Ice Veins

The streets of Ponyville were quiet by the time they arrived in the small town. It was almost eleven o’clock and the ponies were most likely either all asleep or were winding down from the day. They walked through the town on the dirt road until they reached their destination. Rurik took in the dwelling before him. It was a large tree that had been transformed into a dwelling, a library to be precise; a fact given by the sign out front of it that read “Golden Oaks Library.” The royal guards took up defensive positions around the building With Steel Shod standing at the door: thankfully none of the guards had been killed in the fight; nor were there any injuries save a few cuts and bruises. As Princess Celestia and the six mares walked in Rurik taking up the rear of the procession, the Nord caught Steel Shod stealing a glance at the orange mare who had introduced herself as Applejack; the look on his face made it plainly obvious he found the mare quite attractive. Rurik halted before entering the dwelling.

“Keep your thoughts on the present and keeping the princess safe, you will have time to admire her later.” whispered Rurik with a teasing smile; causing the young noble to blush and swiftly close the visor on his helmet.

“Carry on then.” chuckled the Nord closing the door behind him as he walked in.

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As soon as the door was closed, Rurik locked it and made sure that the eight of them were alone.

“Princess, it would probably be best if you and I spoke alone; I could understand having Twilight present as she is your student, but the others-” began Rurik in protest, but was silenced by the princess holding up a hoof.

“Rurik, I trust these six ponies with my life. They should be present for this.” said Celestia with a serious look before lowering her hoof.

“Very well your highness; just allow me to make sure that there is no one eaves dropping.” said Rurik looking around the Library.

“Of course Rurik.” replied the princess with a nod.

“Laas, Yah Niir.” he hissed, using the Aura Whisper shout.

“Twilight does your adopted little brother sleep upstairs?” asked Rurik quietly.

“Yes.” answered Twilight.

“Alright, do you know of any spells that will sound proof this room? What I am about to say cannot be heard by anyone else but the seven of you: Talos knows who can be trusted.” whispered Rurik.

“Just allow me a moment to cast the spell and we can speak.” said Celestia. Golden energy flared from her horn and a magical aura surrounded the inside of the Library.

“There, no one but us will hear our conversation: now what is it that you have found out?” asked the Princess.

“Princess, you and your sister are in very serious danger. This was not some plot from a foreign government or some random angry noble; you have some very powerful ponies who want you two dead.” explained Rurik with a very serious stare. The other six mares gasped in shock: to threaten the lives of the princesses was unthinkable to them.

“Who are they and why do they want Luna and me dead?” asked the Princess doing a splendid job at hiding her worry.

“From what I have gathered; they are a group of very powerful and influential nobles; and that their plans revolve around setting up a new social order where they rule Equestria. To do this, they need you and your sister dead because they know that you would never allow something like this.” said Rurik grimly as he reached into his satchel.

“But that’s just silly! Who would raise the sun and moon?” asked Rarity haughtily as she fixed an unorganized bit of hair in her mane.

“A good point: why would they be stupid enough to try and kill you? They would doom the entire world wouldn’t they?” he asked raising an eyebrow. Drinking the assassin’s blood had informed him of how the celestial bodies held an irregular orbit; requiring powerful magic to make them move in a proper orbit.

“Not necessarily. It would take a large number of highly skilled unicorns to do our job, but it can be done without us.” said Celestia with a sigh.

“But Princess, you’re an immortal; how could they even kill you?” asked Twilight with more concern than confusion written on her face.

“While we do not grow old or sick: murder is entirely different. We may still die by the sword, although the weapon that the murderer would have to use would require a special enchantment to end our lives.” replied Celestia.

“Well then; that may explain this.” replied Rurik holding up the crossbow bolt that he had stopped from killing the solar princess, who looked at it closely.

“Indeed: that bolt is enchanted; and such an enchantment was created to take the life of an Alicorn.” confirmed Celestia grimly.

“But; who would have created such an awful enchantment?” asked Twilight with a mixture of fear and disgust.

“I did my faithful student.” said the Sun Princess shamefully.

“But why?” asked Twilight.

“After I lost my sister to darkness a thousand years ago; I feared that should the same happen to me, my little ponies needed something to defend themselves goodness forbid the Elements of Harmony should fail. I created the enchantment and entrusted it to my most loyal subordinates. I would have rather lost my life than become a tyrannical monster.” said Celestia shuddering at the thought of what could have happened.

“So, you created a weapon to keep your subjects safe from what may have happened?” asked Rurik. Celestia nodded her head yes.

“Did you have the plans for these weapons destroyed upon your sister’s return?” inquired Rurik.

“No: they were locked away in a vault in the Canterlot Royal Library under heavy guard after Luna’s return.” replied Celestia.

“Who has access to them?” he asked raising an eyebrow.

“Myself; Luna; Captain Armor and his wife, who is my niece; the Chief Magister, and the Master of the Armory.” replied the princess.

“Well then; I guess that is where we will have to begin: you should keep tabs on anyone excluding yourself who has access to the archives.” replied Rurik taking a thoughtful pose. “I will need dossiers on all of them save Cadence as she was an intended victim. I will also need the dossiers of the most powerful and influential nobles of your country; no matter how trustworthy you think they may be.” Twilight’s face suddenly became angry at the suggestion that her brother could be a traitor.

“My brother would never betray the princesses! He has wanted to be in the guard since he was a colt!” protested the lavender mare.

“I am not calling anyone on the aforementioned list a traitor: not yet at least. I merely wish to rule out any red herrings. Plus, where I come from, I have seen kings overthrown by their own sons in their lust for the throne.” he replied grimly. “I for one hope it is not anyone related to you or her highness.” While still upset, Twilight knew that Rurik was right: everyone had to be ruled out, no matter how harmless they may seem.

“Was there any more information that you ‘extracted’ from him?” asked the sun princess trying to cool the situation down; but also shivering a bit from the memory of Rurik’s little feeding session.

“Not much unfortunately:  this group is very secretive about their membership. The inner circle of their little secret society uses spells to make their voices all sound alike, and they wear masks and cloaks to hide their identity.  The pony who led the attack was just a pawn to achieve their goals. Apparently, only the inner circle knows each other’s true identities. This little job however was to be his initiation into the inner circle.” explained Rurik. “The other attackers that were with him were sell swords: they were hired to keep the guards busy while he was going to take the shot; too bad for him the tip of his horn got knocked off and he couldn’t focus his magic due to the pain he was in. As for Twilight’s kidnapping, that was to lure your majesty away from the safety of Canterlot’s walls: Miss Rarity was just in the wrong place at the right time.”

“Who was the jerk you had for lunch?” asked Rainbow Dash tilting her head in curiosity and earning rather judgmental looks from her friends. “What?” she asked with a shrug.

“His name was Red Brand. He was from a lower ranking noble family in Canterlot.” answered the vampire.

“I knew who he was. He was always asking and petitioning my sister and me to surrender our power and create a parliament. He was a pest, but I never would have expected him to be involved in something like this!” said Celestia with some shock.

“As I said earlier, a bit of paranoia isn’t always a bad thing. On the bright side, we did put a gaping hole in their plans.” said Rurik with a shrug.

“How so?” asked Applejack.

“The plan was that they were going to kill Princess Celestia; and then, when Princesses Cadence and Luna appeared at the funeral, they would kill them as well, creating a situation where there would be mass panic of the general populace; and the ponies of Equestria would be looking for someone to turn to for leadership in this time of crisis. This group would emerge behind a puppet king or prince who would have no true power; but they would make it seem like he did. From there they would implement their plans for creating a unicorn controlled government that would raise and lower the sun and moon; thus forcing every pony in Equestria to bow to their will.  They just weren’t counting on a traveler from another world foiling their plan.” replied Rurik with a small smile.

"But why Cadence? She would never hurt anyone and she is the Avatar of Love!" asked Twilight with shock.

"She is too strong willed to control, and an heir to the throne who shares my visions of how Equestria should be Twilight; that is most likely why." answered Celestia.

"You did warn her as well?" asked Rurik.

"Yes." replied the sun princess.

"Good." Before he could speak; Rurik found himself face to face with Rainbow Dash.

“Wait just a dang minute! How in the hay do you know all of this?” asked Rainbow threateningly while she eyed him with suspicion.

“Remember how I drank Red Brand’s blood earlier?” asked the vampire with an irritated tone and matching expression.

“Yeah, and?” she asked rudely.

“I can absorb a being’s memories through drinking their blood. Think of it as reading someone’s mind but with a very lethal outcome for the someone in question.” replied Rurik before poking a finger into Dash’s forehead and pushing her back a few feet. “And didn’t your parents ever teach you about personal space?”

“So how do we find these meanies!?” said Pinkie Pie putting on a tough face and holding up her hooves like a boxer.

“We either have to wait for them to strike again, or we have to draw them out and into a trap. I would prefer the latter, but the issue is finding ponies we can trust. This corruption extends far and wide. If we can capture one of them and break them; then we will have a place to start.” said Rurik coldly. The six mares shivered at the thought of torture being used.

“I will not allow torture of my subjects: even the ones who want me dead.” said Celestia glaring daggers at the Nord.

“With all due respect your highness: you have few other options. You must break a few eggs to make an omelet. Besides, with torture there is a chance they will survive; if I have to drain them; well you get the idea.” shrugged Rurik.

The silence that filled the room was unnerving as Celestia and Rurik were locked in a silent staring contest with neither of them willing to back down. It was Rurik who finally broke the silence.

“I can stand here like this all night if I have to, but I have much to do and it would be a waste of my time. If you do not want my help, so be it; but mark my words: without breaking one of them; mentally or physically; they will succeed in their goal, and Equestria will not be the place that you worked so hard to make it once they do.” he said without so much as breaking eye contact.

“I will accept your aid, but torture is out of the question. The practice was outlawed nearly fifteen hundred years ago and I will not allow it to return.” she said adamantly.

“Very well then; I will do what I can if and when we do capture them, but do not expect a miracle.” he replied whilst rolling his eyes in annoyance.

“I seriously doubt you will be doing this for free?” asked Celestia raising an eyebrow.

“All I ask is that you help me get home. I have not seen my wife in over two weeks due to my work back home and then winding up here unexpectedly: and I miss her terribly.” said Rurik looking up into Celestia’s eyes. She could see the sadness he felt that had been born of separation from his beloved.

“That I can agree too; I will begin work on it as soon as I am able.” replied the princess.

“Thank you so much.” replied Rurik before he released a tired yawn while stretching his arms. He may have been a vampire, but the stress of the past days had begun to take its toll. Even with his super human abilities: he needed rest. His problem would be finding a place for him and the rather large dragon to sleep.

“I think we should all get some rest; it has been a very trying day and the hour is getting late.” advised Celestia before releasing a yawn of her own.

“Is there an inn anywhere in town?” asked Rurik. “I have gold that I can use to rent a room.”

“There’s no need for that Rurik, you can have the basement: it’s roomy and the bed down there is pretty good sized, plus there is a door if you need to step out for some fresh air.” offered Twilight. She may not have liked that he suspected her brother of treason: but he had saved her life, and she figured she owed him for that.

“I would not want to impose, and besides; the Princess needs a place to sleep as well.” said Rurik.

“No, you’re fine: I have a guest room that I am allowing the princess to stay in.” replied Twilight.

“Are you sure you are comfortable with a blood sucker in your basement?” asked Rurik with a serious tone.

“You saved my life and protected the Princess and my friends, plus you are offering to help ponies that you barely know: it is the least I can do, regardless of the fact that you are a vampire.” she said with a smile.

“Ah dunno Twi, you sure about lettin’ a monster that drinks blood fer food live in yer house?” asked Applejack suspiciously. “No offense.” she said to Rurik sheepishly as she received a rather annoyed glare from the vampire.

“Pruzah Krosis:” growled Rurik in the dragon tongue. “I am not some mindless killing machine!”

“I will be fine Applejack, besides he did just eat…” said Twilight turning a light shade of green at the memory of the vampire’s feeding session. Rurik face palmed before remembering he had to make arrangements for Odahviing.

“Where will Odahviing stay? I seriously doubt that the townsfolk will be all too pleased to wake up to a Dovah sleeping in their streets.”

“Applejack, do you have any empty fields that the dragon can rest in?” asked Celestia. The orange mare did a poor job at hiding her displeasure; but was not about to refuse her princess’s request.

“Well, the north field aint in use, Ah suppose he could sleep there: so long as he don’t snack on any of mah livestock.” said Applejack with some displeasure.

“I will let him know, and you will not have to worry about him making a meal of any of your animals: he is quite polite in that respect; and he probably ate something in the forest anyway.” replied Rurik walking to the door. Celestia turned to address the rest of the mares while Twilight went to get something to drink.

“I will have Steel Shod escort you girls home tonight. He is a seasoned veteran and has the most combat experience of any pony in the Royal Guard. He is loyal to a fault and will protect you with his very life if need be.” she said with a smile. The five mares exited with the princess who gave Steel his orders before going back into the library and going to the guest room to sleep. The palamino unicorn seemed to be more than happy to carry out his orders and escorted the six mares to their homes.

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Odahviing flew silently in a large circle around the village; his eyes sharper than those of an eagle were able to see the dwelling that his friend had entered. He could see the ponies and Rurik through the windows clear as day: if they harmed Rurik, he would burn their pathetic town to the ground. When Rurik exited, Odahviing saw the Nord wave him over. The huge drake flew over and hovered in the air.

“What is it Fahdon?” he asked.

“I have secured you lodgings Odahviing; you may not like it but at least it is something.” replied Rurik.

“Why is that?” asked the dragon doing his best to stay quiet as possible.

“It is in a farmer’s field.” Rurik could tell by the deadpan look that the hovering drake gave him that he was less than thrilled.

“Where am I going?” sighed Odahviing.

“Sweet Apple Acres; North field: don’t eat any of the livestock.” replied Rurik sarcastically and pointing him in the correct direction.

“Of course not Fahdon, I will land there and rest for the night.” said Odahviing.

“Pruzah Vulon; Odahviing.” said Rurik.

"Pruzah Vulon, Dovahkiin.” said Odahviing before flying off towards Sweet Apple Acres as Rurik went back into the library. The lights were extinguished in the arboreal dwelling and everyone turned in for the night except the guards, who took turns on watch. The moon was high and it was time to sleep.