pulse of energy that appeared.
Wait, pulse of energy?, moon turned her head again, it was necessary to raise it only to see a large black crystal that gave off those pulses, a very turbulent and intense energy and there she saw it... two ponies.
When Luna lowered her head she saw the pony that had those nightmares. He was in a terrible state, bleeding from many parts of his body along with screams of light as if it was cracking like an egg.
The other pony was trying to carry him on his back and carry him out of the cave desperately. Luna felt very helpless for not being able to help in some way, in the dream world she could only interact with dreams and the mind, something quite useless in this situation.
CRACK
That was the last she heard when the whole cave exploded and at that moment she was overwhelmed by immense pressure
"HAAAA!" That image had a violet impact on his mind, causing his connection with the dream world to be severed.
In the real world, Luna fell flat on her face on her carpet while using her front claws to support her head from a migraine she just got: "AHG... What was that? I must alert my guard right now!"
¡!
Luna had to hold her head again with more force because of the wave that hit her again, a few seconds passed for Luna with a little effort to get back up, and in her mind she could only think one thing.
"What have we gotten ourselves into now?"
5 minutes ago
Outside the Moon Office
Both soldiers, flowy and Berry were standing outside the moongate without moving an inch in a very professional manner
"Jijiji" that was until Flowy let her emotions run wild by letting out a singing, cheerful giggle along with little jumps she did with her front hooves.
Berry raised an eyebrow at the weird dance her partner was doing "what's going on now flowy, this is some kind of insane fit I don't know" she slowly let out a smile at the little joke.
Flowy said my name, paying no attention to the mockery, continued with her happiness and placed a heavy one on her cheek dreamily, "This must be a dream."
Berry laughed at her partner's actions "Stop acting like a flowy filly, it's not like a soldier"
Flowy turned to look at Berry and she retorted "you don't understand Berry, didn't you hear her before?, she dedicated her valuable time to learn the names of the guards closest to her, that means I'm close to her haa!" flowy squealed with joy and massaged her cheek again.
"The only thing I understand is that you're acting crazy right now," Berry continued to tease her, "I'm also very honored that she knows my name, but it's not to go crazy," she laughed again.
Flowy snorted and rolled his eyes "pff studs, typical, you don't know anything" he hit the air with his hair as a sign of disdain.
"Of course I know," he chuckled, "I know she's in love with the princess of the night," he said with a singing, burlesque voice.
Flowy blushed the instant he heard that: "...! that doesn't es_" she turned her head in the opposite direction of Berry to hide the blush, "it's not true," she said in a whisper, more to convince herself than the stallion.
"You're not very subtle flowy, I'd say you're pretty obvious, I'm sure the whole guard knows you're lucky that you don't express yourself so much when you're in front of the princess, hehe because otherwise she'd notice very easily."
The mare blushed more and the gentleman frowned a little.
"But don't worry, your secret is safe with me," he winked at her and hit her with his elbow in the side.
Flowy sighed "shut up Berry" with a defeated voice.
Hey don't get depressed, who knows, maybe moon one day will want a partner, unlike the celestial princess, she is more relaxed in social issues, that she wants to have a life partner I see it completely possible, and if that happens you can count on all my support! "I try to motivate her with her optimistic voice"
"Leave me alone Berry"
Apparently it didn't work, flowy didn't say anything else leaving an awkward silence for a few seconds and with a drooping berry.
"... you?... do you really believe it, that someday she wants to...?" flowy looked at the ground and scratched the ground with his hair.
Berry looked at the mare again, the stallion's smile turned "of course!"
And with that the shrill giggle of the mare came back once again "hehehejii what an emotion"
With flowy's joy renewed again, berry smiled, relaxed, and shook his head.
¡!
The moment ended when he felt a giant pressure wave. With the speed of lightning the countenance of the guards resumed its professional and serious attitude, they took up combat positions and waited for anything to happen.
Nothing happened
"Isn't something supposed to happen?" Berry kept his seriousness and turned his gaze to flowy.
"I don't know" Flowy looked a little nervous, since the invasion of Chrysalis, any sign of threat put the guards on high alert.
In fact, since the invasion all security in the city has tripled not only in transmog magic detection, but also in patrol and training. The invasion of the changelings showed that there were beings who could revalidate with the immense power of the princesses even defeat them, without being a god.
Since the defeat of the shadow king more than 1000 years ago, no one in equestria thought that anyone would ever achieve such power as a mortal pony.
"What should we do now?" Flowy asked, hoping that Berry would know the protocol to follow after an emergency situation, since she was obviously too lazy to read it herself.
"We should talk to Princess Luna first, she'll know what to do, I'm sure she was the first to feel that wave" Berry turned and raised her hair to knock on the door.
PAM
The door opened suddenly, revealing a moon rubbing her head, sore with migraine and it was a little noticeable... Disturbed.
"Your majesty what happened, are you okay?!" flowy was worried to see his princess's condition as he approached her to help her stand upright.
"Are they attacking the princess city? Did they attack you?!" Berry, also alarmed, approached the princess.
"Don't worry about me, now we need to prepare the guard to leave Canterlot" Luna, who was still wearing her helmet on her head, spoke to a tired voice.
"Get out of Canterlot, I don't understand your majesty, why would we leave the city, shouldn't we set up a perimeter within the city for any danger?" Berry replied.
"MORE IMPORTANTLY, WE SHOULD TAKE A DOCTOR" Flowy put the safety of his princess before anything else.
"N-I don't have time to explain, I can only say that something bad is happening right now" Luna walked away from the office closely accompanied by flowy. "You should tell all the guards to gather at the training ground, as soon as possible, the Everfree Forest has just unleashed something very dangerous."
"The everfree forest, but-"
Berry was very confused but it only took a moon look to stop what "Berry..." The seriousness with which he said his name was the only thing I needed to act.
"I meant, as Your Majesty ordered!" he galloped with all his strength alerting all the guards in the castle.
"HA ALL THE NIGHT GUARDS, YOUR PRINCESS IS WAITING FOR YOU AT THE TRAINING GROUND, IT'S AN ORDER!" he shouted at the top of his lungs.
As the stallion continued to gallop further away from Luna's sight, she now focused on flowy, which I followed close to her with a look of concern that shook her heart: "that goes for you too, flowy" Luna calmed down so she could reassure the mare.
"But what about you"
Luna caressed her head with her hair, "calm down, little one, I'm fine," she gave her a big smile, "I assure you."
Flowy's eyes lit up a little as he saw the smile his majesty gave him and his worry faded.
"Go" With that last word, Luna pushed Folwy's side to encourage her to move forward.
Flowy smiled admiringly for a moment and then returned to his serious countenance "as your majesty commands"
The mare turned and galloped towards the field of stops. Being alone Luna allowed himself to think about what his next course of action would be, once he had all his guard assembled he would deploy a reconnaissance platoon and set up a perimeter around the forest.
But if he takes his entire guard, Canterlot would be left unprotected, so what he should do was also alert his sister's guard to stay here. If that energy was strong enough to travel that distance from Everfree to Canterlot, then it was certain that her sister Celestia would have been the first to notice it, and would surely be looking for her.
FLASH
For Celestia it only took a tenth of a second to get into the situation after feeling the energy wave, as soon as she got up from her bed she teleported to her current guard commander's room.
"General Falcon!" Princess Celestia shouted to wake up the leader of the guard.
But that was not necessary since, like Celestia, the general did not waste time and equipped his armor, he left his room as quickly as he heard his princess.
Giving honor to his rank, the unicorn falcon general was equipped with large golden armor and his helmet resting on one of his hoofs, the gray hair in his mane and his imperturbable gaze, made his years in service shine.
"I know your majesty, I am ready to receive orders!" He put on his helmet and left his room.
Before she could say anything to her soldier, Celestia's ears perked up when she heard a scream.
"ALL THE NIGHT GUARDS, YOUR PRINCESS IS WAITING FOR YOU AT THE TRAINING CAMP, IT'S AN ORDER!"
"Well, it seems that my dear sister acted before me" Celestia watched as all the night soldiers left their posts and headed to the training field. If she gave the order to the entire guard to gather without telling me beforehand, she might know what's going on.
"Well, you heard it, general, gather all the day guards to the training ground."
"Immediately your majesty" with a flash of magic the general disappeared from sight.
Once his order was distributed, Celestial also teleported to look for his sister,
FLASH
As if summoned, Celestia appeared to his right in a magical flash of teleportation.
"Dear sister, I have been looking for you everywhere! I heard that your guards are gathering at the training ground, can I assume you know what is happening?"
"We should go to the training ground platform, while we get there I will tell you everything I have seen" Luna frowned and looked into the distance in the direction of the everfree forest and then looked back at her sister "Auntie, I think this "It may be the biggest problem we have had in decades."
Celestia widened her eyes at the seriousness with which her sister spoke, and she certainly wasn't prepared to hear what she would say next.
Approximately it only took 2 minutes for all the guards to gather on the training ground. A combination of all breeds of ponies, from unicorns that used their magic to move faster and even the most experienced ones teleported, the pegasi came flying from all directions and some stayed in the air waiting for an answer about what was happening and the Earth ponies galloped with full force.
Alarmed murmurs were heard left and right because, just like in the town of Poniville in Canterlot, all the inhabitants felt that shock wave. The guards already knew that they were summoned precisely for this reason, but what intrigued them was who was responsible for such shocking energy.
Among the entire crowd we focused on the two recognizable guards who were none other than Berry and Flowy who were being bombarded with questions.
"You were the one who didn't call Berry here, and you say you don't know why?" a pegasus said irritably.
"Are you stupid, friend? It's clear that we're here because of that wave of magical energy from earlier," a unicorn called out, and looked back at Berry. "The real question here is, why gather here instead of starting the patrol like "Does the protocol indicate?"
"Not only was it Berry who called all the guards, General Falcón of the day guard also did it, we should not doubt him, if he called us it must be something serious" a pegasus from the day guard joined the conversation " "You really don't know anything about what's happening? Who ordered you to gather your people?" I ask Berry again.
"Will this take too long?"
"Where did that energy originate?"
"Do you know who provoked it?"
"w-well, no, I don't know anything besides what you already know, I hee-e ee" all the questions overwhelmed the stallion. He had nothing to say to calm the anxious guards slowly becoming a little panicked.
"The one who ordered this meeting was Princess Luna! We don't know anything else! So leave Berry alone, the princess will soon arrive and tell us what she's doing, okay?" flowy came to his rescue
"ATTENTION EVERYONE, GUARD IT, FORMENCE!"
Before the soldiers could continue arguing, General Facón's voice rang loud and clear in front of them all, causing all the day ponies to take their processions. Unlike the nocturnal ones, since they were not their direct commander, they did not know whether to obey his order.
"THAT ALSO GOES FOR THE NIGHT GUARD, TO FORM THEY HAVE, 5,4,3,2,1, ATTENTION! "FIRM!"
Right next to General Falco, another unicorn was teleported, which will do nothing more than the general of the night guard. As soon as he gave them the countdown the soldiers formed up and stuck out their chests.
Berry sighed in relief "thanks flowy, I owe you one" he smiled a little embarrassed as he stood at attention like everyone else.
"Don't worry, I'm not your companion for nothing" the mare laughed and looked ahead.
When the soldiers looked ahead, they saw that on the meeting platform, in front of the training field, the celestial and lunar princesses were approaching, with quite serious expressions.
"a crystal from the shadow king there is no doubt. "He was able to install one so close to us if they noticed it, this is a serious problem."
Upon hearing her sister's story, Celestia immediately knew who was the owner of that crystal, the dark magic crystals scratched the characteristic seal of that pony.
But it made no sense, the shadow king had been completely defeated by the elements of harmony, he did not even have the opportunity to perform that strange spell to disappear along with the crystal empire.
Using that crystal would not have helped anything, Shadow had disappeared and that was final, which led to the second theory that worried the ruler of Equestris the most.
"those ponies you saw. You said that some were injured while the others fled from the cave, the first two, from the way you told me and together with the nightmares of the injured pony, they make me understand that they were kidnapped, which brings us to the second group" celestial I look thoughtful. in the distance as all the guards were formed in front of the platform.
"The group that fled," Luna continued, "were behind me, so I couldn't see what they looked like, but I did see that they were wearing tunics." Luna looked at the ground, remembering as best she could everything that was in the cave, "but It doesn't make much sense either, because they would wear them, they were pretty ugly robes and without engraved details, I don't think they are a cult dedicated to the shadow king" Luna turned her gaze to her sister with a touch of concern.
"They wanted to hide, and those runes….." Celestia frowned "I don't want to accuse anyone without proof yet but…, runes are the specialty of zebras, a unicorn wouldn't need to use them"
Luna opened her eyes when she realized that fact 'do you think that-?!' Luna was about to let her real you out of her.
Celestia quickly interrupted her "we can't draw conclusions so quickly, the runes can be cast by any pony, we must think about the best, otherwise we would be in a problem of serious territorial invasion between two kingdoms."
"For now, we should worry about the injured ponies, I'm going to send my reconnaissance soldiers to look for them" Luna sighed "I just hope this isn't as serious as I think?"
The sisters finally reached the platform ladder and quickly climbed it.
"We'll find out," Celestial said simply.
ATTENTION TO ALL SOLDIERS, THE PRINCESSES ARE AT THE FRONT OF THE FORMATION, WITH ALL THE SOLDIERS, LOOK IN THE FRONT!
Both generals shouted in unison. After verifying that absolutely everyone was still and in silence they turned to face the princesses who waited patiently.
"Your celestial majesty, your lunar majesty, as ordered, all the day and night guard except for those in charge of patrolling Canterlot are here, we are ready to receive your orders." The two generals bowed after speaking.
"Thank you, general," Luna responded calmly. She turned her head to look at her sister, closed her eyes and with a gesture with the caco gave her the signal to take the first word.
Princess Celestia did not wait another second and spoke loud and clear, "Soldiers, I want to apologize in advance for taking away my guards' rest, but right now we are on high alert!"
All the soldiers tensed
"We have information on the location of that energy that was felt a few minutes ago and there are injured ponies involved!" Approximately 12 kilometers away in the everfree forest, an explosion caused by unknown individuals occurred! "Celestial used his magic to create an image in the form of a map that began the location near the mountainous areas.
Celestia turned and looked at Luna, which she caught instantly and continued with the explanation "we don't know the reason but it seems like they have kidnapped a couple of ponies!", just as Celestia Luna created an image to identify the ponies, "As you can see, one of them is extremely injured."
Some guards, especially the younger ones, gulped when they saw how incredibly damaged the unconscious pony was.
"Right now our orders are clear, all the soldiers present here will create a perimeter in the everfree forest, priority will be given to the town of Poniville which is the closest to it. Nothing will leave or enter the forest, without exception! While that happens, the reconnaissance squad will enter the forest and look for the kidnapped people and take them to the nearest hospital."
Celestial raised a hoof to stop Luna, he decided to end the speech "rescuing the kidnapped is the most important thing, if they see problems they will send me a scroll immediately and I will let the wonderbolts enter" Celestia passed by seeing the soldiers on the ground to those mentioned who were in the air.
Upon noticing his gaze, Captain Spitfire tapped a hoof on her chest as a sign of understanding, just like her, all the other members repeated their action in a strident noise.
"If they find those responsible for all this, they must neutralize them and send them before us, as we have already said, we do not know who they are, the only thing we know is that they wear tunics. I don't have to emphasize how important this mission is for not only Canterlot but for all of Equestria…. I wish you luck my faithful guards."
Celestia finished with a wish of goodwill to her soldiers. She looked again at the generals who were still standing firm. "You can continue, generals." Celestia bowed her head down. "I'll give it to you."
"Of course your majesty!" "WELL SOLDIED, ON THE MARCH, THE PEGASONS GO TO THE FRONT AND WILL HEAD QUICKLY TO PONIVILLE AND FARther AROUND EVERFREE. THE REST OF US WILL TOUR THE AREAS OF THE FOREST CLOSEST TO CANTERLOT"
"LORD YES SIR!" all the soldiers shouted in unison
All the guards deployed to the ordered locations as quickly as they could, each grouped into their own squad.
From Canterlot it was seen how a flock of pegasi were flying towards Poniville and beyond, while those galloping on the ground were heading towards the area that would be called Poniville.
While all this was happening, Captain Spitfire flew in front of her members. "For now our role will be only as spectators. We will stay in Poniville to be closer to our objective. Once we get there we will simply wait for Celestia's order." The captain looked back. for all its members who were in complete silence.
Spifire frowned and yelled, "Got it?!
"Yes ma'am!" everyone screamed when they realized his lack of response,
"Okay, then move those chicken wings come on, come on, come on!"
All wonderbolts will fly at maximum speed heading to Poniville, specifically Cloudsdale.
Spifire led the team's flight and kept his gaze imperturbable, but the memory of a certain speed-loving multicolored Pegasus whose character caused him to advance into danger without thinking crossed his mind. He wanted to be in time to stop that reckless mare from charging headlong into something he could control. Celestia made it very clear that absolutely no one should enter the forest and that included the elements of harmony.
"Rainbow Dash you better not do anything stupid."
Spifire's team was lost on the horizon
Both princesses watched as the training field emptied little by little until only the two of them were left. The sisters hoped that it was not too late for the ponies that were kidnapped. For now the only thing they could do was wait.
Elsewhere
Minutes before the explosion
everfree forest, house of zacora
Unlike most of the ponies who slept and enjoyed their night's rest, Zacora's house was still as alive as if it were early morning. You could see different flashes of light and sounds of bubbling liquid.
"mmmm vanilla essence" said a little pony with a list in his paws.
"Ready," another pony grabbed a glass jar from a nearby shelf and dropped the liquid into the bubbling pot.
The first pony narrowed his eyes to focus on each ingredient on the list.
"ebony seeds"
"Now" the second pony took said seeds out of a wooden basket that was on a table and in one agile movement threw them into the pot.
First, Pony raised an eyebrow when he read the last ingredient, "and eee, dark tree roots?"
"You already roared" the second pony, very enthusiastic, galloped off in search of the roots, leaving a cloud of dust.
The pony with a slight cough shook his hoof to disperse the dust, his gaze turned towards the zebra that was next to him "heeeeee zacora, are you sure this is the correct list? I don't think tree roots are anything..." ..suitable for a perfume" the little pony said apprehensively.
All the commotion was due to two fillies who were currently adding ingredients to a small pot that was bubbling and glowing with magic.
"Trust me little ones, this potion will give you what you dream of," said Zacora with her typical way of speaking in rhyme.
Zacora, the only resident zebra in Equestria and known to many as the sorceress of the everfree forest, one of the wisest mares you could ever meet, was currently helping the fillies make a small gift.
Apple Bloom, who had the list in her paw, turned completely and looked at Zacora. "I trust you, Zacora. It's just that this is very important and…" The filly yawned, "and I don't want it to go wrong," she said with her eyes half closed.
"Yes! We have spent many hours collecting all those ingredients, and it must be the best perfume of all time!" Scootalo screamed with excitement as he poured the roots into the pot.
The two fillies were none other than Apple Bloom and acootaloo, the members of the cutie mark crusaders. The reason why they were at Zacora's house was because they had planned to give the best perfume that could exist to their mutual friend Sweetie Belle and the third member of the Cuite Mark Crusader.
"Sweetie Belle's birthday will be soon and we want to give her the best gift, a perfume whose smell she will never get rid of!" Scootaloo jumped and flapped her little wings with joy.
Zacora approached the fillies with a light laugh "I'm happy how dedicated they are" stroking both fillies on the head "but we shouldn't make an effort without reason, now the night is quite cold, we will continue the next day" with a strong blow. the flame under the pot. The perfume that I helped them create did not have a permanent smell, since that would be very complicated to do and at the same time could be a little uncomfortable in certain situations, but it could help that perfume last much longer and with a better smell. sublime and outstanding.
Zacora had agreed to let the fillies come to her hut to prepare their gift, and since she knew that this would be a time-consuming task, she allowed the little girls to sleep in her home. But she didn't think they had the energy to stay up so late….. In truth, she thought about it, but her heart wasn't able to stop them from trying so hard for her friend.
Scootaloo reproached a little, "b-but we still need to filter the liquid, and bottle it, and we're not tired at all, right, applebloom?" The filly looked at her friend for support.
ZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzz "No sister, the cake goes better with jam…..grape…...
Applebloom had long since fallen asleep sitting up. Zacora approached the filly and placed her on her back, she slowly approached the sleeping bags they brought with them, she carefully dropped her into the sleeping bag and tucked her in.
"ahg appelbloom" Scootaloo complained childishly "well I'm not tired at all!" She crossed her hooves with her pout.
"scootaloo you are tired, it shows on your face, you look quite finished"
"I don't know what" just a big yawn "you're talking about.
Zacaro raised an eyebrow and smiled cheekily at him without saying anything.
Scootaloo let out a long sigh "it's okay, it's okay, I think I'm a little tired" she rubbed her eyes with her paws and then trotted to her sleeping bag. As he lay on top of her, he curled up into a ball with a satisfied smile at finally being able to relax after hours of work.
The sorceress zebra smiled maternally and covered the filly, "rest filly, may your dreams be happy and without nightmares."
"Thank you Miss Zacora tomorrow… tomorrowwe will finish yes or yes"Scootaloo finally let herself be carried away into the world of dreams.
Having finally managed to put the fillies to bed, Zacora allowed herself to let out a tired sigh. Like the fillies, being awake for so many hours had worn her out quite a bit, it was time to give herself a well-deserved rest as well. With a slow trot she approached her jug of water and began to pour herself into a glass.
With a small sip the zebra let out a satisfied sound at having its throat moistened and its body hydrated. Pleased, she contemplated the tranquility that filled the cabin until her gaze fell on the little fillies that were sleeping peacefully.
When was the last time you had company in your home? Obviously there was always some pony that came to your cabin looking for advice or help with a problem, often those visitors were the elements of harmony. But he never had a pony spend the entire night in his home, he felt as if he were at home, his true home.
The memories came to Zacora, memories of a time that brought him a lot of happiness as well as sadness, that moment where he enjoyed his life with his family in the Cebrican kingdom, it was a full and calm life where he had everything he needed to be able to learn and do much more than any zebra there did in a long time, that's how I became what I am today.
"YOU JUST BETRAYED YOUR OWN SPECIES"
"You don't deserve to be a zebra, much less live with your loved ones."
"How could you do this to your family? To your mother?!
"Goodbye little one, remember that your father will always be watching you, never change"
Zacora has long since overcome those memories, but that didn't mean it was still painful. The reason why she had to abandon her kingdom and disassociate herself from her own species was not a topic she was willing to discuss with anyone.
The past is the past and now she was very happy with where she was now.
Zacora was going to take a last drink of water, but when the glass was about to touch her lips.
! !
Unfortunately the rest could not come due to the shock wave that spread throughout everfreee and beyond.
Zacora's eyes widened in shock and the glass slipped from her hoof, spilling all the contents onto the floor and causing a horrible noise of breaking glass.
"and? "what" both fillies woke up and looked both ways "what was that?"
"Zacora, are you okay?" Appleloom rubbed her eyes and yawned again, "What time is it? I feel like I haven't slept at all.
"Me too," Scotaloo said in a bad mood, "what's going on?"
Fortunately, for the fillies, they were not able to feel the shock wave as intensely as the older ponies. Being quite young, their connection with magic and the sensory sense was weaker than normal.
Zacora did not say anything, she simply stayed still in her place with her pupils reduced to points and clear sweat falling down her face "…"
"zacora?" The two fillies approached the zebra, surprised by the strange expression she had.
"zacora" scootaloo lightly touched his paw but there was no reaction.
"Zacora, you're scaring me," Applebloom said with fear and concern. She placed her ears against his head and moved closer to Scootaloo for safety.
Scootaloo, realizing her friend's fear, shouted loudly to the zebra to wake it up, "ZACORA."
The sorcerous zebra returned to reality, "I…I" stammered, trying to rearrange his mind.
Zacora knew that this was not a good omen, she had to think quickly about what to do.
Immediately take the girls to town? No, she couldn't risk endangering the fillies in the everfrre forest. He didn't know what caused that energy but if he knew it was negative energy and it was too dark to go out with girls, the creatures would be lurking. The part of his hut may not be that deep in the forest but he still wouldn't take the risk.
Leave the girls here and go for help? No way! Even though she is capable of dealing with the forest creatures on her own. Leaving the girls waiting in the hut, alone and unprotected for who knows how long, would be even more dangerous than her previous idea of it.
His only option was to wait. If that energy was so great, it is certain that the town also felt it and therefore Apple Jack will also know it, it will only be a matter of time before she comes with help, or knowing her, she would gallop without thinking towards her home to save her little sister. .
Having put together a plan in his mind, he allowed himself to relax a little to calm the girls down.
"Don't worry little ones, I'm sorry I scared you, it's just that something deep inside everfree has happened."
"w-what do you mean" Scootaloo said scared.
Applebloom shivered and hugged Scootalo, looking at Zacora with fear "it's something dangerous."
"Unfortunately yes, I know I said you should sleep but now you must stay awake if we find ourselves in the need to flee" Zacora crouched down and hugged them protectively "little fillies don't worry, I will protect you so don't be scared"
Despite trusting the zebra sorceress's words, both fillies looked at each other and swallowed. It wasn't often that the zebra looked so worried. Sleep was no longer a problem at this time.
Shubuya
12:10 AM
10 minutes before the events that occurred with the zebras and the battle of the king of curses against the curse of special category jogo, we find ourselves on another battle front that should not at all be considered a nobody's fight.
Inside a building under construction, hundreds of bangs and concrete being destroyed could be heard, along with a horrible sound of flesh colliding with flesh.
CLANK
In a fast blurred movement a body hit a stack of metal cylinders that were on a second floor, the cylinders fell to the ground in a thunderous echo and a cloud of dust caused by the construction material, at the top of the cloud of dust another body emerged with a jump and raised his leg ready to unleash a powerful ax kick.
This person called himself toji fushiguro, the slayer of sorcerers. This person had died many years ago, but due to a summoning ritual, his body was returned to the world of the living.
At first they were supposed to only bring the body and use it in this war but they did not have the great special feature in toji, the heavenly restriction which caused a complete absence of malite energy in exchange for a divine body.
Due to his lack of cursed energy, the assassin was able to prevail over the ritual domain that summoned him, but being only a body without a soul turned him into a killing machine subject only to his instincts.
BOOM
When the kick hit it caused the entire ground to crack and a tremor shook the entire area.
Before the kick hit the first person, he dodged it by jumping through the gaps that had not yet been sealed in concrete, thus leaving the building.
The person who escaped was quite beaten, he was breathing hard, "shit, how do I get out of this-?" The sorcerer-killer appeared behind him as he destroyed a wall that separated them. He carried a sharp red metal bar in his hand which was centimeters away from piercing his throat. "NUE!" Bringing his hands together to form something resembling wings, he caused a creature similar to a giant buo with a mask to emerge from his shadow.
With his claws he quickly grabbed the sorcerer's clothes and flew away from his opponent.
"ahg, I don't know how much longer I can last."
The sorcerer thought that by being in the air he could calm his breathing even for a few seconds, but that hope disappeared when he felt a great pressure of cursed energy in the area of the underground meters, it was an energy that he remembered very well.
"Was that a sukuna finger?!" The sorcerer remembered the direction in which his friend and companion had gone before to reach Gojo and it was the same direction "Itadori... he must be in trouble! Did they catch him? Sukuna has taken control?" The sorcerer growled in desperation, "FUCK, WHAT THE FUCK IS HAPPENING IN SHIBUYA?"
Getting distracted in this situation was a serious mistake, when a car flew straight in his direction.
Nue skillfully let go of the sorcerer so that the car only hit the bird, but being in the air the only thing that could cushion its landing was a streetlight that it completely ate before falling to the ground.
"GRRRR, come on, get up megumi!" The sorcerer grunted in pain and effort as he tried to get back on his feet.
The second person is none other than Megumi Fushiguro, the first grade shadow sorcerer, he was also the son of Toji Fushiguro but the sorcerer killer was not able to recognize his son because most of his being was governed by out of pure hunting instinct, and in the same way Megumi never knew her father so she didn't recognize him either, it was a true tragedy.
The shadow sorcerer was in a critical situation, his cursed energy was draining at high speed, at most he had a few more invocations left.
Megumin was resting on her knees with a line of blood running down her forehead. His hair stood on end when he felt a breeze coming in front of him and he instinctively formed a new hand sign, this time resembling a toad, which emerged directly in front of him to be able to cushion a powerful punch that was coming to his stomach from Touji. who in a burst of speed approached the sorcerer.
"boagh!" the sorcerer had to hold back the bile rising in his throat as his body was sent flying backwards into an alley. Unfortunately the giant toad was not enough to completely cushion the blow.
"I NEED TO DISTRACT HIM" for the second time in the fight he formed a sign with his hands similar to a rabbit, a large cloud of rabbits formed around him that cushioned his fall. Once the sorcerer was on the ground, the large swarm of rabbits swarmed around the assassin.
And like the first time he used them, the swarm only lasted a second before Toji dispersed them with a strong stomp that created a shock wave, destroying all the rabbits.
Once again he attacked the sorcerer. Time passed in slow motion as the metal bar approached dangerously close to his head, the megumin's pupils shrank as the metal edge approached! I'm going to use it! I have no other choice, if I don't! I will die in vain!, the sorcerer thought in panic and slowly raised his hands and clenched them into fists, by placing one on top of the other he unleashed an enormous amount of cursed energy.
"oscillates and vibrates-"
PUM
Like an angel fallen from heaven, a new person came to his rescue, connecting his enemy with a powerful noble kick to the face on the left side, but unfortunately he blocked it with his forearm, but even so he was able to send him flying a few meters and causing him to crash into a building.
After giving that blow he fell nimbly to the ground. When the person stood firmly in front of him, she could see the dark green hair and the distinctive sorcerer uniform, she recognized him instantly.
"Zenin-senpai!" exclaimed the shadow sorcerer, pleasantly surprised.
Maki zenin, second year sorceress and unfairly calcified as a fourth grade for her small amount of cursed energy. Like Touji she had a celestial restriction that enhanced her physical capabilities, but she was an incomplete restriction nothing compared to the monster that is the sorcerer slayer.
The sorceress was breathing hard. "I guess I'm on time," she spoke with a frown of pain and determination.
Megumi approached the sorceress to get a better look at her and as she did so she opened her eyes in shock. "Z-zenin senpai, what happened to you?" she said with great concern.
His concern was quite justified. The reason for Magumi's shock was because the sorceress's upper body was mostly burned, her shirt was singed and stuck to her skin, her neck had severe third and second degree burns, around her face. It was just as bad, fortunately his eyes had been saved and his once long hair had been shortened and singed.
"What happened up there after I left?!" Megumi asked hurriedly as she wiped the blood that fell from her mouth with the sleeve of her shirt.
"That-" Maki couldn't answer when she was forced to dodge a blow that was going straight to her stomach at high speed. That speed was beastly, she would bet it was faster than the elderly leader of the Zenin clan.
Megumi puts her hands together and summons the horde of rabbits again to try to distract Toji for a few seconds and be able to plan something, now that she had help.
The duo runs out of the alley they were in to get as far away as possible, the simple act of speaking was already a great feat for Maki but her great strength and the adrenaline flowing through her body kept her in a position to continue fighting.
Taking advantage of the zenin moment, he updated the shadow sorcerer about everything that happened after Touji took him away. "That damn volcano-headed curse didn't catch you off guard, right after this crazy man threw you out the window." voice was clearly angry and frustrated.
"But he underestimated me, he attacked me with a weaker fire than the others, ha! That son of a bitch thought he would kill with so little" he smiled savagely.
Maki was extremely angry, in this stupid war they have been continually underestimating her, as if she were a damn weakling and that made her blood boil, the pain she felt now did not compare.
For Megumin this had already become a bad joke, she couldn't stand any more damn surprises, everything was going from bad to worse and if it weren't for the arrival of Maki….wait!, if Maki was the only one who got here That means "what happened to the others, this Nanami?!".
Maki, understanding what Megumin wanted to ask, stopped him before he panicked. "Don't worry, unlike the old man, I'm sure Nanami is still alive. When he woke up I only saw Naobito's charred body, I guess he got up before me."
In the distance from the duo it was heard how the buildings were destroyed by Toji. Having finished off the horde of rabbits, she set out to chase them, crossing everything in her path at an absurd speed.
Realizing that the sorcerer-killer was close at their heels, the duo changed direction and entered an alley again.
"He's probably somewhere else, but I don't know how much longer he can last without anyone treating his burns." She looked dejectedly at the ground. "...He fared much worse than me," she said, remembering how the volcano incinerated the entire right side of the shaman's body
Megumi bit her lip in frustration and fear. "Shit, we must find him before another curse does it."
Maki let out an amused snort, "it's easy to say, I don't think we're in a position to help anyone right now."
The echo of the objects being destroyed and the steps of the murderer were projected with increasing force through the alley.
"We should worry about how the hell we're going to get out of that psychopath alive, I hope you have a good plan because I only have my fists."
Megumin frowned. "I've been at it since the fight started," she growled angrily. She hadn't had a second of rest to be able to think about something, this race was the closest thing to a rest she would have so she racked her brain as much as possible.
"….. he acts more by instinct, than by a clear motive or ideal, I think he seeks to fight against the strongest being he finds, that is why he attacked the octopus curse before, and that is why he attacks me."
Maki narrows her eyes and looks at Megumi doubtfully. "You're giving yourself a lot of flowers, I don't want to get you off that cloud, but I think the strongest among us was Nanami," she said mockingly. Even with her condition, making fun of others was essential for her life. .
Megumi sprouted a vein, "I know it sounds self-centered but believe me, there is something very dangerous about my technique, but I can't use it, at least not now." Maki's slight teasing allowed megumin to release some stress about the situation.
"Something dangerous? What are you talking about fushig-?" Maki shook her head. "You know what, I don't care! We don't have time to keep chatting! He's on our heels!"
Upon leaving the alley, they continued through the streets until they passed a restaurant. Megumin looked carefully at the building and abruptly stopped. Maki stopped shortly after, looking at the sorcerer in confusion. The sorcerer's mind kicks into gear and he finally puts together a plan.
"fushiguro! What are you doing?! Do you want to eat before you die, idiot?!" She screams in dismay at Megumi's abrupt brake.
"That's not it, Zenin-senpai," he growled, annoyed. "I think I have a plan. How much strength does he have in his legs?"
"This is serious, why do you want to know that? "This is not the time to reveal your damn fetishes, I think they hit you very hard on the head, whipped you."
Megumin didn't say a single word, she simply looked at the sorceress seriously.
I was completely serious
Maki sighs and put a finger on her forehead "I'm not sure, I think I'm able to put a car on my back and do squats with it without much difficulty, it's around 1000kg I guess" Maki looks closely at the building in front of her with blank eyes. , then he goes back to see Megumi "I hope your great plan is not to throw maruchans at him until he gets tired"
Maki did not understand what this restaurant had that would help them in this fight, she was an expert in combat but strategies were not one of her qualities.
"trust me zenin-senp-"
Before finishing his sentence, Maki lightly hits the sorcerer's head. "And for the fiftieth time, stop calling me Zenin, just call me Maki," he said in a bored voice.
Megumin rubs her head and clicks her tongue in annoyance. "How annoying," she replied, rolling her eyes. "We don't have much time, come on, follow me."
Both sorcerers entered by breaking the closed door and were lost in the darkness.
And so the sorcerer's plan of leftovers began. They could only pray that it would be enough to defeat that man.