Lord of Sins: Rebellion

Chapter Three:

A Dire Meeting

Next is a signature black. You could say it was an example of my own polarity. It was the darkest moment before dawn. Celestia’s glorious sun had just begun to rise above the mountains, its light barely shining over the dark peaks.

    Overhead a small flock of birds flew, their grace unmatched by the vivid world around them. Nearby a large waterfall, the mist produced rising as high as the clouds above. Low hanging clouds and fog covered the peaks of the mountains, as if they were hiding a great secret. Dusk Swirl stared out at the large plains that supported the town of Ponyville. Next to him stood Timekeeper, whose face showed not fascination, but regret.

A sound of hoofsteps behind them made the two quickly turn around. When they turned around, a bulky, older looking stallion stood behind them. He donned the armor plating of the royal guard. Dusk Swirl and Timekeeper presumed he was from the Castle of Friendship. Dusk Swirl took a few quick seconds to stare at him, examining him clearly with no obvious delight to be seen.

    This particular stallion of course had no outstanding features. He had a larger build for a pegasus, and stood tall and proud, like any royal guard should. I however had no purpose in his physic. I only sat and watched, not letting my gaze leave that of his eyes.

“I am Whirlwind, one of Celestia’s royal guards. What kind of business would two young stallions such as you be doing out here, hm?” He looked down to Dusk Swirl, as if he was attempting to intimidate him.

In my opinion, he wasn’t that intimidating. But of course, why should my opinion matter? Well, it always matters, of course. I continued watching, never letting my eyes move from the three ponies in front of me. All the while, the clocks continue to run, and the sun moves across the diamond-blue sky.

“My name is Dusk Swirl, sir. I believe that Princess Twilight Sparkle is expecting us?”

Whirlwind took a second, scanning each of the stallions carefully. This, of course, was part of one of his jobs. To study ponies, keeping a look out for any suspicious characters that might threaten royalty. After finding nothing out of the norm, he took another minute to recollect in thought. Suddenly, a realization came over him. “Ah, yes! Her highness is expecting you!” He looked to Timekeeper. “But whom is this? Princess Celestia told me only of one arrival, not two.”

“I am-” Timekeeper began. He was interrupted by a hoof which was placed ever so genially in front of him. To his side stood the stallion who committed the heinous act, Dusk Swirl. Staring at Timekeeper, his face held an emotion and sentence, which said, “No. Don’t. I’ll explain. You know I’m better at explanations.”

“Sorry. This is Timekeeper. He’s-” Dusk Swirl thought of a good excuse, but Timekeeper was merely just a friend who travelled with Dusk Swirl. He never really had any reason to be at his side. He was simply there, only to fill an empty void. “He’s my travelling companion, sir.”

Whirlwind looked Timekeeper over once more for only a second or two, and then responded in a rather regretful tone. “Alright. We must hurry. The sun will be setting soon.”

A feeling of confusion washed over Dusk Swirl, as he looked over to the sun. It had just risen high enough to be right above the peak of a mountain. Looking back to Whirlwind, he expressed his confusion. “Um . . . Whirlwind? How can it be nearly sunset, when the sun has just risen above the mountain’s peak?”

    “Yes, but if we hurry, we will arrive at the castle gates at sunset.”

The three ponies turned to their right, and continued down the pathways to the castle. Overhead, the golden yellow of the sunlight shined. Most of the road was quite smooth, but when the three stallions hit the start of incline, the road became littered with rocks. Dusk Swirl slipped a few times, once nearly breaking his ankle.

    After sharing a quick laugh, the three ponies continued walking. Whirlwind had no difficulty, however, having often ascended and descended the mountainous road. Time seemed to pass quickly around the travelling stallions. When the had finally arrived at Princess Twilight’s castle, the sun was beginning to set below the horizon.

Soon after, they arrived at the gold-laced gates of the castle. The great structure glowed a beautiful white, and reflected the rays of the setting sun perfectly. The sun itself cast immaculate shadows upon it, giving it flare that could never be matched by any other.

<<<>>>

She sat at the longest oak wood table that was provided. Her chin rested upon her crossed hooves with the book in front of her. Typically, she didn’t like to read in public, but the matter of the hour required that all blood members of the royal family be at the meeting. Of course, Princess Twilight didn’t think much of it, except for the fact that she could never be alone, and she was quite sure at this point that life outside the castle walls was beyond better than any she could afford inside.

    But today she would have to explore the outside world through her reading. The light streamed in through the glass ceiling that was so painstakingly assembled some years ago, the colors mixing and blending until there was a warm glow cast throughout the library reading area.

The meeting of the royals did nothing to distract Twilight from her reading. Occasionally, her subconscious would somehow make her pay attention, but lucky for her she had no need to re-read anything in her book. For a long while, she was quiet. The princess of magic decided that it would benefit everyone better if she just kept her mouth shut for the duration of the meeting.

   Of course, it became more and more difficult for Princess Twilight to not pay the meeting some sort of attention. Eventually, she decided to simply put the book down, and gave the meeting and its members her full undivided attention. But now she was at a loss, for she had no clue what the meeting was about, nor did she have knowledge of anything that the royals had discussed thus far.

“Well, I don’t know how exactly we can continue to keep those blood-thirsty brutes off the walls, and out of the kingdom! If you have any ideas, Princess, then by god, please tell me!”

The princess of the sun, Princess Celestia, could only shake her head in disbelief. “I’m not saying to change anything. I’m simply asking if there’s anything more that your men could do!?”

    “Your highness, there’s nothing we can do! If we try to attack them in any way, we’ll provoke-”

Princess Celestia held up her hoof silently, and shushed the commander. “Commander Undertow, listen. I’m not saying to provoke them in any way. I’m just asking if there is anything else you and your men could do!?” Celestia had continued to move her hooves, as if they were in synced to her emotions and speaking.

Princess Twilight shrugged her shoulders and laughed to herself. She continued to listen to her mentor and Commander Undertow babble on and yell back and forth at each other. By this time in her life, she had gotten well used to their fighting. The two always fought. Twilight sat back down, and pulled up her book, back to the place where she had stopped reading.

For another long while, Princess Twilight continued to read her book. Nothing had distracted her thus far. However, there was always this one distraction. Moon Dust. He was well known by the castle guard as a loner, and sometimes thief. On the other hand he was good at what he did, and the guard could never catch him stealing more than an occasional glance at Princess Twilight.

    Twilight glanced up to see Moon Dust staring at her, and was distracted enough that she had to re-read a couple of paragraphs. The distraction she felt went beyond the bothering stare though, she felt as if something were wrong. The light in the room wasn't quite right. She glanced to the ceiling once more and was quite startled to see shadows cast onto the multi-faceted surface of the glass above her.

Worried just slightly, Princess Twilight attempted to continue reading. As it became increasingly difficult, the princess found it harder to keep her attention away from Moon Dust. Often she found herself looking back and forth between the book and the stallion. But at one point, Moon Dust wasn’t there when she looked back up. Princess Twilight, her nerves already tense enough with the meeting, simply slammed the book down onto the wooden table in front of her, and looked at her father.

    “Princess Celestia, may I be excused?”

The princess of the sun was taken back by her sudden outburst. See and the commander stared right at her, neither of their gazes leaving her eyesight. “Why, whatever for, Twilight?” She finally said.

“I . . . I don’t know. I just don’t see any reason fit enough that I should even be here right now. I thought that I should just leave, that way you and Commander Undertow can continue your meeting.”

“Well, I . . . uh, I guess it’s fine. You can go.” See waved her away, and Princess Twilight gladly accepted her offer.

She began walking towards the door. As she opened the doors to the large room, Twilight glanced over to a dark corner of the room. For a second, she could swear she saw Moon Dust standing there, grinning at her. Ignoring her thoughts, Princess Twilight walked off through the doorway, closing the doors behind her as quietly as possible.

    Soon she was outside the grand room, and had stepped straight into another one, this room quite larger in size. This new room appeared to be much larger than that of the last room. All along the walls, large tapestries adorned the stone, and lights hung from the ceiling. A grand staircase lead from the center of the room.

All of this was ignored, as Twilight continued walking towards a door on the other side of the room. She walked with caution, expecting some brute to jump out and attack her. But this kind of behavior was considered normal for a member of royalty when travelling the castle alone. Just as she began to open the door on the other side, the front gates to the keep opened up wide, and the three stallions stepped through.

    “Hello, Whirlwind. How goes the patrols?” She asked kindly.

Whirlwind took a second, whispering to Dusk Swirl and Timekeeper. He looked back over to Twilight a couple times, and then looked at her for a last time. “Hello, your highness. I believe that these two are here to see you and Princess Celestia.”

Twilight covered her mouth with a hoof and giggled. “Whirlwind, how many times must I tell you that there is no need for formalities?”

    “Uh . . . once more should do, your highness.”

Once more Princess Twilight giggled, before she looked to Dusk Swirl and Timekeeper. “And who might these gentlemen be? You are Dusk Swirl, am I correct?” Dusk Swirl nodded, acknowledging the princess before he bowed. “Like I told Whirlwind here, there is no need for formality towards me.”

    “Sorry, your highness.” Dusk Swirl responded. He forced Timekeeper to bow, to which he received a growl afterwards.

Twilight laughed at the situation. “The Princesses should be through that door. I can introduce you, if you’d like.” She pointed towards the door to the room she came from.

The three stallions nodded, and they along with Princess Twilight walked towards the door on the far right of the room. They stood a foot and a half from the door, not saying a word to each other. Twilight began to creak the door open, and lead the three inside the glittering room. Dusk Swirl looked over the massive room.

    As glittering and elegant as the room was, there still was a very fine layer of dust that seemed to cover everything but the table in the center of the room. The floor was set in a few inches below the doorway, most likely a decor feature. The rest of the room looked to be a giant library, with several floors, and massive shelves that held thousands of books.

I followed them in, trying to tone down my breathing and footsteps as much as was possible. But that becomes difficult when the room you stand in is massive enough that every noise emitted creates an echo that radiates off every inch of wall and floor and ceiling. I took a deep look at the scene in front of me. Near a giant, glass table stood a few ponies, four of them being of royal status, and a few others, nine in fact, being of casual status.

    Next to the tallest of royalty stood a dark, cloaked figure. This cloaked figure was quite strange in a way, being taller than Twilight, and had a large, black claymore hanging on his back. He was quite the strange character. There seemed to be a grim aura surrounding this particular creature. I decided to pay him more attention, while the conversation drew on.

“Celestia?” The princess of the sun looked to her former student. “Um, those two stallions that you ordered over here have arrived.”

I laughed slightly at the way she made her statement. Honestly, I couldn’t resist. I listened on as the group continued talking.

“Well, where are they?”

To be honest with you, I hadn’t even noticed. I was so focused on the conversation in front of me, that I hadn’t noticed that Dusk Swirl, Timekeeper and Whirlwind had stood a number of feet behind the table, almost near the door. I took a quick look at the three, each one of them seeming to shuffle their hooves all over the floor. Their heads hung low.

“What are you doing way over there?” Celestia asked. “Come over here, so we can talk, please.”

I watched as the three slowly made their way over. Whirlwind had been in the castle many times, but that still didn’t stop him from taking in the scenery. The three arrived at the edge of the table, and stood as still as any statue could be. Maybe, they stood even stiller. Dusk Swirl listened intently, but his gaze moved from the princess in front of him, to the tall cloaked figure that stood on the other side of the table.

Little was remembered about the conversation. Eventually, however, Celestia took notice of Dusk Swirl’s staring, and intervened. “Oh, this is Dark Angel. He has just arrived from somewhere near the North, though he also says he’s simply here for classified reasons, and was aided out of the Everfree Forest by one of our Royal Guards.”

Dusk Swirl stared at Dark Angel for a few more seconds, then turned back to Celestia, who laughed. “Don’t worry. There is no need to be afraid. He is a good friend of mine.”

Dark Angel simply shifted ever so slightly, letting the claymore shine in the light. The shining light from the sun blinded Dusk Swirl for a few seconds, his hoof covering his face to try and shield himself from it. Dark Angel let out a deep chuckle, one which could almost sound like a short cough. They turned back to the group in front of them, and the conversation continued.

“So, we need a couple of ponies who are capable of completing such a mission.” Celestia concluded. Dusk Swirl of course never heard the start of Celestia’s speech, only because he had been paying so much of his attention towards Dark Angel.

“I’m sorry, what is the mission exactly?” He asked.

Princess Celestia laughed to herself, and looked back to Dusk Swirl. “If you had been listening, I had said that there has been an uproar in lower Manehatten. I just needed a couple of ponies who knew the area to check it out.”

    A look of confusion slapped itself on Dusk Swirl’s face. “But I’ve never been to Manehatten. Where do I fit in the picture?”

Twilight looked to him. “Don’t you remember the last few trips we sent you on?”

    “Yes. Why?”

“Two of them sent you to Manehatten. You just didn’t go into the central part of Manehatten. That’s probably why you don’t remember ever going to Manehatten.” She said.

“Oh, that makes sense.” Dusk Swirl finally responded.

“Anyway,” Celestia began. “I just need a couple of you to go. That’s why I called you guys here. Each one of you has been to Manehatten at some point.”

The conversation continued with a few mixed topics. I didn’t bother listening to what remained of the conversation. All of my attention focused on Dusk Swirl and Dark Angel. At the time, I wouldn’t have thought anything of their current relationship, nor their involvement in the mission they were assigned.

    I watched as each of the members of the meeting exited the room, and I followed suite. As the princesses of the sun and moon flew back to Canterlot, I couldn’t help but feel that something strange was about to happen in this world.

And that meant that I would need to work overtime.