Rivalry Of The Gods

Author's note: I'm a big liar. This should have been completed a week ago, as promised. Also, this was not meant to be two chapters, but the site wouldn't let me copy over the text when I was halfway through for some reason.

Princess Celestia The Undimmed, divine demigoddess and benevolent co-regent of Equestria, awoke abruptly from her sleep in the middle of the cold night of the first winter month, sticky sweat pouring from her body.

She had felt them again, the anomalies. They were dormant most of the time, but once in awhile they flared up, only to die down as fast as they appeared.

The princess hoped, oh how she hoped that there was no cause for alarm. She tapped into the world’s magical veil that surrounded it. Nothing, there weren’t any breaches, and if there were, they were insignificant at best. Everything was fine.

She sighed with relief while she also berated herself slightly for jumping to conclusions. Aside from what she and her sister felt almost two days ago, there had been nothing noteworthy in case of disturbances in the veil.

The reason to why they even felt it at the first place could very well be simple. They both shared a deep connection to the veil, and of course between themselves. The world was old, far older than any of the two alicorns or any of the other leaders of the realm. It could honestly just had been Equus ‘shedding’ excessive amount of magic, causing it to shudder with effort for a short time by the ordeal.

The anomalies she felt however, disturbed her wise mind greatly. They weren’t necessarily bad, but there was a certain familiarity to them. Like a reminder from a distant past.
The Undimmed one was not about to leave things to chance however. She would remain vigilant should there ever be a cause of concern for the wellbeing of the lands and her subjects.

Celestia sighed at this notion. My dear, loyal subjects. Long has it been since you’ve had faced a real imminent threat. I pray to the Creator that it will remain so. It breaks my heart that by even the slightest of chance, that you could end up being harmed.

Celestia was old, far older than any records described her to be. She, Luna and their brother Harmony, had long ruled the ponykind of Equestria, while other rulers came and went in the lands around them, an exception being the dragon matriarch. For millennia she and her siblings have observed the world and together repelled whatever evil that tried to seize the land for their own. And even though Harmony was no longer amongst them, Celestia and Luna would act as the ardent protectors of the realm for many more millennias to come.

As she got up from her bed, she felt the bond from her beloved sister tell her that it was time to start the day anew. Gently, she channeled her divine powers, greeting the moon on its way down, making room for her life-giving sun.
The night slowly turned into morning, her beloved subjects soon to awake from their peaceful slumbers. It would continue that way, this she sweared her life on. Her little ponies would continue to wake up, to slumber. To have their many firsts and their lasts. Alone, together, through joys and sorrows. They would have the right to continue on with their lives

This was however an idealist’s way, and while Celestia sweared upon protecting them, she knew she would be foolish to only rely on her and her sister’s powers. After finishing giving thanks to her sun and receiving its blessing, she went over to her ink and quill resting near a bundle of cushions, and started composing a letter.

o.O.o

Vess yawned as he looked at the tired smith from across the kitchen table, large, dark rings under his eyes. Truth be told, the mage was just as weary as Alloy, if not even more. Channeling his remaining strength into feeding the fire, while also burning his other source to maintain the balance between the two, had taken a heavy toll on him.

It had almost taken them what, six hours? Vess knew it was way past midnight anyway, when they had finally managed to complete the rod to satisfaction.

They had gotten some strange looks as some late night stragglers wandered about, but were left alone to their task. Thankfully, no form of patrol had stopped by to question them why they were up so late.

The smith slid over a cup towards Vess, something containing a familiar dark liquid, which made the mage smile.

Thank the Elements that they have kaffra here, I don’t know how I survived so long without it before. Dave never kept much of it around. He graciously took the cup, nodded in thanks towards Alloy and took a sip of the hot beverage,

Ah, yes. That definitely hit the spot. Alloy really knows his stuff, he thought, taking another sip, while also stuffing his face with a huge slice of bread and cheese. In fact, this was his fourth slice already.

Alloy was still too weary to actually notice his pantry’s supplies dwindling at an alarming rate.

Vess belched slightly after finishing his sandwich and patted his now full stomach, after leaving a tiny speck for Alloy to eat. In his defense, magic used up a lot of energy and he needed to replenish it in someway. Vess just prefered the eating-delicious-food-way of doing so.

So when the smith finally opened his eyes after having woken up enough by drinking his energizing beverage, he saw that Vess had more or less eaten all of his food...again.

He stared at the content mage with a vacant expression for awhile, until he let out an audible sigh and his hooves slowly met his temples.

A knock on the front door alerted both of them. Alloy straightened up and motioned for Vess to keep a low profile. The mage nodded and positioned himself away from the door as to not get spotted from the hallway.

Alloy trotted to the door and gently pushed it open, greeting however was waiting on the other side.

From the entrance, the mage could hear the two horses converse with one another. It was only a collection of whinnying sounds, albeit the stranger had a much ‘rougher’ sounding voice than the smith. The conversation was kept low-keyed and soon enough Vess could hear a sound of the entrance door closing.

Alloy returned to the kitchen, looking distressed from what Vess could tell, but not exactly at the point of freaking out. He beckoned for the smith’s attention.

Alloy looked at him, but just shook his head in a way that told the mage nothing.

Huh, keeping secrets are we? Fine for now, Alloy, but just you wait until I’ve figured out how to actually make sense of what half of what you horses say, he thought.

The smith then went on with tidying up after them both. Vess took a seat in the couch at the living room while waiting for the smith to be done. After a while, Alloy went over with a saddlebag to the large chest where he had stored the rod for safekeeping.

The cane was truly a masterpiece for the common eye. Alloy had truly made this one count. Golden and silvery containers were now masterly attached to the rod’s sides arching upwards. The largest one molded out of the hard platinum was etched into the rod’s top itself. Even without any gems in them, it was still a sight to behold.

The smith carefully placed the large rod in the bag and shut it tight. He then ventured over to Vess to get his attention on the sofa.

Time to deliver the rod to the snooty noble, ey? Well, have fun. Don’t trip on your way there, he thought and closed his eyes. However the smith poked at him and he opened them again.

“What?” he asked while looking quizzically at the horse.

Alloy pointed at himself, the rod and then at Vess, hoping the mage would understand what he meant.

“Wait, wait, wait. You want me to come with you?” he said and pointed to himself, Alloy and then outside.

The smith sighed and nodded reluctantly.

Alright, what’s the deal here? He lectures me for not staying inside yesterday, while that being understandable, but now he just wants me to follow him to a noble’s house?

“I don’t wanna,” Vess said, plumping down on the couch as to make his point.

Alloy wouldn’t give up however, still poking him at his side, each poke more irritating and harder than the one before.

“Hey, stop it Alloy! I don’t want to-” the mage stopped talking as he saw the expression on Alloy’s face. He looked very worried, almost like he pleaded for Vess to follow him.

“Hey, what gives, Alloy?”

“......follow..” Vess rubbed his ears for a while, like he couldn’t believe what he had heard. Did, did I just hear him say that? Odd, I don’t actually remember memorizing that sound, yet, it felt so...understandable. The mage’s thoughts were interrupted by even more poking from Alloy’s rock hard hooves.

“Alright, alright, I’ll come with you, geez, just stop touching me already,” he said and stood up, motioning for Alloy to lead the way.

The smith let out a sigh of relief, inspected Vess’ disguise, satisfied that the horns still seemed to be properly in place, and then headed for the doorway.

There’s something odd going around here though, and I just don’t mean about their weird language making perfect sense at some times, Vess pondered as he made his way behind the smith out of the front entrance.

o.O.o

Alloy trotted slowly through the streets with his ‘minotaur’ ward in tow. The smith didn’t care much for his surroundings, even ignoring the gawking sounds coming from Vess as he witnessed ponies levitating their belongings all over town. He was too busy being nervous, or ‘scared shitless’ might have been a more proper term.

The artificer didn’t feel right at all with the mage tagging along, but he had little choice in the matter. Platinum’s goons had, not surprisingly however, gotten a whiff of a new minotaur in town, whom seemed to have connections with Alloy. Being the perfect little snitches, they reported to their fat lord immediately.

The next morning, Platinum send one of his brutes to ‘inform’ Alloy, that the revered Lord Platinum wanted to see this new minotaur, as he had made quite an entrance for himself that day. Ponies were going on about the tailless, lanky bull going around laughing out loud, purchasing questionable treats from Lemon Dream’s shop.

Minotaurs were however famous for their proficiency in metalsmithing, so it made sense for the lord wanting to inspect this acquaintance of Alloy.

The muscular brute knocking on the artisan’s door did not express Platinum’s intentions in such a gentle way though. It was more along the line of ‘bring your freaky friend over to Lord Platinum’s place, or else’.

Alloy knew very well what ‘or else’ could mean, so even though he would definitely want to keep Vess as far away from the noblepony as possible, he couldn’t risk slighting Platinum.

The question was, could he play off Vess as being incapable of speaking? He really didn’t have any time to prepare this, he just prayed that whatever ties he once possessed would be enough to convince the lord.

And for Celestia’s and Luna’s sake that he doesn’t ask to see his face…, he thought while praying to the deities. That would be the most problematic thing of all.

Alloy looked back at the excited mage, who was still fascinated by little unicorn fillies and colts, not even old enough for their marks, magically moving their toys towards one another, making whooshing noises as they ran by. Vess’ hood covered a lot of his face, in fact, he almost seemed to blend in with the darkness it created, but in direct light, it likely wouldn’t fool anypony..

The smith sighed again. So many problems, and here he was, basically heading to certain doom. The thought of actually just taking off, abandoning his smithy and leaving town, did cross him. It had done so before as a matter of fact, but in the end, he was always brought back to the day where he had made a solemn promise to his deceased father, that he would continue the trade.

Never would he had thought that Platinum would still insist on Alloy’s family be in his service for as long as the fat bastard desired.

In all truth, it should have ended with Alloy’s father. The debt was supposed to have been wiped away, but surprisingly enough, Platinum’s accountant had ‘found’ some faulty calculations within the paperwork concerning said debt, and thus Alloy would also have to slave away at the affluent aristocrat’s whims.

While he begrudgingly remembered his past and his position in the world, he didn’t pay enough attention, and so smacked head first into a thin figure crossing his path.

“Ouch, what the-oh, hey Brass, fancy bumping into you here,” a chirpy, feminine voice called out to him as they both stopped in their tracks. Vess also stopped moving, seeing his chaperon staggering slightly, rubbing his head as if in pain.

“Ow, who? Oh, Dream, long time no see,” he lamely replied to the yellow mare that now stood before him.

“Yeah,” she said, smiling towards him, “way too long, if you ask me. Why don’t you visit me any more, Brass?”

“Dream, just Alloy’s fine, and to answer your question, I’ve been...busy as of late, way busier than usual” he said, not trying to make Vess too obvious.

“Heh, still don’t want to be called by your first name, huh? And what do you mean by-oh?” she said as she caught a glimpse of Vess, trying to act oblivious to the familiar mare.

“Well, hello there, sir!” she greeted him. “How’s your throat today?”

Vess sighed, poked at his throat and just grumbled.

“Still bad? Oh well, hope you get better soon,” she turned towards Alloy again. “Is this an acquaintance of yours, Brass?”

Ignoring Dream persisting in calling him by his first name, he responded a little nervously. “A-ah yeah, this is Ve..erm, Vektor, Ironfist's cousin, you remember my friend, Ironfist, right?

“Pfff, yeah, you two were inseparable when you were younger. Honestly, I used to hang around you guys as well, you really think I would forget?”

“O-oh, yeah, that’s right, you were,” he said as he recalled some less pleasant memories. “You used to feed us some of your err...interesting-tasting pastries while we were busy at the forge.”

“You mean, when you were playing by the forge?” she asked teasingly. “And be glad that I gave you anything at all, you ingrate!” Dream jokingly hit Alloy on the head, much to its aching dismay.

“Yeah..well..erm, anyway. This,” he said and pointed at Vess, “is Vektor, he’s a cousin of Ironfist’s that I’ve been asked to look after as he has never really mingled with anypony outside of his hometown.”

“Never mingled with anypony?” she asked quizzically. “He certainly did well enough, considering he came alone to my shop yesterday.

“Oh, yeah he’s quite the explorer, hahaha..ha..ha,” Alloy nervously exclaimed, trying to not look Dream in her eyes.

She pulled him closer, whispering in his ear, “Not to be rude, but why doesn’t he have a tail?”

“Lost it in a fight, doesn’t want to talk about it,” Alloy frankly claimed.

“Oh...right.” She released him from her grip and stepped back a little.

“So…what’s the deal with his throat? Does it maybe have to do something with the singing I heard when I happened to stroll by last night?”

Dream saw us at the smithy? And what singing? I don’t recall any singing...wait there was some melodious humming going on but I was in the ‘zone’ so I didn’t really pay much attention to it…shit, what to say?

“Err, yeah, that was Vektor, actually! The lad got a real talent there, sure made the hard work at the forge so much easier,” Alloy said, hoping that it would fool his childhood friend.

“Hrmmm.” Lemon Dream got closer to the smith, trying to catch whatever lie hidden in his eyes. “Really now?”

“Ah, yeah! Vektor sang beautifully last night,” he said, his best fake smile plastered on his face. “That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it!” he almost yelled, avoiding her penetrating gaze.

Dream eyed Alloy for quite a while, then she turned to ‘Vektor’, who was still trying to act as inconspicuous as he possibly could, which was laughable at best.

“You really shouldn’t sing if your throat’s bad, you know!” She berated him further about that he should care for his body, then handed Alloy some green herbs from her saddlebag, saying that they had a soothing effect on the vocal chords if applied in tea.

Vess only shrugged at her incoherent sounds, but offered a bow when he saw Alloy motioning for him to thank her.

She let them off after that, Alloy suddenly remembering his dilemma, quickened his pace with Vess hurrying after him from behind.

Lemon Dream watched as they both disappeared a couple of blocks away. She slowly reached for the other bag on her saddlepouch, pulling out a beautiful crystal rose, eyeing it closely, its mystical chill only lightly grazing her hoof.

“A singing, tailless minotaur huh…” she said and shook her head at Brass’ cute attempts at fooling her, “this day suddenly got more…interesting.” She tucked back the lovely crystal into her saddlebag and trotted in the direction towards her shop, smiling to herself as she walked.