Tale of a Trickster: Harmonius Magicby Bright-Side BronyChaptersPrologueChapter OneChapter TwoChapter ThreePrologueBright-Side Brony Proudly Presents Ω A My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Tale Ω Tale of a Trickster Harmonius Magic Prologue Ω An old tower stands high above the trees, made of a dark-shaded stone, and well-maintained wood. It's owner, Karrathius A'Stath, Demigod of Time. He and his students reside here, learning, practicing, and battling the evil that threatens the world. Among these students is Stalemate, a young trickster, and once-was mercenary. He aspires for glory, and prefers to work alone. It is this student that is now walking through the ancient, but well kept stone halls of his school and new home. Despite being relatively new at this time, he knows his way through the labyrinth of rock and windows quite well. His worn, leather boots lightly tap the ground each step as he walks toward a set of old double doors. His hazel-shade eyes lock upon the handle as his gloved hand reaches for it. The knob turns, and he pulls open the door to reveal an almost gym-like room. It is spacious, and obviously enchanted, with it adorning specifically placed runes. The floorboards are particularly clean and prepared, as this room is used often. Stalemate walks in, leaning his metal, and gem socketed staff on the wall. He then reaches for his neck, and a click is heard as he takes off his light blue cloak of silver lining. He folds it and places it next to the staff, leaving him with his leather clothing. He makes one last check of his brown hair before he decides he is ready to go on his next adventure. He turns to his right to see his teacher there, patiently waiting for him to prepare himself. Karrathius, called Karithe by most, is taller than most humans, being around seven feet tall. He wears a dark yellow tinted cloak, with similarly tinted shit and leggings. His boots and gloves are made of a red metal, and lined with gold. His gloves, boots, and cloak are all enchanted for particularly different purposes. Finally, Karithe slightly leans his weight on an ancient wood staff, enchanted to be tougher than metal, and socketed at the top with a powerful, magic enhancing gem known as a "Tear of the Gods". Karrathius is obviously no mere wizard, even to the naked eye. "Hello, my student. I would assume you are ready to leave?" Karithe asks calmly while striding up to Stalemate. "Of course, Karithe, but you still haven't told me where we are going," Stalemate replies with his own calm voice. Karithe nods, before gesturing to his staff and cape. "This will be no short trip, Stalemate. I would advise keeping your items on hand." Stalemate looks to his stuff and back to Karithe, who remains unmoving. He then moves back to his cape, unfolds it, and ties it back around his neck. Letting it drape down, before grabbing his staff. "Can you still tell me where we are heading?" Stalemate asks as he and Karithe start to walk toward the back exit. "First we will head to the town just south of here to gather your two friends, then we will begin our venture to the Lennwood. Letherious has been having trouble with some rampaging undead, and has personally asked you and I to come and rid his company of this threat," Karithe explains as they exit the tower, and start on the dirt road to the nearby town. Stalemate nods, satisfied by the answer. He then looks around at the nature. Leaves shine a bright green in the afternoon sunlight, and trees stand tall and mighty, belittling the meek beings below their presence. Critters of all sorts scamper through the flora of the woodlands, going about their day much differently than the sentient species do. Stalemate returns his gaze forward to notice the branch just at eye level. His face promptly hits the branch, leaving an annoyed Stalemate with a headache. After finishing with his observations on the forces of Mother Nature, Stalemate starts noticing the town entering his field of vision. Some would debate wether to call this large grouping of buildings a city or a town. The entire town has a light orange-yellow tint to it, leaving it feeling almost fiery, in a welcoming way. The inhabitants themselves are elven, but they welcome all races, including half elves, humans, orcs, even naga. Stalemate and Karithe eventually approach the gates, where two guards, and a captain stand watch. The guards look at Karithe and Stalemate, before nodding, and telling the men on the other side to open the gates, in which they do shortly after. As the gates reveal the town, so too do they reveal two figures that are familiar to Stalemate, almost in a bad way. The first, the tallest of the two, is an elven female. The assassin wears black clothing and cape, as well as a hood to conceal herself. She out front holds two katanas, expertly crafted, and designed to kill. She wears a belt in which a flintlock pistol is holstered, as well as a pouch of who-knows-what. She often hides throwing knives in her cloak and boots, ready to fight anything. The second person of the group is also hooded, but instead of leather armor he bears dark steel armor, light but strong. He holds two shadow-enchanted swords, and he is obviously tough and powerful. His face is completely concealed, with only his purple eyes glowing lightly in the hood. The elf skips up to Stalemate, and yells out loud, quite loud actually. "Hi, Stalemate! Do you remember me? You know, the one that-" She starts excitedly before Stalemate interrupts her. "Yes, Janil, I am sure someone like you is hard to forget anyway..." Stalemate says, before mumbling under his breath, "No matter how much I try." The second figure simply walks up and nods, before sheathing his swords and leaning against a tree. "Do you remember Gardus also? He is that guy who-" Janil begins again, before being interrupted by Stalemate yet again. "Yes, I remember him too, Janil," Stalemate answers, before sighing. "So, Karithe, are we going to get going?" Karithe nods, before gesturing to them, "Come, we must now venture north to Lennwood." Janil and Stalemate are both excited about it, while Gardus does not show any clear emotion. They all start heading back down the path through the woods, with Janil talking the whole way through. Her speaking slowly starts to annoy Stalemate, but shows no signs of disturbing Gardus or Karithe. "-And then it cut Jackson's arm off, before I swooped in and-" Janil continued saying, before Stalemate finally had enough. "Janil! Please, just be quiet! I was there, there is no need to recap everything we have gone through," Stalemate angrily states out loud to his energetic partner. "Okie dokie, Stale," Janil says, before looking at the trees. "Don't call me that, Janil," Stalemate replies to the nickname Janil has called him since they first met. "Sure thing, Matey!" Janil answers, before going quiet as Stalemate sighs. This is going to be a LONG trip... Stalemate thinks, before they all head down the path in relative silence. The afternoon sun just beginning to set on the horizon. Ω Owls hoot and crickets chirp as they approach the autumn-looking woodlands known as Lennwood. Karithe stops them shortly before entering to inform them of something he deems important. "Remember, always keep your eye out in Lennwood. The animals specifically look for small groups to hunt. Wolves and reavers wont be much of a problem, but it is the drakes and dragons that we have to watch our backs for. Despite their size, they can be sneaky when they need to be," Karithe informs the trio before him, to which they all nod understandingly, before they head inside of the darkened woods. Leaves crunch underfoot, and frogs croak, showing all too well that this is, in fact, a forest. Stalemate looks around, while paying attention for any branches that may want a taste of his forehead. Gardus looks around calmly, his hand on his hilts, ready to fight anything that may jump out, and finally, Janil clambers and crawls all around, hounding her way towards finding anything that may be- "Suspicious!" Janil yells, pointing toward a faint, yellow glow in the dark of the woods. Stalemate and Karithe look to where she is pointing. While Stalemate is confused, Karithe comes to a sudden realization, and takes charge. "Stay back, everyone! Keep watch of everything, that is no mere light, that is the glow of the Phase Reaver, a powerful being that can teleport anywhere it wants, and is an expert at mind games. Don't let it fool you into thinking you are safe, and don't let it sneak up on us," Karithe commands. "Got it!" Janil yells as the yellow glow disappears. They continue moving, watching all around for anything suspicious or alarming. Janil checks every bush and tree for the yellow... Thing. Janil then stands up, and looks at the sky. "I love a nice challenge, but I will find you eventually!" She yells, before returning to searching, but this time in the most bizarre locations, such as in her own hood, digging into the ground, and opening the mouth of a squirrel. "...Do you think it is gone, Karithe?" Stalemate asks, still keeping watch. "Not likely. It tends to hunt beings of good, until they are dead, most of the time," Karithe answers, before he shoots a bolt of holy magic into the darkness, lightning the entire area up for a brief second. this reveals a humanoid silhouette with four arms and some sort of spear weapon. "There you are! Come here, We found you!" Janil yells out, shaking her fist in the direction it was. "Janil, I don't that that is going to wor-" Stalemate is thrown to the side magically as a large, evil-looking spear stabs where he was. Stalemate is thrown into a tree, before he rolls down and gets up shakily. "Hey! Not nice!" Janil says before drawing her pistol and shooting at the demon-like being. The thing teleports behind her and grabs her with a large, yellow claw of 4 fingers. It then throws her at Karithe, whom stops her magically and puts her down. Stalemate comes up behind the thing, and tries to use fiery elemental magic to burn it, but the beast sees it coming and counters, grabbing him and lifting him up. "Hey! Put Stalemate down!" Janil says, with Gardus and herself charging at it. "Don't charge after it, you-" Karithe starts, but it is too late, as the other two approach, the demon teleports them all away, leaving Karithe alone. "-Will get... By Nez'Gar's hammer this isn't good," Karithe says, before rushing off toward the capital of Lennwood Company to organize a search group. Stalemate and his allies have made a mistake that may have just cost them their lives. Ω Princess Celestia sits upon her throne, reading the letter her student sent her just a few minutes ago. "My Dearest Teacher, my continuing studies of pony magic have led me to discover that something bad is going to happen. For you see, the mythical mare in the moon is, in fact, Nightmare Moon; and she's about to return to Equestria, and bring with her eternal-" Celestia is interrupted when a flash of yellow light shines in the room. She rolls up the letter and quickly takes notice of the demonic being in the center of her throne room. She lets loose a light gasp at how it is holding 3 (presumably) unconscious creatures. Immediately the royal guards spring to action, with four charging at the beast. Celestia holds out her hoof to stop them, but the beast itself strikes the first blow; teleporting behind a guard and grabbing him, before impaling him upon it's spear. Celestia's eyes narrow as her horn charges with a beautiful golden light, before it shoots a beam at the beast from behind. The beast turns around, in which it is hit in the face by the beam of light. The beast is sent flying into one of the marble pillars, breaking it easily. It rolls over and stands up, shortly before fleeing from the fight through teleportation. Celestia heaves a long sigh before looking at the three guards staring at their fallen brother-in-arms. His gut is stabbed right through, leaking his blood onto the floor at a continuous rate. The guard's eyes have lost their color, as well as his face. Celestia bows her head, and dismisses the guards to organize a proper, honorable burial. One of the guards lift the body, and they head out. Celestia turns to look at the three figures it was holding. She then calls for other guards to come, just in case they are hostile when they wake up. Five royal guards enter the room, armed, and ready. Celestia nods before her horn glows again, and she touches it down to the brown-haired head of Stalemate; Using magic to return him to consciousness. Stalemate coughs roughly, causing the five guards to jump into ready stances. Celestia regally waves her hoof, and they relax, but the tension is still in their eyes. Stalemate rolls over, and slowly opens his eyes, and he immediately notices the pony standing over him. His eyes widen as he speaks out and stands up, causing the guards to once again ready their stances. Celestia clears her throat, before speaking. "Hello, fair being. I am Princess Celestia, ruler of these lands, and princess of the sun. You are currently in the land of Equestria, and I personally welcome you," She says. Stalemate blinks, before looking around. "Uhm, where are we?" Stalemate asks aloud, looking at the guards, then back to Celestia. Celestia looks at Stalemate, then to her confused guards. "What is it saying?" One of them asks. "I'm not sure..." Celestia starts, "Hmm." "Guards, put them in a guest room, I will have a translator here by the hour so I can speak to them," Celestia orders. She turns to Stalemate, and her horn glows. Stalemate falls to the ground, and the guards pick them up, before leaving the room. Celestia looks at the pool of blood on her floor, and sends for a maid with a sigh, before heading back to her throne to finish the scroll Twilight has sent her. "I really hope we can get more insight on this soon," Celestia says. She opens the letter, and continues reading the note her student has sent her. "Nightmare Moon may be the least of our problems compared to this being that attacked..." Celestia states, before she closes the scroll, and brings up her own paper. She levitates a bottle of ink over, and starts writing. "My dearest, most faithful student, Twilight..." Chapter OneTale of a Trickster Harmonius Magic Chapter One Ω Differences Ω Stalemate awakens with his face in something soft, and fluffy. He lightly groans, before rolling over, and promptly falling onto the carpet. "Oof!" Stalemate coughs out as his lungs empty themselves from the sudden impact. He slowly gets up, and looks around the room. He immediately notices his staff and cape in the corner of the room right behind a small, wooden bookshelf. He inspects more of the room, noticing the royal looking doors and furniture, even featuring a work desk for, perhaps, writing. Stalemate hears a giggle come from behind him, due to which he turns in said direction. His eyes lock with Janil's who is currently squinting from her small cracks and laughs. "What's gotten you so happy?" Stalemate asks, to which he is answered by Janil's pointing, aimed directly at his face. Stalemate reaches up and touches his face; nothing seems to be wrong, that is, until he feels right where his nose is. He pulls his hand away, noticing the white, almost cream-like substance that went along with it. "Really, Janil?" Stalemate groans; she pranked him yet again. "Where did you get this, anyway?" Janil laughs. "Oh, just the royal kitchen." Stalemate face-palms, and momentarily forgets which hand he does so with, leaving his forehead also smeared over with white frosting. This sends Janil off the deep end; she holds her chest and falls over from the laughter. Luckily, her head lands right on a pillow, saving her from a rather painful experience. Stalemate groans before noticing another door, which leads into some sort of bathing room. He walks toward the door, and into the room. He takes notice of the calm, plain, and white atmosphere of the bathroom. He turns to his left and looks at himself in the mirror, before looking at a type of bowl below it. "Strange... What could this do?" He turns one of the gear-like pieces of metal, and water comes out. Stalemate stares, bewildered at how such a thing works without magic. "No matter, just accept it and move on," Stalemate tells himself before he rinses off his face. After using a light wind generated magically to dry his face, he returns to the bedroom; in which Janil is still laughing, but for another reason. An equine was indeed there, that was in golden armor. Janil, being herself, makes funny faces at the guard, trying to get him to express anything, but the guard simply stares at her. It then speaks in a sort of language Stalemate cannot comprehend, before leaving the room. "Oh, wow! That was a blast!" Janil exclaims, giggling while she does so. "Yes, I am sure it was enjoyable, but why did that guard come in here? What does it want?" Stalemate asks, hoping for once Janil may actually be useful for information. "Pretty sure it said something about cheese and hot sauce, if that means anything," Janil answers with an innocent look. "I am going to assume that is not the case, most likely he is going to have us meet whoever they are-" Stalemate doesn't finish, due to a pony walking in. It nods to Janil, before it sets a tray onto the work desk holding a cheese pizza, as well as optional toppings, including hot sauce. "Wait... You can speak their language?" Stalemate asks Janil. "Nope, it was just a hunch," She replies before running over to the pizza, and digging in. Stalemate looks at her with confusion, before walking over to grab his own slice. "I sincerely hope we can figure this out soon..." Stalemate prays, confused about where he is, and what these ponies are doing. Ω "Your highness," A gold-clad pony states to Celestia while walking in. "They are awake, now would be a good time." Celestia nods. "Thank you." She turns to a guard standing next to her, "Please go get the translator, I am ready to speak to our new guests." The guard nods before trotting off to get the pony Celestia requested. "Now, please take me to their room, I wish to introduce myself as soon as possible," She asks another set of two royal guards. They look at each other, then back at her. "Are you sure you don't want to wait for the translator, your highness?" She nods. "Introductions aren't solely about words." She stands from her throne, and regally treads down the red carpet with her two assigned guards in tow. She is as ready as ever to find out what these people are doing here. Ω Stalemate and Janil finish their last slices, shortly before Stalemate wipes his mouth with a Napkin, then dissipates it through acidic magic. Stalemate sighs. "Well, time to wait, I suppose." He then hears Janil's voice all the way across the room. "Well, if you would say this is a wait, then sure!" Stalemate turns around and faces an equine of white coat, and rainbow hued mane. He stares at the vibrant chest-plate and golden crown atop her head, shortly before doing a short bow. He returns to eye-level to find the regal pony walking over to the door, and opening it. From that opening, another pony steps through; His mane an almost fiery color and shape. His coat is red, and a horn sits atop his head. His hazel eyes lock onto Stalemate, and he smiles. He turns to Celestia and speaks. "I suppose we should begin by getting them to speak, so I can know which language they use." He states to the princess in his calm tone. "That will be less difficult than you think, Psyon. That tall, presumably female one is rather talkative." Celestia answers, pointing her hoof at Janil. She points at Celestia. "Hey! It's rude to point!" Stalemate face-palms for the second time this morning. "Janil, you are pointing at her, too." "I never said I was polite, but shouldn't a princess be?" Janil replies. Psyon pays attention to their conversation, but he ends up with a blank look at the end. Celestia looks at him. "What's wrong?" "I... Don't know this language. It sounds like a mix between Draconian and Gryphonian, yet I cannot get my mind to find what they are saying," He replies, still trying to see if he is just missing something "I am terribly sorry, your highness." Celestia smiles. "No need to apologize, even the tiny tidbit about those two languages is helping us get closer to understanding them." Psyon Blaze smiles, before stating, "I will try to research into this, I have never actually heard of a species of their build before." "Then I will let you get right to that," Celestia says, dismissing the unicorn. He leaves with a light clip clop, and heads down the hall to the castle library. Stalemate, meanwhile, is starting to get annoyed by the language barrier. He wishes to know what they speak about. He sighs. "I don't even understand this place, there's sentient ponies, they speak a different language, I am probably far from my own home..." "Oh, calm down, you wuss," Janil quips, "I'm sure Gardus is in even bigger doodoo than we are in, they did send him to the dungeon, after all." "Wait, what?! Why did they do that?" Stalemate asks Janil. "Oh, they saw how he had dark magic and stuff, so they said he was dangerous and took him down," Janil relays from her memory. "Oh boy, Karithe would be quite angry at these ponies for deciding that all dark magic is evil," Stalemate remarks, "Looks like we will have to convince them to bust him out, when we can." "We don't need to convince them, we can just get him out ourselves," Janil states. Stalemate looks at her. "Look, I don't want to become enemies with these people quite yet, Janil. They could help us find our way back home." "Okie dokie, but my idea is still there, Stale," Janil finishes, proceeding to jump on the bed in a childish manner. Celestia stills stays in the room, observing the two new creatures messing about. A guard walks into the room, and watches as well. "Your highness," The royal guard says, "Was the translation successful?" Celestia sighs. "Not quite, however, I do have another idea. While Psyon searches the library for any clues as to what these creatures are, I would like you to lead a couple warriors to find somepony, or even somebody, that could translate these creatures' words into ours." The guard salutes. "Yes, your highness!" The guard, and Celestia walk out, as Stalemate speaks to Janil. "No, I am serious, call me that again and you might wake up one morning with just a hilt left of one of your katanas," Stalemate warns Janil. She laughs. "Then I would just kill you with the other katana." Stalemate simply stops talking, and turns away, before he looks at the writing desk. A stack of papers, a quill, and a pot of ink sit upon it. Stalemate gets an idea, while sitting down. If I am to be stuck here, I can at least report this to Karithe for, perhaps, further study... Stalemate pulls out one of the sheets of papers, and dips the quill in the ink, before beginning to write. "In The Land of Ponies A Documentary by Stalemate, Student of Karrathius A'Stath "For a wizard who has explored most of the world of Theros, I have never seen something quite as bizarre as this. A land of talking ponies, whom use magic, have multiple sub-species, and have, presumably, a monarchy. "After a rather traumatizing encounter with the Phase Reaver, it has brought my allies, Janil, Gardus, and myself to this land of ponies. They have given us hospitality despite our language barrier and physical differences, so we will assume they are friendly for now. There appear to be unicorns, normal ponies, and pegasi, as well as one with both a horn and wings whom appears to be their leader. "These equines use magic if they have horns, and fly if they have wings, respectively. As well as assuming the horned pegasus can do both, and the normal ones can't do neither.-" Stalemate finishes writing after he runs out of information to place onto the paper, so he sets it down to let the ink dry, and walks up to the front door. He opens it and looks around, noticing a long hall of windows, a small portion of them tinted to show the white horned pegasus, and another horned pegasus defeating a strange creature of jumbled species. "How strange," Stalemate tells himself as he views the panes. He loses himself quite a bit, trying to decipher what the story behind it is. He doesn't even notice the group of two royal guards approaching him. The guard taps him on the shoulder, causing Stalemate to whirl around, and look at them. They nod their heads back toward the inside of the room, but Stalemate makes his own silent argument, pointing a finger toward the tinted glass. The guards look at the glass, and chatter a bit between themselves. They appear unsure... Maybe they need confirmation from their leader? Stalemate deciphers mentally. The guards stop messing about and look back at Stalemate. They point their hooves toward the throne room, and Stalemate acknowledges them, before following. The guards lead him through a short hallway of many, many pillars, before they open a door of radiant gold; revealing their leader upon her throne, whom is searching through multiple letters, occasionally looking at the sky. She is waiting for something. Stalemate presumes, not talking aloud, for it would be pointless. The guards call out to the princess, and she turns her attention to Stalemate and the guards. "Your highness, he wishes to view the tinted windows in the Hall of Historic Remembrance," The guard states. She nods with a blank expression. "Let him. He is a guest at my castle, though if you feel he would require supervision, you may have a guard accompany him." The guard salutes, "Very well, your highness." He then turns to Stalemate, whom performs a bow, before turning, and walking out. The guard follows him out, and continues to do so as he walks down the hall, and observes the limited amount of paintings on the glass. Very, VERY few of the panes are painted on, with around twenty of them blank, and barren of any tale other than that of the pony who made it. Stalemate ignores the emptiness of the hall and concentrates upon the paintings already there. The guard sighs. Why do I get the feeling that this is going to be more than just the hall? About three hours later... The guard has been accompanying Stalemate everywhere, from the royal kitchen, where he taste tested the food, and gave it a sign with it's claw by holding one of it's largest ones straight up, which apparently means approval. Next, they arrived at the ball room, where dancing and large, but private ceremonies are held. Stalemate wasn't impressed. The magical training room is about as large as this, and much more protected. They then moved on to the in-castle barracks, where a small portion of the royal guard sleep in vanity, whilst still being close to their highness's aid in the case of attack. The second to last place was the garden, where Stalemate observed the wildlife with what appeared to be mild interest. He looks at birds with an eyebrow raised, and pets a squirrel that felt it was safe to stay out. He wasn't at home with nature, but he wasn't completely foreign to it either. Finally, they returned to the hall of panes, where they walked down and head back to their room. Just as they reach the door; a large, white unicorn walks in the way, and starts speaking miles in what appeared to be a very snobby "accent". Stalemate looks at the guard, who just rolls his eyes, and speaks toward the unicorn, before he moves him aside and opens the door to let Stalemate in. The unicorn runs off to the throne room, and Stalemate enters his own. "Well, that was interesting," Stalemate says as he enters to see Janil faffing about as per usual. "Enjoy your adventure? Did you go to the kitchen?" Janil asks. Stalemate nods. "I also went to the ballroom, the garden, and the sleeping quarters for some of the royal guard." Janil smiles, before getting a confused look on her face. "Wait, so you watched royal guards while they sleep? Isn't that what stalkers do? No! Wait, they use blink, too bad I didn't upgrade it." Stalemate blinks. "Wait... What? No, I didn't watch them sleep." "Then why did you just blink?" Janil interrogates. "Because, it is what all living beings like us need to do to keep our eyes clean." Stalemate answers simply. Janil smirks, before stating, "How do I know you are telling the truth?" Stalemate looks to her, and frowns, before just walking back to his desk to write something down. "Aha! I knew it! Stalemate is a stalker, Stalemate is a stalker!" Janil starts to chant. Stalemate holds out his hand, and uses air magic to knock her over onto the bed. "Shut up!" He yells, furious, "Why can't you just be quiet and logical for one minute? Huh? Do you lack mental function?" Janil stares at him with a blank expression. "Maybe?" She says, unsure of what to say. This uncertainty leads Stalemate to relax, before sighing, and face-palming. "Look, just please leave me alone, I am not in the best shape at the moment," Stalemate tells her, before returning to his desk. Stalemate picks up the quill and just starts writing, before a crash, and a bang is heard, shortly before yelling of sorts. Janil, and Stalemate notices it immediately, and jumps up, ready for action. "Yeah! Finally some action!" Janil yells, before they both run out the door, their equipment in hand. They charge down the hall, and into the throne room, to see the ruler being turned into some sort of orb by another horned pegasus, however it is much more evil looking than the ruler. It speaks in it's language that Stalemate cannot understand, before cackling loudly, and turning into mist and flying out, while the orb floats out and below the horizon. "Oh dear..." Stalemate says, noticing the massive hole in the wall, and two injured soldiers. He walks up to the two guards, whom are continually going through muscle spasms, and have obvious burns on their coat. "Electric shocks, I should be able to fix this," Stalemate says, before siphoning the electricity out of them, preventing further damage but not healing it. Stalemate shoots the electricity out of the hole in the building and sighs- The Return of Nightmare Moon is imminent, and Stalemate is perfectly on time to see it. Chapter TwoTale of a Trickster Harmonius Magic Chapter Two Ω Assignments Ω The royal guards all crowd around the gaping hole in the throne room wall, their eyes wide, and ears down. Stalemate and Janil stare at the guards, whom seem to be mentally falling apart, mostly due to their princess's sudden disappearance. Janil instantly started laughing, as she usually does at 'silly looking' things. Stalemate simply let them be; believing that all emotions are meant to be felt. The- what seems to be- royal captain did not share the same view, however. And yelled firmly at the soldiers, causing them to come to an attentive formation: Snapped right out of their stupor. The royal captain appears to utter some strong orders... "At attention, soldiers! Now is not the time to mourn or panic, now is the time to ACT!" The royal captain states firmly. Shining Armor doesn't feel good about the princess's disappearance too, but they have to stay strong. The soldiers instantly jump to attention, broken out of whatever state they were in. Now it was time to state orders to the six guards there. "Listen, the princess is missing, as you all have clearly noticed! We must ready ourselves. You!" Shining Armor points to a new, young pegasus recruit, "Go to the royal barracks immediately and awaken the guards, tell them it is a Golden class emergency, they will understand!" He turns to two earth ponies, one rather large and bulky, the other thin but agile looking. Shining points to them both. "You two unlock the armory; hand out weapons and armor to the guards passing through. We will need them." Finally, Shining looks to two other pegasi, both wonderbolts, and a unicorn magi. "You three, prepare the carriages, we will need to transport soldiers quickly and efficiently. We are going to do a full sweep. Make sure nopony takes off until I state further orders to them as a whole." The guards, now given orders, rush to fulfill their tasks with haste. Shining turns to look at Stalemate and Janil. He was told they do not understand his actual speaking language, but perhaps body language? He may as well try. He points to them both and motions for them to follow with his hoof. They seem to understand as they start to walk. Shining turns to walk with them when he is face to face with a lightly panic-ridden unicorn of red coat and fiery mane. "What is going on, Shining- Err, captain?" He asks hastily, but still finding time to correct himself. Casual talk was not supposed to be used at times like this. Shining Armor looks to him with a serious look. "The princess has been kidnapped by Nightmare Moon, whom has just recently returned. The soldiers, these two, and I are off to find The Nightmare." Psyon understands most of it, except one little part: "Why are you bringing those two?" He asks, motioning toward Stalemate and Janil. "Half to keep an eye on them, half because I know they are magically, and physically capable of fighting. And based on what I have seen, they are almost excited about this adventure. Despite them not being too trustworthy in my eyes, the princess trusts them, so I trust them as well," Shining answers, before asking the unicorn to move aside. Psyon does as he is told, and lets the three run off into danger. "I sure hope nopony is harmed," He states, before trotting back off to the Canterlot library to continue looking into the strange language. Lightly panting, Stalemate exits the castle interior and is immediately hit by a cold breeze. He attempts to ignore it as they start to near what appears to be carriages of a fancy style. Multiple armored pegasi fly in and mount themselves to the front of the carriages. "How does that even work?" Stalemate asks, knowing only Janil and himself could understand. Janil smiles at him. "Magic, Stale." "Stop calling me that," He orders to Janil, whom just rolls her eyes and looks around. All of the soldiers gather at the base of a tall hill in the courtyard, where Shining Armor stands and speaks. "Alright, everypony! Nightmare Moon has reappeared, just as we feared; and just as we are trained to do,we fight! We will be sending scouting chariots multiple areas in Equestria. If you find ANY trace of The Nightmare, come and tell me immediately! Do I make myself clear?" Shining starts. Each guard salutes and call out their assorted and multi-toned 'Yes Sir!'s. Shining continues. "Once we have located Nightmare Moon, we will load our chariots full of anti-magi unicorns of all sorts to help weaken The Nightmare. In front of them we will drop our strong earthen pony forces to assault The Nightmare with physical force, offering her challenge, and allowing our anti-magi further time to wear down it's magic. The pegasi will be flying the chariots, and when we arrive, they will unhook and attack from the sky. We CANNOT allow her any opportunity of escape. I myself will put an anti-teleportation spell around the area, so she cannot get far! Be wary, soldiers. The Nightmare is dangerous, and some may lose their lives; but it will be a sacrifice of grand honor! We can and will fight The Nightmare, because while alicorns are extremely powerful, and control astrological forces, we can defeat ANYTHING, if we work together as a whole! Do I make myself clear?" "Yes sir!" Exclaims all the guards; some out of anxiety or nervousness, and others out of excitement and battle-born adrenaline- They haven't seen action much beyond a thief in a long time. "Excellent. Now, first we will all separate into groups of two scouting chariots, with the exception of mine. Once in said groups, I will assign you your location! Hop to it, soldiers! MOVE MOVE MOVE!:" Shining commands like the drill sergeant he often has to be. "Jeez, this guy yells a lot. Is he angry about something?" Janil asks Stalemate, obviously somewhat annoyed by the loud shouts of a royal captain. "It is his job to yell, it helps put the soldiers in line. He is a leader, after all," Stalemate states plainly. Stalemate looks off in the distance, and he sees the lights of another town; Ponyville. Stalemate suddenly squints as he notices something. He sees a decently looking blue glow flying away from the town and into the nearby forest. It was a wonder Stalemate could even see that, it must have been a big group of smoke. "Wait a minute... Smoke isn't just blue. Is that the dark creature that attacked the princess?" Stalemate wonders, before climbing the hill to Shining Armor, whom is observing the soldiers getting into their respective groups. He taps on Shining's shoulder, and when he has gained his attention, he points to the forest. Shining Armor looks to the forest, but doesn't see anything, so he looks back to Stalemate with a questioning eye. 'Uy, okay, think think think... Aha!' Stalemate contemplates. He taps on his shoulder again, but this time he uses magic to create a 2D illusion of Nightmare Moon, and he shows her turning into a mist and flying into some trees. He once again points to the Everfree Forest. Shining finally gets it, and nods to show so. He then walks off to speak with the guards about his new discovery; or to assign orders. Stalemate can't tell. "You know, I wonder if this horrible, evil and wicked creature of evil stuff is actually something sad on the inside..." Janil points out randomly. "Janil, I think that is not that probable. Some evil deeds may come from sadness, but often times it is the corruption of the soul by a more powerful force, and hatred," Stalemate remarks to his partner's silly 'revelations'. "Alright soldiers, there is a SLIGHT change of plans. You all will still be assigned to your intended locations, there just wont be me to return to. One of our recent visitors has identified what could be Nightmare Moon entering the forest. It may have been an illusion, so I will not call off the full sweep. However, I and said visitors will be investigating it ourselves. Do you understand?" Shining informs them. After the assorted yes sirs, Shining Armor starts assigning the guards locations. Some go to Manehattan, others go to Ponyville, and some go as far out as the edges of Equestria, especially along the southern and northern borders, which lead to land instead of water. Finally, the soldiers set off after being informed that a pony named Golden Scout is whom they should report to after they find something. Most of the royal guard leave, with a few being left behind to guard the castle. As well as Golden Scout ready to be told what is going on. Golden was often set to be in charge in Shining's absent, and he didn't do half bad at it, even though he still needs to learn to be a bit more tough on the soldiers. Shining often tells him he is being too lenient. Shining Armor returns to Janil and Stalemate, before motioning them to follow him to a much bigger chariot with 3 pegasi mounted instead of 2, and another unicorn is there to ride with them as well. All four of them load into the golden monstrosity, and they start to fly off. Shining looks to the two creatures, one of which seemed gleeful, and the other oddly un-emotional. For some reason, Shining Armor had a bad feeling about this. 'Well, here goes nothing.' He thinks just as they fly over the Everfree, and toward the old castle where they can have an ideal place to land. Chapter ThreeTale of a Trickster Harmonius Magic Ω The Ever(free) Glades Ω The chariot approaches the long-ruined castle; the occupants inside ready themselves for any sort of attack. The chariot comes in for a landing, and still nothing. Stalemate breathes a sigh of relief as the chariot hits the ground, and they open the doors to get out. Shining Armor motions for them all to come, and they walk up to an old, rotten, wooden door. One of the pegasi buck it open, and they proceed inside. No sound is heard but the clip clop of hooves, and the footsteps of the two humanoids as they traverse the maze-like castle. The guards' heads constantly turn direction, checking their surroundings for anything suspicious or threatening. Meanwhile, Stalemate and Janil argue over an interesting point. "I still don't get why some evil thing would hide so much. If it is so strong and stuff, why is it hiding?" Janil asks Stalemate. Stalemate sighs. "Because, Janil, just because one is powerful doesn't mean they get to be reckless. Unlike you, this being doesn't charge straight into overwhelming odds. I would say it is smart, but then again, it seems to work out for you." "I am just so MLG that they can't handle it, and they die!" Janil exclaims to Stalemate. Stalemate raises an eyebrow. "MLG?" "Major League Gore-Creator. Or would that be MLGC?" Janil wonders, starting to go off into the deep and horrible pit of chaos that is her mind. Stalemate, knowing Janil much too well for his own good, just starts thinking to himself, knowing she wont be talking for a good half hour. Stalemate observes his surroundings, and takes in the atmosphere. Bad idea, as the atmosphere is dark and slightly horrifying. Stalemate ignores his surroundings and instead starts planning the encounter with the demon, or whatever it was. Stalemate just begins with 'Approach the Enemy' before a tile under his foot is suddenly pushed down, and the whole group is sent into an old slide. The guards and Janil quickly retain their surprise, but Stalemate does not recover until they reach the bottom, which is, oddly enough, the outside. They are in about 5 inches of water, and all around them grows tall weeds with small thorns on them. Stalemate hears the guards conversing with themselves, and he tries to use body language to understand some of it. The unicorn of the squad immediately gets up and turns to Shining, whom is looking at his surroundings. "Captain, we are now in the Everfree Glades, there is a few things we should be aware of," He states. Shining Armor, whom is still looking around, states, "I'm all ears." "These glades may look calm and peaceful, but these lands are prime manticore territory, this is where they give birth to and raise their young. If we encounter one, it will be a difficult fight. Timberwolves also tread here, mostly to catch the lost manticore child, but that does not mean they will not attack us, so we must be ready. Finally, be on the look-out for plants that look brightly colored. Most will be poisonous, some to the touch. We must stay away from them," The unicorn scholar explains. "Noted," Shining replies plainly, before he motions for them all to move out. They tread through the thick water and tall grass. Luckily it isn't the serrated type, yet. All is silent except for the occasional cricket's chirp, or dragonfly flying. The squad keeps a close lookout, with the three pegasi soldiers getting an aerial view. What seems like an hour passes by before they encounter the serrated grass, which immediately makes life miserable for them all. Stalemate, using his staff, pushes down the grass while Janil cuts it. She suddenly stops, along with the rest of the group when they notice. Janil quickly turns around and shoots her gun into the grass, having heard something. They hear the sound of wood falling over, and instantaneously four other timber wolves leap out at the group. Janil quickly handles a second wolf with her blades, while the others wrestle down the last three. Despite the fight being easy, Stalemate is quite mad. "Janil! You realize everything that would ever want to make a late-night snack out of us just heard that shot? They all are probably converging on our position right now!" He yells. Janil shrugs. "Oops?" "Captain, that being in the cloak just made a rather loud bang with her device. It is reccomended that we run, as manticores or other predators are probably on the way," The unicorn scholar warns. Shining doesn't answer, and simply yells at the others to run, and he starts running, with the others running with him. Sadly for them, they run alright, run right into a manticore. It roars violently at them as it swings it's paws into the ground. Stalemate starts the fight by shooting a bolt of fire at it's large mane around it's neck, in an attempt to burn it. Sadly, the manticore was most likely laying down, as the hair is too wet to catch fire currently. It does get the manticore's attention, however. It bellows out another roar and swings at Stalemate. He teleports slightly back as two pegasi swing down to hit the manticore on both sides of the head, to knock it out. It notices this, and swipes down one of them, with the other hitting one side of it's head. This dazes it a little bit, but that is all. Shining armor takes this moment to cast a sleeping spell on the manticore; with it dazed, it is much easier. Within seconds the manticore loses consciousness and falls to the ground. Two of the soldiers fly to their fallen brethren and help him up. "Are you okay?" Shining Armor asks the soldier. He salutes and nods. "Good, let's move out," Shining Armor orders, and they all move out, with Stalemate and Janil not far behind. They enter the treeline, and leave the glades. They are now heading towards the most likely place Nightmare Moon may hide in; The cliffside laboratory.
PrologueBright-Side Brony Proudly Presents Ω A My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Tale Ω Tale of a Trickster Harmonius Magic Prologue Ω An old tower stands high above the trees, made of a dark-shaded stone, and well-maintained wood. It's owner, Karrathius A'Stath, Demigod of Time. He and his students reside here, learning, practicing, and battling the evil that threatens the world. Among these students is Stalemate, a young trickster, and once-was mercenary. He aspires for glory, and prefers to work alone. It is this student that is now walking through the ancient, but well kept stone halls of his school and new home. Despite being relatively new at this time, he knows his way through the labyrinth of rock and windows quite well. His worn, leather boots lightly tap the ground each step as he walks toward a set of old double doors. His hazel-shade eyes lock upon the handle as his gloved hand reaches for it. The knob turns, and he pulls open the door to reveal an almost gym-like room. It is spacious, and obviously enchanted, with it adorning specifically placed runes. The floorboards are particularly clean and prepared, as this room is used often. Stalemate walks in, leaning his metal, and gem socketed staff on the wall. He then reaches for his neck, and a click is heard as he takes off his light blue cloak of silver lining. He folds it and places it next to the staff, leaving him with his leather clothing. He makes one last check of his brown hair before he decides he is ready to go on his next adventure. He turns to his right to see his teacher there, patiently waiting for him to prepare himself. Karrathius, called Karithe by most, is taller than most humans, being around seven feet tall. He wears a dark yellow tinted cloak, with similarly tinted shit and leggings. His boots and gloves are made of a red metal, and lined with gold. His gloves, boots, and cloak are all enchanted for particularly different purposes. Finally, Karithe slightly leans his weight on an ancient wood staff, enchanted to be tougher than metal, and socketed at the top with a powerful, magic enhancing gem known as a "Tear of the Gods". Karrathius is obviously no mere wizard, even to the naked eye. "Hello, my student. I would assume you are ready to leave?" Karithe asks calmly while striding up to Stalemate. "Of course, Karithe, but you still haven't told me where we are going," Stalemate replies with his own calm voice. Karithe nods, before gesturing to his staff and cape. "This will be no short trip, Stalemate. I would advise keeping your items on hand." Stalemate looks to his stuff and back to Karithe, who remains unmoving. He then moves back to his cape, unfolds it, and ties it back around his neck. Letting it drape down, before grabbing his staff. "Can you still tell me where we are heading?" Stalemate asks as he and Karithe start to walk toward the back exit. "First we will head to the town just south of here to gather your two friends, then we will begin our venture to the Lennwood. Letherious has been having trouble with some rampaging undead, and has personally asked you and I to come and rid his company of this threat," Karithe explains as they exit the tower, and start on the dirt road to the nearby town. Stalemate nods, satisfied by the answer. He then looks around at the nature. Leaves shine a bright green in the afternoon sunlight, and trees stand tall and mighty, belittling the meek beings below their presence. Critters of all sorts scamper through the flora of the woodlands, going about their day much differently than the sentient species do. Stalemate returns his gaze forward to notice the branch just at eye level. His face promptly hits the branch, leaving an annoyed Stalemate with a headache. After finishing with his observations on the forces of Mother Nature, Stalemate starts noticing the town entering his field of vision. Some would debate wether to call this large grouping of buildings a city or a town. The entire town has a light orange-yellow tint to it, leaving it feeling almost fiery, in a welcoming way. The inhabitants themselves are elven, but they welcome all races, including half elves, humans, orcs, even naga. Stalemate and Karithe eventually approach the gates, where two guards, and a captain stand watch. The guards look at Karithe and Stalemate, before nodding, and telling the men on the other side to open the gates, in which they do shortly after. As the gates reveal the town, so too do they reveal two figures that are familiar to Stalemate, almost in a bad way. The first, the tallest of the two, is an elven female. The assassin wears black clothing and cape, as well as a hood to conceal herself. She out front holds two katanas, expertly crafted, and designed to kill. She wears a belt in which a flintlock pistol is holstered, as well as a pouch of who-knows-what. She often hides throwing knives in her cloak and boots, ready to fight anything. The second person of the group is also hooded, but instead of leather armor he bears dark steel armor, light but strong. He holds two shadow-enchanted swords, and he is obviously tough and powerful. His face is completely concealed, with only his purple eyes glowing lightly in the hood. The elf skips up to Stalemate, and yells out loud, quite loud actually. "Hi, Stalemate! Do you remember me? You know, the one that-" She starts excitedly before Stalemate interrupts her. "Yes, Janil, I am sure someone like you is hard to forget anyway..." Stalemate says, before mumbling under his breath, "No matter how much I try." The second figure simply walks up and nods, before sheathing his swords and leaning against a tree. "Do you remember Gardus also? He is that guy who-" Janil begins again, before being interrupted by Stalemate yet again. "Yes, I remember him too, Janil," Stalemate answers, before sighing. "So, Karithe, are we going to get going?" Karithe nods, before gesturing to them, "Come, we must now venture north to Lennwood." Janil and Stalemate are both excited about it, while Gardus does not show any clear emotion. They all start heading back down the path through the woods, with Janil talking the whole way through. Her speaking slowly starts to annoy Stalemate, but shows no signs of disturbing Gardus or Karithe. "-And then it cut Jackson's arm off, before I swooped in and-" Janil continued saying, before Stalemate finally had enough. "Janil! Please, just be quiet! I was there, there is no need to recap everything we have gone through," Stalemate angrily states out loud to his energetic partner. "Okie dokie, Stale," Janil says, before looking at the trees. "Don't call me that, Janil," Stalemate replies to the nickname Janil has called him since they first met. "Sure thing, Matey!" Janil answers, before going quiet as Stalemate sighs. This is going to be a LONG trip... Stalemate thinks, before they all head down the path in relative silence. The afternoon sun just beginning to set on the horizon. Ω Owls hoot and crickets chirp as they approach the autumn-looking woodlands known as Lennwood. Karithe stops them shortly before entering to inform them of something he deems important. "Remember, always keep your eye out in Lennwood. The animals specifically look for small groups to hunt. Wolves and reavers wont be much of a problem, but it is the drakes and dragons that we have to watch our backs for. Despite their size, they can be sneaky when they need to be," Karithe informs the trio before him, to which they all nod understandingly, before they head inside of the darkened woods. Leaves crunch underfoot, and frogs croak, showing all too well that this is, in fact, a forest. Stalemate looks around, while paying attention for any branches that may want a taste of his forehead. Gardus looks around calmly, his hand on his hilts, ready to fight anything that may jump out, and finally, Janil clambers and crawls all around, hounding her way towards finding anything that may be- "Suspicious!" Janil yells, pointing toward a faint, yellow glow in the dark of the woods. Stalemate and Karithe look to where she is pointing. While Stalemate is confused, Karithe comes to a sudden realization, and takes charge. "Stay back, everyone! Keep watch of everything, that is no mere light, that is the glow of the Phase Reaver, a powerful being that can teleport anywhere it wants, and is an expert at mind games. Don't let it fool you into thinking you are safe, and don't let it sneak up on us," Karithe commands. "Got it!" Janil yells as the yellow glow disappears. They continue moving, watching all around for anything suspicious or alarming. Janil checks every bush and tree for the yellow... Thing. Janil then stands up, and looks at the sky. "I love a nice challenge, but I will find you eventually!" She yells, before returning to searching, but this time in the most bizarre locations, such as in her own hood, digging into the ground, and opening the mouth of a squirrel. "...Do you think it is gone, Karithe?" Stalemate asks, still keeping watch. "Not likely. It tends to hunt beings of good, until they are dead, most of the time," Karithe answers, before he shoots a bolt of holy magic into the darkness, lightning the entire area up for a brief second. this reveals a humanoid silhouette with four arms and some sort of spear weapon. "There you are! Come here, We found you!" Janil yells out, shaking her fist in the direction it was. "Janil, I don't that that is going to wor-" Stalemate is thrown to the side magically as a large, evil-looking spear stabs where he was. Stalemate is thrown into a tree, before he rolls down and gets up shakily. "Hey! Not nice!" Janil says before drawing her pistol and shooting at the demon-like being. The thing teleports behind her and grabs her with a large, yellow claw of 4 fingers. It then throws her at Karithe, whom stops her magically and puts her down. Stalemate comes up behind the thing, and tries to use fiery elemental magic to burn it, but the beast sees it coming and counters, grabbing him and lifting him up. "Hey! Put Stalemate down!" Janil says, with Gardus and herself charging at it. "Don't charge after it, you-" Karithe starts, but it is too late, as the other two approach, the demon teleports them all away, leaving Karithe alone. "-Will get... By Nez'Gar's hammer this isn't good," Karithe says, before rushing off toward the capital of Lennwood Company to organize a search group. Stalemate and his allies have made a mistake that may have just cost them their lives. Ω Princess Celestia sits upon her throne, reading the letter her student sent her just a few minutes ago. "My Dearest Teacher, my continuing studies of pony magic have led me to discover that something bad is going to happen. For you see, the mythical mare in the moon is, in fact, Nightmare Moon; and she's about to return to Equestria, and bring with her eternal-" Celestia is interrupted when a flash of yellow light shines in the room. She rolls up the letter and quickly takes notice of the demonic being in the center of her throne room. She lets loose a light gasp at how it is holding 3 (presumably) unconscious creatures. Immediately the royal guards spring to action, with four charging at the beast. Celestia holds out her hoof to stop them, but the beast itself strikes the first blow; teleporting behind a guard and grabbing him, before impaling him upon it's spear. Celestia's eyes narrow as her horn charges with a beautiful golden light, before it shoots a beam at the beast from behind. The beast turns around, in which it is hit in the face by the beam of light. The beast is sent flying into one of the marble pillars, breaking it easily. It rolls over and stands up, shortly before fleeing from the fight through teleportation. Celestia heaves a long sigh before looking at the three guards staring at their fallen brother-in-arms. His gut is stabbed right through, leaking his blood onto the floor at a continuous rate. The guard's eyes have lost their color, as well as his face. Celestia bows her head, and dismisses the guards to organize a proper, honorable burial. One of the guards lift the body, and they head out. Celestia turns to look at the three figures it was holding. She then calls for other guards to come, just in case they are hostile when they wake up. Five royal guards enter the room, armed, and ready. Celestia nods before her horn glows again, and she touches it down to the brown-haired head of Stalemate; Using magic to return him to consciousness. Stalemate coughs roughly, causing the five guards to jump into ready stances. Celestia regally waves her hoof, and they relax, but the tension is still in their eyes. Stalemate rolls over, and slowly opens his eyes, and he immediately notices the pony standing over him. His eyes widen as he speaks out and stands up, causing the guards to once again ready their stances. Celestia clears her throat, before speaking. "Hello, fair being. I am Princess Celestia, ruler of these lands, and princess of the sun. You are currently in the land of Equestria, and I personally welcome you," She says. Stalemate blinks, before looking around. "Uhm, where are we?" Stalemate asks aloud, looking at the guards, then back to Celestia. Celestia looks at Stalemate, then to her confused guards. "What is it saying?" One of them asks. "I'm not sure..." Celestia starts, "Hmm." "Guards, put them in a guest room, I will have a translator here by the hour so I can speak to them," Celestia orders. She turns to Stalemate, and her horn glows. Stalemate falls to the ground, and the guards pick them up, before leaving the room. Celestia looks at the pool of blood on her floor, and sends for a maid with a sigh, before heading back to her throne to finish the scroll Twilight has sent her. "I really hope we can get more insight on this soon," Celestia says. She opens the letter, and continues reading the note her student has sent her. "Nightmare Moon may be the least of our problems compared to this being that attacked..." Celestia states, before she closes the scroll, and brings up her own paper. She levitates a bottle of ink over, and starts writing. "My dearest, most faithful student, Twilight..."
Chapter OneTale of a Trickster Harmonius Magic Chapter One Ω Differences Ω Stalemate awakens with his face in something soft, and fluffy. He lightly groans, before rolling over, and promptly falling onto the carpet. "Oof!" Stalemate coughs out as his lungs empty themselves from the sudden impact. He slowly gets up, and looks around the room. He immediately notices his staff and cape in the corner of the room right behind a small, wooden bookshelf. He inspects more of the room, noticing the royal looking doors and furniture, even featuring a work desk for, perhaps, writing. Stalemate hears a giggle come from behind him, due to which he turns in said direction. His eyes lock with Janil's who is currently squinting from her small cracks and laughs. "What's gotten you so happy?" Stalemate asks, to which he is answered by Janil's pointing, aimed directly at his face. Stalemate reaches up and touches his face; nothing seems to be wrong, that is, until he feels right where his nose is. He pulls his hand away, noticing the white, almost cream-like substance that went along with it. "Really, Janil?" Stalemate groans; she pranked him yet again. "Where did you get this, anyway?" Janil laughs. "Oh, just the royal kitchen." Stalemate face-palms, and momentarily forgets which hand he does so with, leaving his forehead also smeared over with white frosting. This sends Janil off the deep end; she holds her chest and falls over from the laughter. Luckily, her head lands right on a pillow, saving her from a rather painful experience. Stalemate groans before noticing another door, which leads into some sort of bathing room. He walks toward the door, and into the room. He takes notice of the calm, plain, and white atmosphere of the bathroom. He turns to his left and looks at himself in the mirror, before looking at a type of bowl below it. "Strange... What could this do?" He turns one of the gear-like pieces of metal, and water comes out. Stalemate stares, bewildered at how such a thing works without magic. "No matter, just accept it and move on," Stalemate tells himself before he rinses off his face. After using a light wind generated magically to dry his face, he returns to the bedroom; in which Janil is still laughing, but for another reason. An equine was indeed there, that was in golden armor. Janil, being herself, makes funny faces at the guard, trying to get him to express anything, but the guard simply stares at her. It then speaks in a sort of language Stalemate cannot comprehend, before leaving the room. "Oh, wow! That was a blast!" Janil exclaims, giggling while she does so. "Yes, I am sure it was enjoyable, but why did that guard come in here? What does it want?" Stalemate asks, hoping for once Janil may actually be useful for information. "Pretty sure it said something about cheese and hot sauce, if that means anything," Janil answers with an innocent look. "I am going to assume that is not the case, most likely he is going to have us meet whoever they are-" Stalemate doesn't finish, due to a pony walking in. It nods to Janil, before it sets a tray onto the work desk holding a cheese pizza, as well as optional toppings, including hot sauce. "Wait... You can speak their language?" Stalemate asks Janil. "Nope, it was just a hunch," She replies before running over to the pizza, and digging in. Stalemate looks at her with confusion, before walking over to grab his own slice. "I sincerely hope we can figure this out soon..." Stalemate prays, confused about where he is, and what these ponies are doing. Ω "Your highness," A gold-clad pony states to Celestia while walking in. "They are awake, now would be a good time." Celestia nods. "Thank you." She turns to a guard standing next to her, "Please go get the translator, I am ready to speak to our new guests." The guard nods before trotting off to get the pony Celestia requested. "Now, please take me to their room, I wish to introduce myself as soon as possible," She asks another set of two royal guards. They look at each other, then back at her. "Are you sure you don't want to wait for the translator, your highness?" She nods. "Introductions aren't solely about words." She stands from her throne, and regally treads down the red carpet with her two assigned guards in tow. She is as ready as ever to find out what these people are doing here. Ω Stalemate and Janil finish their last slices, shortly before Stalemate wipes his mouth with a Napkin, then dissipates it through acidic magic. Stalemate sighs. "Well, time to wait, I suppose." He then hears Janil's voice all the way across the room. "Well, if you would say this is a wait, then sure!" Stalemate turns around and faces an equine of white coat, and rainbow hued mane. He stares at the vibrant chest-plate and golden crown atop her head, shortly before doing a short bow. He returns to eye-level to find the regal pony walking over to the door, and opening it. From that opening, another pony steps through; His mane an almost fiery color and shape. His coat is red, and a horn sits atop his head. His hazel eyes lock onto Stalemate, and he smiles. He turns to Celestia and speaks. "I suppose we should begin by getting them to speak, so I can know which language they use." He states to the princess in his calm tone. "That will be less difficult than you think, Psyon. That tall, presumably female one is rather talkative." Celestia answers, pointing her hoof at Janil. She points at Celestia. "Hey! It's rude to point!" Stalemate face-palms for the second time this morning. "Janil, you are pointing at her, too." "I never said I was polite, but shouldn't a princess be?" Janil replies. Psyon pays attention to their conversation, but he ends up with a blank look at the end. Celestia looks at him. "What's wrong?" "I... Don't know this language. It sounds like a mix between Draconian and Gryphonian, yet I cannot get my mind to find what they are saying," He replies, still trying to see if he is just missing something "I am terribly sorry, your highness." Celestia smiles. "No need to apologize, even the tiny tidbit about those two languages is helping us get closer to understanding them." Psyon Blaze smiles, before stating, "I will try to research into this, I have never actually heard of a species of their build before." "Then I will let you get right to that," Celestia says, dismissing the unicorn. He leaves with a light clip clop, and heads down the hall to the castle library. Stalemate, meanwhile, is starting to get annoyed by the language barrier. He wishes to know what they speak about. He sighs. "I don't even understand this place, there's sentient ponies, they speak a different language, I am probably far from my own home..." "Oh, calm down, you wuss," Janil quips, "I'm sure Gardus is in even bigger doodoo than we are in, they did send him to the dungeon, after all." "Wait, what?! Why did they do that?" Stalemate asks Janil. "Oh, they saw how he had dark magic and stuff, so they said he was dangerous and took him down," Janil relays from her memory. "Oh boy, Karithe would be quite angry at these ponies for deciding that all dark magic is evil," Stalemate remarks, "Looks like we will have to convince them to bust him out, when we can." "We don't need to convince them, we can just get him out ourselves," Janil states. Stalemate looks at her. "Look, I don't want to become enemies with these people quite yet, Janil. They could help us find our way back home." "Okie dokie, but my idea is still there, Stale," Janil finishes, proceeding to jump on the bed in a childish manner. Celestia stills stays in the room, observing the two new creatures messing about. A guard walks into the room, and watches as well. "Your highness," The royal guard says, "Was the translation successful?" Celestia sighs. "Not quite, however, I do have another idea. While Psyon searches the library for any clues as to what these creatures are, I would like you to lead a couple warriors to find somepony, or even somebody, that could translate these creatures' words into ours." The guard salutes. "Yes, your highness!" The guard, and Celestia walk out, as Stalemate speaks to Janil. "No, I am serious, call me that again and you might wake up one morning with just a hilt left of one of your katanas," Stalemate warns Janil. She laughs. "Then I would just kill you with the other katana." Stalemate simply stops talking, and turns away, before he looks at the writing desk. A stack of papers, a quill, and a pot of ink sit upon it. Stalemate gets an idea, while sitting down. If I am to be stuck here, I can at least report this to Karithe for, perhaps, further study... Stalemate pulls out one of the sheets of papers, and dips the quill in the ink, before beginning to write. "In The Land of Ponies A Documentary by Stalemate, Student of Karrathius A'Stath "For a wizard who has explored most of the world of Theros, I have never seen something quite as bizarre as this. A land of talking ponies, whom use magic, have multiple sub-species, and have, presumably, a monarchy. "After a rather traumatizing encounter with the Phase Reaver, it has brought my allies, Janil, Gardus, and myself to this land of ponies. They have given us hospitality despite our language barrier and physical differences, so we will assume they are friendly for now. There appear to be unicorns, normal ponies, and pegasi, as well as one with both a horn and wings whom appears to be their leader. "These equines use magic if they have horns, and fly if they have wings, respectively. As well as assuming the horned pegasus can do both, and the normal ones can't do neither.-" Stalemate finishes writing after he runs out of information to place onto the paper, so he sets it down to let the ink dry, and walks up to the front door. He opens it and looks around, noticing a long hall of windows, a small portion of them tinted to show the white horned pegasus, and another horned pegasus defeating a strange creature of jumbled species. "How strange," Stalemate tells himself as he views the panes. He loses himself quite a bit, trying to decipher what the story behind it is. He doesn't even notice the group of two royal guards approaching him. The guard taps him on the shoulder, causing Stalemate to whirl around, and look at them. They nod their heads back toward the inside of the room, but Stalemate makes his own silent argument, pointing a finger toward the tinted glass. The guards look at the glass, and chatter a bit between themselves. They appear unsure... Maybe they need confirmation from their leader? Stalemate deciphers mentally. The guards stop messing about and look back at Stalemate. They point their hooves toward the throne room, and Stalemate acknowledges them, before following. The guards lead him through a short hallway of many, many pillars, before they open a door of radiant gold; revealing their leader upon her throne, whom is searching through multiple letters, occasionally looking at the sky. She is waiting for something. Stalemate presumes, not talking aloud, for it would be pointless. The guards call out to the princess, and she turns her attention to Stalemate and the guards. "Your highness, he wishes to view the tinted windows in the Hall of Historic Remembrance," The guard states. She nods with a blank expression. "Let him. He is a guest at my castle, though if you feel he would require supervision, you may have a guard accompany him." The guard salutes, "Very well, your highness." He then turns to Stalemate, whom performs a bow, before turning, and walking out. The guard follows him out, and continues to do so as he walks down the hall, and observes the limited amount of paintings on the glass. Very, VERY few of the panes are painted on, with around twenty of them blank, and barren of any tale other than that of the pony who made it. Stalemate ignores the emptiness of the hall and concentrates upon the paintings already there. The guard sighs. Why do I get the feeling that this is going to be more than just the hall? About three hours later... The guard has been accompanying Stalemate everywhere, from the royal kitchen, where he taste tested the food, and gave it a sign with it's claw by holding one of it's largest ones straight up, which apparently means approval. Next, they arrived at the ball room, where dancing and large, but private ceremonies are held. Stalemate wasn't impressed. The magical training room is about as large as this, and much more protected. They then moved on to the in-castle barracks, where a small portion of the royal guard sleep in vanity, whilst still being close to their highness's aid in the case of attack. The second to last place was the garden, where Stalemate observed the wildlife with what appeared to be mild interest. He looks at birds with an eyebrow raised, and pets a squirrel that felt it was safe to stay out. He wasn't at home with nature, but he wasn't completely foreign to it either. Finally, they returned to the hall of panes, where they walked down and head back to their room. Just as they reach the door; a large, white unicorn walks in the way, and starts speaking miles in what appeared to be a very snobby "accent". Stalemate looks at the guard, who just rolls his eyes, and speaks toward the unicorn, before he moves him aside and opens the door to let Stalemate in. The unicorn runs off to the throne room, and Stalemate enters his own. "Well, that was interesting," Stalemate says as he enters to see Janil faffing about as per usual. "Enjoy your adventure? Did you go to the kitchen?" Janil asks. Stalemate nods. "I also went to the ballroom, the garden, and the sleeping quarters for some of the royal guard." Janil smiles, before getting a confused look on her face. "Wait, so you watched royal guards while they sleep? Isn't that what stalkers do? No! Wait, they use blink, too bad I didn't upgrade it." Stalemate blinks. "Wait... What? No, I didn't watch them sleep." "Then why did you just blink?" Janil interrogates. "Because, it is what all living beings like us need to do to keep our eyes clean." Stalemate answers simply. Janil smirks, before stating, "How do I know you are telling the truth?" Stalemate looks to her, and frowns, before just walking back to his desk to write something down. "Aha! I knew it! Stalemate is a stalker, Stalemate is a stalker!" Janil starts to chant. Stalemate holds out his hand, and uses air magic to knock her over onto the bed. "Shut up!" He yells, furious, "Why can't you just be quiet and logical for one minute? Huh? Do you lack mental function?" Janil stares at him with a blank expression. "Maybe?" She says, unsure of what to say. This uncertainty leads Stalemate to relax, before sighing, and face-palming. "Look, just please leave me alone, I am not in the best shape at the moment," Stalemate tells her, before returning to his desk. Stalemate picks up the quill and just starts writing, before a crash, and a bang is heard, shortly before yelling of sorts. Janil, and Stalemate notices it immediately, and jumps up, ready for action. "Yeah! Finally some action!" Janil yells, before they both run out the door, their equipment in hand. They charge down the hall, and into the throne room, to see the ruler being turned into some sort of orb by another horned pegasus, however it is much more evil looking than the ruler. It speaks in it's language that Stalemate cannot understand, before cackling loudly, and turning into mist and flying out, while the orb floats out and below the horizon. "Oh dear..." Stalemate says, noticing the massive hole in the wall, and two injured soldiers. He walks up to the two guards, whom are continually going through muscle spasms, and have obvious burns on their coat. "Electric shocks, I should be able to fix this," Stalemate says, before siphoning the electricity out of them, preventing further damage but not healing it. Stalemate shoots the electricity out of the hole in the building and sighs- The Return of Nightmare Moon is imminent, and Stalemate is perfectly on time to see it.
Chapter TwoTale of a Trickster Harmonius Magic Chapter Two Ω Assignments Ω The royal guards all crowd around the gaping hole in the throne room wall, their eyes wide, and ears down. Stalemate and Janil stare at the guards, whom seem to be mentally falling apart, mostly due to their princess's sudden disappearance. Janil instantly started laughing, as she usually does at 'silly looking' things. Stalemate simply let them be; believing that all emotions are meant to be felt. The- what seems to be- royal captain did not share the same view, however. And yelled firmly at the soldiers, causing them to come to an attentive formation: Snapped right out of their stupor. The royal captain appears to utter some strong orders... "At attention, soldiers! Now is not the time to mourn or panic, now is the time to ACT!" The royal captain states firmly. Shining Armor doesn't feel good about the princess's disappearance too, but they have to stay strong. The soldiers instantly jump to attention, broken out of whatever state they were in. Now it was time to state orders to the six guards there. "Listen, the princess is missing, as you all have clearly noticed! We must ready ourselves. You!" Shining Armor points to a new, young pegasus recruit, "Go to the royal barracks immediately and awaken the guards, tell them it is a Golden class emergency, they will understand!" He turns to two earth ponies, one rather large and bulky, the other thin but agile looking. Shining points to them both. "You two unlock the armory; hand out weapons and armor to the guards passing through. We will need them." Finally, Shining looks to two other pegasi, both wonderbolts, and a unicorn magi. "You three, prepare the carriages, we will need to transport soldiers quickly and efficiently. We are going to do a full sweep. Make sure nopony takes off until I state further orders to them as a whole." The guards, now given orders, rush to fulfill their tasks with haste. Shining turns to look at Stalemate and Janil. He was told they do not understand his actual speaking language, but perhaps body language? He may as well try. He points to them both and motions for them to follow with his hoof. They seem to understand as they start to walk. Shining turns to walk with them when he is face to face with a lightly panic-ridden unicorn of red coat and fiery mane. "What is going on, Shining- Err, captain?" He asks hastily, but still finding time to correct himself. Casual talk was not supposed to be used at times like this. Shining Armor looks to him with a serious look. "The princess has been kidnapped by Nightmare Moon, whom has just recently returned. The soldiers, these two, and I are off to find The Nightmare." Psyon understands most of it, except one little part: "Why are you bringing those two?" He asks, motioning toward Stalemate and Janil. "Half to keep an eye on them, half because I know they are magically, and physically capable of fighting. And based on what I have seen, they are almost excited about this adventure. Despite them not being too trustworthy in my eyes, the princess trusts them, so I trust them as well," Shining answers, before asking the unicorn to move aside. Psyon does as he is told, and lets the three run off into danger. "I sure hope nopony is harmed," He states, before trotting back off to the Canterlot library to continue looking into the strange language. Lightly panting, Stalemate exits the castle interior and is immediately hit by a cold breeze. He attempts to ignore it as they start to near what appears to be carriages of a fancy style. Multiple armored pegasi fly in and mount themselves to the front of the carriages. "How does that even work?" Stalemate asks, knowing only Janil and himself could understand. Janil smiles at him. "Magic, Stale." "Stop calling me that," He orders to Janil, whom just rolls her eyes and looks around. All of the soldiers gather at the base of a tall hill in the courtyard, where Shining Armor stands and speaks. "Alright, everypony! Nightmare Moon has reappeared, just as we feared; and just as we are trained to do,we fight! We will be sending scouting chariots multiple areas in Equestria. If you find ANY trace of The Nightmare, come and tell me immediately! Do I make myself clear?" Shining starts. Each guard salutes and call out their assorted and multi-toned 'Yes Sir!'s. Shining continues. "Once we have located Nightmare Moon, we will load our chariots full of anti-magi unicorns of all sorts to help weaken The Nightmare. In front of them we will drop our strong earthen pony forces to assault The Nightmare with physical force, offering her challenge, and allowing our anti-magi further time to wear down it's magic. The pegasi will be flying the chariots, and when we arrive, they will unhook and attack from the sky. We CANNOT allow her any opportunity of escape. I myself will put an anti-teleportation spell around the area, so she cannot get far! Be wary, soldiers. The Nightmare is dangerous, and some may lose their lives; but it will be a sacrifice of grand honor! We can and will fight The Nightmare, because while alicorns are extremely powerful, and control astrological forces, we can defeat ANYTHING, if we work together as a whole! Do I make myself clear?" "Yes sir!" Exclaims all the guards; some out of anxiety or nervousness, and others out of excitement and battle-born adrenaline- They haven't seen action much beyond a thief in a long time. "Excellent. Now, first we will all separate into groups of two scouting chariots, with the exception of mine. Once in said groups, I will assign you your location! Hop to it, soldiers! MOVE MOVE MOVE!:" Shining commands like the drill sergeant he often has to be. "Jeez, this guy yells a lot. Is he angry about something?" Janil asks Stalemate, obviously somewhat annoyed by the loud shouts of a royal captain. "It is his job to yell, it helps put the soldiers in line. He is a leader, after all," Stalemate states plainly. Stalemate looks off in the distance, and he sees the lights of another town; Ponyville. Stalemate suddenly squints as he notices something. He sees a decently looking blue glow flying away from the town and into the nearby forest. It was a wonder Stalemate could even see that, it must have been a big group of smoke. "Wait a minute... Smoke isn't just blue. Is that the dark creature that attacked the princess?" Stalemate wonders, before climbing the hill to Shining Armor, whom is observing the soldiers getting into their respective groups. He taps on Shining's shoulder, and when he has gained his attention, he points to the forest. Shining Armor looks to the forest, but doesn't see anything, so he looks back to Stalemate with a questioning eye. 'Uy, okay, think think think... Aha!' Stalemate contemplates. He taps on his shoulder again, but this time he uses magic to create a 2D illusion of Nightmare Moon, and he shows her turning into a mist and flying into some trees. He once again points to the Everfree Forest. Shining finally gets it, and nods to show so. He then walks off to speak with the guards about his new discovery; or to assign orders. Stalemate can't tell. "You know, I wonder if this horrible, evil and wicked creature of evil stuff is actually something sad on the inside..." Janil points out randomly. "Janil, I think that is not that probable. Some evil deeds may come from sadness, but often times it is the corruption of the soul by a more powerful force, and hatred," Stalemate remarks to his partner's silly 'revelations'. "Alright soldiers, there is a SLIGHT change of plans. You all will still be assigned to your intended locations, there just wont be me to return to. One of our recent visitors has identified what could be Nightmare Moon entering the forest. It may have been an illusion, so I will not call off the full sweep. However, I and said visitors will be investigating it ourselves. Do you understand?" Shining informs them. After the assorted yes sirs, Shining Armor starts assigning the guards locations. Some go to Manehattan, others go to Ponyville, and some go as far out as the edges of Equestria, especially along the southern and northern borders, which lead to land instead of water. Finally, the soldiers set off after being informed that a pony named Golden Scout is whom they should report to after they find something. Most of the royal guard leave, with a few being left behind to guard the castle. As well as Golden Scout ready to be told what is going on. Golden was often set to be in charge in Shining's absent, and he didn't do half bad at it, even though he still needs to learn to be a bit more tough on the soldiers. Shining often tells him he is being too lenient. Shining Armor returns to Janil and Stalemate, before motioning them to follow him to a much bigger chariot with 3 pegasi mounted instead of 2, and another unicorn is there to ride with them as well. All four of them load into the golden monstrosity, and they start to fly off. Shining looks to the two creatures, one of which seemed gleeful, and the other oddly un-emotional. For some reason, Shining Armor had a bad feeling about this. 'Well, here goes nothing.' He thinks just as they fly over the Everfree, and toward the old castle where they can have an ideal place to land.
Chapter ThreeTale of a Trickster Harmonius Magic Ω The Ever(free) Glades Ω The chariot approaches the long-ruined castle; the occupants inside ready themselves for any sort of attack. The chariot comes in for a landing, and still nothing. Stalemate breathes a sigh of relief as the chariot hits the ground, and they open the doors to get out. Shining Armor motions for them all to come, and they walk up to an old, rotten, wooden door. One of the pegasi buck it open, and they proceed inside. No sound is heard but the clip clop of hooves, and the footsteps of the two humanoids as they traverse the maze-like castle. The guards' heads constantly turn direction, checking their surroundings for anything suspicious or threatening. Meanwhile, Stalemate and Janil argue over an interesting point. "I still don't get why some evil thing would hide so much. If it is so strong and stuff, why is it hiding?" Janil asks Stalemate. Stalemate sighs. "Because, Janil, just because one is powerful doesn't mean they get to be reckless. Unlike you, this being doesn't charge straight into overwhelming odds. I would say it is smart, but then again, it seems to work out for you." "I am just so MLG that they can't handle it, and they die!" Janil exclaims to Stalemate. Stalemate raises an eyebrow. "MLG?" "Major League Gore-Creator. Or would that be MLGC?" Janil wonders, starting to go off into the deep and horrible pit of chaos that is her mind. Stalemate, knowing Janil much too well for his own good, just starts thinking to himself, knowing she wont be talking for a good half hour. Stalemate observes his surroundings, and takes in the atmosphere. Bad idea, as the atmosphere is dark and slightly horrifying. Stalemate ignores his surroundings and instead starts planning the encounter with the demon, or whatever it was. Stalemate just begins with 'Approach the Enemy' before a tile under his foot is suddenly pushed down, and the whole group is sent into an old slide. The guards and Janil quickly retain their surprise, but Stalemate does not recover until they reach the bottom, which is, oddly enough, the outside. They are in about 5 inches of water, and all around them grows tall weeds with small thorns on them. Stalemate hears the guards conversing with themselves, and he tries to use body language to understand some of it. The unicorn of the squad immediately gets up and turns to Shining, whom is looking at his surroundings. "Captain, we are now in the Everfree Glades, there is a few things we should be aware of," He states. Shining Armor, whom is still looking around, states, "I'm all ears." "These glades may look calm and peaceful, but these lands are prime manticore territory, this is where they give birth to and raise their young. If we encounter one, it will be a difficult fight. Timberwolves also tread here, mostly to catch the lost manticore child, but that does not mean they will not attack us, so we must be ready. Finally, be on the look-out for plants that look brightly colored. Most will be poisonous, some to the touch. We must stay away from them," The unicorn scholar explains. "Noted," Shining replies plainly, before he motions for them all to move out. They tread through the thick water and tall grass. Luckily it isn't the serrated type, yet. All is silent except for the occasional cricket's chirp, or dragonfly flying. The squad keeps a close lookout, with the three pegasi soldiers getting an aerial view. What seems like an hour passes by before they encounter the serrated grass, which immediately makes life miserable for them all. Stalemate, using his staff, pushes down the grass while Janil cuts it. She suddenly stops, along with the rest of the group when they notice. Janil quickly turns around and shoots her gun into the grass, having heard something. They hear the sound of wood falling over, and instantaneously four other timber wolves leap out at the group. Janil quickly handles a second wolf with her blades, while the others wrestle down the last three. Despite the fight being easy, Stalemate is quite mad. "Janil! You realize everything that would ever want to make a late-night snack out of us just heard that shot? They all are probably converging on our position right now!" He yells. Janil shrugs. "Oops?" "Captain, that being in the cloak just made a rather loud bang with her device. It is reccomended that we run, as manticores or other predators are probably on the way," The unicorn scholar warns. Shining doesn't answer, and simply yells at the others to run, and he starts running, with the others running with him. Sadly for them, they run alright, run right into a manticore. It roars violently at them as it swings it's paws into the ground. Stalemate starts the fight by shooting a bolt of fire at it's large mane around it's neck, in an attempt to burn it. Sadly, the manticore was most likely laying down, as the hair is too wet to catch fire currently. It does get the manticore's attention, however. It bellows out another roar and swings at Stalemate. He teleports slightly back as two pegasi swing down to hit the manticore on both sides of the head, to knock it out. It notices this, and swipes down one of them, with the other hitting one side of it's head. This dazes it a little bit, but that is all. Shining armor takes this moment to cast a sleeping spell on the manticore; with it dazed, it is much easier. Within seconds the manticore loses consciousness and falls to the ground. Two of the soldiers fly to their fallen brethren and help him up. "Are you okay?" Shining Armor asks the soldier. He salutes and nods. "Good, let's move out," Shining Armor orders, and they all move out, with Stalemate and Janil not far behind. They enter the treeline, and leave the glades. They are now heading towards the most likely place Nightmare Moon may hide in; The cliffside laboratory.
