Broken Worlds: Age of Ruin

“Now, Twilight, are you sure you two have everything you’ll need?” Celestia asked worriedly as I trotted down the front steps that led away from Castle Canterlot. I rolled my eyes and smiled as I turned back to my worrisome teacher.

“Yes, Princess; Spike and I have triple-checked our supplies, and we are certain we aren’t missing a single thing,” I said reassuringly. “You really shouldn’t worry about me so much; after all, you’ve got a whole country that needs you,” I reminded the alicorn gently.

Celestia quickly descended the stairs, slowing her pace as she drew closer to me and my dragon companion. “I know, but,” she said quietly, wrapping her wings around us comfortingly, “I could never forgive myself if anything happened to the two of you. You’re like the children I never had, and the best friends I could ask for.”

I smiled gently as she embraced me. “I know, Celestia,” I replied, “which is why we’re going to finish this mission and be back here as soon as possible!”

Celestia nodded with satisfaction as she withdrew her wings. “Just in case, however,” she said slowly, and let out a loud whistle, “I am sending someone with you.” As she spoke, a young pegasus dressed in royal guard’s armor quickly ran up to us.

“What is it, princesses?” he asked, looking between us dutifully. His pelt was an azure-blue, and his mane was jet-black and cut short. His eyes shone teal, and had a courageous, dutiful look to them.

“Brave Wind,” Celestia said clearly, “you will be accompanying Princess Twilight on her journey to Ponyville,” she explained. “You are to protect her and her friend, Spike, at all costs. No harm must come to them.”

Brave Wind nodded respectfully. “It is a privilege to be given such a task,” he said slowly, “but don’t you think this is a job more suited for a guard with more experience than I have?”

Celestia gave him a thoughtful look. “It is true that you have superiors with more training than you do, but they must stay here; Canterlot must be as well-defended as possible, which means I cannot allow any of the senior guards to leave their posts,” she explained. “You are the best choice for this job because, though you have not completed all of your training, I believe you will still have the ability to keep the Princess safe, and sending you will not compromise the safety of the city.”

The pegasus swelled with pride, but did his best to maintain his professional composure. “Thank you, Princess,” he said with a grateful bow, “I will not fail you.”

Celestia smiled slightly at the young guard’s spirit, and looked over at me. “Brave Wind will accompany you on your quest and ensure you return safely,” she said gently. “Please, Twilight, find your friends and these ‘new bearers’ that the spirits spoke of, and come back to Canterlot safely.”

~-~-~-~-~

I had been journeying with Brave Wind for just a few hours, and already I was wishing Celestia had just let me go on the mission alone. Spike didn’t seem to mind the energetic pegasus’s company too much; after all, he was a juvenile dragon, and often enjoyed the company of other male ponies, especially since he spent most of his time helping me with my duties. I wasn’t mad at him for that, though; I was happy he had somepony to relate to during the trip, so I alone would be the one that had to worry about finding our friends. He did seem to be a bit bothered by Brave Wind’s light bullying, though, so I made sure to listen closely to their conversation and make sure they two remained civil.

There were some things I overheard in their conversation, however, that I would rather have gone unsaid.

“Come on, tell me the truth: do you think she’s hot?”

I could practically feel the heat of Spike’s blush upon being asked this. During the time we had spent trekking along the road to Ponyville, I had learned that although the pegasus seemed dutiful and respectful around Celestia, he was just like an ordinary, immature, teenage stallion when he wasn’t under the princess’s gaze.

“No!” Spike whispered quickly, “We’ve known each other so long that she’s practically my sister! Why would I have a crush on her?”

I glanced back as Brave Wind shrugged. “Well, she isn’t really your sister, so it wouldn’t be weird or anything. Besides, if you don’t want her, maybe I would have a chance,” he added craftily.

I scoffed. “Sorry, pal, but I’m not available,” I said hotly, turning my eyes back to the road ahead. “I’m far too busy with helping Celestia to worry about such trivial things as ‘relationships’.”

I glanced back again and saw Brave Wind still had a smug look on his face, as if he believed I was playing “hard to get”. Spike, however, was a bit harder to read; he looked upset, but I couldn’t tell if it was because of my words, or the young guard’s plans to “seduce” me.

Good luck, pal, I thought angrily. “You okay, Spike?” I asked gently.

Spike quickly changed his expression to one of hopeful optimism. “Yeah, I’m fine,” he said quickly. “How far are we from Ponyville? I can’t wait to see Fluttershy again after all these years!”

I smiled warmly at the thought of seeing our old friends again. “Neither can I, Spike,” I said happily. “I’m sure our friends miss us just as much as we miss them.”

Brave Wind increased his pace so he trotted beside me. “Who are your friends we’ll be seeing, Twilight?” he asked smoothly. I could tell by his tone he was still hitting on me, but the question seemed sincere enough to deserve an actual answer.

“We’re going to be meeting Fluttershy in Ponyville, and from there we’ll be searching for my friends Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, and Rarity,” I explained. “We’re going to need their help to finally win this war.”

Brave Wind nodded. “Alright, sounds good,” he said slowly, “but why is this guy tagging along?” he asked, jerking his head toward Spike.

Spike stopped and glared at the pegasus. “What is that supposed to mean, exactly?” he asked angrily.

Brave Wind shrugged. “Well, for one, you can’t fly; if you had stayed back in Canterlot, the princess and I would probably be in Ponyville by now. Secondly, if we get into a fight, you won’t be much use to us. The princess has magic, and I have specially-developed combat training. You’re about as useful to us as a baby on this mission!”

I was about to speak up, but Spike stomped over to Brave Wind and looked the pegasus in the eyes. “Take that back,” he growled. “Twilight is happy to have me along on this quest, and would rather you had stayed back in Canterlot!”

Brave Wind stared back coolly. “Denial won’t get you anywhere, buddy,” he replied. “You’re just the bag-boy,” he added, poking a wing at the satchel Spike wore over his shoulder.

I took a step forward. “Listen, you two-” I began, but Spike silenced by pointing a single talon at me.

“Stay out of this, Twilight!” he snapped, not taking his eyes off of his challenger. “I’m going to have to teach this guy a lesson…”

Brave Wind’s eyes lit up sarcastically. “Oh boy, what are we going to learn today?” he said with false hopefulness. “Maybe little Spikey-Wikey will show me what it’s like to suck up to a girl and never make a move on her, even though it’s obvious he’s madly in love with her.” He wore a vicious, teasing smile as he finished this sentence.

Spike let out a low growl that quickly escalated into an enraged roar as he tackled the pegasus. The two rolled on the ground, wildly punching and kicking each other as they thrashed around.

I quickly decided I wasn’t going to put up with any more of this. “Enough!” I yelled as my horn glowed a violent violet, and the same aura surrounded my two companions. My magic quickly tore them from each others grasp, and I held them in the air in front of me. “We do not have time to waste arguing about these things! We are on a mission to find the former and new bearers of the Elements of Harmony. Nopony is fighting over who gets the right to hit on me, and nopony is a burden to our quest! Now apologize to each other, or I’ll make both of you walk back to Canterlot, and I’ll finish this myself!”

The two boys stared at me in shock, and quickly turned to face one another. “Sorry,” they mumbled in unison, and I gently lowered them to the ground on either side of me.

“Until you’ve both proven that you can handle interacting with each other in a civilized manner, you’re going to stay separated. When we reach Ponyville, we’ll give this another try,” I said, satisfied.

After a tense moment of silence, Brave Wind finally spoke up. “So, when we reach Ponyville, how about you and me go out for a nice, romantic dinner?” he suggested smoothly.

I quickly gave him a glaring glance. “I wasn’t kidding when I said I would make you turn around,” I growled threateningly. “And if it does come to that, I’ll make sure Celestia knows about your behavior while you were with us, and why I was forced to send you home.”

That was finally enough to shut him up, but a strange feeling in the back of my mind kept me from appreciating the silence that our group had finally achieved. I couldn’t shake the notion that something sinister was watching us from the shadows, tracking our every move. I knew something was out there; I may not have been able to tell exactly what it was, but I knew it was there by the branches it rustled and the shadows it cast. My two companions didn’t seem to be bothered by it, but our unseen stalker filled me with nothing but dread.

~-~-~-~-~

The sun was beginning to set by the time Ponyville was in our sights, and I was finally starting to ease up. It had been nearly an hour since I had last seen any signs of whatever had been following us, and I figured it had given up it’s trail.

I was, of course, proven wrong almost as soon as I opened my mouth.

“Well, it looks like it’s smooth sailing from here,” I sighed happily.

The words had barely left my mouth when our pursuer acted. I had barely a millionth of a second to dive into Brave Wind as I saw the setting sun’s light glint off of the attacker’s blades as he rushed at the pegasus guard. I was barely faster, though, and I knocked Brave Wind out of harm’s way. He smiled smoothly as he lay on his back, looking up at me.

“Well, no need to be so forward, Princess!” he said teasingly, “My code of chivalry prohibits explicit activities with a mare until we’ve been dating for a week, at the very least.”

“Shut up!” I snapped, leaping off of him and turning to face our attacker. I gasped when I saw the sort of creature stood before me; it stood on two legs, tall and slender, and had a menacing and battle-ready stance. It exuded confidence and savagery, but what horrified me the most was what it was made of: Pale, white-blue crystal.

“A Crystal Guardian,” I breathed, my eyes widening fearfully, as the creature let out a monstrous screech and sprinted right at me, wielding a pair of crystal swords in either of its hands.